Stuff I've Made (Other Than Babies)

Apologies...

2012-02-01T12:21:00.000-08:00

I've been a terrible blogger. I've decided to revamp my blog before I update it. My posts are usually so lengthy and "blah," but making stuff is FUN and I want my blog to reflect that. I've also moved across the state, misplaced my camera cord, and gone through TWO new phones (how do I get those pictures?)

Here's some stuff I've completed, but haven't posted:
She-Ra Costume
Captain America (girl) Costume
another "bamBEANo"
School Spirit T-shirt
Girl Scout Quilt
She-Ra doll
Bath salts
Spray bottle art
Sit Upons
Cow costumes
Lemonade Day tutu
Dia de los Muertos veils
Monster Spaghetti
sock monkey twins for my cousin
family tree book
holiday candies
husband's quilt
a "cheater" pirate costume
photo shadow box for the girls
Halloween costumes 2010- Dia de los Muertos Catrina and Swiper the Fox
punched "tin" ornaments
girl scout banner
girl scout shirts
gingerbread house (troop effort)

Creepy Monster Finger Cookies, Finger Breadsticks, Olive Bread Bites

2010-10-30T15:44:00.000-07:00

Monster Fingers: There are several recipes for similar cookies out there. This is sort of a combination recipe. Feel free to substitute- I'm a big fan of using whatever I happen to have on hand.

Makes about 3 dozen crunchy cookies.

1 c sugar (I used 1/2 c refined + 1/2 c. turbinado cane sugar)
1 c Butter, softened
1 Egg
1 tsp Almond extract
1 tsp Vanilla extract
2 2/3 cups Flour (I used about 2 1/3 c wheat flour + about 1/3 c flax seed meal.)
1 tsp Salt
spices of your choice (I used a dash of ground cloves, ginger, cinnamon, and just a sprinkle of cayenne.)
2 1/4 oz. package of whole almonds (about 3/4 cup)
red food coloring (I added a drop of green, too.)
a clean paint brush
2 squares or a handful of chocolate/chocolate chips or butterscotch chips
a ziplock baggy or a piping bag

Mix the first 5 ingredients together. Then add flour and salt. Mix well. If it seems dry, add a little melted butter. The finished dough will still be a little crumbly. Divide the dough into 4 even balls and place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

While the dough firms up, lay out a clean raggy towel. Be sure to use a towel you're not too fond of. Dilute a few drops of food coloring with a bit of water. Lay the almonds out on the towel (to keep them from wiggling) and use the brush to paint the "nails." Set aside to dry. Heat the oven to 325 degrees.

Only work with one dough ball at a time, as the dough needs to remain chilled in order to form decent fingers. Remove one dough ball from the fridge, and divide it into 8-10 equal sized small chunks. Working on a clean counter, shape these small chunks into fingers- the skinnier the better, as they will spread out and fatten in the oven. Your fingers can be different lengths, but for even baking try to have them all be the same thickness. Press an almond into the end of the cookie, then use a knife to score the "knuckle" areas. Place cookies on baking sheet (I used parchment paper) and bake for 20-25 minutes, until the bottoms begin to brown.

Allow cookies to cool completely. To melt the chocolate, I use a small rectangular "tupperware" container. Fill the container about 1/3- 1/2 with water. Put the chocolate in a zipper baggie. Then a I place the baggie in the water, folding the opening of the bag around the rim of the container. This keeps the bag from slumping into the water. (I found that when I microwave it with the bag zipped, the bag melts.) Zap the chocolate container in the microwave for about 30 seconds. Then remove the bag a knead it to melt any lumps. Now seal the zipper and snip a tiny corner for piping. The almonds will be falling out of the cookies, which is what you want. It leaves a perfect hollow on the end of the cookie, so pipe a bit of chocolate in there and poke the nail back on. I like the way the chocolate fills the "nail bed" and makes it look icky.

I glazed some of the cookies- and they were wonderful! I put the leftover chocolate in a bowl, added 1/3 c. cornstarch, some pineapple juice, 1/2 cup sugar, and enough water to make it a little runny.Stir. Microwave for about 45 seconds and stir again. It will probably look weird, but you're only putting a thin layer on each cookie and the finished product looks great. I used a silicone cooking brush for a light glazing. It sets up firm and dry, a little less sticky than a chocolate glazed donut. (The glazed ones are on the green tray in the first picture. You can click on it to enlarge the image.)

My mix of ingredients make a fairly dense cookie- which would be nice for dipping in hot chocolate, or serving along side some chocolate or vanilla frosting for dipping.

We'll see how they go over at the Halloween party...
*Back from the party. They went over very well. I also made some other "finger foods" - finger breadsticks with a balsamic vinegar/garlic olive oil dip. You can use refrigerated breadstick dough, cut and shape like fingers, then put a dab of shredded mozzarella on the end and cover with half a black or green olive, or even better, a piece of sun-dried tomato as a fingernail. I got all fancy and rolled out the dough first, sprinkled it with Parmesan and garlic, then folded it up so the breadsticks had yumminess inside. I also sprinkled paprika on top for a little color, but again- work with what you've got.

I had some olives and sun-dried tomatoes left over, so I got out a can of crescent rolls, cut each triangle in half the long way, then sprinkled on mozzerella. On the fat end I placed an olive half and some chopped tomato, then rolled it up sort of like a pig-in-a-blanket. After they came out of the oven, all warm and gooey, I dipped them in the balsamic oil and man were they YUMMY!

Beanie Dress

2010-06-10T08:39:00.000-07:00

When my 8 year old was 3, she had a little red dress she wore all the time. I bought some fabric and decided to make her a purple one. I did it all by hand and nearly finished the darned thing, but- like so many projects- it got set to the side and forgotten about. I found it a few weeks ago, and now my younger daughter is approaching three years old...so of course I finished it! She loves loves loves to wear dresses. I do want to go over my stitching with the sewing machine to reinforce everything for it's inevitable toddler abuse.

It was difficult to get Bean to sit still, but here she is modeling her new dress:

Look at the sandal tan on her little feet!

(You can click the images for a larger view.)

Altered Book: Little Red Cap

2010-02-11T15:33:00.000-08:00

A few weeks before Christmas, I entered Paisley's Christmas Craft gift exchange.
I received Bonnie of Love Your Place. Upon reading about her, I found that she has an interest in old illustrations from children's books and decided I'd compile some images and make an altered book.

Here are some awesome inspirational shots by other crafters:

from here.

Su Blackwell technically does book-cut sculptures- but OH MY GOODNESS! amazing!

Su Blackwell website

and

Su Blackwell blog.

And check out Canvas to the Imagination and Pavonine Studios for more fabulous books.

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I'd been wanting to do a project like this for some time, and found it trickier than I'd imagined. Most of the ones I've seen are art pieces, not meant to be opened and closed- but I wanted mine to tell the story. After gluing so many pages together, they wouldn't turn they way I wanted them to, but I finally got the project to come together and I was quite pleased with it. I chose a Little Red Riding Hood theme. I purchased a random hard cover book at a resale shop, hacked it up, and put it back together with illustrations from the internet, along with some I found in the Elizabeth D. Crawford translation of Grimm's fairy tale- I also used the words from that particular book to tell the story. The books illustrations are by Lisbeth Zwerger. I will make an attempt at giving credit to all of the illustrators- but many of the pages I pulled the images from did not state the original source.
Here is the completed altered book. (You can read the story and enlarge the pictures by clicking on them.)

Cover, and attached bookmark/gift tag.

The artwork on the tag is from the Graphics Fairy. I love that Red has holly tucked in her little bundle, so fitting for a Christmas gift!
Cover framework: searching for image credits... Cover inset: searching for image credits...

Title Page

Little Red-Cap illustration by Lisbeth Zwerger

Pages 1 and 2

Page 1- Little Red Riding Hood, illustrated in a 1927 story anthology

Page 2- Left: Little Red Riding Hood, Walter Crane
Right: Little Red-Cap illustration by Lisbeth Zwerger

Pages 3 and 4

Page3-Little Red Riding Hood Meets the Wolf in the Woods, Walter Crane

Page 4- Top: searching for image credits...
Bottom: Little Red Riding Hood, Cory Godbey

Pages 5 and 6

This spread is a collage of illustrations: Vogue editorial shoot + Little Red Riding Hood, James McPartlin + Forest, Andead. The wolf is hiding behind a tree on Page 6. You can just make out his form and his eyes...

Pages 7 and 8

There were so many delightful illustrations to chose from for when Red has her first encounter with the wolf. I couldn't decide! So I made cards from each of them, then added a storage pocket and a little plastic covered story pouch so she could change them out.

1)Little Red Riding Hood Meets the Wolf in the Woods, Warwick Goble 2) Margaret Evans Price <1921> 3)Red Riding Hood, Jessie Wilcox Smith 4) Little Red Riding Hood by Adrienne Segur 5) Trina Schart Hyman.

Page 9 and 10

Page 9- Little Red-Cap illustration by Lisbeth Zwerger.

Page 10 detail- Red Riding Hood Makes a Pretty Nosegay with Wild Flowers from the Glade, Walter Crane

Pages 11 and 12

Page 11-Top and Bottom: the Graphics Fairy.

Page 12- Top: The Wicked Wolf Terrifies Red Riding Hood's Grandmother by Leaping onto Her Bed. Bottom: the Graphics Fairy.

Pags 13 and 14

Page 13 illustration is a collage pieced from Little Red Riding Hood, Fleury François Richard + the Little Red Riding Hood, Ari Suonpaa + a forest image I'm researching credits for

Page 14- Little Red-Cap illustration by Lisbeth Zwerger.

Pages 15 and 16

Page 16 detail- Little Red Riding Hood by Margaret Tarrant. I love this illustration! I used antiquing medium, which was fun, and vintage rick-rack I inherited from one of my grandmothers.

Pages 17 and 18

This is probably my favorite spread. The colors, the antiquing, and the buttons all worked so well together.

Page 17- from The Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm, Arthur Rackham <1909>

Page 18- illustrations from a board book from my toddler's collection. It's around here somewhere. I hope to find it soon.

Pages 19 and 20

Page 20 detail- I love love love the look on the huntsman's face here! and his little dog!
Pages 19 and 20- Little Red-Cap illustrations by Lisbeth Zwerger.

