I am a big Hitachi fan. That's an understatement. I may be the Hitachi's biggest fan. Ever.

But a little bird kept telling me how amazing the Wahl Vibrator was. Over and over again.

So I wanted to get one, and luckily enough for me, Babeland was happy enough to oblige my whim. I waited and waited. And then, of course as soon as it came, I was sick. And then, once I was feeling better, I had my first ever yeast infection (probably from the antibiotics I was on for being sick). So I waited some more.

And then? The day of reckoning. Keeping in mind that I've been loving on the Hitachi for a good 3 or 4 years at this point, and you can imagine what this looked like in my mind. A shoot out in the SM Corral between the Wahl and the Hitachi. Hitachi had the bettin' odds, but I was willing to give the under dog Wahl a chance.

I plugged 'er on in, and lay back in bed. I started first with the attachment it already had (there are 7 in all), which is the one displayed on the box. And logically, I started at level 1 (out of 2).

Not bad. A little tickly, but it did feel nice. However, no way in hell it was giving my magic wand a run for my money. I tried it on my back, breasts, hip bones, etc. Overall? It was an excellent massager...but even as I switched to all the different attachments, on level 1, it just was too light buzzy, and wasn't going to get me going, no way no how.

And then, once I'd tried out all the attachments (I really like the larger circle with the pokey things - that felt amazing!) on level 1, I kicked it up a notch to level 2.

As a friend would say, OH EM GEESE! Whole different ball game (I know I'm mixing my metaphors, and they didn't play ball in the Old West...but bear with me!). It was this like deep, penetrating vibration...that was almost too much for ME to handle. *ME* She of the weapons grade sex toys. She of the Hitachi and Lelo. She of the "plug 'er in, let 'er rip." Yeah. It was THAT strong. And it felt phenomenal...when I could take it.

Brilliant. Really. One level is good for massaging and a little teasing, the other excellent for getting off. I had to kind of re-train my body to get off using it, since it was so used to the Hitachi, but it was totally do-able.

One small problem with it is that it cramps my style a bit. Unlike the Hitachi which you can balance against you, or tuck into your underwear (thereby leaving your hands free for other fun things), you have to physically hold onto the Wahl as it vibrators your hands immensely. Slightly annoying, slightly frustrating....but still worth it

Like the Hitachi, the Wahl is definitely affordable, which is always a bonus. If I had to choose between the two, I'll still go with my old favorite..but since I don't, I'm happy to have both on call. 4.5 stars!

-Essin' Em

Technorati Tags: babeland, plug in, sex toys, vibrators, wahl

So, I am obsessed with my dental cabinet; I think I mentioned that here. No really. It is amazing. Green laminate exterior, cool white lacquer covered metal interior. It has big to tiny drawers, just the right depth for dental instruments; and, it is on wheels. If you were to come to my house, I’d drag you upstairs just to show off (that picture btw does not do it justice).

Over the years, it has been suggested that I paint the cabinet, oh, I dunno, a nice shade of black. But, I can’t bear the thought of doing that. There is something about the tacky green wood-grain laminate that sings to me; just looking at this object makes me grin. It is silly and ridiculous and I just can’t get enough of it. With all the drawers, it would be perfect to hold my craft supplies etc., but I won’t share the cabinet with such messy things. I know that craft supplies would spill, corrupt, and ruin this cabinet. And, really, this cabinet deserves a high-ranking place in my house. So, instead of serving some highly responsible purpose, I assigned the dental cabinet to one of my more frivolous endeavors: my jewelry collection. See, I, um, have a lot of it.

