We're Off to See the Wizard

Happy Halloween!

Yes, the costumes are hand-made. No, don't look for reviews. Yes, I am crazy. No, I didn't spend a fortune on fabric this year, mostly stash.

Fall Mini-Wardrobe

Orange you glad it's fall:

I promised you a mini-wardrobe using these great fabrics:

Well, here it is. (In bits and pieces.)

Dress (Butterick 5259) + Turtleneck (Vogue 7799)

Turtleneck + Black Pants (Butterick 5259)

Great Orange Coat (Vogue 1068)

Plus, I could do:

Black Pants + Orange Coat

Dress alone

Dress + Orange Coat

I'll be adding or updating reviews on PR this morning. As for old posts, these links take you to the coat, the lining, and the typo in the pattern.

Oh, remember when...

Strawberry Shortcake... Swatches... Big Bangs... Smurfs...

Tight-Rolled Jeans... Thriller... My Little Pony...

Jellies... NKTOB... Trapper Keepers... Side Ponytails...

Cabbage Patch Kids... Material Girls... Keds...

Oh, the 80's!

Disclaimer 1: I take no responsibility for the coffee that will soon spray out of your mouth

as you roll off your chair with laughter, scroll on at your own risk (or that of your computer keyboard)

1979-1984ish (the cute years)

1985-1989 (The awkward years)

Warning: Swallow the coffee, set it aside, and don't hurt yourself laughing...

Disclaimer 2: Thanks Mom, Dad, Sus, Sar, Dena, Kelly, Julie, Tiffany, Trish, Angela, and Amanda.

I hope that if you see these pics, you enjoy them!


Thanks to Where are My Angels for hosting such a wonderfully fun, humiliating, look back.

The Big Girl Turns 7! (and another tooth falls out!) What a Day!

Butterick 5259

I picked this one up for 99 cents at Hancock's a few months back. It looked easy and I loved the sleeve, so...

This is my muslin. Not so bad on the dress form. Awful on me.

Very lightweight navy blue flannel from my stash. I made this as drafted, as the pattern included plenty of ease. The dress (in a size 10) is essentially a potato sack. Think 40 inches from chest down to hem. Still, it works.

Dropped the self-fabric belt and strange, bulky belt loops. Much better.

Now we're talking...

This suiting plaid is one I picked up at Hancock's because I loved the orange stripe. Because I dreaded matching that plaid while installing a zipper, and because I knew I had enough room to take the dress on and off without unzipping, I just cut the back with center back on the fold. I got so many complements on this trendy outfit. Yeah. That's one on-trend outfit for me. Probably the only one for the next 2 years. But one still the same.

On a funny note, I happened upon the same (or close to it) pattern in some old hand-me-down patterns--copyright circa 1982. What's that they say about fashions being cyclical?

It's Slumber Party Time!

Tonight's the big night. Tomorrow my Big Girl turns 7, so tonight she and 3 of her friends are going to stay up late, watch a few movies, and enjoy birthday cake. I'll post plenty of pictures Monday or so, but here are a few sneak peaks:

p.s. I know I teased you with a sneak peak of my fall mini-wardrobe. I'm hoping to review those patterns and post pics tonight while the girls are watching movies.

My Artists (again)...

Sometimes, I fear that I'm not doing enough to encourage and develop my children's creativity and talent. Then I find this...

A Rocket

by the Little Man

(by himself, in the dark, with a flashlight, while he's supposed to be sleeping)

age 3 years, 8 months, 4 days

And the winner is...

A big thank you to all the new friends that stopped by and chatted during the Halloween Party hosted by Vanessa at A Fanciful Twist.

And now for the winner of my boot give-away-- (decided in the oh-so-technical method of asking my hubyy to pick any number between 1 and 49; he replied "why"; i said "just do it")

Marilyn Butler

Thanks again for dropping by. Come back anytime for a peek into me and mine!

Yet another fun quiz!

You can thank

this blog for leading me to this quiz. Yet again, a very close description...

Your result for Are You a Jackie or a Marilyn? Or Someone Else? Mad Men-era Female Icon Quiz...

You Are a Katharine!

You are a Katharine -- "I am happy and open to new things"

Katharines are energetic, lively, and optimistic. They want to contribute to the world.

How to Get Along with Me

• * Give me companionship, affection, and freedom.
• * Engage with me in stimulating conversation and laughter.
• * Appreciate my grand visions and listen to my stories.
• * Don't try to change my style. Accept me the way I am.
• * Be responsible for youself. I dislike clingy or needy people.
• * Don't tell me what to do.

What I Like About Being a Katharine

• * being optimistic and not letting life's troubles get me down
• * being spontaneous and free-spirited
• * being outspoken and outrageous. It's part of the fun.
• * being generous and trying to make the world a better place
• * having the guts to take risks and to try exciting adventures
• * having such varied interests and abilities

What's Hard About Being a Katharine

• * not having enough time to do all the things I want
• * not completing things I start
• * not being able to profit from the benefits that come from specializing; not making a commitment to a career
• * having a tendency to be ungrounded; getting lost in plans or fantasies
• * feeling confined when I'm in a one-to-one relationship

Katharines as Children Often

• * are action oriented and adventuresome
• * drum up excitement
• * prefer being with other children to being alone
• * finesse their way around adults
• * dream of the freedom they'll have when they grow up

Katharines as Parents

• * are often enthusiastic and generous
• * want their children to be exposed to many adventures in life
• * may be too busy with their own activities to be attentive

Take Are You a Jackie or a Marilyn? Or Someone Else? Mad Men-era Female Icon Quiz at

Here's a sneak peek...

