HALLOWEEN COSTUMES REVIEW

Costumes are all complete. I painted the crows beak last night and I am in the process of working on the staff. I had originally played around with the idea of making a plush crow but decided on a store bought one instead. I also need to do some adjusting to the headpiece. Apparently it's made for someone with a giant head.





Simplicity 9891


Pattern Description: Renaissance Style Costume Dress

Pattern Size: Size 10

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?
Yes

Were the instructions easy to follow?
Yes, the instructions were easy to follow. It did take me a minute to wrap my head around the collar construction.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?

Because I was trying to mimic the look of this characters costume I liked the collar and sleeves of this dress.

Fabric Used:
Black stretch velvet–Joanns  Purple costume satin - Joanns

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made:

I made the sleeves out of the same fabric as the dress and I lined the sleeves. I also added a removable dickie-turtle neck to look like that of the characters collar and neck.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?
Yes, I'd sew it again. I recommend not using stretch velvet. I was on a budget and didn't want to pay the price for velvet.  In fact maybe not use velvet at all. It is unbelievably heavy.







Simplicity 5520


Pattern Description: Kids Princess Costume


Pattern Size: Size 5 in width and 6 in length

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?
Yes

Were the instructions easy to follow?
Yes, the instructions were easy to follow.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?

The pattern seemed to run big. Based on my daughter's measurements, the envelope  instructed me to cut out a 5. I had to take it in almost an inch on either side. The first time in a long time I've had to adjust a pattern.

Fabric Used:
Pink costume satin - Hobby Lobby

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made:

Took it in on the sides. I also added small belt loops on the side for the rope belt. Because of the satin material, the belt kept sliding down.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?
Yes, I'd sew it again.

PLUSH YOU! TOMORROW NIGHT!

If you live in Seattle and need something to do friday night, head over to the Plush You! show at Schmancy.

The opening is from 5-9.

1932 2nd Ave. Seattle, WA 98101



One of the three pieces I sent this year.

NEW SKIRTS!

I made 4 skirts this year from Simplicity pattern 2356.



Halloween!!





Christmas!!



Simplicity 2356

Pattern Description:

Girls skirt

Pattern Size: Size 5

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?
Yes

Were the instructions easy to follow?
Yes, the instructions were easy to follow.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?

Love the fullness of the skirts. Daughter loves to spin in them. This is my second time making these skirts. First time making them I made a size 3. My daughter can still wear those. These skirts can be worn a few years.

Fabric Used:
cotton –Joanns

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made:

No alterations needed.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?
Yes. I also recommend making the tulle underskirt to to make them more full.

 

SUMMER'S OVER TIME FOR FALL SEWING!!!

Cute purple corduroy fall jacket..



Found this great cotton print for the lining.





Simplicity 2234

Pattern Description:

Childs coat

Pattern Size: Size 5

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?
Yes

Were the instructions easy to follow?
Yes, the instructions were easy to follow. Take your time with the lining so that it doesn't bunch up.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?

I was just looking for a simple jacket style for my 4 year old daughter and this fitted me need.

Fabric Used:
cotton – fabric.com

purple corduroy - fabric.com

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made:

I made view A in the shorter version. The pattern only calls for 3 buttons at the top but I decided to add buttons all the way down the coat. With an active 4 year old running around outside, 3 buttons keeping the coat closed was not going to keep her warm.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?
Yes.

Conclusion:

The coat, because I didn't use a heavier material, will be great for fall weather. If I had lined the corduroy with a fleece it could have worked for colder weather.

Love how well this fits my four year old I plan on making the vest too.

This would be really cute in a denim too.

MALIFICENT SLEEVES

The sleeves are complete! I had some major problems with the sleeves. The main problem is I'm using cheap stretch velvet because I didn't want to spend the money on real velvet. I ran into a problem when I had to line them with the cheap purple satin. One whole sleeve had to be redone. Lots of cussing involved. It fits great and is quite heavy. When I hold my arms out it is quite dramatic. All that's left is hemming and steaming the dress.

I haven't decided  if I like the idea of a cape. I'm afraid it might completely obscure the dress. I'm going to start my daughters sleeping beauty dress and think about it.

MALIFICENT COSTUME

I've attached the collar to the front and back of the dress. Next up is to sew up the side seams and start working on the sleeves.

THAT TIME OF YEAR AGAIN!!!!