Pages 21 and 22

Page 21- Little Red-Cap illustration by Lisbeth Zwerger

Page 22- from here.

The End

Little Red-Cap illustration by Lisbeth Zwerger

Blackberry Pie

2009-12-21T20:56:00.001-08:00

(I remembered to take a picture only after we had eaten half of it...)

Tonight I tried something new: blackberry pie! yum!
I slightly modified a recipe from allrecipes.com It's super simple and super delicious.

Ingredients:
one box of unbaked pie crusts (there are two crusts in one box)
one 16oz. frozen bag blackberries
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup flour
a small amount of milk
a small amount of extra sugar

Heat oven to 475*. Place berries in bowl with 1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 cup flour. Stir to coat. Arrange first thawed pie crust in bottom of pie pan. Pour berry mixture evenly into the crust. Top with second thawed pie crust- I punched out leave shapes with mine and arranged them over the top. (Whatever you choose to do, remember to leave some open spaces so that the pie can vent.) Brush the top crust with milk and sprinkle with the extra sugar. Bake at 475* for ten minutes, then reduce the heat to 375* for 20-25 minutes, until the top is golden and crisp. Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes before serving with vanilla ice cream.

Recipe Notes:
Feel free to use fresh berries, or- if you are bold- make your own pie crust. I used frozen pie crust, which I thawed using the defrost option on my microwave for about half a minute on each side. If you're not as last minute as I am, you could just follow the package directions. One piece of crust came out perfect, the other came out of the microwave a bit too soft and tore when I unrolled it, hence my decision to smoosh out the dough and punch shapes. The prep on this was so fast! Definitely something I will make again.

Christmas Decorations

2009-12-09T21:51:00.001-08:00

My leftover (uncarved) Halloween front-porch pumpkin, which sat nestled between bundles of harvested grasses thru Thanksgiving, found new life with the help of a permanent marker. I simply used straight pins to attach his Santa hat and now he's all set.

I wish I had some lights to spice up the porch, but this is our first house and we've only recently moved in, so my budget has gone elsewhere. I wrapped one of kids' sand pails with silver paper and put an ancient plastic tree inside. My plants have since had to come inside due to the random freeze warnings...No snow, of course, but my outdoor flowers are all dead now.

I adopted the garland and the wreath after a Christmas Party a few years ago. I forgot the story, but a coworker was brought into the party all tied up, with the garland tied around his ankles and the wreath around his neck. At least that's how I remember it. The wreath was falling apart, so I just wired some plastic apple ornaments onto the bare spots.

I told my husband I really wanted a Christmas tree to go with our new house. The plastic one on our porch has been our tree for most of the last decade- with two exceptions: 2007- when I happened to find a broken one in a closet of the town house we were renting, and 2001- when I made a craft project of the triangular cardboard box my husband's guitar came in. I don't have any pictures of that fabulous cardboard tree (decoupaged in tiny scraps of green magazine clippings), but I did just so happen to keep the box from his most recent guitar purchase. I'm sensing a project for next year...

Anyway, I was a Black Friday Virgin and knew if I wanted a tree this year, that'd be the day to get one. I looked up the best deals on one of the many Black Friday websites and found a 7ft. tree for $25 at Joanne's. Armed with $100 and one hour's sleep, I managed to be the 6th person in line. The woman in front of me shared her flier with me. To my surprise and disappointment, the $25 deal was not until Saturday. The Black Friday price was $40. Boo!

When the flood gates opened, I was the only person in the Christmas section of the store. Turns out there was a crazy sale on the Cricut Personal Electronic Cutter... The tree itself is rather scrawny, so I had to get some filler. I decided to go with a loose theme for our tree- blue, green, and silver, with a few celestial elements- to match my living/kitchen decor. (We have a very large copy of Starry Night in the living room, which is open to my kitchen- which is painted a deep blue with a few sun themed accent pieces.) I bought glittery floral pics, lovely painted glass ball ornaments, a fuzzy throw blanket to use as a tree skirt, ribbon for making garland, the pieces to make my tree topper, and a beautiful clip on butterfly.

I was ridiculously excited when I got home. I'd only slept an hour the night before, but the holiday spirit had infected me. I immediatley set to pulling ornaments out of the attic. The rest of my family slept until after noon, and by the time they awoke, the tree was assembled, lit, and wrapped in ribbon. My daughters (7 and 2) happily agreed to hang the ornaments. The older one listened intently as I told her what I could remember of all the ones I pulled down from the attic, while the little one hung all her ornaments from the same branch. We had a beautiful day together and I somehow managed to stay up until 2am, snuggled in bed, watching Little Shop of Horrors with my family.

You can click on the pictures to get a better view. This top one shows the wreath (hanging near the light switch) I made when I was in high school. It was a very simple project with lovely results. The base is just a circle of cardboard. Then I cut out a whole mess of rectangles from plain paper. Take a rectangle and fold the corners of one of it's short ends into a point and staple the back to hold the point in place. After you've done several, arrange them around the edges of the cardboard circle and glue in place. (Note: The cardboard circle is the backside, glue the paper over it, not to the back of it.) Make concentric circles, gluing down the non-pointy end of the rectangles, leaving the points free. As you get closer to the center of the wreath, cut some more paper into smaller rectangles. Leave a blank space in the middle of your wreath for decorations. Arrange the points in an attractive way and spray paint your wreath. Mine is forest green, with a light mist of silver for a frosted look. In the center, I glued a little nest of excelsior shreds and a cardinal, but there are endless possibilities. You can add a ribbon to the back for hanging. The dried paint adds some sturdiness to the paper wreath, and I'm surprised mine has lasted these past 12 years. I think next year I might show my daughter how to make one.

Now I want to show off my Christmas tree topper. I found a large silver moon ornament, which appears to be made of a light-weight wire frame with thread weaving it all together. I wired it to a lovely glittery leafy thing I found in the floral department, then added snowflake jewels to the moon. I like how it plays off Starry Night (not pictured.)

And now I will share one of my ornament stories with you. When I was younger I refused to clean my room. Drove my mother nuts. One day she came into my room and threatened to "clean" the room herself. I did not take her seriously and she returned with a garbage bag. She threw away everything that was on my floor. I was devastated. Several months later we went to my grandparents house for Christmas. When I saw their tree, my jaw dropped. Apparently my mom had rummaged through the bags of "garbage" from my room and sent Nana all of my little plastic toys. Nana, a wonderfully creative lady, screwed hangers into all of their heads and turned them into Christmas ornaments. And if my memory serves me right, they were a staple on her tree every year until she died, at which point, I inherited a box full of my former beloved playthings- with screws rammed into their heads. In the photo above, you can clearly see Kermit, from Muppet Babies. At least half a dozen of the ornaments on my tree are from the floor of my elementary school days.

Here is a horrendous shot of an ornament my daughter made this year.The ornament itself is much nicer than this picture would lead you to believe. On the needlework aisle in the craft store, I found some metal shapes- mostly circles, but I purchased a moon and a star. I showed my daughter how to wrap pretty silver pipe-cleaners around them and -voila!- instant ornaments.

On to our stockings! I have wanted stocking holders for years now, but they are always so expensive. This year Target had a two pack for $8! Had to take advantage of that! In the past our stockings have been the cheapy garish red kind. Old Navy had $2 stockings recently, so I picked up a few for me and the girls. My husband really wanted a Cowboys stocking, so I made him one. I even put a big sparkly star on the helmet, to match ours!

As soon as we moved in (back in July) I knew I wanted a card holder. I actually wanted to put it on the bar counter we have that separates the living room from the kitchen, but I came up with this instead:My original plan was to make a collection of blocks with clips mounted on the top so I could display birthday cards, wedding invitations, baby announcements, etc. I usually just stick them on the refrigerator, but I'm a sentimental fool and would rather have them out on display. After several failed how-to brain-storming sessions, I selected this dish display rack. Then I re-purposed it by tweaking the curly cues with my pliers so that they can hold cards. When it's a slow season, I can display three photos (or whatever) in the dish slots, but as we get closer to Christmas, or a birthday, I can also put cards in all the curly cues.

And that's the end of my very, very long Christmas Decorations Post...

New Look!

2009-12-08T01:40:00.000-08:00

This year for Christmas, in addition to my family's annual home-made gift exchange, I am participating in Flights of Whimsy's craft exchange.

While surfing through her blog (and her friends') I came across this fabulousness:

Free, beautiful, vintage-inspired backgrounds/clip-art for your blog or printing needs. She also includes clever project ideas, using her lovely finds! The genius behind it all is a woman named Karen, who owns www.fleurish-home.com and also happens to host Brag Monday, where she peruses her followers blogs for crafts they've made with her clip-art (via MckLinky) then brags about you! Who wouldn't love that?! I plan on engaging myself in a few clip-art crafts after I finish Sock Monkey #2, sew a lining in my husband's work sweatshirt, and complete my Christmas crafting obligations.

Here are some gems from the Graphics Fairy:

I would love to do something in my kitchen with the sacred heart image!

Karen's blog backgrounds put mine to shame, so I had to do a re-design. I love that gorgeous teal bird! Now go check out her fanciful-prettiness.

Card for my Sister-In-Law

2009-12-01T13:41:00.000-08:00

My sister-in-law just got her Associate's Degree in Nursing. Here's the card I made for her:

the inside:
the back:
the envelope:

Thanksgiving Crafts

2009-11-28T04:09:00.000-08:00

I like to put a little festive display on the counter each holiday. Here's the Fall one, featuring some pretty gourds/pumpkins, two toilet-paper-tube scarecrows, and the card I made last Thanksgiving (eventually I'll give it to someone- I need to stop storing it in the attic...)

Close up of the card. I made it, and the card holder, last year at a stamp party. The card holder was fun. It's made from a large black binding clip (office supply store.) My turkey had feet at one point, I'll make him some new feet next year. A peacock would also be cute. For the card, we got to use fancy new stamping products. The pumpkins were on a rolling stamp which was pretty neat. I finally got to try out some water color pencils with this craft. I enjoyed them so much I gave a box to the next kid who invited us to his birthday party. Now I just need some for myself!

On the far right here is the toilet-paper tube turkey I made in 1994 (I think...) He used to have feathers on his head. My mom gave him back to me in a box of things she no longer wanted to store in her attic and now I whip him out each year and make him some buddies. The two orange turkeys on the left are from 2007. They have magazine paper feathers, rather than the water-colored-craft-paper feathers on the original turkey.I've been hoarding toilet paper tubes for some time now. I took several to Thanksgiving dinner and made turkeys with the kiddos, using scrapbooking paper.