Growing up, I sneeringly made fun of my grandmother’s (who I promise is a dead ringer for Dolly Parton with) massive dresser full of jewelry. My mother is an austere sort of dresser, and she wears jewelry sparingly, and even then, it must be “real” (meaning gold, silver, platinum and the jewels rich stones). When I was little, I just agreed with whatever my mother’s opinion was –in the way that small children will. My grandmother never had such rules. If she liked it; she wore it. If she didn’t, she wouldn’t. My mom spent a lot of money one Christmas on an expensive pendant for my grandmother. We never saw her wear it. And, years later, my grandmother gave that same pendant to me as a plaything forgetting that it had been a Christmas gift (I think my mom is still pissed about that). But, that is how she is; giving and kind with a touch of silliness.

My grandmother sounds pretty fun, no? But, we weren’t that close while I was growing up. There is no one thing that I could point out; but I will say, looking back, that we are so much alike that it is probably hard for us to get along. In any event, as I get older, I begin to realize just how much my grandmother I do have in common. We are both fancy dressers no matter what; neither one of us thinks that we are very pretty (and she is drop-dead gorgeous, I’d kill for her legs right now), we have hot tempers, once we have an opinion set it is hard for us to change, we don’t always understand our families and they don’t always understand us, we are both exceptionally tall for our generations, we like to have a good time, and we both love jewelry.

It was only recently, while I was opening and closing the drawers to my dental cabinet for fun that I realized that I am well on my way to that “dresser full of jewelry” like my grandmother. And, it makes me smile to think that. My collection, no unlike hers, has some nice “real” pieces, some higher-end costume jewelry, and some just flat-out silly plastic worthless fun. In a weird way, my own collection makes me feel close to her.

And, hey, it looks gawgeous in my dental cabinet. My one complaint is that it is hard for me to keep track of my stud earrings in the large drawers. I don’t want to drop the studs into a box because then I always have to “hunt” for them, so I lay them out on top of a velvet case. The only problem is that the studs still roll about as I open and close the drawers making a mess; and causing me worry.

(and here is a close up of the mess)

So, mah dears, I came up with a charming little solution that I thought I’d share with you.

I made a wee felt ear to hold my earrings (grandma would be jealous).

You will need:

-flesh colored felt (again I use the eco-friendly synthetic kind)

-a darker flesh colored embroidery thread

-a needle with a large eye

-a needle threader

-scissors

-safety pin, or plain pin

-paper

-fabric marker (a fabric marker is best, but you could use any fine tip marker)

Step 1

Print out the ear template provided below. You can blow it up to any size you wish, but I kept mine to ear size.

Step 2

Trace and cut out two “ears” from the felt using the template

Step 3

Pin the ears together

Step 4

Thread your needle, and knot the end of the thread. Run the needle in-between the two “ears.” Run a blanket stitch (we learned how to do that here) around the edge of the ears. Finish it off with a small knot.

Step 5

Using the fabric marker, draw the “ear” contours onto one side of your “ear.” ps. i know this pic has a needle. But, I forgot to take a pic before I started sewing; so, just ignore the needleage.

Step 6

Thread your needle, and knot the end of the thread. Run the needle in from the back of your design just a little bit above where you want to begin.

Step 7

Push your needle through from the front at the place where you want to begin

Step 8

Run your needle in from the back just above your first stitch

Step 9

Push your needle through, from the front, into your first stitch (splitting the stitch)

Step 10

Congrats! You have learned the split stitch!

Step 11

Repeat steps 7-11 until you have covered all of the contours

Step 14

Put all of your studs into your new felt ear for safekeeping. Voila! Mischief-managed.

Technorati Tags: furniture, home, jewelry

As we all know, I super duper so much love and heart Lelo toys. Everything they make is bloody freaking amazing. My second favorite (and favorite non-hitachi) vibrator is the Gigi, by Lelo. Lelo is, hands down, the most awesome vibrator maker, as a whole, ever. Period.

All their vibrators are rechargeable, which is awesome, convenient, and very earth friendly. They also use plastic and pure silicone, so everything they make is phthalate-free. Basically, they rock. And then they decided to rock even more, and offered to let me try ANY TOY I WANTED.

Well. I had the Gigi, and the Liv, and the Lily. What more could I possibly want?

