hoops

Hoop-tastic Weekend, Part 1

Posted on by jennabee25

I had a fantastic weekend of hooping out in Snow Shoe, PA.  I hooped, I took video, and I got to do a lot of playing around with my LED hoop.  I even bought a kiddie hoop at Snow Shoe’s Dollar General. 

I’m going to break down my hoopy fun in separate posts here, but I thought I’d give you a taste of what’s to come in the next few days.  First, I will tell you about my kiddie hoop.

I know kiddie hoops don’t have much value for adults, but they are fun to toss around, at least I think so.  The hoops were outside the store, and I picked one up and twirled it and did isolations through out the store absentmindedly.  When it came time to check out, the cashier said, jokingly, that if someone is going to buy a hoop, they had to demonstrate that they can use a hoop.  Ha, I thought, and I did some waist hooping in front of the register.  The cashier was impressed.

Here’s the kiddie hoop being hanging of what I like to call “Redneck Hoop Storage.”  Bucky here decorates part of the hunting lodge me and my family were staying in.  I couldn’t resist the urge to “decorate” him.

I did take some videos, but I will get to those another day.  Some were good, others were horrible.  The most fun I had, though, was playing with my LED hoop in a place where there wasn’t too much extra light.  The effects were awesome!

I did long exposures when I did my light painting.  This photo here was specifically done for the light painting effect and not necessarily hooping.  I also did some posing photos with my hoops that I will share later.

I guess since I was flipping the hoop here, it can be considered hooping.  I don’t know.  It’s just a cool photos, really.  I will have more led hooping photos on another day, too.

Stay tuned!  I will have some awesome stuff coming up for you in a few days.

2014 PA Burlesque Festival

Posted on by jennabee25

Ah, so this is the is the amazing and cool thing I did this weekend that I teased about last week!  My friend Amber and I went to the 2014 PA Burlesque Festival in Jim Thorpe, PA.  It was awesome!

We got there in time for our first class, and discovered what a funky and fun town Jim Thorpe is.  It has a lot of nice, small shops and good dining.  It’s scenic and cute, and they have a train line that goes through the town that people ride for leisure.

We got to the Mauch Chunk Museum Ballroom where the classes were being held, as well as the festival’s bazaar. We had met up with Amber’s roller derby friend Vanity and headed on over to class.  There were a lot of really pretty fascinators, clothing, a small photo studio, and, or course, really beautiful pasties and gear for all your burlesque needs.

Amber and I enrolled in Burlesque 101 with the beautiful and petite burlesque performer Medianoche. She was a great teacher and had us learn the basics of burlesque movement and how to remove gloves.  We even did a short choreography at the end.  Here we are with Medianoche in the middle.  I’m second one in from the right hand side, and Amber is beside me in the pink tank top.  Vanity is two to the left hand side from Amber.

Vanity, Amber, and I then explored the Jim Thorpe a little bit after class, had lunch, and found a store called Horizons that had something that caught my eye and I had to play with.  HOOPS!

They were beautiful and I might try to figure out how to make the fabric covered ones.  The store had hoops outside that you can play with, and, duh, I did!

The next class was with the fantastic burlesque legend Penny Starr.  At 81, she still performs and knows how to work her stuff.  Amber and I talked to her a little bit before the class, and she was so sweet to us.  Oh, but when an 81-year-old burlesque legend sternly tells you its time for class, you listen.  She had many pearls of wisdom to impart of her students.

Vanity had left after the first class, and Amber and I had some time to kill before the Big Reveal, the festival show and competition that was being held at the Mauch Chunk Opera House.  After pizza, Amber and I headed up to the opera house and found our seats.

What a show!  All the performers were outstanding and it was hard to choose a favorite.  Congratulations to Poison Ivory, who won the Crystal Corset Award and for her amazing act!  All of the ladies and ‘Stache, the only gentleman performer, did a fantastic job and their confidence is inspiring.

It was a great day, with a little travel adventure thrown in.  Oh, Google, if you’re reading this, please do not route two girls from out of town on a road that has a sign that says “Travel Road at Your Own Risk.”  It might be terrifying for them.  Though, it did make for a good story and laugh.  It was either that or cry.