My daughter made this turkey last year for school. I got out my scrap box and she picked some fabrics for the body, which I cut out for her. Then she glued them to the template. Next, she cut out some feather shapes from a paper bag and wandered around outside to collect "natural" items, which she glued on the paper feathers. I glued her finish turkey to some cardboard for stability.

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Remember, you can always click on the pictures for a larger view.

I was assigned a dessert for Thanksgiving Dinner. I made super-simple assorted toffees, using this recipe from the First United Methodist Church in Berthoud, Colorado's 1999 Cookbook that I received that year for Christmas from my aunt. The recipe comes from a woman named Betsy Haskins. She calls it "Tastes Like Toffee," but my husband called them Homemade Candy Bars (even though they aren't "bars.") My husband's aunt- who hosted Thanksgiving Dinner- asked me how much I'd charge to make some of these for her office party!

Ingredients:

saltine crackers
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup margerine
1/2 cup sugar
6 oz. pkg. chocolate chips
chopped nuts (optional)

Line a baking sheet (about 10x15 inches) with foil. Spray with cooking spray. Line pan with crackers. Melt butter, margerine, and sugar in a saucepan. Boil for 3 minutes; pour evenly over crackers. Bake at 350* for ten minutes. Turn off oven. Place chocolate chips on top, return briefly to hot oven. Spread evenly, top with nuts. Super Easy!

My recipe notes:
Saltine crackers and salted butter made rather salty treats. You may want to substitute unsalted crackers and salted butter, or use saltines and unsalted butter. (The salty treats were still delicious.)

The candies might melt together, but you can either cut them with a sharp knife, or break them apart by hand- which looks pretty and rustic-y. To speed up the process, I slid the baking sheet into the freezer, once it was much cooler, of course.

I did several batches, using different chips, like white chocolate, peanut butter, and butterscotch. None of these chips melt as smoothly as chocolate chips, and therefore were difficult to spread and looked quite ugly until I added the crushed walnut topping. If you don't want to use nuts (and you care how pretty your candies are,) then I suggest only using chocolate chips. Otherwise, feel free to explore all the diffrent toffee possibilities!

Be sure to bake the full ten minutes. Underbaking the toffee will make it soft and sticky, but can be coated in nuts on both sides to minimize mess. I prefer a nice crispiness in mine.

I store my candies in the freezer, in a plastic storage container, layered on wax paper to minimize mess- but you don't have to use wax paper. One batch will fit in a sandwich-sized storage container. The candies are quite tasty and sort of melty at room temperature- another reason to eat them cold. mmm...

Shown here are: chocolate with nuts, white chocolate with nuts, butterscotch, peanut butter chocolate with nuts, and frosted chocolate (chocolate, mixed with white cookie icing.)

costume: Nez Perce Native American

2009-11-02T00:01:00.000-08:00

I'm homeschooling my older daughter this year. She has been learning about the settling of America. When we did a unit about the West, she read Meet Kaya, from the American Girl book series. She loved it and instantly decided she wanted to have a Nez Perce costume.

Here are the doll and the book:

another inspirational image:This one is from kimballfisher.com/calendar.html

And here's the magnetic play-set I bought (featuring Kaya and Speaking Rain.) I used this as my main reference for her costume:

___________________________________

These are her hair clasps, made from metal buttons and feathers we collected. These are the last of the terrible cell phone pictures. My wonderful husband surprised me with a brand new camera a few days ago. " I didn't want you to miss Halloween," he said. Gosh, I love that guy.

Being adorable. (Just a reminder: clicking on the pictures enlarges them.)

Modeling the felt Trick-or-Treat bag I made. On the reverse side, I embroidered some of those little triangular shapes you can see on Kaya's bag. Let's start at the top- I attached conch shells to some french hooks for earrings. I made her necklace from wooden beads and shells. Her top is sueded fabric with feather-shaped fringe across the bottom. The fringe was only on one edge of the fabric, so I had to manually cut the other edges to match. She has on a beaded bracelet that's really a Native American choker my aunt made some years ago. I made her little purse from patterned fabric, dark brown fringe trim, and an odd string of leather and beads that I found in a bag of costume jewelry in my craft closet. The skirt used to be mine- I shortened it, resized it to fit her, cut some fringe, and embellished it with conch shells and tassles to match Speaking Rain's skirt. I also made her some chocolate brown felt boot covers, with matching fringe. She wore them over her cowboy boots. I completed this costume in two short sessions and my husband thinks it's my best one yet.

__________________________

The kiddos, about to Trick-or-Treat

To see the little one's costume, go here.

And our pumpkins are here.

costume: Toodee from Yo Gabba Gabba

2009-11-01T10:31:00.000-08:00

My two year old likes this awesome pre-school television show called Yo Gabba Ga bba. Okay, so my seven year old and I like it, too...

For those of you out of the toddler loop, Yo Gabba Gabba features giant costumed creatures that sing songs and teach age appropriate lessons- lessons I've not seen on any other pre-school show. Most shows sing about ABCs and 123s, but Yo Gabba Gabba has songs featuring lyrics like "Don't, don't, don't bite your friends," and "Clean it up, clean it up, pick up the trash now."

They also have special instructional segments: "Biz's Beat of the Day" (featuring Biz Markie), drawing lessons with Mark Mothersbaugh (of Devo fame), and there's always a Dancey Dance Friend of the Day to teach you cool new moves. Featured friends include Elijah Wood, Tony Hawk, and Melora Hardin (to name a few.) And then there's the Super Music Friends Show, a music segment with hip indie artists.

I give this show two thumbs up, and used it as inspiration for Beanie's Halloween costume. She wasToodee, the blue dinosaur-ish kitty cat. After I paused a decent screen shot of the show, I made a rough sketch of the character, then I bought this "Yo Gabba Gabba Drivin' Friends Toodee " at Target to use as a 3D study.

I considered using a plush fabric, but settled on felt, as it's super cheap, doesn't fray, and doesn't mind being glued together. It even has the same texture as the Toodee on the show. I built a body and a hood. She wore blue jammies underneath, to cover her arms and legs.

Here's an "in progress" shot.

I recruited Cuco the Dragon for fittings when Bean was asleep. The weight of the tail was causing a lot of bunching on the butt. Later, I ended up tacking one of the spikes on the body to the adjoining space on the tail. Worked beautifully. Final fittings. We practiced Trick-or-Treating several times: I went in the pantry and closed the door. She had to knock and say "trick or treat!" and then I'd give her some candy. _______________________________

The Toy Story jammies I found matched perfectly. Here she is, ready to go Trick-or-Treating: and here's a good shot (click to zoom in) of her cute little face and kitty whiskers: and finally, a departing shot of her tail. See her sister's costume here .
And our pumpkins here.

Halloween Porch Decor

2009-10-31T02:13:00.000-07:00

The night before Halloween:

I carved them Halloween morning:

Our Jack-O-Lantern:

and our Yack-O-Lantern:

toys: sock monkey #1

2009-10-30T02:57:00.000-07:00

"He's handsome! Bernard is his name."

-my pregnant cousin, about Sock Monkey#1

My cousin is pregnant with twins! Hooray! She asked me if I'd make her little fetuses (feti?) some sock monkeys.

Monkey #2 is coming soon. Here's Monkey #1.

It seems that everytime I make something, it's always my first time to make it- save for the bamBEANos, I've made 3 of those. The socks came with instructions on how to make the monkey, but they were sort of foggy.

Fortunately, Beanie had a very sock monkey Christmas last year, so I had quite a few points of reference.

Sock Monkey #1 has a tall forehead and is slightly understuffed, but now I know for Sock Monkey#2...

status update: October 2009

2009-10-29T14:32:00.000-07:00

For my curious blog followers...
Completed, but not yet documented:

beach-themed shadow box for the girls' room
Nez Perce Native American Costume
Toodee (from Yo Gabba Gabba) Costume
Sock Monkey #1 for my cousin's twins

In the works:

Trick or Treat bag for Nez Perce Costume

On the to-do list:

Trick or Treat bag for Toodee Costume
Sock Monkey #2

Also, I am wanting to officially start my business. I have been commissioned several times to make custom craft items (Belle, loopy thing, bamBEANos, etc.) and have wanted to start an Etsy shop for a while now. The only problem is that I'm having trouble coming up with a name. All this creativity and I can't come up with a clever name that doesn't already exist... curses!
I liked "Sew What," "WhichCraft," and "Craft Monkey," all of which are taken. Boo!

My brother-in-law suggested Mandy Made, with a slogan of "You think it, Mandy makes it." I like the direction it's heading, but it's not quite there. I like the idea of custom order creations, but I'll also just make random things and see what sells. Let's open a forum- anyone have any ideas?

Holiday Craft: Pumpkin Head Scarecrows

2009-10-22T10:05:00.000-07:00

I have two little girls, both of which try to help me every time I make something. So sometimes we do crafts together, like these Autumnal pumpkin-headed scarecrows. Super easy, fast, and fun.

How to:

Save an empty toilet paper tube.
Glue decorative papers or light weight fabric scraps to the tube to mimic pants and a shirt.
When the glue has dried, cut a slit from the top of the tube to the bottom of the "shirt."
Cut a slit of the same length on the opposite side.
Make one long rectangle of sturdy paper, then slide it into the cuts to act as arms/sleeves. If you use two rectangles, then glue them together, you can glue straw to the ends to poke out as hands. For the one above, I glued some fringey trim to the back of the sleeve.
Find a small ornamental pumpkin and put a face on it with permanent marker.
You can glue "hair" to the stem if you like.
Add accessories, like a belt, pockets, or buttons.
Rest the pumpkin head on top of the body and VOILA!

(You can click on the picture for a larger view.)

My seven-year old made the first one. It has a fabric shirt, paper pants and sleeves, and lovely blond yarn hair.

Next is the scarecrow made by my two year old. She colored her tube with crayons. Then she gave me her pumpkin and tole me what she wanted. "Eyes on it... Nose on it. Tongue on it." I found a scrap of fluffy trim and tied it to the stem for hair.

Mine is made of scrapbooking papers, with a braided yarn belt. The button is cut from scrapbooking paper as well, but you could certainly use real buttons.

