Halloween = Tulle

Since last year’s Halloween costume was shall we say “easy”, I went all out with this one.  It took me a few weeks to design it and a almost a week to cut and sew it.  Now try to guess what I’ll be.

Here’s a hint.  These are the fabrics I used in addition to a blue cotton for lining (not pictured).  The right one is a pretty tulle with sparkly stars all over.  The left one is a pale blue tulle with a slight shimmery look to it.  I bought them both at SAS. 

If you guessed Elsa from Frozen, sorry you’re wrong.  Close though, I was slightly inspired by the look.  I’m actually going to be a fairy this year.  Here’s the completed dress in all it glory.  Now for some close ups.

Here’s the edge of the neckline.  I added a section of gathered blue tulle straight across to both make it pretty and to insure the dress wasn’t too low cut.  I want to be a cute fairy not a sexy one.

I had originally planned are puffed sleeves with ribbon on the cuff, but that didn’t quite work.  They were too stuffy looking, plus they made it hard to lift my arms up.  I went for something more fluttery, works well for fairies.

I hand stitched the ribbon at the waist.  It ties in a lovely bow in back with extra long tails.  I guess I just like having something to tie on dresses, regular or costume ones.

The skirt I am especially proud of, three floaty layers of fabric (almost) flawlessly gathered and stitched to the bodice.  I considered adding extra ribbons or ruffles, but I thought the stars and stuff were enough embellishment.

Now the accessories, of course.  At the top is a head band and ribbon choker necklace, the bottom is a pair of fingerless gloves.  I made the gloves out of blue tulle, man I used a lot of it for this project!  They come up to my elbows and down to my middle fingers.  The choker is just a piece of ribbon with a snap.  Just an easy and effective accessory.  The head band was a little more complicated.

I wrapped a plain headband with strips of both tulles and then glued on this little butterflies.  Aren’t they pretty?  I got them at SAS on a whim.  They have little iridescent jewels on the center.  I thought they would be perfect for this because of their wings.

Speaking of wings, here are the ones I’m using.  I got them from Joann Fabrics and Crafts at their Columbus Day Sale.  They are normally about $25 but I got them for $10 instead.  I guess it’s a little strange to have pink wings with a blue dress, but that’s just how I roll.

In addition to wings, I also bought a wig just not at the same place.  I got this one at Party City.  A white wig of course goes great with all the sparkles and blue, but that’s not what I wanted so…

…I did this.  I dyed it using Kool-Aid, well actually I guess I tinted it.  I used a pack of Cherry flavor and another Pink Lemonade flavored.  Just mix it in with conditioner, apply, then let sit over night before rinsing off.  I think it came out well.

Here’s everything all together.  I decided to wear white flats and pink knee socks because again that’s how I roll (see My Favorite Things: Knee Socks).  I can’t wait to wear it tomorrow.  I plan to pretty much wear it all day. It will be so much fun.

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Lovely This and Lovely That

Well I said I would “hopefully” post the rest of my Christmas projects on Sunday.  Sadly that lead to posting them 3 days from Sunday, on Christmas day of all days.  To be fair I actually finished making them all yesterday.  I just was a little too busy to post them what with preparing for Christmas eve services a such. 

First up, this lovely top made from a plain t-shirt.  It had been ages since I’ve done one of these and nothing completes a lovely holiday skirt like a lovely dressy top.  I did the usual things I do with t-shirts (remove sleeves, cut sides and necks, add elastic, etc.), but the neck line is slightly different.   I used two types of eyelet lace to embellish the neckline, and I added cris-crossing straps on the front.  I’ve done something similar in the past but with straps that tie around the neck.  By doing them this way I don’t have to worry about tying them just right.  Saves time getting dressed.

Speaking of holiday skirts, I made a couple more this year.  That’s right, not just one, but…

…Two skirts.  They are both very similar in design and made out of almost the same fabric.  Same Edwardian style pattern, but one is red and one is black.  In fact it’s the same fabric I used for the wreath and some of the ornaments on my list.  One might think it is a bit obsessive to have two extremely similar skirts, luckily one of them isn’t  for me.  It is a gift for someone, but I won’t say which one so as to not ruin the surprise for them.  Of course what’s more fun than lovely matching skirts?

