costume: Superkid

my super family

Okay, so I only made one thing in this whole picture- but we were going for a theme! I got a job working as a costumed superhero in a theme restaurant, so we decided to have some fun with it.

The Hubbs is wearing the shirt I bought him. He hate Superman, so he was being an awful good sport to pose with us. This is his "tough guy" pose. (Hahahaha!)

 I'm wearing a store bought Secret Wishes brand Supergirl costume. I made my previous Supergirl top, and-oh my- it was so terrible I am thankful not to have pictures. The "S" logo is so iconic, even a slight deviance is obvious... and I made it out of slippery lycra/spandex dance fabric. It was very obvious that a person with relatively little costuming skill had made it- that person being me...

Chula is wearing  the top from a little boy's jammy set. I bought a pair of red sweat pants, just slightly bigger than she is (so the waist would still fit her) and cut the legs of at an angle at the crotch, creating a very quick and simple angled skirt. She wore her red high tops and that was it!

costume: Kim Possible

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...

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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 meet 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! (and then clap, clap, clap with your pom poms)
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 and they didn't recognize me.) They told me about the fabulous birthday party they had had. Super cool.

quilt: cabin in the woods

[Need to find a picture.]
(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

AWARD WINNER
Chula as a puppy, 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!

This was a "cheater" costume- where I used an old pair of jammies as a base, sewed the fur to the outside, and then cut away the jammies when I was done. I typically use this method when sewing with bulky, furry fabrics so ensure a good fit. The bulk of the costume is a warm, caramely brown. I added chocolate colored spots in the same fabric. The suit is one piece with a front zipper and a large hood. She's got a waggy tail and floppy ears, lined with pale pink flannel. I added a cardboard bone nametag to her zipper pull, and drew on some whiskers with an eyeliner. the fire hydrant was the photographers idea- but it's pretty cute- if I do say so myself.