In the midst of school carnivals, volunteering, teaching swimming, Halloween crafting and slumber party planning, I've finished a 4-piece mini wardrobe for myself. I'm very excited. I'll be taking the posting the pictures soon, but here's your sneak peek...

Spying in my daughter's journal...

Look at the treasures I found in one of the Big Girl's notebooks last week. These make me smile.

Golfing?

Great faces.

Super Girl!

A Halloween Party--7 Years of Costumes and a Giveaway

Happy Halloween!

I spent the past week telling you about some of my Halloween creations: Halloween boots and balls, Boo treats, and T-shirts.


Today, in honor of the Halloween Party, I'm taking a look back at 7 years of Halloween costumes. (Please forgive the quality of these pictures. I had to hunt to find a few.)


2001- The Pumpkin: The Big Girl was only 6 days old. The costume: a babygown made in orange knit and a cap accented with a green ribbon "stem".





2002-The Ladybug: The costume: A big-4 pattern, probably made as instructed and finished with a black jogging suit (must have been a cooler than usual Halloween).
2003-The Bumblebee: The costume: I reused the pattern from the year past to make the shell of the suit. The stripes are appliqued. I made the wings from tulle and re-purposed clothes hangers.



2004-The Butterfly: Anyone seen a theme yet? I used the same pattern (again) but left off the bottom elastic. I winged the wings and used a little heat-and-bond to apply the polka dots. The headband is a leftover from her 3rd birthday party the week before. We had a butterfly party. (Would it be too much to mention that in 2002 we had a ladybug party and in 2003-a bumblebee party?) Also, I'm noticing it must have been a warm Halloween.


2005-The Clowns: This is the year I learned my lesson. I almost vowed to never make a costume again. Oh, the pattern was a breeze, it was the cost of the fabric that set me off. I didn't realize how much this costume cost until I was done! Anyway, the BG's pattern is a classic by one of the big-4 and it turned out beautiful! The Little Man's costume is from a baby's layette pattern.

2006-The Cowboy and The Ballerina: Okay, so I cheated this year. The LM has the world's easiest costume: jeans, a bandanna, and a cowboy hat. The BG had such a beautiful ballet recital costume that we had to reuse it. And we love the pumpkin patch!

2007-The Cowpokes: Yes, the stick horse rides again. But, this year, Mom put a little more effort into it. For the details on these costumes (that the BG designed), click out this post and this post from last year.

2008-Dorothy and the Corwardly Lion: Uhm, not started, uhm, I have 10 or so days...

The Giveaway ended October 20, 2008. Thanks for playing.

Halloween Party!!!

Ooo! Look, it's a party! This a great way to find fun new projects for Halloween!

A Fanciful Twist is hosting a progressive Halloween Party! So THIS Saturday, October 18th, visit blogs that will each have a Halloween post especially for the event!

To see a list of the hostesses, visit A Fanciful Twist!

Spooky Shirts

I stumbled across this idea the other day. I had to try it.


These are tee-shirts and bibs that were in my stash. The pumpkins and cat are store-bought reusable "fabric stencils". I used fabric paint and stippled the paint into the image.


The spiders are done using freezer paper.

Here's what I did:

1. I drew my spider onto the paper-y side of Reyonlds Freezer Paper.
2. I cut out my image with a razor blade. Several times I had to stop and remember that the part I was removing was not the important part. Instead, the relief was the piece I would be using.
3. Using a hot iron, I pressed my freezer paper into place (shiny side down) onto the teeshirt. I found (after several green blobs) that a tight "stick" was very important.
4. I sprayed the area for Simply Spray Soft Fabric Paint. I used Green Apple. Like any spray paint, too much gets drippy. I found that this worked best with 2 very light coats. That gave me plenty of color without seeping under the stencil and creating a green blob. (Oh, and I stuffed a plastic bag inside each shirt so paint wouldn't soak through to the back.)
5. I removed the paper after 30 minutes or so.

I finished 6 shirts (well, 10 total, but 4 turned into green blobs) and 3 bibs in less than 3 hours, the Little Man helped, and we had lots of fun!

I just looked at the calendar!

Oh my! The countdown has started and I'd better get hoppin'.

70 days to finish my Christmas sewing!

Yikes!

Spreading the BOO!

Here's a fun way to spend the evening. Sharing BOO treats with all our friends.

The poem:

The time for Halloween fun is near.
Monsters, pumpkins, and bats are here.
A treat filled with spooky goodies galore,
Has been left by friends at your door.
Keep the fun going with a ding and a dash.
On to the neighbors--leave a treat and run fast!

The treats:

The gorgeous full moon:

Perfect!