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I have been saving various cardboard tubes for months now, so be prepared for future crafts featuring them. I have an adorable Thanksgiving craft in mind...

Girl Scout Thank You Card Contest

2009-10-17T14:02:00.000-07:00

My 7 year old daughter entered the Thank You Card contest with our Girl Scout Council. The theme was "My favorite Girl Scouting Memory," or something like that. This is what she came up with: her- selling cookies.
She drew most of it, glued on cookies and a uniform cut from a catalog, and then added a few rub-on transfers.
Super cute!

Later, I was reading our Scout Newsletter, and she was listed as one of the five winners! Kudos to her! She's supposed to receive a gift card to the Girl Scout store as her prize.

The cards will be given out by Council to thank people and businesses.I managed to get my habds on a couple of them for posterity's sake.

Invitation: House Warming Party

2009-08-20T21:50:00.000-07:00

This is the front of the invitation I made to our house warming party. I made 4 (slightly) different cards with a layered effect, placed them on a color copier and printed out 2-D sheets with a cool 3-D vibe.

Here's what our house really looks like:

I kept one of the 3-D invites for myself. It's framed and hanging by our front door...

Birthday Party! Bean turns 2

2009-06-22T00:22:00.000-07:00

Little Birthday Shirt

Beanie 2009

This is a shirt I made in 2004 for my older daughter's birthday. I embroidered the words on a fleece scrap which I stitched onto a t-shirt. The piglet patch has an adhesive back. It has survived at least 3 washings, amazing considering this was a very last minute project from 5 years ago. I wish I could find a picture of Big Sis in it...

Beanie 2008

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Original Post: June 16

I did not make this frame- I found it on-line (Walmart.com) Then I pulled the image into paint and modified it. I would like to print this for a photo album, but we'll see.

This year we decided on a Sesame Street theme for my little one's birthday. In addition to Abby, Super Grover, and "Cookie Monser," she also digs trains- mainly the sounds they make. For her cake, I'm going to fill a 13" round baking sheet with chocolate chip cookie dough. Then I will create a train out of twinkies and ice railroad tracks on the giant cookie to set up the train. Riding on the train will be an Abby Cadabby candle, and a Sesame Street character parade will be greeting her.

For those of you who are out of the loop, Abby Cadabby is one of the newest muppets to move to Sesame Street. She's a fairy godchild (in training)- her mom his a fairy godmother. They decided to introduce a new lead female character of a different "ethnic" background to help children who have moved here from other countries learn about American games and the English alphabet and such. Each time Elmo or Big Bird want to play a game, they explain it so Abby can play, too. She's small and pink, wears a blue dress and has poofy pink and purple pig-tails. She carries a little wand, which doubles as a cell phone for calling her Mommy for help when she goofs on a spell- which she does often. She's still learning, after all. Everytime Abby attepts a spell, she accidentally turns something (or someone) into a pumpkin.

She's still so small that I'm not too worried about going all out. So I bought Abby Cadabby plates, cups, and a few hanging decorations. I am going to make an Abby Pinata, but that's about it for our theme. I usually like to make as many things as I can, but we're in the process of buying a house and we're doing lots of commuting these days...and the party is this weekend.

The only other thing I might make is a watermelon sorbet. The party will be a cook-out at our aunt's house. Seems like a nice compliment to hotdogs and burgers- and a good ice cream substitute to go with the cake.

I want to serve it in the rind. Here are a few pictures from this month's Woman's Day magazine:

Looks delicious! After the party, I will post pictures of the things I actually made.

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June 22

We had the party this weekend. Everything turned out great! LOTS of pictures! Remember, you can click on them for a better view.

I'll start with the watermelon sorbet. I looked up several recipes and sort of made up my own based on what I read. It's pretty easy, but rather messy. You'll need to start the process about two days prior to your event.

Watermelon Sorbet Recipe and Instructions: First, clear out room in your freezer. Next, buy a small seedless watermelon. The "personal" size would probably be best for most events. I bought a 13 pounder, had 13 people- it was twice as much as we needed. Brace your watermelon by tucking a towel around it. This will keep it from rolling away while you cut in half long-ways. Using an ice-cream scoop, scrape out all the red flesh into a large bowl. If you happen to have any black seeds, be sure to pick those out. The underdeveloped tan seeds will be okay. When you get down to the light pink or green flesh, throw that part out (it will change the flavor of your sorbet.) You want to scrape out as much of the inside as you can without breaking through the watermelon shell. Do this to both halves of the melon.
Put the shells in the freezer for at least 2 hours. While they were freezing, I gave my 7 year old a potato masher and let her squish the watermelon chunks.On the stove, in a medium saucepan, add one cup water and one cup sugar for every 6 or so pounds of melon. (I used 2c water and 2c sugar.) Bring it to a boil to dissolve sugar. Once the sugar dissolves, add a few drops red food coloring. Stir and remove from heat. Allow this" simple syrup" to cool. Run your melon through the blender or food processor, adding 1/4c lemon juice per every 6 lb.s of melon (I used 1/2c lemon juice.) Add cooled simple syrup. I blended in small batches, pouring the processed sorbet liquid into a tall pitcher. I also had half a tube of strawberry Squeezy Fruit in my refrigerator, so I poured it in there, too.

If you happen to be lucky enough to own an ice cream maker, pour your mix in there and let it do it's thing. I don't own one, so I poured my mix into a large Tupperware container with a lid and popped it in the freezer.

Once the watermelon shells are frozen hard, spread the insides of them (gently) with lime sherbet. This will act as the green part of the sliced sorbet. Pop the shells back in the freezer, again for at least 2 hours.

I pulled my Tupperware of sorbet out after a few hours and gave it a stir. Check on it/stir every few hours if you don't have an ice cream maker. The day before your event, lay a towel out on the counter and place one frozen shell on it, bunching the towel to keep it from wobbling away. Get out your sorbet and an ice cream scoop. You should work quickly to minimize the mess. Place a few scoops of sorbet into shell. Sprinkle with a few chocolate chips (regular or mini) and put a few more scoops of sorbet on top. Continue layering, gently packing the sorbet down as you go, until you have completely filled the shell. Loosely cover the top with foil place in freezer, and stabilize with a towel. Do the same to the other shell. You may not have enough sorbet to completely fill this one, or you may have too much. I had the exact amount for my two shells, but all the recipes said different things here.

Let freeze overnight, undisturbed. At the party, once we were ready to have the sorbet, I set the wateremelon on the counter for a few minutes to soften. Then I put it on a cutting mat, and flipped it over so it was flat on the counter. Place a towel folded lengthwise between you and the melon. It will be slippery and this should help keep it from flying off the counter and being dangerous while slicing. Using a very sharp knife, a lot a patience, and a steady hand, cut the sorbet into wedges and serve.

I was a little weary about the idea of chocolate and watermelon, but the chips make adorable seeds for presentation, and if your guests do not like the flavor combination, they can spit out the "seeds" as they would with a real watermelon. I made both halves, but the 13 of us only ate one half. The other is in my freezer, so come over and help us eat it!
A special note: If for some reason your sorbet does not set properly in the shell, you can always use a scoop and serve it in bowls like ice cream.

Cake and Presents:

For her cake, I bought a chocolate chip cookie mix and made one giant cookie on a pizza pan. I did the train tracks with Wilton Cookie Decorating Icing, the kind that dries hard. The train is made of twinkies. I "glued" them together with the icing, then frosted them and decorated with candies.

twinkie train cake

a better view of the engine

I assembled the cake in my refrigerator to help the frosting set faster. The heat generated from stirring in the food coloring made it really runny- easy to spread, but difficult to transfer the frosted twinkie from the paper plate onto the actual cake. The cake set up nicely over night.

The cake was on a table near the back door- which the kids repeatedly opened to go to the pool. It was a warm location, so the frosting slowly heated. At some point, the Abby candle slid off her train car- but the birthday girl didn't mind! I would have liked to put a candle in the smokestack on the engine as well (as it was her 2nd birthday) but I didn't want to buy a whole package of candles for that.

The parade characters I was going to put on the cake seemed distracting, so I just threw them in a gift bad and gave them to her as a present.

A couple of her other gifts:

I love the look she got on her face when she opened this Sesame Street ball.

She also got a "Cuddle N Care Abby Cadabby Doll."

If you couldn't tell, she was dressed sort of like Abby: wearing blue, with fairy wings and crazy purple pig tails...

Pinata:

I'm ridiculously proud of this pinata. I've made at least 4 pinatas, and this is the best one I've done. It was time consuming, but only because I chose to do a tissue paper application in lieu of just painting it. Abby Cadabby is a muppet and I wanted her to have that textured feel.

front view

back view

Abby pinata hanging from the window as a decoration.

Abby Cadabby pinata in all her glory.

My husband's aunt hosted the party at her house. They don't have any trees, so we hung the pinata from the basket ball hoop in the driveway. My husband raised and lowered the strings. We let birthday girl go first, but she was wary of hitting her beloved Abby with a baseball bat. Her 2 1/2 year old cousin was less afraid.After everyone had taken a turn, and we finally succeeded in bashing her open, the kids filled sandwich baggies with Abby's gloriously sweet innards.

Then my husband stuffed a football in what was left of her head.

And later, I made myself a lovely hat.

And finally, she was laid to rest in the recycling bin. All in all, a good day.

toys: bamBEANos

2009-05-21T20:41:00.000-07:00

I finished the bean babies! AND I had a stroke of genius as I completed the last stitch- they should be called bambeanos, you know, like "bambino" but with BEAN in the middle...

The one in the middle belongs to my younger daughter. The outer two are about to be placed in a box and shipped off on an exciting lifetime getaway to Dallas and beyond. What an adventure they've had! First, the fabric store here in town does not carry the cording needed for their arms... so I had to go on a scavenger hunt. Then I made a personal goal to have them completed last week, but completely forgot about my older daughter's Science Fair project- and when we were done with that, we had to prepare for field day. And this week, once I had finished hand stitching the babies -when I sat down to make some little velcro tab diapers with my sewing machine- I realized the needle was broken. Typically, you just unscrew this little knob and the needle comes right out. But of course, this was the first needle change needed since I got this machine, so it was in there factory tight. After trying brute force and cursing the darned thing, I handed it over to my husband, who tried a pair of pliers and a screwdriver... to no avail. So I ended up hand stitching the diapers as well. They took longer than I had expected, but gosh, they're cute...