Answer? Ella. I was ready to start a little love affair with this beauty.

She's solid black, and as most of you are aware, I think black sex toys are pretty much the sexiest things ever. I have a black lily, a black granite dildo, black and red flogger, and the list goes on. But this is a beautiful matte silicone, unlike any other dildo I've ever tried. It's also shaped just like the Gigi, which you may remember is pretty much the most amazing shape in regards to my vagina. It makes me make ridiculous noises I have never made before.

So I was sooooo excited to try it out. It came...but sadly, I didn't, because as soon as I got it, I got really sick. I took it into the shower to try out at one point, but then got distracted by a certain person (but it is water proof - obviously).

FINALLY, I got to try it out. Remember, it IS silicone, so no silicone lube, but anything water based will do quite well.

I busted out (as always) the Hitachi. I hadn't had sex in a whole week, and I hadn't really masturbated (minus a quicky while falling asleep last week) in 3 or 4 weeks. I was so freaking ready for this.

The shape, just like the Gigi, was perfect. It may seem a little small to some people, but no. Really. The shape is like "hello, I am hooked up with a GPS system for the sole purpose of finding your G-Spot" - and then does so. G-spot, meet Ella. Ella, g-spot. Have a lovely time!

I came in less than two minutes. And then again in another 3. And then again. And again. Between the Hitachi and Ella, I could have probably come over and over and over all afternoon. Sadly (for my vagina, but happily for me), I was headed out to meet L, so I had to get dressed and head out...otherwise, I probably would have come about 3 million more times. And that's not an exaggeration or anything.

My only beef with it? It isn't harness compatible - I wish it was, because can you IMAGINE what it would feel like to have someone pressed against you, fucking you with Ella. Maybe it's better that this isn't possible. I might just die of pleasure from that. I really love this toy. So much, it might become a permanent fixture in my nightstand drawer. And that, my friends, is saying a lot.

Want your own Ella to be your personal pleasure object? Learn more at Lelo.com, or buy your own by clicking here!

-Essin' Em

Technorati Tags: dildos, lelo, review, silicone

Happy National Coming Out Day to One and All!

Today (October 11th) is National Coming Out Day. I encourage all of you to come out. As whatever you are (straight and cisgender people can come out as well, obviously).

I'd like to come out as:

*Queer

*Kinky

*A Femme

*A Dyke

*A Female

*A Woman

*A Nerd

*Disabled

*Awkward

*Young

*Jewish

*Eastern European

*Agnostic

*OCD

*Silly

And oh so much more (read my about me page).

Please feel free to use this space to come out as anything and everything that you are!

Don't forget; closets are for clothes, NOT for people!

-Essin' Em

Technorati Tags: coming out, disabled, femme, gender, national coming out day, queer

So this idea has been bouncing around in my head for some time now about the differences between butch and femme, and who's the protector and who's the protected. Butches talk so much about how they love to put their arms around a girl and it makes them feel strong, it gives them a sense that they can use their chivalry to protect and cradle her in the ways that she presents her feminine gender. Yet at the same time, femmes talk a lot about protecting and supporting and holding up the female masculinity of their butch/ftm friends and lovers by performing their femme gender in such a way that makes masculine people feel strong. So who's really protecting whom? Given these two facts, it definitely seems like femmes and butches who purposefully associate with one another are really leaning on each other. When one gets weak, the other is there to lean harder against her counterpart to prevent her from falling down. It's a delicate balance. Neither is stronger than the other, neither is more capable or ready to meet the world than the other. It seems to me that we face the world together, holding each other's hand for confidence and balance.

Technorati Tags: butch/femme, butches, femme, gender presentation, transmasculine

Last week I went to a party...A Gigglefest...and trust me, I had a very good time but something happened that night that has left me thinking...a lot...about all of the rules I have created for myself...

I'm forty-four years old; isn't it time I throw out some of the old rules with yesterday's trash? And then with that thought immediately follows the chastisement from the little bitch dressed in white sitting on my right shoulder, "Don't even think about it."

