Happy 4rth of July!  I finished another Arabian costume, yesterday actually, and just got pictures of it this morning.  This costume was a commission for my friend Diane.  She said she would love something in purple and teal, some of her favorite colors, and then even better she gave me complete artistic freedom to create this for her.  I am really happy with how this one came out.  Due to the color scheme and added flash I would consider this one show ring style, but there is some native style mixed into this set also.  Here it is pictured on my Boot Scootin' Boogie:

I think my favorite part of this costume is the bridle.  I didn't know right away how I wanted this bridle to look.  I let the drape develop quite a ways before it really came to me, and I even had a different headstall already put together when I changed my mind.  I wanted something elegant and flashy.  One night while trying to sleep (naturally this always happens to me) the idea for this bridle just flashed through my mind and I just knew how I wanted it to look!

I'd also never attempted a poll piece before on one of my bridles and wanted to try my hand at it.  Using extra material left over from the construction of the drape I was able to create the poll piece.

Teal and purple are perhaps some of the most difficult colors to find for an Arabian costume, especially if the end result is native style.  I wasn't sure I was going to find something until one night I accidentally fell across these beautiful iron on applique's in these colors.  The drape pattern is actually constructed from these appliques, they were cut and custom assembled, hand embroidered and accented with rhinestones and nail heads to make the design they came out to be, and they were not square in shape to begin with, that is something I had to make them become, but I couldn't be happier with how they came out, and how truly one-of-a-kind they are!  The combination of colors, rhinestones and gold accents shaped this costume into more of a flashy show ring style with native influence.

I made this set to fit the Peter Stone Arabian, and Rasha.  The bridle especially fits Rasha really well.  I think the overall style is a good fit for Rasha being that she is in that hand gallop/cantering show ring pose anyway, and this is a show ring costume.  

And there you have it, now I have two costumes done and just two more to go for the month!  Hopefully I will finish up my next costume sometime next week!  Stay tuned to see more soon!

Thanks for reading and happy collecting!

Melissa Halvas :0)