One leans to the left, the other to the right. Their fleece is a deeper brown than my daughter's, but I'm pretty sure it's more resistant to pilling than hers. The new "bambeanos" are modeling miniature diapers with easy velcro tabs. The original bambeano features a mock safety pin closure on his "pull up" diaper.

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One of the bambinos with his bamBEANo:

This is my own Beanie, putting her babies to bed.
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Original Post, Dated May 15, 2009-

(left: new bean baby#1, right: the original bean baby that belongs to my daughter)

I got a call from a former co-worker. She had a baby not so long ago, and had taken to calling him "Bean," or "Beanie-" like we call my younger daughter. She was visiting our old restaurant and I guess someone heard her call her son that and revealed that I had made my daughter a stuffed bean baby.

So she called me and requested one for her son. She also ordered an additional one for her pregnant friend. (At the friend's last doctor appointment, the doctor said the fetus is now the size of a bean. The friend now refers to her unborn child as "the Bean.")

I have completed one bean baby and need to sew the last leg on the second one. Next I will make their diapers- but will go with my original plan of using velcro tabs so that the diapers are easier for little hands to take on and off.

I had intended on finishing both babies last week, but we made an out-of-town trip and came home to Science Fair and Field Day, so I'm a little behind. I also had trouble due to our recent move. This town only has one fabric store and it does not carry the braiding needed for their arms and legs. I had to make a special trip. But now I have everything I need.

I'll post another set of pictures once I've completed them.

paper crafts: science friction

2009-05-15T21:24:00.000-07:00

(may 2009)

My older daughter wanted to do an experiment for Science Fair at her school. We looked through one of our books and found a simple experiment on friction, using two books of the same size and thickness- like two phone books. You line the books up and shuffle the pages thoroughly, so that they overlap (area-wise) as much as possible, and also so that the pages are as intermingled as you can get them. Then you lay them flat on the table and try to pull them apart. Friction holds them together. The harder you pull, the stronger the bond.

I wrote out the experiment's instructions, she wrote out the scientific facts. I did the illustrations, she "tricked" her father, cousin, and uncle with this experiment. I took pictures.

(Like all my other postings, you can click on the picture for a larger view.)

paper crafts: Easter Scavenger Hunt

2009-04-20T22:59:00.000-07:00

As a kid, I used to wake up Easter morning to a scavenger hunt left by the "Easter Bunny," each clue took me closer to the location of my Easter basket. I now carry on this tradition with my daughter, even though she knows the clues were really left by me...

(You can click on the pictures to view them larger.)

baby stuff: loopy thing

2009-03-01T22:33:00.000-08:00

My husband's cousin called me not so long ago and had a request. In the baby boutiques she kept seeing ridiculously priced squares of fabric with ribbon loops sewn all around for teething babies to munch on. So I made her a couple. I put way more ribbons on mine (I hadn't seen the product she was describing.) The ribbons have various textures to stimulate the baby's gums. Then I attached some rings to attach it to a stroller, car seat, etc.

The brown one is made of regular fleece. The blue and white one is made of this ultra plush fabric I happened to find in the fleece section.

Birthday Party! Big Sis Turns 7

2009-01-25T23:39:00.000-08:00

This year she decided to have a "Chinese" theme. She loves the super-buffet concept, so we chose that as our venue, followed by a trip to the park for energy releasal and pinata smashing!

For the invitations, we purchased a paper fan stamp (on clearance) and a dragon stamp. Each invite was different, but the info was the same. I also included that the Birthday girl requested guests to wear Asian inspired outfits...

She decided she wanted a pinata. Sticking with her theme, she chose a panda.

(beginning stages of the panda pinata)

(completed pinata)

I decorated the cupcakes to match the pinata.

For goody bags we chose Chinese Take-Out Containers. I attached thank-you tags to the handles in a paper that coordinated with the invitations. One of the favors was a pair of fancy chopsticks. They were too big to fit inside the box, so I wedged them through the top. They made a nice little embellishment.

The favors inside included a paper fan, fortune cookies, a toy goldfish, yin-yang stickers, a mini parasol, a tiny little dragon and a package of tea.

She invited more girls, but only one could make it. The boys showed up in dragon and yin-yang t-shirts. Birthday Girl and baby sis wore Chinese jammies. (The blue ones were mine when I was little.) My daughter also wore her hair in a bun with chopsticks adorning it. Several of the adults also wore Asian tops. All in all it was a great party!

apron: cowboys

2009-01-08T22:29:00.000-08:00

My mother's side of the family does a gift exchange game for Christmas. A few years back we made a rule that you have to make whatever you put in the exchange. This assures some pretty awesome Christmas gifts, as my family is full of creative creatures: My grandfather is a professional artist. Two of my uncles have spent their lives Civil War and Wild West re-enacting, learning leather punching and various other "rustic American" skills (for lack of a better phrase.) One of my aunts makes dolls, another is a canning/baking genius. My step-father is a wood-worker. My mom makes soaps and lotions, practices floral arranging, and various other crafts. Many of my relatives are musically inclined.

Past gifts in the exchange have included cookies, a cowboy themed coloring book, a potted pine tree, a c.d., a hand-carved box, and a portrait of my grandmother.

For Christmas this year, my husband bought me a sewing machine. It seemed apparent to me that I should use it to make my gift. So I decided to make an apron, and given my family's affinity for all things Western, I picked this fabric:It's a cream color with a 50's inspired print of little cowboys. I used denim for the pocket and blue rick-rack for the trim, with various red and blue accent ribbons.

My mom ended up getting it in the exchange. I was thankful for that, as it was not my best work. I'm still figuring out my sewing machine...but it did come out cute.
Sorry the lighting is so bad. I took these pictures with my cell phone just before I wrapped it. I think my camera was already in my suitcase.

Like always, you can click on the pictures for a better view.

toys: Scrump baby doll

2008-12-30T23:59:00.000-08:00

Scrump. 12/08

So I'm going back home this weekend to attend my (former) job's Christmas party. Thankfully, I get to participate in the Secret Santa gift exchange, and I managed to get the person I wanted: the girl that plays Lilo, from Lilo and Stitch.

We had often talked about the movie, how sad Lilo's situation was, orphaned, living with her teenage sister who is ill-equipped to handle her grieving, misfit little sister. Lilo has no real friends, as the local children think she's weird. Prior to meeting Stitch, her only companion is her frightfully ugly doll, Scrump. We especially liked this part of the movie: (I copied it from Internet Movie Database.)

Lilo: Are you playing dolls?
[the others hide their dolls]
Myrtle: You don't have a doll.
Lilo: [pulls a strange looking rag doll from her backpack] This is Scrump.

[other girls gasp in horror]
Lilo: I made her. But her head is too big, so I pretended that a bug laid eggs in her ear, and she's upset because she has only a few more days to...
[notices that all the other girls are gone; She throws Scrump on the floor and walks away, then returns for Scrump]

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I had always wanted to make this doll for her, and this was the perfect opportunity. The zipper on my daughter's hoody came off track the other day. I kept the hoody because it was so soft and such a pretty color. After I had secured Lilo in the gift exchange, I knew the hoody was meant for this project. I would like for her bow to have been bigger, but I work with what I've got. She came out quite Tim-Burton-esque and lovable. Hopefully Lilo will love her, too.

Scrump's giant egg-filled head.

randomness: ketchup wedding

2008-12-30T23:51:00.000-08:00

(ketchup wedding. winter 2008)

So each year at the company Christmas party, the staff photographer (a whiz with computer graphics) puts together a slide show of the past year. Traditionally, the show begins with fake movie previews, typically parodies of existing films, only starring our co-workers.

Earlier this year, he asked me to help brainstorm movies to mock- and I ended up coming up with my own phony preview. We had originally planned to film it, but due to my recent move, we had to settle for me taking still photographs of the supposed situation and e-mailing them to him. I cannot wait to see what he's done with them!

Explanation: Waiters HATE marrying ketchups. For those of you unfamiliar, this is the process of joining two half empty bottles, by turning one upside down over the other. Inevitably, you make a terrible mess and you end up wreaking of ketchup. It has long been thought to be against health code, seeing as you are joining two products with separate expiration dates, and the more each bottle gets married, the more jumbled it's contents become. Eventually you wind up with a ketchup genie- a bottle that produces a puff of putrid smoke when opened, due to the gases given off by the bottle's rancid contents (but that is another film entirely...) I did end up researching this marrying nonsense and found that in the state of Texas it is a taboo procedure, but not a health code violation, per se.

Movie premise: Two young ketchups (Betsy Heinz and Tom Ato) meet by chance one evening, and fall in love- much to the horror of the local health inspector. They have a torrid love affair, ending in a lovely, winter wedding.

Title: "the Marriage of the Ketchups"

As part of my deal with the slide show creator, I won't post the pictures until after the Christmas party... enter the "save as draft" option on my blog dashboard!

And hopefully by then I will have access to whatever he's done to the pictures, and maybe a video clip from the show!

Little Chapel in the Kitchen

the flower girl, plus guests Grampa and Gramma

Betsy's bridal portrait

Tom and Betsy say their vows.

the kiss

Tom feeds Betsy a slice of wedding cake.

Who will catch the garter?

Looks like Grampa has to pee...

the wedding party

A lovely way to end a winter wedding: Mr. and Mrs. Ato ride off in a sleigh!

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I made all the costumes myself, with the exception of Gramma's hat (taken from my daughter's doll) and Grampa's glasses (stolen from a Cristmas ornament.)

For the church: My daughter has a toy horse stable, which I assembled inside out. I made stained glass windows from construction paper.

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I can't believe what he did with these photos! It was hilarious! I'm trying to get a copy of the video to add here, so check back later.

fun with felt: gingerbread men

2008-12-30T21:40:00.000-08:00

(Captain Jack, Cinderella, Sheriff Woody, and Joe Dirt)

With the onset of our move, I had hoped to transfer locations with my cooky job- but, alas, that didn't work out. With that comes the knowledge that now, whenever I put on my costume, I am no longer Supergirl... just a super crazy girl. Ah... oh well, at least I'm going to the restaurant's Christmas party back home.

