My Little Juliet ...

Late one night during March Break of 2007, Romeo & Juliet, the Movie, came on one of the Movie Channels, totally uninterrupted and commercial free! This was indeed a rarity, as we only had 2 Movie Channels in Haliburton, and they rarely had anything decent to watch, especially at times such as March Breaks!

No, this was not the 2005 'remake' of Romeo & Juliet with Leonardo DiCaprio and some girl as Juliet, done as a 'musical', with a gang-like 50's kind of twisted Westside Story version of Romeo & Juliet, but THE REAL Romeo & Juliet Movie!

We're talking about the movie made in the late 60's, with some virtually unknowns as actors in the leading roles as Romeo and Juliet, who reproduced the story, and spoke the lines word verbatim, as Shakespeare himself had written them, expecting that they be played the way he had written these lines.

Well! I thought I'd died and gone to heaven, since it was one of my all-time favourite movies from when I was in my early teens. I asked my daughters if they would like to stay up late and watch the movie with me ... if for nothing other than to see the costumes that the actors wore in this 'old' movie.

After watching "Romeo & Juliet" with me that night, my daughter Becky, age 11 at the time, exclaimed: "We just HAVE TO BUY IT, Mummy!!"

A new DVD/CD Store had just opened up in town, so playing this long shot (we're talking Haliburton, here people) I thought I'd just call first, to see if they would even be able to order a copy of this 'ancient' movie we'd seen the night before on TV.

Expecting to hear the words "Sorry Ma'am, That Movie is Not Available To Order, Ma'am.", to my complete and utter surprise and delight, the woman on the phone told me that she had a brand new DVD copy on the shelf that she would sell to me for $15.99! Now how awesome was that?! I mean, to actually HAVE a copy of a movie that had to have gone out of production at least 40 years ago?

But wait! It gets even better! Just before the kids got out for March Break, Becky had won a $10.00 Voucher to this new Video Store I had just called, because she was the only student in their school to guess correctly, the total number of Gum Balls in this giant container in the School Office. And here I was afraid of spending too much money trying to keep them entertained during the March Break! Silly me! What a great way to use up Becky's Video/DVD Voucher, get a movie she really wanted, and save me a few bucks at the same time! Life was good!

Well, suffice it to say that upon securing a brand new DVD of this very old film, one run through the DVD and the Bonus Features on the disc, and my daughter was hooked! She became so obsessed with this movie, the storyline, the language, the time period, the costumes and the characters themselves, that it began to occupy what seemed like her every waking moment that entire March Break. We actually went to the Library so she could check out Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet in print, because she wanted to read the story for herself, can you believe that? I know, it was a stretch for me too ... an 11-year-old, reading Sharkespeare? ... exactly ... but she did!

All of a sudden, my most beautiful reams of delicate, fancy fabrics were fashioned into what looked like gowns of that period. My daughter not only began to dress like Juliet for almost all of that March Break, she wanted to wear her hair like Juliet, and yes, she even began to speak in the 'old English' tongue, and talk as Juliet herself, would have spoken.

How many time I rolled my eyes, and giggled, I can not count. I actually enjoyed watching her play Juliet, as she was getting quite good at it, and it was certainly keeping her entertained while the -40 C weather outside kept the kids inside for most of the 3 weeks they had off that March.

After the endless hours Bec spent watching Romeo & Juliet The Movie, and so many, many, more hours she spent crafting, folding, and creating her beautiful Juliet dresses (wrapped only - NO PINS, as Mummy would blow a gasket if her expensive, one-of-a-kind dress-dress fabrics were torn while she was playing dress-up; "A Spankable Offense!" she knew for certain), she just turned into a real-life Juliet before our very eyes (Emma, her older sister, and myself)!

Aunt Marie had managed to score a week off from work to drive up for a week's visit with her kids that March Break, and having seen some of the things that Aunt Marie had done with beads (she gave each of the girls a Poinsettia made completely of beads for Christmas just a few months earlier), my daughter asked her Aunt Marie if she would or could make her a beaded skull-cap, JUST like the one Juliet wore in the movie?

Well, for Marie, that was about all it took! Marie asked Becky if she could find a picture of what said "Skull Cap" should look like, and thus our hunt on the Internet began, to find Aunt Marie, the perfect picture from which to work.

Once Marie had an idea of what this Skull Cap should look like, and how it should be worn on the head, upon Aunt Marie's arrival in Haliburton later that week, Becky had her prize! While it may not have been identical to the one Juliet wore in the movie, it was certainly close enough, in Becky's opinion. She was thrilled with it, and wore it the entire time she was off school, and a number of times since then as well!

The reason I decided to write this Blog in the first place, is because right here beside the Computer is Becky's Juliet Skull Cap, still very much cherished, all in one piece, and worn just earlier this evening as she decided to revisit her role as Juliet once again, these 3 years later!

I just thought I'd show you some of the other things Marie has done with beads, that were not exactly on her "List of Things To Do!" List, if you know what I mean.

I knew I had taken pictures of her Juliet Dress-Up time, complete with Beaded Skull Cap, so I thought I'd show you how beautiful it turned out, and you can see for yourself why Becky was so pleased with it.

And, if any of you are worrying about 'copyright infringement', where the the picture of Juliet's Skull Cap is concerned, don't be! The picture Marie crafted her Skull Cap from, was a Crocheted variety of a Skull Cap, not a Beaded Skull Cap. Marie merely used the picture to give her an idea of the look of a Skull Cap from this time period, and how it was to be worn on a young woman's head.

Marie does not appreciate other people copying her designs, so she would never think to copy someone else's designs to her own end.