Halloween Costumes 2009

Much work was put into costumes this year, but spread out a bit so as to not be so overwhelming. Here is the link to the costume pics on the other blog.

The top of my costume was made entirely by me and a combination of about 3 different patterns with multiple modifications on my part. The bottom was a repurposed skirt that used to be white and I never even wore once. It was also too big and rolled over 3 times at the top. I threaded the beads through the bottom and dyed the whole thing "sunflower yellow". I was not in the mood to make a skirt....but unfortunately I have now got 6 yards of yellow chiffon....just in case anyone has a need. Also, a shout out to silk velvet, just as a whole. The navy blue on the sides of my top was made with the $24 per yard stuff and it was sublime. I only needed 3/4 of a yard so I went for it. Feels sooooo good. I got the apple necklace and earrings marked down at Party City--I hate that store--but it was broken off the earring back and I had to remake them from scratch. They only cost $3.99 though.

Cinderella was also made by me. The blue satin has silver glittery sparkles on it and she picked it out herself as THE Cinderella blue. The shoes are her own, the velvet choker is a scrap held together by scotch tape and the headband is a ribbon. I bought a blue headband, but she said Cinderella had a "HEADBAND!!", which to her is a ribbon. So, we have a ribbon.
Goth Tinkerbell is a purchased dress we got at Ross for $14, wings that I have in my wing stash (yes, I have a stockpile of after-halloween wings. Dont you?), her own Doc Marten's that she wears to school practically daily and an exorbitant amount of eye makeup. Also, purchased skull wristbands and mesh arm thingies. The stockings are also from my stash....

For the boys, we have the Ninja Mickey Mouse which is a internet bought ninja outfit. I dont really understand how Ninjas work, but apparently there are real people who think they are them....and they sell outfits. It only cost like $25 and is very high quality cotton...like a karate uniform. He wore his Renaissance Faire boots instead of the weird split toe boots they sell for ninjas. And the Mickey ears were bought, obviously. It made for a hilarious silhouette.


Chris's Vampire Prince Charming outfit is a newly made vest from an old pattern I had. The fabric was originally going to be this gown when we were planning a Bram Stoker's Dracula theme, but when we changed to Disney theme, it got set aside. Perfect for the vamp vest though! I love the fabric. The rest of his outfit is his repurposed Snape costume and some white face paint.


We had a great time, everybody was comfortable in their outfits and I really didnt spend too terribly much this year. That is always good. Happy Halloween....the best holiday EVA!!!

Renaissance costumes finally complete and in use!!

I posted some of these on my other blog, but I felt the need to post some costume related ones here. The full photostream is on Flickr and you can get to that by clicking here or on any of the photos below.

Here is a full length shot of me and C & J. Ignore the stupid look on my face and Jack's completely skinny belt...I didnt catch the belt before we were half way across Nashville and the smart-assed look is a permanent feature.


Here is full length Chris fighting some beer glasses.


Here is a close up of Julia's lacings.


And here is a full length of her and Jack. And, a good shot of Caris's hair fall...the feathers on top were just added to annoy her when she wasnt looking;-P. Also, the blue fairy Hope is wearing is a previous year's costume of Julia's. It is much loved by any girls that join us each year and has been worn by several of them who needed a costume in a pinch.


So that is a good smattering of costume photos. Click on one of the pictures to see the full set--or on the link at the top.
It was fun!! Come with us next time!!

It's been a CRAZY week!

Okay, I am feeling like I'm being a bit blogger slacky this week so I thought I would give a little overview of the week. I havent been as lazy as it seems. It is the week before Renaissance Festival here in TN and I have been doing alot of finish up costume sewing and odds and ends. I took some pics....

These are the hair falls for me and the baby girl.


Maisie got a new quilt and pillow for her bed.


I went to a thrift store and got these for $3...tell me how you could possibly pass that up?! I have no idea what I am going to do with them, but I like them.


We have new beer brewing or fermenting or something....


Baby girl needed some eggs for her kitchen. I got these wooden ones at Hobby Lobby for $.99 each and we painted them to match our chicken's eggs.


All these costumes are done and ready to roll. This week I had to finish Chris's jacket and make both the boy's shirts....and add about 800 million grommets.


And I have a new book that I want to get through that has been very neglected for this week and now is getting a lot of attention. Hellllooooo, Rehvenge!! I cant explain this except to say it is smut and it is good.


Now, if this unending rain would just STOP already, I would be headed out into the woods for some good Ren Fest revelry.