This got me thinking. I wanted to make a little something for all my friends back at the restaurant. Something to remember me by, I guess. And seeing as it's a Christmas party, I thought gingerbread men would be a good idea, only non-perishable. I was also influenced by the AMAZING (if not distubing) felt gingerbread men from the elsie marley blog.

Here is what I came up with: gingerbread felties, decorated to match the character each of my co-workers portray. Some of them look like normal people, seeing as the hostess and the managers don't wear costumes- and, yes, I made one for myself.

At this point, they are just imitation cookies, but I plan to attach a loop of ribbon so they can be ornaments. In an attempt to stay on top of my craft blog, I am putting the photos here now as a draft to be published after I have gone to the Christmas party and handed out my gifts. That way I can also put up photos of the gift recipients! Yay!

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The felties are made from a light weight craft felt -very inexpensive- and decorated with puff paint. I hand cut the "men", a shape that proved challenging for characters with hats, and especailly when it came to the Hunchback of Notre Dame... After taking the pictures, I realized a few of them could use some more details. (I went back and added boots to Poison Ivy and more hair on Belle.) For stability I might adhere them to construction paper or cardboard, with a ribbon loop glued between the layers. We'll see what my budget allows. Also, the party is in four days and I made 28 of these little guys. They are cute, none the less.

Picture time!

top row: Snow White, the Joker, Indiana Jones, the Hostess
bottom row: Captain Jack Sparrow, Sheriff Woody, the Ninja, Peter Pan

top row: Robin Hood, Cinderella, Poison Ivy, G.I. Joe
bottom row: Lilo (and Sitch), the Balloon Artist, SInbad the Sailor, Belle

top: the General Manager
2nd row: Quazimodo, Hannah Montana, Esmerelda
3rd row: the Spartan Cheerleader, the Jester, Fiona
bottom: the Face Painter

I am especially pleased with these:

Supergirl, Wonder Woman, Joe Dirt, and Aladdin

I like his fez and cumberbund.

just adorable!

I cheated a little on the shape of mine, and I used a different fabric-
but I'm thinking of sewing it on an apron.
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I ended up gluing the felties to index cards, trimming the excess paper, and attaching a ribbon- so they're ornaments.

and I forgot to take pictures of them at the party. Oops!

aprons: owl, kitty, birdie

2008-11-30T15:29:00.000-08:00

I was inspired by Thanksgiving to make an apron. I had intended on making one with a turkey on it, but after thinking the process through, I thought the feathers would be too tedious.

I bought some fall colored fabric and rummaged through my trims (most of which I inherited from my grandmothers.)

Here's my owl apron. It's the first one I made, and the best, I think.

(11/17/08)

The rick-rack gives it a little more depth than the others. I also really like his little button eyes. The overall effect gives off a certain "retro" feel.

The next day, I made a vintage-looking pink floral fabric one with red gingham details and a kitty pocket. My daughter likes this one. But it seems sort of flat to me. I wanted to use buttons again, but they were too big, so I embroidered the eyes.

(11/18/08)

The last one I made features a little green bird on the pocket. Again, it seems sort of flat. I'd like to get some rick-rack and see if that helps...

(11/19/08)

costruction paper: geography poster

2008-11-20T00:27:00.000-08:00

(Nov. 2008)

My older daughter participated in the National Geography Week poster contest at school. This year the theme was North and South America. I drew the continents and did all the cutting. We did research together and she drew all the pictures. Even the baby thought she did a good job!

(Like all my other postings, you can click on the pictures for a larger view.)

toys: stuffed kitties

2008-11-08T15:16:00.000-08:00

saber tooth tiger and jaguar (Nov. 08)

I made a stuffed saber tooth tiger (my husband's suggestion) for his cousin's baby, as a gift at the baby shower- and for the big sister, a jaguar. Both kids are in diapers still, so I emroidered all the features, to prevent choking hazards.

the mommy of the gift recipients

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New Picture- added June 4, 2009
Here he is, playing with his kitty. His mom said he threw it in some yuckiness, so let's hope it stands up to the wash! I suggest placing all hand-made toys in a pillowcase prior to washing.

costume: Poison Ivy

2008-11-02T15:19:00.000-08:00

Poison Ivy

After determining the superhero theme, our cousin here decided she wanted to be Poison Ivy. Perfect! I looked through my stash and found a deep green fabric I had purchased for a previous project. One side has shiny scales all over it, a little too reptilian for our villainess. So I used the reverse, which provided a shimmery look. I also dug through my leftovers from my Mother Nature costume, providing plenty of vegetation.

Classically, Poison Ivy wears a strapless bustier leotard, but that's obviously inappropriate for a ten year old. After I talked to her, my "client" said she liked the style of Tinkerbell's classic dress, with the zig-zag hem. I also made her an ivy vine, which we wrapped around her leg and down to her ankle.

After finishing her dress, we discussed hair and makeup options. Her mom bought her some purple false eyelashes, I attached small ivy leaves to her temples with double sided photo adhesive squares and drew some swirls on her face with a green shimmer eyeliner. She wanted to wear her hair up, so we twisted it into a bun and inserted pins to which I had sewn ivy.

Here we find Batgirl and Poison Ivy in a fleeting moment of peace:

And now they must battle!

And here's our complete Superhero Halloween entourage:

Our trick-or-treat Brigade: Supergirl, Poison Ivy, Batgirl, and Super Bean
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Ivy's big sis wore it the next year!

costume: Super Bean!

2008-11-01T13:23:00.000-07:00

Super Bean takes flight!

Seeing as I had recently made my older daughter a Batgirl costume, she wanted to wear it for Halloween. We had made plans to trick-or-treat with a cousin - and the kids liked the idea of having us all themed together. I, of course, would wear my Supergirl costume, so superheroes seem the perfect choice.

We have always called the baby "Bean" or "Beanie" (see my Bean! blog.) So I set out to make a Super Bean costume- one of my crowning achievements, if you will...

The main challenge was to create a bean shaped belly.The little costumes I make tend to be bulky, so it had to be a belly that could slip on and off easily for the ride in the car.

After constructing the belly, I made a bikini top and some hot pants. Here, my husband (in need of a haircut) holds up the belly unit.

Once that was complete, all I really had to do was make some amazing superhero accessories: cape, wrist gauntlets, and some fabulous boots.

and here we are!

costume: Batgirl

2008-07-30T22:40:00.000-07:00

(july 2008)

One afternoon- 2ish- my husband called from work. That evening, the Dark Knight was opening. He wanted to take our older daughter on a date to see it when he came home from work. She loves going on dates with her daddy, and she digs superheroes.

I was struck with inspiration. After hanging up the phone, I went straight to the fabric store. Then to pick my daughter up from school, and back to the house for a very hasty costume making session.

At 5, when my husband came home, he asked if she was ready for her date.
"Halt, evil doers!" she shouted as she came running into the living room- decked out in her new Batgirl ensemble. And off to the movies they went!

She already had the skirt and boots. The belt is from my stash of extra Supergirl gear. We bought a black foam mask, plus an extra sheet of foam, from which we made the bat ears and the wrist gauntlets. I bought a small womens tank top and resized it for her, adding the bat with gold fabric. For the cape, I cut holes along the top of a rectangle of black fabric, then ran a black ribbon through the holes to tie it to the straps of her top. Finally, I used carobeeners (also from my Supergirl stash) to attach accessories to her gadget belt. Her gadgets include a bat communicator/ ipod, mini-watergun, and a change purse... a girl's got to be prepared.

costume: new Super top

2008-07-15T22:08:00.000-07:00

(me and a co-worker, summer 2008)

Another "cheater" costume.

I fashioned myself a new top for work. The Supergirl of the current cartoon series "Justice League Unlimited" wears a white midriff baring top. It's summer, I'm hot, and the velvety stuff is so prone to catching fuzz and gunk. I was ready for a change.

I purchased the top at a lingerie store and transfered my "s" emblem from the beat up blue velveteen top. I learned the hard way with a past costume (not the one pictured below) that making my own emblem is a bad idea. Thankfully, I don't think I have any pictures of THAT costume...

This is what my previous (store bought) costume looked like:(Wonder Woman, Superman, Me- with blond hair!, Robin, and Spiderman, circa summer 2006)

costume: Belle (Beauty and the Beast)

2008-06-20T10:42:00.000-07:00

My day job (although we technically work mainly in the evenings) is in a theme restaurant, where the waitstaff consists of characters from books and movies.

The restaurant will do a $150 reimbursement per year, but we provide our own costumes. Some staff members can piece together street clothes for the look of their character, but others end up purchasing Halloween costumes. The trouble here is that Halloween costumes are meant to be gently used, once a year, and can hardly stand up to the rigors of a high-volume restaurant. Size options are typically limited to either Large or Small- some are only available in One Size Fits All. Most costumes aren't even machine washable.

Belle (Beauty and the Beast) was quite sick of her store bought costume, and so enlisted the help of our lovely face painter- who began work on a lovely golden ball gown. All was well until her sewing machine broke...

So I was asked to finish the project, most of which I hand stitched- until my mom loaned me her sewing machine.

This was the first costume I've done for someone other than my immediate family. Typically I sew a little bit and then force the intended wearer to try it on, repeat ad nauseum, until I've achieved the desired look. For Belle I had to measure and pin the dress while it was on her, then take it home and hope that my handiwork would fit properly.

Before getting started I asked her what she liked/disliked about her store bought costume. It was decided that the drapey thing that Belle typically has across the top of her gown was not conducive to repeated tray lifting. Plus, it had to withstand repeated washings and accidental BBQ sauce disasters.

Between the face-painter and I, I think we did a magnificent job.We split the costume reimbursement, and I was overjoyed that I had actually sold something I made. Hooray!

(Belle Costume, part hand sewn, part machine. 2008)

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They had a new photo shoot so now I have some professional pictures of my handiwork!

and here's Belle with the other Disney characters (I did not make their costumes...)

Birthday Party! Bean turns 1

2008-06-20T01:40:00.000-07:00

(crayon doodle invitation. june 2008)

For her party invitation I drew a whimsical, diaper-clad Beanie, splashing in a wave pool. I googled "beans" for inspiration and happened upon It's Bean! ( a FABULOUSLY adorable blog.) Go check it out! I did the invitation in pen and crayon, then color copied and glue-sticked them on turquoise paper.

Later, I felt compelled to make her a baby doll... a beanie baby doll.

