Field Trip: Santa Cruz Monarch Butterflies (haiku)

This Danaus plexippus is vacationing in a valley of
Eucalyptus trees at Natural Bridges State Park in Santa Cruz

Monarch Butterfly

Just a flew months, then you fly

Off to make babies

Monarch butterflies generally leave the Rocky Mountains to visit us in the fall and stay on until February, at which time they return home to their stomping grounds in the Rockies.  You can see them at Natural Bridges State Park in Santa Cruz, as well as Pacific Grove, Carmel, and a few scattered locations that people might tell you about, if you're lucky enough to be let in on the secret.

Another reason to always be nice and friendly!

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Resources

Natural Bridges State Beach: http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=541

Monarch Butterfly Migration: http://www.monarch-butterfly.com/monarch-migration.html

Bustiers: Not a Corset! (Plus Free Printable Ephemera)

This imaginary bustier is the inspiration for my bustier class project. I plan to create my first bustier in dark blue denim, with an exposed zipper.  The pink roses on this illustration, are simply a princess touch for this bookmark/luggage tag*!

Since I started Lynda Maynard's bustier sewing class at Cañada, I've been pinning a lot of bustiers, imagining what I hope to sew myself.

There's some confusion out on the web about the difference between a bustier and a corset (I think some images that I've pinned may really be corsets, but the fabric and embellishments are so pretty I can't resist!). Here's what Lynda taught us about the difference between these two garments.

A Bustier 

... derives it's shape from the figure

A Corset

 ... imposes a shape on the figure. A corset compresses and reforms the  figure, usually diminishing it by at least three inches. (And yes those three inches have to go somewhere!)

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Resources

Laurel's Bustiers Board on Pinterest : http://www.pinterest.com/lrshimer/sewingbustiersinspiration/

And stop by and check out some of my other sewing boards! http://www.pinterest.com/lrshimer/

Cañada College Fashion Program, Redwood City, CA
http://canadacollegefashion.com

Lynda Maynard
http://canadacollegefashion.com/blog/2013/11/instructor-lynda-maynard/

Bustiers: Class Pattern

http://www.meencantacoser.blogspot.com/2014/01/bustier-class-pattern.html

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Printable Ephemera

Feel free to drag the bustier graphic off to your desktop, and print it to use as a bookmark or luggage tag. I insert mine into a Word file , duplicating several of the images on one page and sometimes resizing it to fit the document boundaries. Then I print those images on card stock paper. I hole punch the marker at the top, and loop a piece of decorative ribbon through that. A few beads or pearls on the end of the ribbon would add a lovely touch!

Smaller Size for Printing

Larger Size for Printing