Halloween costumes: Super Why and Baby Toga

I'm not sure at what point I decided that Christopher would be Super Why for Halloween this year. It was sometime after he began running through the house singing the Super Readers theme song, and sometime before he creatively turned baby Moses into a clothespin version of Super Why.

My initial vision of the costume went something like this:

• Find green leggings and long sleeve green shirt.


• Purchase a gold belt.


• Make a cape.


• Use a blue gDiaper over the leggings to complete the look.

Reminds me of the year I was going to be a Smurf. I figured we could just add blue food coloring to some lotion or some Crisco or something. I was only eight years old, but I was already incredibly lacking in my ability to see a craft all the way through . . .

Thankfully, while I was searching the internet for a how-to on making a cape, I came across Georgia's blog, Puking Pastilles. I was then introduced to the beauty of the buy now, download now, print now, business of patterns. 

How could I have not known about this?

Georgia has the most brilliant super hero costume pattern available for purchase in her Etsy shop. You can make it out any combination of colors that you like, and she even has free pdf's of many of your kiddo's favorite hero emblems. 

Thus was born the most non-crappy Super Why costume that I could possibly achieve.

Seriously. I had no idea that I could make anything like this for my sweet boy. As soon as I even mentioned it, he started asking to wear it. The poor dear was tortured every time I made him try on the different pieces of it. He would come close to tears each day I told him it wasn't ready yet.

Finally, on Wednesday this week, I finished. Of course I didn't take pictures along the way because I am the world's worst craft blogger. but I can tell you that the blue shiny fabric ain't so swift for sewing, but it makes a beautiful cape. 

The appliqu�0160;was tricky. I used gold ribbon for the strands around the book. At first, they held on with just Heat and Bond. Slowly but surely, it started peeling off though. Last night, I was hand stitching all of the ribbon on with some clear nylon thread - invisible super hero thread. 

My only complaint with the costume is that it fits so well. As soon as he grows a smidge, he's not going to be able to wear it. I did have to cut the pants twice, as the pattern definitely wasn't designed with tall boys in cloth diapers in mind. 

For the life of me, I couldn't remember what was on the back of Super Why's cape, and I wasn't about to make a second book applique because I was starting to feel lazy. So I put a green question mark. I'm not sure if that's right or not, but Christopher is thrilled with his "mark cape." 

He's a happy Super Why, that's for sure.

 

As for Colin, one day I was staring at his beautiful bald head and the very large ears which protrude from it, when it hit me. Those ears and that head were crying out for a laurel wreath. Thus was born the inspiration for the Baby Toga.

I actually took the pattern for the top of the Super Why costume as a guide to draw my own pattern for the toga gown. I liked the way the back split open and closed simply with a piece of velcro. The end result was a little too short, but seeing as how he'll be sitting in a wagon with a blanket over him, I think it will be fine.

The wrap ended up a little more elaborate than I intended, but I'm quite pleased with it. Again, I have no close up pictures of it, and one of the gold ribbon trim would be quite impressive here, but you'll just have to take my word for it. I hemmed all the edges of the wrap, even though I probably didn't need to. It's not like Colin is going to be requesting to dress as Caesar for the next 12 months of his life.

The laurel was the trickiest, and I'm not 100% happy with how it turned out, but it's alright because he won't wear it anyway. Hats and socks. The boy hates both. Anyway, I covered some craft wire with the gold ribbon trim and then hot glued some fake leaves to it. Today, at the church's Halloween parade, I figured out that if I was holding Colin, he would use one hand to hold onto me, and I could put a cookie in the other hand - thereby leaving him unable to yank the laurel wreath from his head. Brilliant, I tell you.

Not nearly as many people thought Colin in the baby toga was as funny as I do. Meh. It made me laugh, and these days, that's worth a lot.

So there you have it. Halloween craftiness for 2010. Maybe I'll post the treat bags I tried to throw together today. They are horrible. I'm so not ready to go pattern free on a bag. So. Not. Ready.

Birthday Shirts for Two Year Olds

Whoa. It has been MONTHS since I last posted here. That makes me sad. I really love this little blog. My little web space as an accidental crafter. Which I just typed "crapter" and had to correct. HMMMMM.

I haven't been making much. Well, I did make a baby, which is not exactly crafty, but it is hard, time consuming, and far more fun. Since he came along, I haven't been doing too terribly much in the way of anything.

Of course, before little Colin made his arrival in January, I made a couple of birthday shirts for the CC's. The "2" was a little big, especially for Pip, but I kind of like that it was so very very "2."

Christopher's birthday shirt:

The red and white striped arms are actually just another shirt underneath the black t-shirt. I order all my blanks from Jiffy Shirts. They are super cheap and fast, but the Rabbit Skins brand runs really small, so beware.

Here is the shirt for Pippi. I always make hers and Christopher's at the same time, so they always match. I say that like I've been doing it for decades. They are two. So twice. I'm such a dork.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Finally, I tried out a new design for a new neighbor down the street. She turned two in September, so that makes this almost a current post. Almost.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What I didn't know when I made this one was that this particular birthday girl said, when referring to her birthday, "Happy Cupcake!" It was pretty cool.