Lovely matching hair accessories!  When I made the fabric yo-yos for the wreath and ornaments, I made a few extra to use for hair accessories.

To go with the black skirt I made this lovely headband.  It is trimmed with white lace, black bows, and silver and white buttons.

For the red skirt I made these hair combs.  Similar to the headband except I used white bows and use dark red rose buds instead of buttons.
Here’s the updated list:

• Pouches
• Zip, zip, zip
• Red skirt
• Black skirt
• Bird skirt
• Hair accessories
• Ribbon fun
• Top
• Wreath
• Ornaments galore
• Bun-bun

Eleven down and out.
Have a lovely holiday everyone!

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Finally Finished on the Fleece

As the title says, I finally finished my November project list.  In December.  A week late. 
Well, a few things kind of popped up.  Very important life altering things, but I can’t talk about it. 

Anyway, the idea of making little fleece bows popped in my head while doing some cutting.  What better thing to do with small scraps of fleece?  All you really need are three rectangle pieces and something to stick the finished bow to like a clip or something.  I wanted to stick these bows to hair elastics, but for some reason I couldn’t find any.  I’m sure I had a ton somewhere.  I just used strips of elastic, they are actually more secure this way.

The next one is an idea I have been toying with for like a year.  Little cat-shaped purses.  I made them in two colors/patterns and two of each.  In the picture it shows the front and back view of each.  On the front of each one is a little bitty heart made from a scrap of the back pattern.  Think of it as the kitty’s nose.  I would have put eyes too, but I thought it might look to cluttered.  How is it, are they fine the way they are or do they look weird without eyes?

Next is sunglasses cases.  I found a piece of fleece with this interesting red pattern and thought it would be perfect for a case of some kind.  Just a simple pouch shape, slanted at the opening with a fabric cord loop attached, not too hard to make.  I decided to make a second matching one with white fleece.  It would have been black, but I seem to be lacking in that color.  Oh well, it still looks good.

And the last project is these cuffs.  They are pretty easy to make.  I just cut the fleece in the strips and braided them.  Then I sewed the ends together, of course that was the hard part.  Sewing the ends without making them look messy or ugly.  I think I did a good job on that part, but just in case I added little bows to hide any goofs.
Here’s the updated list:

• Hair accessories
• Tiny teddies
• Tiny birds
• Bags
• Tiny sweaters
• Tiny hats
• Yoyo’s
• Cases
• Key chains
• Cuffs

Ten down and out.  It’s funny.  Usually in December I start working on my big old Christmas list of gifts and decorations and stuff.  This year, thanks to all the stuff I made for this list and the Christmas stuff I made last summer, I have no need to make anything for December.  My crafting is done for the year.  Nothing left but to enjoy the month and maybe get a leg up for next year. 

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Hair Accessories Again? A Tutorial

One can never have too many hair accessories, especially someone like myself who can’t really do anything with hair except brush it and stick a clip in it.  And these were so pretty, I decided to show you all how to do them. 

Yep, another tutorial.  This one is for a large lacey barrette with flowers.  At least I think it’s a barrette. 

Anyway, you will need:

• Large barrettes or other clips and such if you prefer.
• Fake roses or other flowers.
• Lace, good chance to use up some of your leftovers.
• Premade bows if you wish or other embellishments of your choosing.
• A decent glue, I used Aleene’s Jewel-it again.
• Scissors
• Felt scraps in colors that match your flowers, bows, etc.
• A threaded needle, could be optional depending on your lace.

First, cut your felt in a long oval shape about as long as your barrette/clip/whatever.  This will be used as a base so it doesn’t really have to be perfect.

Start sewing the lace to edge of the felt.  You could try gluing it on instead, but I wouldn’t recommend it.  It depends on your lace and how easy it is to work with.

Should look something like this, sort of like a little rug.

For the flowers, I used roses with wire stems and had to cut the stems off.  This way they can be glued down easily.

About six roses are all that are really necessary.

Arrange your flowers on the felt base how you want them before gluing them securely in place.

If you choose to do so, you can glue some bows on the edge or anything else you like.  Charms, ribbons, whatever works. 