Sigh.

Thank goddess I have that nasty little she-devil all dressed in red sitting on my left shoulder, shouting, "You go girl!"

By now, you, my reader, are probably as thoroughly as confused as I am...

Here was my dilemma, seeing that I was at a party with forty amazing, beautiful women...and hooking up with one of them seemed to be a probability...

There was lots of giggling...and jiggling...and flirting going on. I got to dance with a woman who I really like and admire (she once asked me to have her baby and I still regret not doing so...after dancing, we shared a few drinks and talked at length about that decision and how it has affected both of our lives. Okay, we got drunk together...and I felt a lot worse about the decision.)

Hours later, I got to hug and snuggle and kiss a beautiful woman who until that night had just been a passing flirtation...

And then sometime later, okay...much later...sitting by a campfire, listening to the sweet music of some of the women who had brought their drums...I tried to figure out just why I wasn't somewhere private and naked with either of the first two women...and ended up with a third woman in my lap.

Did I say woman?

Oh sweet goddess...

Rephrase that to girl...soft, sexy, waist length blonde hair billowing around us in a sexy, sweet scented cloud. And I was in lust up to my eyeballs (Did I forget to mention that in her own innocent way she'd been trying to hook-up all evening?)

Twenty-two and plenty legal but soooo off limits because of my damn rules...

I have a rule about the girls and bois I get involved with...they can't be more than fifteen years younger than me. Why? Good question and one I really don't seem to have an answer for except for the fact that one of my ex-husbands was fifteen years older than me and that seemed acceptable...whereas if there had been more than fifteen years between us that would have been somehow...unacceptable.

I've been plenty tempted to break that rule in the past and so I amended with a clause that if tempted, I might be swayed, but I would never enjoy the favors of anyone younger than my daughters...there, that would keep me safe for a good long time. I definitely wouldn't break that rule, right? That would just be too gross being with someone younger than any of my daughters...

And then the beauty in my lap kissed me.

Wow.

She rocked my world and then some...I won't bore you with the details of what followed but I was good (okay, I was as reasonably well behaved as I could be with a luscious beauty in my lap intent on hooking up)...in the end I politely declined an invitation to join her somewhere more private...

And I was left to stare into the fire...binding myself with mental ropes to keep myself from chasing her into the dark...because I really wanted to.

I could blame it on horniness...My husband has been away on business since August 3rd with the exception of a Saturday once a month...

Or, I could just admit that I'm a hypocrite and be done with it...

Wouldn't it be so liberating to toss all of the rules to the wind and just enjoy the moments that come my way? It would...it really, really would...

Looking into the fire, listening to the drums...I realized that my heart was pounding out of my chest because the too young girl had spoken a primal language to the beast that lives inside of me...the one who only sees life in fantasy and dream...the one who I packed away when I left my inner boi behind so long ago and didn't allow him to become a man...because I had to be someone else...I had to be someone's mother...and my Femme-self came into being.

My beast...

My little boi grown up...

I don't have a rule for this one. I'm in unknown territory. I know what my primal instinct wanted to do...I wanted to wrap her hair in my fist. I wanted to hold her down and kiss her mindless. I wanted to thrust my cock inside of her, dominate her, make her beg and scream...

That is behavior reserved for only in my mind...

But now, I feel like there is a battle going on inside of me and this round went to the little bitch on my right shoulder. I obeyed the rules...I was good...But watching the fire flicker and spark, I decided something else. I'm tired of living by rules of right and wrong that don't really make any sense to me anymore (did they ever?) and I want to let my beast out to play...and honestly, there isn't anything femme about that part of me at all.

Maybe this is "just a phase"...

I remember my mom saying that when I was young...at the time I'd cut off my hair and taken to carrying my wallet in my hip pocket...

A phase would be a comfort...I know who I am in my Femme skin...and this...unknown territory is so far out of my comfort zone that I really don't know the answer to, "What next?"