There you have it. The birthday shirts for 2010. I do love some birthday shirts. I think if I ever started an Etsy shop, that's what I would do first. Birthday shirts. 

Teddy Bear Costume

A few months ago, Little Bird started saying the word "Bear." It was so cute with the w at the end of the word, instead of an r. Right then, I decided that he should be a "beaw" for Halloween. Just so I could hear him say it over and over.

Sometime in August, I bought a Butterick's pattern for 99 cents on sale at Joann's. I hadn't used one of their patterns before, and while the zipper instructions rocked, there were some other things seriously lacking. As in, it never told me to sew the inside legs seams. I mean, I figured out to do it, but I wasted quite a bit of time worrying about when to do it.

Really though, it's the best looking zipper I've ever done. I think I finally feel like I know how to do one now.

The costume had four components: the body, the hood, the mittens, and the spats. I wanted to add a round belly in a contrasting color, but I ran out of time, and I also didn't want to mess with my fabulous zipper.

The mittens and the spats were easy enough. I left off the elastic strap that was supposed to hold the spats to the bottom of the shoes. It just seemed like overkill. The spats stayed on just fine without them. I never tried to get the mittens on, because it was so hot here for Halloween. Of course, the year I decide to dress my poor child in a fake fur suit, it's 80 freaking degrees on Halloween.

 The body was pretty standard, and other than them leaving out the inseam instructions, I didn't have any trouble with it. Well, until I got to the neck. I really need a good lesson in finishing a neck. Especially when it comes to bias tape. I cannot figure out bias tape to save my life.

The hood was the biggest disappointment. He looked like a cross between a very cuddly teddy bear and a fuzzy cone head. I don't know what I did wrong, but I'm sure it wasn't supposed to turn out so, well, pointy. I lined the hood in some material that would have been better suited for a really soft baby blanket, but I wanted it to feel good on his little baby head. Aside from almost causing him to have a heat stroke, I think it did feel good. I was surprised at how willingly he wore it, honestly.

I guess this is now a tradition. The homemade Halloween costume. Let's just hope my children have simple tastes.

Halloween Costumes, the Pirate Family

Last September, I decided that I should make Halloween costumes for the family. Little Bird and his daddy would be pirates, and I was to be the pirate maiden. It was the biggest undertaking of my short career as a sewist.

I cut the taffeta for my dress wrong the first time and had to buy more. The whole affair probably cost me more to make from scratch than it would have to buy it, but it was a very satisfying venture.

I also made the pattern for Kevin's vest from an old dress shirt of his. That was a first for me, designing something without a purchased pattern.

The biggest mistake I made was setting the bar WAY too high for future Halloweens. Kevin was such a good sport last year, that I didn't expect him to be eager to join in again this year, but he was. Unfortunately, I'm just not up to taking on the whole family challenge again. I'm planning on making Little Bird a little bear, and that will be that.

What's your favorite ice cream?

My poor neglected craft blog. My poor neglected sewing machine. There have been a few projects here and there, but mostly, I've just been collecting patterns and materials and building my to-do list. Currently it stands here:

1. Three handbags. Mail sacks from Pink Chalk Fabrics, to be exact.


2. A pair of pants for Little Bird. With a rocket ship border at the hem.


3. A fleece blanket for Lovely.


4. Two rag quilts for Lovely and Luke.


5. Hand puppets for a new miracle baby's big sister.


6. An apron.


7. Pillowcases for Birds' little crib pillow.


8. Three more t-shirts to applique for him.


9. A birdy quilt, my first foray into real quilting.


10. Some stuffed bunnies.

That's enough for now. I'm sure if I walked up to the sewing room, I would find a dozen more, but anymore on that list and my hobby will start feeling like a weight around my neck.

 I have finished a few things, but forgot to take pictures. I made a tu-tu for Bailey, one of my favorite little princesses, and I made a "Super Juni" shirt for our friend Junius across the street. I thought that one turned out pretty okay for being hand sketched. I am so not an artist.

One of my favorite applique projects was a whim. I almost waited too late to work on this little romper. Bird actually only got to wear it twice before it was just wedgie city. In honor of the ice cream party from Edy's that Cyndi won for our neighborhood, I whipped up this little cutie while Bird napped. Three scoops on a sugar cone, please!

It's a Strat, not a Tele

The birthday shirts have paved the way into more applique. While I made Little Bird's birthday shirt out of a plain white Carter's onesie, Pippi's mom picked out a cute white t-shirt from Old Navy for her birthday shirt. That inspired me.

I have bought a few t-shirts from Old Navy like the one shown here. I also picked up a color blocked tee from Target.

After collecting some solid Kona cottons, I started trying to decide what to put on the shirts. I was a little disappointed in how the color of the Kona changed once the Heat 'n' Bond was applied. The orange was a bright, sunny orange before, but once on the shirt, it had more of a rusty hue.