I went to the fabric store, selected a soft brown fleece, some home-decor trim in a natural tone, and a smidgen of white flannel. (I also purchased purple flannel for a doll dress, but decided the dress would distract from the bean shape.)

I embroidered the details to prevent choking hazards. (My husband suggested google-y eyes, but I feared she might rip them off and eat them- she's only one...)

Here is a naked baby Bean.

A classic nude pose, rich in protein.

At this point, Baby Bean needs a diaper.

I don't want to find a puddle of starch on my couch...

I took Bean's baby with me to work this evening.

The first person to see her said, "It's a potato!"
The next person said, "It's poo, in a diaper!"

So I showed it to someone else who said, "It's a baby bean!" THANK YOU! This person appreciates fine art when she sees it.

As I mentioned before, I am not making the little dress. The ignorance of my peers allowed me to realize not everyone has such a discerning eye for these things.

My only other concern is the safety pin. I realize that's what used to be used on actual diapers, but it just seems like a safety hazard to me. I intended on purchasing small round white dots of velcro at the fabric store, but forgot to take them out of the cart.

------------------------------------------------------

Finally! I finished the beanie baby! I sewed the diaper together. It's one piece than can be pulled on/off like pants. For safety reasons, I decided to embroider a safety pin on the diaper, rather than use a real one. For the final step, I threaded a needle with off-white thread and wrapped it around the rope where the hand (or foot) should be. I weaved it through the rope strands and tied a secure knot. Afterwards, I frayed the ends, creating little hands and feet. Ta-da!

costume: click beetle

2008-05-30T00:20:00.000-07:00

(school play, may 2008)

My daughter's kindergarten class did an Eric Carle program. She was cast as the young Click Beetle, in "the Very Clumsy Click Beetle." She thought it was great that she had two extra arms. hahaha!

Birthday Party! Big Sis Turns 6

2008-01-28T21:23:00.000-08:00

(caterpillar cupcakes)

My older daughter is very inquisitive. So it was no big surprise that she wanted a science theme for her birthday party.

Activities: erupt a volcano, pin the wings on the butterfly, launch soda from a bottle by dropping Mentos in it, make ice cream by rolling aluminum cans on the ground, make oil and water bottles, and hunt for items in find-it tubs

Favors: baggies of candy (chocolate rocks, gummy frogs and centipedes, rock candy), instructions for making rock candy at home, find-it tubs, an oil and water bottle, graham crackers shaped like bugs

______________________________________________

Stuff I made for the party:

Find-it tubs: We got this idea after visiting the teacher supply store, where you can purchase these, but I decided to make them. Take a clear plastic tub, the kind the grocery store provides when you buy loose bulk items like nuts, then fill it 3/4 with rice. I gathered a large amount of tiny treasures, but I had to make sure I had enough for all the tubs to be identical. The treasures included a small plastic dinosaur, a bead that looked like a leaf, a snowflake sequin, and a small seashell, among other things. Then I used clear packaging tape to seal the tubs. I also attached a list to the top of each tub with a complete inventory of all the things that could be found. At the the party, I gave each kid a tub then told them to find the items in the order on the list. The first kid done was the winner. Later they could shake up the tubs and hunt all over again.

Pin the Wings on the Butterfly: I bought a sheet of foam core board and painted it sky blue. Next I drew a wing-less butterfly, a monarch caterpillar, and a cocoon (shown on the left.) I made the wings from orange and black construction paper and carefully painted on the dots (shown on the right.)

Before playing, I read a story out loud about the life cycle of a butterfly. Then I gave each kid a pair of wings and wrote their name on them. Next we blindfolded the line leader and tried to see if they could pin on the wings!

Volcano Eruption: I made a papier mache volcano and adhered it to another sheet of foam core.
I left a cavity in the top of the volcano for a plastic cup, which I shortened to about 2 inches tall. You can look up many variations of how to make your volcano erupt, but I just put some baking soda in my volcano cup and (after I gathered all the kids around), poured vinegar into the cup. Eruption! The kids screamed with joy. Hooray!

costume: Wee Wonder

2007-12-15T21:09:00.000-08:00

(off to a birthday party...12/07)

This is another costume that was created out of my older daughter's passion for my job at the theme restaurant...

Much to my chagrin, she claimed her favorite superhero was Wonder Woman. Sad, because I played Supergirl at work.

She already had a Superkid outfit for when she was my sidekick, so I felt obligated to come through for her dreams of helping out Wonder Woman.

I found a little patriotic dress at the store one day. The whole thing was dark blue and covered in stars. I cut some red t-shirt fabric and covered the top portion of the dress. I found it difficult to find any decent gold ribbon for trim, so I used some orange trim I had left over from making my Kim Possible outfit, but painted it gold.

When she wore it to work, she proudly marched into the kitchen and up to Wonder Woman, who said "Wait a second... If I'm Wonder Woman, who are you?"

With quick thinking, we explained that the 2 W's on my daughter's outfit stood for "Wee Wonder," Wonder Woman's new pint-sized assistant. And off she went to help Wonder Woman sweep her section...

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For our friend's son's first birthday, they went with a superhero theme. I sported one of my many Supergirl t-shirts, but my daughters were invited to wear costumes. Oddly, I found the baby's dress at a resale store and it perfectly matches the Wee Wonder costume! Aren't they cute?

costumes: fruit bat and guava

2007-10-31T00:43:00.000-07:00

(fruit bat)

My older daughter loves animals. Lately she's been very into bats, so when Halloween rolled around, a fruit bat was an obvious choice for her. I think her favorite part was wearing the fangs- even though we're pretty sure fruit bats don't really have fangs...

We wanted to keep the girls costumes unified, so we turned the baby into a guava! Honestly, I think this is probably my worst costume to date, but she still won first place in the infant division of our city's Halloween costume contest!

costume: Tinkerbell

2007-10-22T20:51:00.000-07:00

(Butterfly Flutterby, October 2007)

When I started working at the theme restaurant (where the waiters all dress/act like characters from books and movies) my daughter really enjoyed coming in to visit. She always likes to help out. Understandably, she too wanted a costume to wear while at "work."

While in the Disney store's clearance section, I came across a pair of lime green wings. They served as the inspiration for this Tinkerbell dress.

I bought some lime green t-shirt fabric to make the dress, and some flouncy evening wear material for a tutu. I gave the dress a zig-zag hem and a halter tie. Then I added some green beading for detail.

She wore the costume to my work, and (sans wings) to ballet class, and -most recently- to the Butterfly Flutterby- the annual childrens' parade through downtown. It's so cute! The kids all dress like butterflies (or butterfly catchers) and march down the street to the festival grounds where live butterflies are released in honor of the monarchs annual migration through our town.

costume: Mother Nature

2007-06-28T00:57:00.000-07:00

(Mother Nature. 2007)

This is a terrible picture of this costume, but it's the only one I have right now...

I made this costume to replace my Supergirl costume for work. When I started showing, I figured no one wanted to stare at my poochy pregnant belly while they ate. And Mother Nature was the perfect character supplement.

Basically I made a green stretchy dress and attached it to a green bra. The dress has an empire waist, with a "baby doll" fly away panel bordered with ivy and vines. Nestled between my boobs was a bird's nest. I also had a lush green velvet cape, complete with more vines, dragon flies, birds, butterflies, etc. The overall effect was quite pretty- one of my favorites before multiple washings and the stench of the restaurant took it's toll.

I hope to get better pictures of this one posted eventually.

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I look HIDEOUS in these pictures, but you can see the front of my costume. I look better in that top photo... perhaps someday I'll drag it out of the box and take pictures of the back.

pinata: fat kid

2007-05-20T21:01:00.000-07:00

Yet another craft project inspired by my job at the theme restaurant...

At work we are constantly bombarded my rude, screaming children, demanding our autographs. Sometimes the stress is a bit much. So when it came time for my work baby-shower, I knew just what to do for my thank you favors!

I made this pinata (he also had an autograph book in his hand) and filled it with candy and other things a group of 20somethings might enjoy/need, like toilet paper, feminine hygiene products, and the likes. When we tried to hang it up, the loop fell off his head. I came up with an alternative:
"When I count to three, you can all stomp on him!"

This pleased my coworkers... and on the count of three there was massive stomping and his head flew off and his guts spilled out. Everyone crawled around on the floor collecting their prizes- they even fought over who was going to keep his mutilated carcass. Success!

randomness: teacher wreath

2007-01-24T19:00:00.000-08:00

Need a gift for the elementary teacher in your life? Make him a wreath for the classroom! I got the idea from one of those free inspiration fliers in the craft store.

The supports (seen through the crayons) are made from embroidery hoops, one large one and one small one. Positioning the metal adjusters to the top provided an instant wreath hanger, after adding a ribbon, of course. Hot glue a ruler across the middle for structural support. Assembly is as easy as hot gluing the crayons around the hoops. I arranged my crayons in color order, but random would be fine, too. Lastly, I embellished with wooden circles to which I glued teacher themed wooden accents. My craft store sells mini-chalkboards, so I bought a package and wrote the teacher's name with a silver Sharpie.

The total cost of this project was less than $10 and it only took about an hour- most of which was spent determining the order of the crayons.

costume: Rock-N-Roll Bunny Rabbit

2006-11-14T23:18:00.000-08:00

(Halloween 2006)

I think this is the only picture I have of this costume. My daughter said she wanted to be a "rock-n-roll bunny rabbit." I selected some purple fuzzy fabric and made her some pants. Then I added a fluffy tail. For her upper-half, I bought a black hoody and sewed a big "AC/DC" patch to the back. I also decorated the hoody with safety pins, studs, and buttons featuring bands she likes. I found the head band at the hobby store- but it was actually meant to be a tan puppy. I removed the original ears and created my own with cardboard. Then I covered the head band with the same purple fabric as the pants. I mounted a Mr. Potato Head nose to the muzzle, added whiskers and some over-sized teeth. Lastly, I made her a candy bag that looked like a guitar.

I forgot my camera that Halloween... I plan to dig this costume out of storage and see if I can get some shots.

costume: Superkid

2005-11-20T21:59:00.000-08:00

my super family

This is really a "cheater" costume. I bought the top- it's part of a little boy's jammy set. Then I bought some red sweat pants and cut the legs of at an angle at the crotch, creating a very quick and simple angle skirt. She wore her red high tops and that was it!