Technorati Tags: Boi, femme, kissing

Trying Universal Lube for the first time was a terrifying experience. I wasn't worried about what it might do to my body. I basically trusted that VibeReview would never send me anything dangerous and that it would be a passable lube. But I was scared to death about what it might do to my silicone toys.

Traditional wisdom dictates that you do not use silicone lubes with silicone sex toys. The fact that they are made of similar materials triggers a reaction and can allow the lube to break down the materials in your precious silicone toys. So, even though silicone lubes can be awesome and a lot of people prefer them, most of us keep water-based lubes around for sex toy use.

But, Universal Lube is different. The name really says it all. It is a silicone lube that is designed to be safe with sex toys. I was a bit scared the first time I squirted it onto one of my favorite silicone dongs but I am happy to report that the toy came out unscathed.

Now that we've established that it didn't fuck up my toys, how does it work as a lube? Pretty well, I think. It is thicker than most silicone lubes I've tried so that means that it stays in place. In general, this class of lube is more slippery than slick so you feel the lubrication in a more pure sense instead of just wetness. Depending on the situation, I love this because it preserves a lot more of the friction of sex while maintaining a safe and comfortable level of movement and lubrication.

I was also really please that the bottle is a generous size, inviting me to slather on as much as I felt like while I was playing. Many silicone lubes are incredibly pricey so this seemed like a great value.

If you like the feel of silicone lubes but get nervous about using them because they negate the use of your favorite toys, then Universal Lube is a must to try. You'll find that it may become one of your go-to lubes because it will keep your options open in terms of toy choices and can be easily layered with water-based lubes to create new sensations.

Technorati Tags: lube, sex toys, silicone, universal lube

I have continued on my adventure of finding the *right* rabbit-style vibe for me, and this week, that involved the testing of Paul and Paulina, a rabbit style vibe from Fun Factory.

Ok. A few weeks back, I reviewed the Sally Seal, another rabbit style vibe by Fun Factory. And honestly, this one really wasn't *that* much different.

Again, it's made by Fun Factory. The material is a good quality, phthalate-free silicone, so three cheers for body healthy toys! It takes 4 AA batteries, which is fairly normal, but it really puts a lot of power out for only being powered on those.

Again, it was a little loud for me. Not quite so loud as a certain Seal, but certainly more than I like to have in my bedroom, even if I'm alone - the vibration part was fine, but the twisting part sounded like an old school joy stick...NOT sexy.

Another problem I've had with most, if not all, of Fun Factory's toys, is the battery compartment. I mean, come on folks; I have a Master's degree, and I can't figure out how to open/close the compartment, or get the batteries in properly without bending the connectors? Yeah. Sad story.

On the other hand, maybe my body just isn't built for rabbit style vibrators, and I should just give up this chase. This is an affordable toy that is BODY HEALTHY (most rabbit style toys are made out of jelly. Read: Phthalates. YUCK!), and would be good for a beginner trying to figure out whether or not they like rabbit style toys. I don't hate it. It just really isn't my thing.

Oh yeah - it comes in more colors than just pink (obviously, or I wouldn't be reviewing it!). Mine was blue...so know you have choices too

So if you want your very own Paul and Paulina, click here to get one. Or if you'd like any other kind of sexy vibrator, head on over to VibeReview.com.

And if you find the *perfect* phthalate-free rabbit style vibe, PLEASE let me know. It's like my holy grail or something.

-Essin' Em

Technorati Tags: fun factory, paul and paulina, rabbit style, review, silicone, toys, VibeReview, vibrators

Here we go again...

I was hanging out at one of the alternative lifestyle forums I frequent and the post titled FUTCH popped up...and it didn't make me thrilled...and I wasn't even one of the ones asking WTF? Maybe you, as I was, watched when Dani Campbell, one of the contestants on MTV's Shot at Love with Tila Tequila said "Futch." She explained it meant someone who is neither feminine nor butch, but a cross between. My eyes rolled.

