Twelfth Night Costume Extravaganza

Every January, a friend has a Twelfth Night masquerade ball. I love making festive costumes, and her fancy-dress parties are always an opportunity.

I bought a purple Mardi Gras mask with tall feathers and embellished it with shoots of metallic steamers and butterflies.

My dress is a white prom affair that I found at a thrift store. For decoration, I purchased a horde of butterflies from Michael's. The butterflies had clips on the back, so I snapped and removed each one with a pliers, glued pin backs onto them, and attached them to my dress. For additional adornment, I wore blue satin gloves, black and white ostrich feather wrist poofs, arm bands that I made with elastic and ponytail holders, and a ring with another butterfly. And purple high heel sandals the color of my mask, but you can't see them in any of the photos.

I really just like making the costumes. Once I arrive at the party, I'm ready to go home!