Sewing...all day long

I managed to get a lot accomplished today for some reason. I dont understand how some days I get absolutely nothing done the entire day and then other days I just knock things out left and right. We even managed to fit in a nice outdoor Mexican food lunch in the middle of the day. The kids were off all day and actually entertained themselves. The Wii is broken and sent off to Nintendo, so they are actually "playing" if you can believe it.
Anyway, first thing today was finish Chris's pants for Ren-fest. This involved a bias tape maker for the ties and lots of threading through casings...

Next, I made some quicky black pants for Baby Boy's costume and finished the Liver lip's reversible corsety thing for her costume. I think i covered both in this picture. The pants still need hemmed and so does the pink shirt, but that didnt happen today.

Here you can see what it reverses to since it isnt visible in the hanging photo. I am trying to make some multipurpose pieces. Since you cant see the back, the two sides dont have to match at all. She shirt matches both sides and i am going to make her a brown skirt to go with the other brocadey print.

Then, since I am trying to use up some of this random fabric that is cluttering up my laundry room, I made these pajama pants for the bacon fiend in the house. They are too big, but I am too lazy to fool with making them smaller. They have a drawstring...she hasnt complained so I am pretending I dont notice. And for God's sake, dont look at her bedroom...

It is cute Michael Miller flannel fabric with bacon and eggs.

Finally, the Baby Girl got this super nice crown-ladyish (per her) hair do.

So, to go with the do, she got these pants. They arent supposed to go with this shirt. The shirt they go with is cut out but not made. That is as far as I got with it today...maybe tomorrow. She tried them on and then was wanting to pose for lots of pictures. Far be it from me to deny her...


See that laundry basket up there in that last picture...that was the rest of my day. I hate laundry.

Fancy Bun

So, yesterday I was in Costume mode and looking up--wait for it--BELLY DANCING HAIR! I came upon this technique that i thought was about the most awesome thing I have ever seen in my life. I thought perhaps this was common knowledge among people who actually take time to fancy up their hair but, upon discussion with my work peeps, I have found that it is not. So, let me be the gal to enlighten you!



And then, if you are full on lazy and cheap like me, you can peruse this little beauty so you can get the donut thingy on the cheap out of your own closet! This video has captions for the words since i think this chick is speaking some Asian language we would not otherwise understand...just go with it. Oh, and use a brown sock for heaven's sake. And one sock is plenty unless you have some super-long hair.



Cool, huh?! Told ya!

Corsets for toddlers!!

Corsets for toddlers, originally uploaded by Rowetopia.

So, as I otherwise accomplished absolutely nothing yesterday and was feeling out of sorts over it, I thought I would tackle some costume prep for the Tennessee Renaissance Festival in May.
The one place i did manage to get to yesterday was Jo-Ann Fabrics--which is a store I LOATHE but is a necessary evil if you are going to sew anything since fabric stores are a dying breed in the world. Dont get me started on that....
Anyway, I found this linenesque fabric and i do love me some embroidery that i dont have to take a needle to, so i bought two yards in hopes of making something cute for the Baby Girl out of it.

My basic method was lots of rectangles. I measured under the armpit to the waist and waist to floor. Did a double layer of fabric for each--for easy lining. The most oddball part was getting some sort of strap that made sense. Ribbons would cut into her shoulder too much and she is a pain with untying ribbons at the shoulder, so I just did a simple wide strap that meets in the middle of the back. I wont get into how much it made my brain hurt to get these positioned correctly between the layers of fabric--inside out and upside down.

Once the straps were on I just used the proper length of the rest of the fabric and gathered it at the top, sewed it to the front of the bodice and flipped it. I pinned the lining to the back of the skirt and sewed it at the waist kinda in the ditch. I wish in hindsight that I had made the bodice a hair shorter, but oh well.

So, an hour later and at least the outer part of her costume is the finished.

She still lacks a shift underneath, but I got some really cute green crinkle gauze for that. Crinkle gauze is somehow a requirement to go to Renaissance Festival--they check you for it at the gate, I think.

I mean, really...lacing on a toddler is just the best. And I think the embroidery pattern turned out quite nice. The open front will be good at keeping her from tripping in the dirt while walking but I am going to get some thicker ribbon for the lacing---maybe in red or orange to stand out against the green shift and yellow bodice. I just used what I had on hand for the pictures.
Overall, I am happy with it and Caris seems to like it fine....she wore it for hours because it looks like a "crown lady" dress and she does love one of those.