Maybe you love the word...maybe you hate the word. My question is, "Do we as a community not have enough labels to describe ourselves? Lesbian, Butch, Femme, Stem, Stone Butch, Lipstick Lesbian...I could go on. Okay, one more: Gayelle.  (Why anyone would want a change of label to this happy, pleasant sounding word is beyond me, since Lesbian has history. Lesbian the word coming from the Greek island Lesbos where the first recognized "homosexual woman" was presumed to live...and where she wrote her many love poems to other women from. Perhaps you've heard of her: Sappho. Maybe not, since she lived about 600 B.C.

So, as much as I'd love to turn this into a label rant...I won't...I will go back to the forum discussion that ensued wherein someone claimed that a Dominant Femme was an Oxymoron. Seriously. Forget eye roll, I laughed out loud! Then I laughed some more.

When did Femme come to mean soft and cuddly and vulnerable and submissive? When did someone add to the label rule book that Femme meant a woman who couldn't be strong, capable, independent? Assertive? Demanding? Dominating?

Either I'm confused or the label creators are...

The Femme history that I know is one of a powerful woman, willing to stand out from the norm. Consider the era. Lesbianism first became very public in the 1940's (yes, there were obviously lesbians pre-1940 but for the sake of this post...I want to keep it semi-current.) If you were a woman in 1940, you were a housewife, a nun, a spinster. Or you were a rebel. An outsider. Someone who could be beaten or killed for being Different. Someone who had to be willing to be Tough. Hardcore. In Order To Survive The Times.

Why 1940? In Odd Girls and Twilight Lovers, Lillian Faderman recognized that this was when women were first admitted to bars (in the U.S.) without a male escort. As a consequence, the outsiders developed ways to recognize each other. Some (Butch/Dyke) women women adopted male styled clothes and short hair which conflicted starkly with their feminine peers, others (Femme) women exaggerated their femininity with daring red lipstick and seductive dress. Paired as Butch/Femme couples, they resembled their heterosexual counterparts but because of their exaggerated representations brought attention for the first time to the Lesbian Subculture.

In Boots of Leather, Slippers of Gold, Elizabeth Lapvsky-Kennedy and Madeline Davis wrote that gender identities "were the key structure for organizing against heterosexual dominance." Gender identities born from their heterosexual models: if Butch equalled Aggressor and Protector then Femme found importance as Seducer and Pillars of Strength.

By the 1950's the Lesbian Subculture was firmly rooted making it possible for women like Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon to come out as a committed homosexual couple even though harassment and arrest were still common.

During the 1960's and 70's Lesbianism was under attack but by a new source: Feminists. With Butches accused of chauvinism and oppression and Femmes accused of enabling...the feminist lesbian strove for androgyny.

However, by the 1980's Butch-Femme came into being as post-feminist lesbians reclaimed their right to have gender. A quote from Butch-Femme.com (one of the original genderqueer websites) says it better than I ever could: "A Butch without a Femme is still a Butch, just as a Femme without a Butch is still a Femme. But how we compliment one another. And it's hot! We are about...passion!"

The 1990's brought the recognition of transgender, changing the face of the community forever...

October is officially LGBT History Month and so the past as well as the future of Femme has been on my mind. And so looking for inspiration for today's post, I went looking for Femme and found instead Futch. Why did I cringe so hard when I was reading the Forum's comments? Was it because I see myself in the term Futch? Is it because I have such a fierce aversion to any label that tries to fit me into a nice tidy category...

Or maybe it is because I fear what this new century is bringing to the table as our future's history. Are we really so confused that we have to coin a new term seemingly every day to define ourselves...or by creating new labels are we enabling ourselves to truly live our lives authentically? I sincerely hope it is the latter ... for me, I'm just happy that today I am able to say I am Bisexual. I am Femme. And no one is going to throw a brick at my head.

