Across the city of New Orleans, just before and all during, women (and men too) are breaking out the glitter. We are in prep mode for our parades across the city in Cleopatra, Muses, Nyx, King Arthur and more. Each parade has its signature throw, and it has been declared that it must be covered in glitter. There are even coveted toilet plungers bedazzled in glitter to be caught at Tucks. And around this time, the glitter memes start popping up in our feeds, again and again. You’ve seen them… the ones about how glitter is the herpes of the craft world, and then the ones that say you really should just burn down your house because you will never escape the glitter once it has moved in.
Well, I’m here to tell you glitter is life.
I ride in Cleopatra, in which we glitter wine cups to hand out to the crowds that come to see us roll by. This is my second year in Cleo, and this year my husband and I have also added the Krewe of King Arthur to our carnival season. We will be riding together with friends; it will be his first time, as well as theirs. And I was THRILLED to learn that this too would involve more glittering. Yay! In King Arthur, we glitter grails. So I am knee … I mean forehead deep … in glittering. A lot of glittering. Drowning in it really. And I absolutely love it.
Who does not like to sparkle? I adore my stock of Elektra Cosmetics bolt balms; they are the perfect cosmetic glitter accessory for parades, balls, parties, and even football games when you need that extra touch of sparkle and fun. Granted with the amount of glitter currently flying through my house, my drinks and my food are covered too … even I sparkle at school walk-up, at work, the gym, the grocery store, at the doctor’s office … you get the idea. It’s a shiny time of year for me.
It has given my daughters and me something extra special to bond over, something is unique to growing up in New Orleans.
Being that they are eight and almost seven, they love all things sparkly! My girls have watched me glitter for a few years now (I have assisted with Nyx purses and Muses shoes for years), and this year was the first year that I felt confident enough to let them truly assist and learn different techniques. They’ve sat with me for hours helping glitter cups, while I’ve taught them about what it means to be a part of a Krewe and the hierarchy that goes into becoming a queen of a Krewe. They stand in front of my glitter / decoration stockpile (I think it is time to get a dedicated glitter room in our house, right husband???) carefully selecting color schemes and debating the merits of chunky and fine glitter. I love that we have this unique experience together that cannot be found outside of our carnival season. I absolutely have future riders on my hands and that makes me so happy. My husband even got in on it for one day as well when we glittered with our fellow KA friends. While it was definitely not for him, he has accepted that the glitter is just a part of our life now. The other day he stated that “There appears to be more mermaid on the floor than on the cups!” and I just swooned because he did not call it “blue glitter trash.” He is learning!
It brings out the craftier side in you that you did not even know existed.
For my birthday this past month, I hosted a champagne and glitter party in which I invited friends to come and glitter cups with me. I was a little nervous about it; I get that getting glitter in your life is not for everyone. But my girlfriends really got into it and they delivered! We had a great time glittering all the things, and I got quite a few cute cups to toss out of it. I do not even think they realized they were working in my little glitter sweatshop, thanks to the champagne.
We are winding down our glitter season, as our parades roll this weekend! While I am always excited to roll, it makes me a little sad to put it all away. A lot of love, fun, and wine went into our beloved glitter treasures and we hope you find joy in them as well.
