Hello from Utah

[chelzzz10]

Hey everyone! My name is Chelsea, and I joined Mernetwork about a month ago. Sorry I haven't introduced myself sooner!

So a couple things about me...

I grew up in Orange County, CA but now I live with my husband, Sam and golden doodle puppy named Stella near Provo, UT.

I work as a customer service rep at a call center and my husband is going to school.

I am a Mormon and I went on a mission for my church in Cincinnati, Ohio! It was an amazing, challenging experience and I am so glad that I went.

I moved to Utah afterward and then met my husband here.

I've always loved mermaids. I was one of those kids that would watch The Little Mermaid every day, and then pretend to be a mermaid every time I went to the beach or a swimming pool. One time when I was little my mom caught me sticking my legs in a pillowcase... :lol: As I grew older I kinda grew out of it, as most people probably do. I always loved swimming though, and I was on a swim team in high school which gave me the opportunity to work on my swimming technique and breath hold. At that point I never thought to be a mermaid though.

After high school I started living real life, and I got into a rut this past year because I tried and failed at a new career path, and I was feeling really discouraged. I just kept thinking about how much I wanted to have a "thing" that I could put my heart and soul into that could also help me have a business. I realized after looking around that there were people actually making mermaiding into a hobby, or even a career! It blew my mind! Then all my childhood fantasies came back and I was reminded of how much I love mermaids and swimming and the ocean... And I absolutely love working with kids. Right now it just feels like such a perfect thing for me. The funny thing is I still haven't bought a mermaid tail or even a monofin yet. But I'm making serious plans to in the next couple of weeks! Just gotta make sure I have the money, haha.

Just a question for you mer-people--I'm trying to decide what I want to do for my tail. I understand that it's not recommended to have a silicone tail be my first one (and there's no way I could afford one right now anyway), but I was trying to figure out a way that I can make a fabric or neoprene tail that looks realistic enough, but doesn't cost and arm and a leg... What have you all done to make your tails look spiffy?

Thanks guys!

[Agent Dragon]

YAY! Another Mormon! Can't wait to see more of you around here!
Something I've been aching to try to make is a sequin tail. I love the look of the individual scales! I haven't made one yet, but there are plenty of mers who have and I'm sure you can find some threads full of tips and tricks. Whatever you choose, I wish you luck!
PS: I have a golden doodle too! Her name is Ceres.


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[Slim]

Welcome to the Mernetwork. Beyond the the Great Salt Lake, it must be had to find water to swim in. I lived in Summit County about 20 minutes west of Park City back in 2000. I think there is an ATT call center in your area. I only lived that in that area for 9 months. Welcome :)

[Marriih]

Welcome to MerNetwork!

About fabric tails not being realistic enough... That's why I still haven't made one after a long time of thinking. Neoprene is thicker than the usual swimwear fabric and would make for a slightly better looking tail, but it's more expensive and, from what I've seen so far, harder to paint realistically. Especially if you want the colors on the waist to fade into the tone of your skin. I still haven't figured that out either.

[chelzzz10]

Thanks, everyone for the warm welcome! Strangely enough there are a few lakes, swimming pools and reservoirs you can swim in, but I'm still trying to find one that has the beautiful clear water you Floridians enjoy! The closest thing I can think of is Bear Lake up at the border of Idaho, but it still doesn't come close!


As for my tail, I think I'm just going to need pick SOMETHING otherwise I'm just never going to do it. So first step, monofin, second, try to come up with a tail haha. I thought I read somewhere that some people will paint with acrylic and then seal it with a layer of silicone? I just hope that the silicone wouldn't peel off. If it didn't then that might be a solution for the neoprene. But yes, then it starts getting expensive.

[Mermaid Tula]

Welcome! It's nice to have more mer's nearby! I'm up in Pocatello, Idaho. I know there's a few mers in SLC. If you're ever gunna be in Poky, drop me a message. I know a few mer-freindly pools. ^__^

It depends on the fabric. I've seen custom made fabric (more expensive than regular swim fabric) that is very realistic.

[Mermaid.Mikayla]

It's nice to meet you Chelsea. Welcome to MerNetwork!

As far as creating a realistic and cheap tail, or buying one: I would suggest looking at the tail making forums. One of the tails I own is a FinFun tail which isn't that expensive, its only around two hundred dollars and the fabric is made to look extremely realistic; the fabric looks like scales. Another option would be to make a sequin tail; you sew shell sequins (or any sequin that you want) onto scuba or neoprene fabric. This would cost around the same price, not including buying yourself a monofin which (depending on your foot size) is roughly 40-100 dollars.

If you want a cheaper tail, I would suggest either buying from FinFun, or start looking at the fabric tails to find a realistic one you like. Good luck!

[mermaidawesome]

Hey Chelsea! I am also near Provo UT! We should meet up for a swim! I have a some FinFun tails and a Mahina that you could try!

[chelzzz10]

Hey Chelsea! I am also near Provo UT! We should meet up for a swim! I have a some FinFun tails and a Mahina that you could try!
Omg Minya I didn't see your message until just now! I would totally love that! I actually just got a rapid monofin but I'd love to try a fin fun! Where do you usually swim?

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[merdev]

Hey! I'm in Draper! I've made a few fabric tails if you need some help. We can always meet up for swimming or tailmaking!