So, as much as I would have loved to have ranted about labels, I hope instead that this post encourages at least one to do some research into the history of our roots. And in writing this post I am given the opportunity to say thank you to all of those beautiful Femmes and Butches who came before me...for their Strength and Courage and Determination to make the path I walk one that is easier than the one they walked.

Thank You.

Technorati Tags: butch/femme, femme, lebian history, lgbt, LGBT Month

I’m off to the Sex, Wine, and Chocolate Un-Masquerade Ball this week in Atlanta. What is an Un-Masquerade ball you might ask? Well, according to the site the ball is to be a “sensual night free of sexual oppression for all of us fighting for the freedom of our bodies everyday.” Or, as someone else told me: “Dress as your gender night.” Needless to say, the ball which is a fundraiser for SPARK and Project South is sure to be a blast.

Naturally, I’ve been thinking about what I should wear to properly demonstrate my gender. I’m a sort-of-over-the-top lady. I think it is a mix of my femme gender and my Southerness. I mean, I’m not sure if you know or not, but it is accepted that most women attending football games in the SEC will wear dresses. I don’t go to football games, but I am Southern and that same pretty-fied attitude runs deep in my veins.

Red lipstick is a major part of my life. Once, when I still dyed my hair, (I don’t now due to a seriously hilarious and unfortunate accident that I will tell you about another time) I was asked to perform some mission work overseas. Before I could even weigh out the pros and cons of the situation I surprised even myself by saying: “Oh! I couldn’t do that. They don’t have my hair dye over there.” I have a huge (HUGE) cabinet full of jewelry that I mix and match everyday. I feel incomplete without loads of mascara. Going to the grocery store without my outfit and makeup is not something I will do. One of my heroes is my great-grandmother. She had a stroke when I was a child. When the paramedics arrived at her house to whisk her away to the hospital, she refused to get in the ambulance before she had sprayed herself down with her Estee Lauder. I admire that. I aspire to that.

Having said all of that, I do dress the way I want every single damn day. I love girlishness, loud outfits, bright colors, big jewelry, and feathers for my hair. And, I wear that kind of thing every single day. I figure life is too short to wear dress pants and button downs when what I really want is a big print skirt, heavy boots, tight top and red lipstick. So, I wear it. Proudly.

I am one of us lucky few who get to do that everyday without too much conflict. Wouldn’t it be nice if everyone could do that? So, after much thought, I think I’ll be looking very much like me come Friday night, feathers in my hair and all.

And that brings me to today’s “How-To”: A Feathered Hairpiece

I make feathered hairpieces as an art form, sell them online, and (obviously) I wear them quite a bit. So, in celebration of, um, me, I thought I’d share with you how to make a super simple, super awesome, feathered hair piece.

You will need:

- a pheasant feather pad (they sell these already assembled at a variety of craft stores) $2.99

- a silver snap clip (probably lying around your house)

- ribbon (I chose black velvet)

- some other type of feather or rhinestones etc. (optional)

- scissors

- glue gun (E6000 glue or Fabri-Tac work too)

Step One:

Begin by flipping over the feather pad. Measure out a bit of ribbon to fit on the back. (you will eventually run the silver snap clip through the ribbon to hold the hairpiece to your head)

Step Two:

Cut the ribbon to the desired length. I like to angle-cut it so it fits nicely

Step Three:

Run a line of glue on either side of the back of the ribbon

Step Four:

Glue the ribbon to the lower part of the back of the feather pad

Step Five

Flip the feather pad back over. Select some other type of feather/rhinestone goodness to decorate your feather pad with

Step Six:

Measure out the amount of material that you want

Step Seven:

Trim the material

Step Eight:

Glue the material to the feather pad

Step Nine:

Trim off the extra feather mess from the sides of the featherpad

Step Ten:

Flip the feather pad back over and run the silver snap clip through the ribbon

Volia!

Pret-a-Porter!

Technorati Tags: feathers, gender presentation, pretty