Shiny Hoops and Class Reboot

Posted on by jennabee25

There were A LOT of people at the start of Jenny’s new session of the core class.  Some were there for the first time, and others, like me, were there for the second time around.  Or third, even!  She kept all levels of hoopers there occupied by either trying new things as a group, or sectioning the two levels of experience off there, showing one group one, and the other a more advanced move.  It was so much fun, as usual!

To the right is a heavily edited picture of one of the hoops I made.  I used purple electrical tape as the base, and got some indigo sun tape and white gaffer tape from Hoopologie.  Gaffer tape causes me stress if I use it as a base.  It does not cooperate.  When I use it on top of the electrical tape, though, things go much better.  The indigo sun tape was paper backed, so I cut into strips as I applied it somewhat haphazardly.  Still, the effect is cool.  I was surprised that the indigo tape wasn’t solid, but rather translucent.  It’s pretty neat, otherwise.

Another girl in class, Tara, made some hoops, too, using a lighter type of piping, namely 100 psi tubing.  I’ve been using 160 psi.  After discovering this, we’re both going to cut piping in the size of the hoops the other wants, and trade what we have.  I want lighter hoops, and she wants heavier.  It all works out!

So, that’s the hooping scoop for this week.

Good Stuff

Posted on by jennabee25

I’ve had a good past couple of days, despite the snowstorm we got yesterday in the Northeast.  I’ve had enough of snow.  It’s cramping the time I can hoop outside.

First, Jenny extended me the honor of joining her hooping troop.  I accepted and am very excited about this!  This is awesome.  This feels GOOD.  I’m a part of group and it’s doing something I LOVE.  I can’t wait to dig in.  I was giggling and smiling all day Monday when I get the news.  I even danced around the living room. 

Second, I made a really sweet looking hoop using dollar store tape.  It it’s gorgeous and I can’t wait to try it out.  I would have sooner, but that dumb snowstorm………  I’ll have to try it out during class tomorrow.   Take a look below.  My taping skills are not the greatest, but I am getting better.

So, good stuff is happening in the hooping end of my life. 

Makin’ Hoops

Posted on by jennabee25

I’m the type of person if there is a way to DIY something, I will give it a try, at least once.  I’ve made my own knitting equipment, for example, rather than purchase the tool for twice as much as the parts cost to make it.  Or, I see a craft project and I HAVE to do it, just to see if I CAN do it.

It was only a matter of time before I started to make hoops.

With some advice from Jenny (no duct tape!), and her excellent instructions, I got the tools and supplies I needed to make and tape hoops.  I now own my own pair of ratcheting PVC cutters. 

Saturday morning was like Christmas.  Rather than start Friday when I was tired, I decided to wait until the next morning to start, especially when working with a sharp tool.  I gathered my stuff and got to business. 

I made five hoops from the pipe coil I bought.  I only made five because that how many connectors I had purchased.  I still have some pipe left over, so another trip to the hardware store is in order.

I used electrical tape to tape my hoops.  I also found “laser tape” at the dollar store to make stripes.  It worked decently, surprisingly.  I’m also going to give Washi tape a shot, too. 

Above are two of the hoops I made.  The multi-colored one is for Deb, and the green “laser tape” one is for myself. There’s a third like the color blocked one, too.

It takes A LOT of electrical tape to tape a hoop.  I bought a lot of the black stuff  at the dollar store while the colored stuff is five rolls of different colors for about $10 a shot.

I am having so much fun with this.  It’s going to be fun to make my own custom hoops!

Over a Barrel

Posted on by jennabee25

Memo to the Barrel Roll Trick:  You will be mastered.

At class last night I met The Barrel Roll Trick, and once again, my brain couldn’t process it correctly.  The stupid thing is, though, I’ll probably go outside tomorrow and be able to do it just fine.  I guess my noggin needs some time to process certain tricks.  The Weave was like for me, too, and I can do that pretty well now.

Last night we circled up and shared how we got into hooping.  One woman was there because she could never do it as a child and wanted to prove to others and herself that she could.  Well, all I can say was that she hooping pretty well last night with her shiny new hoop she purchased from our teacher, Jenny.

I’ve got a long weekend coming up.  Yay!  I’m going to attempt to make some hoops.  I have instructions and advice, courtesy of Jenny, and the supplies waiting to be picked up at a local hardware store.  Let the DIY fun begin.