[chelzzz10]

Hey! I'm in Draper! I've made a few fabric tails if you need some help. We can always meet up for swimming or tailmaking!
Hey! I'm down! PM me! 😀

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[Sea~Phoenix Savannah]

Hey everyone! My name is Chelsea, and I joined Mernetwork about a month ago. Sorry I haven't introduced myself sooner!

So a couple things about me...

I grew up in Orange County, CA but now I live with my husband, Sam and golden doodle puppy named Stella near Provo, UT.

I work as a customer service rep at a call center and my husband is going to school.

I am a Mormon and I went on a mission for my church in Cincinnati, Ohio! It was an amazing, challenging experience and I am so glad that I went.

I moved to Utah afterward and then met my husband here.

I've always loved mermaids. I was one of those kids that would watch The Little Mermaid every day, and then pretend to be a mermaid every time I went to the beach or a swimming pool. One time when I was little my mom caught me sticking my legs in a pillowcase... :lol: As I grew older I kinda grew out of it, as most people probably do. I always loved swimming though, and I was on a swim team in high school which gave me the opportunity to work on my swimming technique and breath hold. At that point I never thought to be a mermaid though.

After high school I started living real life, and I got into a rut this past year because I tried and failed at a new career path, and I was feeling really discouraged. I just kept thinking about how much I wanted to have a "thing" that I could put my heart and soul into that could also help me have a business. I realized after looking around that there were people actually making mermaiding into a hobby, or even a career! It blew my mind! Then all my childhood fantasies came back and I was reminded of how much I love mermaids and swimming and the ocean... And I absolutely love working with kids. Right now it just feels like such a perfect thing for me. The funny thing is I still haven't bought a mermaid tail or even a monofin yet. But I'm making serious plans to in the next couple of weeks! Just gotta make sure I have the money, haha.

Just a question for you mer-people--I'm trying to decide what I want to do for my tail. I understand that it's not recommended to have a silicone tail be my first one (and there's no way I could afford one right now anyway), but I was trying to figure out a way that I can make a fabric or neoprene tail that looks realistic enough, but doesn't cost and arm and a leg... What have you all done to make your tails look spiffy?

Thanks guys!

Hello chelzzz10 and welcome!
I don't know how many other Latter Day Saints there are on MerNetwork, but it's always nice to see another one. That's a really cool mission, I've actually never met someone who regretted it.

That pillowcase thing is adorable!

There are quite a few mermaid businesses not only in the Americas but throughout the world, Raina even has a book out on just that subject and from what I hear it's a great read.

Yeah silicone tails have a pretty big learning curve, nevermind how expensive they are! There are a few online retailers (spandex house, spandex world) as well as your local fabric store that sell "fish scale" fabrics, most of which look very spiffy all by themselves. You can also add fabric paint for your own personal touches and even go so far as to cover it in silicone (platinum cure dragonskin is the best). If you choose to go that route. You could also buy a fabric tail from places like Fin Fun (for which the cost for me was $140 (limited edition tail) including the monofin and shipping to Texas, but Fin Fun is closer to Utah so the shipping for you would most likely be cheaper). Fin Fun's tails do look very real for fabric tails, some have (pardon my awkward description) little circles of plastic film attached for added texture on top of the vividly printed fabric with a scale pattern. Good luck on the tail adventure!

Wow Agent Dragon! So ambitious! After considering it for quite a while and coming up with a few designs I came to the conclusion that I would rather pay someone to make a scale tail for me. It definitely takes a certain type of person.

[Mermaid Arietta]

I am also LDS and I live in Bountiful! I didn't have the opportunity to serve a mission because I was married instead but someday I want to. I have wanted to be a mermaid and I never grew out of it. I made it into a local mermaid pod and I'm so excited! I have never been able to justify buying a tail but now that I know I will use it I am saving up and ordering a silicone/neoprene tail from etsy.

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[Agent Dragon]

I am also LDS and I live in Bountiful! I didn't have the opportunity to serve a mission because I was married instead but someday I want to. I have wanted to be a mermaid and I never grew out of it. I made it into a local mermaid pod and I'm so excited! I have never been able to justify buying a tail but now that I know I will use it I am saving up and ordering a silicone/neoprene tail from etsy.

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Wow, there are more of us LDS mers than I thought! Out of curiosity: what are some ideas you guys have for swim tops that uphold modesty standards?


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[Sea~Phoenix Savannah]

I like tankinis, if you use a flesh tone fabric for the stomach part it gives the illusion that you're wearing a bikini. You could also wear a rashgaurd. In fact someone posted a whole thread about modest tops *runs off to find it*

[Sea~Phoenix Savannah]

There are actually a few! The one I was originally thinking of: https://mernetwork.com/index/showthread.php?14815-Modest-mermaid
And this too: https://mernetwork.com/index/showthread.php?949-Modest-Mermaid-Tops
A quick search (try "modest mermaid" in tops & accessories) should bring up the others, the ones for mers with big boobs could also help.

[chelzzz10]

Look at my fb page @shellseathemermaid and you'll see the top I made 😊 I bought one of those nude colored shapewear tops and basically just glued a bunch of seashells and pearls to it. It looks cute when I have it on but it's a pain to get off lol

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