Of course, there had to be a guitar. I'm hoping to create a good silloutte of a jazz archtop in honor of Kevin, but for now, we have a Stratocaster. What I can't decide is if it needs detail. If I do humbuckers, then I'll feel like I should do strings. Strings would lead to tuning pegs and then it would look funny with no knobs. So I think I'm leaving it as is. Although I'm open for suggetions.

I used a decorative stitch around the edges. I'm not sure that I like it very much. The traditional applique stitch that I've seen? I don't think my machine does it. At least I haven't found it yet.

There are three shirts left to do. I'm planning a robot, another guitar, and a dog.

First Birthday Party

Even though I thought that the whole of my craftiness lay in sewing, my friend Boo has proclaimed otherwise. She is due with her first child next month (we are holding out for me and LL sharing a birthday on Fat Tuesday!), and I have assured her that the maternal hormones are where craftiness lies dormant until you become pregnant.

Boo said to me this past Saturday at Little Bird's first birthday party, "You are so crafty!" I blushed, and wondered if it were true. Maybe, but I have to acknowledge much help and inspiration from my 12 year old stepdaugher, Mallory. CC's party would not have been possible without her assistance last week.

The party started with a dog theme. We made the invitations with some Microsoft clip art and Publisher. However, we did this on my desktop, and I cannot figure out how to get it onto my HP Mini. Of course, I could get up and go into the other room, but the invitations weren't inspiring enough to warrant actual physical movement.

Mallory and I made these cookies for party favors. The instructions came in the February issue of Parents as an idea for Valentine's Day. We thought they would be perfect for a doggie birthday party.

We looked for a cake pan that was shaped like a dog bone, but couldn't find one. I was alright with that because in reality I didn't want to spend the money on it. However, I am so not a cake decorator, it's not even funny. I can't write on a cake at all. It's horrible. We decided that we would make a puppy paw cake, and even though I had to tell several people what it was supposed to be, I was still please with it.

I also made little puppy ears out of some of the miles of felt I have leftover from our Christmas stockings (don't even get me started about how wrong I was about how much felt I would need for that project. It's embarrassing). We bought children's elastic headbands and sewed the ears onto them. Here are a few of the fabulous models:

And just because I am so pleased with how it turned out, here's one more shot of the birthday boy in his birthday shirt:

Birthday Shirt, Take Three

Birthday shirt, take two isn't worth it's own post. The prints I chose didn't work out for the layers very well. The stitch I chose was all kinds of awful, so I switched on the next layer. Bad idea.

Then I stitched the front of the shirt to the back of the shirt. Removing those stitches yielded a lovely hole in the back of the shirt.

I cut out some new appliques and tried again. Using only two layers this time and the stitch I found that worked better on the first attempt. I'm used a font called "Frosty" for the pattern. It's the same font I used for the names on our Christmas stockings.

Not exactly the most exciting narrative, but how about this mug? Here's the soon to be birthday boy previewing his birthday shirt.

Tassle Hat Distraction

I needed a distraction yesterday. Since it is about to get colder than it has been in several years, I decided to tackle a tassle hat project I had been saving for Little Bird.

Last year, I worked on dog coats for my two girl pups. One turned out way too small, and one turned out a little big. Both left me with scraps of fleece, perfect for Little Bird's hat. I also had enough of the red fleece with stars to cut out a matching scarf this morning. I didn't sew any of it; I just fringed the edges and went with it.

All in all, this was a simple project. I'm not happy with the finish around the base of the hat, but I'm sure I misunderstood something in the instructions. I do that often. I'm planning on making some more of these and working out my own way to finish the seam at the base. My stepdaughter, Mallory, and I have plans to make some fleece blankets when she gets here tomorrow. Maybe there will be some more good scraps from that project.

I love good scraps. I love my little scrapper down there too.

Birthday Shirt

Little Bird is about to turn one, as is his little friend across the street. I have seen cute birthday shirts on several websites. A simple knit shirt with an adorable "1" appliqued on the front.

"I can do that," I thought. Many a disaster has begun with that thought.

Setting out to create cute birthday shirts for the two little ones, I googled "applique." All of the hits I found were about quilting.

I turned to my online girlfriends, and the advice and help came pouring in.

Girl, from Memoirs of a Mommy, recommended a link from Etsy Labs and recommended Lite Heat and Bond. Which I thought were two different products at first. Doh. Christina and Michelle also chimed in with wonderful tips.

I used scraps leftover fro
m a purse I made for my friend, Tonya, for Christmas. I found these fabrics at Pink Chalk Fabrics, a site that I really love.

My main concern is how the project holds up through the washing and wearing. I guess though, a birthday shirt won't really get that much wear. Overall, I'm pretty pleased with the result. I have Little Bird's applique cut out and ready to go. I just have to find the time to stitch it onto his onesie. Time where he is not in the room because he's decided that helping me run the foot pedal on the sewing machine is the most fun ever. Fun,

maybe. Helpful, 
not so much.