FYI, my costume and my husband's shirt are both store bought. The costume I had prior to this one was hand-made...a terrible idea. The "s" emblem is so iconic that it was very obvious that a person with relatively little costuming skill had made mine- that person being me... I'm not sure if I have any pictures of that particular costume.

costume: Kim Possible

2005-11-03T17:52:00.000-08:00

November 2009
I have photos of this costume somewhere, I need to find/post them.
I'm putting this post in November 2005 until I find the pictures- I'm not sure of the actual date...

_____________________________

A woman eating in the restaurant asked Cinderella if she'd be interested in working her five year old daughter's birthday party as Kim Possible. Cinderella had a conflict and referred the woman to me. I had no idea who Kim Possible was, but turns out she's pretty cool. It's a Disney show, and I think there are also a couple of movies.

This poster from impawards.com pretty much sums it up.

The party was cheerleader themed, so I made Kim's uniform (shown on the left.) I made the whole outfit from t-shirt fabric, bought matching pom-poms, and found an orange and purple long sleeve athletic shirt to wear if it was cold out. I also made a big "M" with an adhesive back to put on the shirt so it would look like a letterman's sweater. Finally, I died my hair a gorgeous shade of red-orange.

I parked around the corner from the party and ran up to the door- told the kids my helicopter had dropped me off. Her mom shook my hand (slipping me a hefty check) and said she was so excited to me. The girls were suspicious and quizzed me about my family, school, and love interests. After I passed their test (with flying colors, I might add) I taught them a Middleton Mad Dog cheer (Kim's High School.)

M-A-D! (with your pom-poms clap, clap, clap)
D-O-G! (clap, clap, clap)
That's how we (turn around)
Spell VIC-TOR-Y! (throw your hands up and leap into the air)

That's when my "communicator" was supposed to beep, but her mom forgot to go call my cell phone, so I just said "Gotta go! People to save!" and ran down the street.

Her mom called me the next day and told me the girls said it was awesome. Score! I saw them a few weeks later at the restaurant. Her girls came to get my autograph (I was, of course, Supergirl at that time.) They told me about the fabulous birthday party they had had. Super cool.

quilt: cabin in the woods

2004-12-30T16:19:00.000-08:00

(winter 2004)

My mom and step-dad live in the mountains, in a cozy log cabin. When I saw this fabric, I knew exactly what to give them for Christmas. The center is one panel, but the surroundings are pieced together from a coordinating fabric. The original print also featured badgers- but badgers don't live near my mom's, so I cut out clusters of animals that are indigenous to the area. The backing is a giant piece of flannel, and the batting is pretty heavy- so this little blanket is quite warm.

I hand stitched most of it, but used a fusible webbing for other parts. After giving them the quilt, I learned that I didn't use the webbing properly- oops! So I called my mom and gave her the instructions. She ended up machine stitching the whole thing, just in case. Lesson learned. :)

costume: puppy dog

2004-11-01T16:23:00.000-08:00

November 2009:
I have a picture of this costume- I need to find a scanner...

Halloween 2004
Whenever my two year old doesn't want to do what we've said, we have a brief confrontation, then she turns into a puppy dog and the doggie does everything we tell it to. I guess it's her way of saving face because it's the puppy following instructions, not her.
So it's only fitting that this should be her costume this year.

We entered her at the childrens costume contest at the University. She won 2nd place! Honestly, she should have won first- that lame kid was wearing a STORE BOUGHT costume (what ugly words!) of Captain Hook. Anyway, her prize was dinner for four at Chuck E. Cheese, with complimentary drinks and tokens. Hooray!

costume: monster

2003-10-31T15:58:00.000-08:00

(fall 2003)

In the early years, I made her Halloween costume based on her current personality traits. She was about 20 months here- a bundle of ferocious, adorable, energy. Plus she made a lot of growly noises...

Again, I went the "cheater" route, using an old pair of zip up the front jammies as the base. I stitched the fur directly onto the jammies. Once I had most of the body constructed, I cut away the inner jammie fabric. Then I added a huge stuffed tail, and covered some aqua sox with fur for monster feet- complete with toe nails!

Later, I added a mane, which runs from the top of her head, to the tip of her tail. Between the bits of crazy, colorful hair there are big bumpy scales made from an egg carton. I especially like her big pointy ears.

construction paper: wedding banner

2003-09-19T23:12:00.000-07:00

(construction paper wedding banner. 2003)

When my husband's brother was engaged, a cousin and I planned a couples bridal shower. My contributions included a hand-made board game and this banner. It's made out of construction paper, with eyeshadow added to my sister-in-law with a white colored pencil. I had originally intended for this to be a game of "pin the boutonniere on the groom," but after I had finished, I was too excited about the overall piece to think of someone accidentally taping over their faces. (I put a black box over their names for on-line privacy.) I was especially happy about the resemblance with my brother-in-law, mind you he did NOT wear an orange and green tux at the wedding...

Our family is big into playing games, like Cranium or Phase Ten. While trying to come up with shower games, I spent a great deal of time in the wedding section of the book store. Many of the books feature totally random pieces of trivia: If you find a spider crawling on your wedding dress, it's good luck. Brides in some countries used to tuck walnuts into the bodice of their gown- one for every child they hoped to have.

I was jotting down these weird facts for my own amusement, but after I'd filled an entire page, I stopped looking for party games and sought out more trivia. When I got home, I wrote each factoid on an index card in the form of a question. For the more difficult questions, I provided multiple choices. I divided the trivia cards into appropriate categories, like "folklore" or "the honeymoon." Next I found a piece of cardboard and covered it in a winding path of construction paper squares (a la Candyland.) Each colored square corresponded to a trivia category. For game play, we also needed dice and a marker for each player- I think we used coins.

We divided the couples into teams. Seeing as I knew all the answers, I acted as the game's host. I warned them that I had made the game up myself and that it may be hard or take a long time, but everyone was so excited that they didn't care. To get the game started, the designated player selected a category and was read the question by an opposing team member. If the question was answered correctly, the player rolled the dice and moved forward. Other than the starting move, you answer questions based on the color of the square you land on. It was fun to watch the teams counsel each other on ancient wedding rituals. First team to cross the threshold wins!

I still have my trivia cards and would love to do more research and market the game specifically for use at bridal showers. I've seen baby shower and bachellorette party games, so I'm sure there's a market for it.

I would also include a stack of blank cards for the host of the bridal shower to write personal questions about the couple, like how they met, or what "their song" is. We did this and it proved amusing, a fun way for everyone to learn more about the happy couple.

Oh, and FYI, I called the game "Matrimonium." Don't steal my idea or I'll sue you!

costume: curious george

2002-10-31T23:29:00.000-08:00

(curious george. fall 2002)

At this point she was into just about everything, prompting us to refer to her as a monkey... and when Halloween rolled around, this was the obvious choice.

However, I had never made a costume before. I'm not sure I'd really sewn anything at that point... I was inspired by a chocolate brown towel. I cut it apart, making pants and a little jacket, using the finished edges for the trim around the hood. I didn't know how to size the costume to her, so used 2 old pair of jammies- I used elastic waist pants as a guide for her pants and a button-front long-sleeved pj with the legs cut off for the jacket. Next, I (poorly) hand-stitched the fabric directly onto the jammies. Afterwards, I cut away excess jammy fabric, leaving the waist band on the bottoms and the button closure on the top.

To hide the messy stitching on the monkey jacket, I created the little tee-shirt. I disassembled one of my husband's old shirts, then resized it for a baby.

Once the shirt was assembled, I got out one of our many Curious George books and a sheet of white paper. I traced the logo onto the paper, then pinned the paper to the front of the shirt. Using yellow thread, I embroidered the logo directly over the paper. The needle perforated the paper and as I finished each letter, the paper surrounding it sort of peeled away. It was actually pretty easy, but the majority of time I used on this costume was spent embroidering- probably because embroidery was something I had never done before.

For the hood, I inspected one of her hoodies. After deciding which one fit the best, I selected one made of three pieces, rather than two. Hoodies with two panels of fabric come to sort of a point on the top. The third piece used on this hood helps it lay closer to her head. For this part of the costume I didn't actually sew on "cheater fabric," I made the hood entirely out of towel pieces, then attached it to the jacket.

After having the main parts of the costume finished, it was time for details. I left a hole in the butt of the pants for adding a tail- basically a narrow tube of fabric. I used a tan wash cloth for the ear details to keep the texture consistent. The most difficult part of the hood was figuring out where to attach the ears so they would stick out in a monkey-like fashion.

I was extremely happy with the results of this costume. She looked adorable!

toys: piggy mobile

2002-01-02T18:37:00.000-08:00

When I was pregnant with my first daughter, I found this adorable baby blanket/sheet/crib bumper set: blue gingham with little piggies all over it. I was inspired to make a matching mobile, but I wanted to personalize it. My husband is a musician, so I replaced the kites and flowers the pigs were holding with a guitar and a bass. Originally I was also going to make a drummer and another guitar player, but I never found a mobile that I liked that I could hang these guys from, so I sort of scrapped the project. Here are the two piggies I completed:

the lead guitar player

the bass player

drawing: elephants

1999-12-01T23:02:00.000-08:00

(pencil drawing. 1999)

I saw this image of a mother and baby elephant on the internet. I pulled it into a graphics program and messed around with different effects , ultimately deciding on a smudgey black and white look. Then I used that image as my study for this drawing. I did my smudging with Q-tips and paper towels.

I gave the drawing to my husband as a gift- his favorite animal is an elephant. At one point we had an elephant themed bathroom and this was hanging in a nice frame. There's quite a bit of discrepancy with the mother's legs, but not bad for my first real attempt at drawing.

Glove Bunny

1998-11-22T13:19:00.000-08:00

Glove Bunny, circa 1998?

I made this little bunny one afternoon with my boyfriend's mother. I think she got the idea from a magazine.

It's made out of a cloth glove. First, you reverse the thumb into the body of the glove. It will look like a pocket. The two middle fingers become his ears, the outer two fingers become his arms. On the back, you pinch a small section and stitch around it to make a tail, or you could add a little pom-pom tail. For his feet, you snip the opening at the bottom of the glove, then stuff and stitch shut. The addition of a little scarf helps define his neck. I was new to sewing when I made this, and sadly added his mouth with a Sharpie. I definitely recommend stitching one on.

He'd make a cute Easter or Christmas decoration.