Yes, it's that time of year again. Halloween!! The time of year where I spend 2 1/2 months working on costumes and decorations. Halloween to me is like Christmas to most people. We officially have more Halloween decor than any other holiday. I think it's every artists favorite holiday. The only holiday where you can create costumes and become someone else.

So this year our costume theme is Sleeping Beauty. One of my favorite Disney films. I have always loved the backgrounds, which were all designed by Eyvind Earle. Look him up! Below is concept art painted by him for the film.



I will be playing the part of Malificent and my 4 year old will be Sleeping Beauty. All she really cares about is that she gets to be wear a pink gown.





So there is no Malificent or Sleeping Beauty costume in print. So I have decided to create my versions of the the films costumes. I have decided to use Simplicity pattern 9891. Mainly because of the collar which resembles that of Malificent's.

Below is a sketch of how I hope it will look like in the end. There will be the dress as well as a cape.





Here's what I've completed so far. The collar, pretty cool. It is black velvet lined with purple satin.

Below is our past Halloween themes. Last year was by far the most detail oriented and time consuming costumes I have ever made. My husband loves it so much he wants to wear it again this year and maybe add some better props to it.



2011



2010

The Leia and Ewok costume was pretty simple to make. The Storm Trooper, not so easy. My husband spent months on this.



2009

PLUSH YOU 2012!!

Some how I managed to finish my stuff for Plush You this year and get it done early. I can't believe it's almost September.

As usual I intended to show some pics of progress but it just didn't happen. I managed to take a whole two pics of my work in progress.



Teeny tiny 1" wide scarf. Each scarf measures about 18" long.



And here they are. Girls ready for cooler weather in animal hoodies.  Inspired by a cat, owl and a bear. All measure 20" tall and their heads measure  8.5" wide. All are made with fleece, cotton, flannel and felt.

WEDDING CRAFTINESS

Long time no see Blog. ;) It's been a while. But I've been busy making wedding stuff for a better part of this summer.

Violet was asked to be a flower girl in my brothers wedding. Yeah! I was asked to make her dress and the junior brides maid dress. No pressure there. Was worried I'd mess up the dresses. I could live with messing up Violet's dress but not the other girls. I really took my time with these. I used Butterick pattern 4967. I only had a slight problem with the lining and the zipper. My only complaint about this pattern is that the cumperbun /belt kept sagging because of the weight of the rosette attached at the back. Even the three belt loops I added to the dress didn't help. But that's what safety pins at the last minute are for.



I made this dress with 4 tiers. The pattern only has it for 2 ,3 or 5.



I actually made three versions of this pattern. The first version was out of some cotton fabric I had. I wanted to figure the pattern out before cutting into the good fabric. We decided to wear it for the rehearsal dinner.



Her doll needed a dress too.



I also spent time working on the invites, response cards, maps, programs, menus, other signage, etc...I highly recommend Overnightprints.com. The printing turned out great and when we had an issue with the printing of one item, the customer service was great and they resolved the issue.





Instead of a guest book the bride and groom decided on a giant letter F. They wanted it to look like metal. It is actually masonite. I cut it out with a hand held jigsaw and just used layers of spray paint to give me the effect I wanted. Names were signed with a fine point sharpies. No smearing.



I decorated this metal basket my daughter carried. It needed a lining and flowers sewn to it. I don't have a good photo but I made Violet's hairpiece too. I made fabric flowers from left over fabric, ribbon and beads. I have said this before but I highly recommend the book The Artful Ribbon by Candace King. It is no longer in print but you can find used copies on line.

Now with all this behind me and can start working on a few other project I've been meaning to start.

AM I A MAN OR AM I A MUPPET

Back in December I "taught" a puppet making workshop at work. A fun creative renewal opportunity. I use the word "teach" loosely. With this experience I learned that I have a hard time explaining something when asked. So much of what I do is trial and error and winging it or just plain intuition. I found myself doing lots of rough doodles to get my point across. But it was a success and some AWESOME work came out of it!!!!! I am lucky to be surrounded by a ton of unbelievably talented people on a daily basis.

We have a great large creative library at Hallmark. A great source of inspiration with a fun environment. The outside walls of the library have large display windows that are always filled with inspiration and artwork. We had the pleasure of filling these large windows with the puppets from this workshop. This meant a lot of work went into creating backgrounds for them.

Check them out.















This one is mine. The three numbered puppets and girl on the ground were originally created for the Shoebox blog.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_1HSsEx1lU&feature=player_embedded



My 80's girl. She's sporting an s side ponytail, got her awesome yellow Sony walkman headphones and is of course wearing two Swatch watches.