You should probably wait about 10 minutes for the glue to dry before this last step (go make a sandwich or something).  Simply flip the whole thing over and glue it to the barrette/clip.  Then set it to dry somewhere safe.

Now you have a lovely new hair piece that didn’t take long at all to make, except for drying time. 

I made two, one pink and one white.  They kind of look like something for a wedding or Easter though, maybe if the flowers were a different color or type.   Like mums for Fall and holly for Christmas.

Here’s the updated list:

• Bags
• Bracelets
• Barrettes
• Doll pajamas
• Doll makeover
• Wristbands
• Red skirt
• Ears
• Costume
• Handkerchiefs

Four down, Six to go. The next project should be up by Wednesday.  Why do I always seem to finish on Wednesdays?

Update: I made an easy tutorial for small ribbon bows that would be perfect to use instead of the premade ones.  Feel free to check it out.

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As Seen On TV

Remember that one stretchy hair thing that was advertised on TV?  The beaded one with combs that you were suppose to do all kinds of updos and stuff with?  I think they sold for about $10 plus shipping and handling, I can beat that.  Now so can you, I found this tutorial for something similar on abigailscraftshowto.com.  It is pretty simple to do, and this way you can have one in any color or design you want.  If I remember correctly, the one from TV only came in 2 or 3 colors that matched common hair colors, so boring.  You could probably use lots of different kinds of beads or even other objects for a really unique look, the possibilities are almost frightening.

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Hair Update

I mailed my hair out today (see Chopped for a Cause).  I couldn’t find a padded envelope to use at home, so I broke down and got one at Wal-Mart, it was only about 69 cents.  I carefully packed it, weighed it and stamped it.  I managed to snap a picture of it before dropping into the box.  Now it’s on it’s way to Locks of Love.  I’m supposed to get an email when they receive it, I can’t wait! Just so excited and anxious too.  I’ve already started getting a little paranoid.  Little thoughts keep bugging me.  Will it get there all right?  Can they actually use it?  Did I do it right, or is there something wrong or unusable about my hair?  Maybe I’m being silly again.  I mean odds are that the worst thing that will happen is the child who gets it will think the color is boring.  Now there’s something to worry about. :)

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Chopped for a Cause

Saturday morning, about 1:00am, I was still up.  I couldn’t get to sleep because I had something on my mind involving something on my head.  So, I got up and chopped off my hair.  A little over 10 inches of it.

Here’s the before shot, luckily I thought to grab the cameral before reaching for the scissors.

Here’s the after, quite a difference.  And I didn’t throw up, sort of expecting it.  Once when I was younger I cut almost the same amount off, but apparently the difference in lengths was too much for me to handle.  I threw up on the floor and almost passed out.  Thankfully that didn’t happen this time, maybe it was because of the reason for doing it.

Ever heard of Locks of Love?  It’s an organization that makes hairpieces for children with cancer and other diseases that can cause them to lose their hair.  Someone in choir recently made a donation of hair to them, and it’s been on my mind ever since.  Especially since I had been thinking of changing my hair anyway.  Why not hit two birds with one stone, such a horribly cruel sounding expression.  So I took the plunge, my hair is now sitting in a plastic baggie waiting for me to mail it.

And if you’re concern, I have spent some time after the “after” photo was taken to trim my hair and polish up the cut.  I actually have received a lot of compliments since, my hair is really cute now.  So now it’s like three birds instead of two. 

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Snap and Shine

I saw some pretty hair clips a while back that I wanted to get, but I didn’t really feel like paying 3 bucks for them.  If I want pretty sparkly hair clips I’ll make them myself.  For these I used some clips I already had lying around the house.  They’re those kind that snap open and close.  I used some squeezed tube fabric paint to perk them up.  I made the mistake of painting them while snapped open the first time.  When I snapped them shut, the dots of paint flew off around the center.  Second time around, it worked fine.  Now I have cute custom-made hairclips with no extra cost.  Yay!
Here’s the updated list:

• bunny hat
• hair clips
• toilet
• curtains
• rug
• sink
• sweater redo
• bathtub

Two down, six to go.   Still researching the others.

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