Sunday, October 31, 2010

Happy Halloween!

Wow!  What a WEEK!!!  I barely have the energy to type.  That is why I will be keeping this short.
Here is one of the costumes I worked on for my friends.  She was going to be a lady bug and wanted a pettiskirt to wear underneath.  Madison modeled the final product for me.  Of course, now she wants one!  It is Black on one side, with red trim, and all red on the other.  I have started putting a layer of liner in between the layers of skirt to make them less see-through.  I really like the improvement. 


I finished up Eli’s Ron Weasley costume.  He wanted the dress robes from one of the Harry Potter movies.  Apparently Ron’s Aunt gave him hers (Don’t you just love cross-gender hand-me-downs :0(  Anyway, Eli won the prize for the best boy costume at our church Trunk-er-Treat.  I was shocked!  I didn’t even think anyone would know what he was :0)

 
Madison was a punk-rock witch.  She wore her black petti skirt, her new Halloween skirt, and this strange jacket/dress thing we found at Goodwill.  The poor girl is build like her mother (not small) and the jacket was like a size 1, but we were able to widen the arm holes and it worked perfectly!  I didn’t have any face paint, except for Emmer’s Yoda Green, so…I used toll paint (sheepish grin).  Yes, I held my daughter’s eye shut and painted her face with acrylic paints.  It worked lovely and was FREE!!! 
We packed her hair on top of her head, threw in bobby pins of ribbons and tulle, and topped her off with a little candle holder that resembled a very small witch’s hat.  Oh, and we can’t forget the spider web tights.  They were very excitedly received when I came home from a shopping trip with them in my hands.

Emmalee really wanted to be a scary monster. The closest I could let my little darling get to a scary monster was to make her a girl Yoda. There must have been girl Yoda’s, right? I am certain Yoda had to have had a mother, right? We called her Yodette, Yoda’s girlfriend. If you asked Emmalee who she was she would tell you, “I’m a scary Yoda Monster”. It is all in how you present it to the child :0)
Here is how I made her hat. I traced the hood on her one and only jacket/coat onto heavy weight interfacing (non-fusible). 

I cut the shapes and a couple ears out of each: 2 layers of fleece, one layer of interfacing, one layer of batting.  I knew all that would make for a hot hat, but it has been rather cold here in AZ, even in the 70's most of the day :0) so I figured she could handle it.

I sewed two hats together, and the ears.  I turned one hat right side out, and sewed both hats together right sides in. 

I turned all the pieces right sides out and sewed around the edges.  I got a new snap press with the proceeds from all my hair clippies, so I was more than thrilled to pull it out to add some snaps to my Yoda hat. 

Sewn all together it looked a little more like a green donkey, than Yoda.  Definitely "Shrek"-like, but oh well.  It fit her "scary monster" criteria just fine.  We added the hairbows to make it just that much more girly, as well as I made her a brown petti skirt to take it that much farther in the frilly department.  The rest of her costume was composed of two men's dress shirts.  I cut the dark brown one off and hemmed it just short enough for the skirt to show, wrapping a belt around her waist.  The outer robe was a khaki dress shirt, cut off, sleeves cut off, and the collar cut off.  Just a shell remaining of it's original form.  Emmalee loved it!  Again, I was very surprised when people really knew what she was.  We did get one "Oh, here Fiona, have some candy", but only one :0)
Here, here is a Yoda pic for comparison :0)

Along with all the costumes and other activities, I got a last minute order for a pirate cake.  I cranked this out Friday night in between all the hair clippy orders I have been slaving over for the past two weeks.  This last order was half the size of the next one I have to do :0]  I will get started on that one tomorrow!  Wish me luck!  More details tomorrow.


Happy Halloween from the Sew*CakeMaker family! 
Hope you had a
SPooKtaCUlar  DaY!!!

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

They're Back! Kitchen Towels!!!

They are BACK!!! Hanging kitchen towels, Halloween Style!
I made three different towels to spruce up the kitchen. I started on them a week ago, but finally finished today!!! I went for more frilly than the original CupCake Towels, but who can really argue with frilly?

 First we have Mr. Ghost...

I stitched around his body, not with an embroidery machine, but with my very low budget Singer.  Set your machine to zigzag and make the stitch length very small, like 1, and the width at a 2 or 3.  If it isn’t taking your machine FOREVER, you don’t have the stitch length small enough.  If your zigzag is skipping stitches, change the needle.  It is the wonder drug for sewing machines! 
I hand stitched the buttons for the eyes, decorations and some of the ribbons.  If I could get away with machine sewing, I did that. 
Don’t you just LOVE the spider buttons!?! I found a bag of them at Joanns a few days ago and LOVE THEM!!!
I went for more decorations on the towels this time.  Last month I read some rave reviews about “Steam-a-Seam” interfacing.  I ordered it online (then found it at Joanns while I was waiting for it to arrive by mail).  Their claim is that you do not need to sew around it!  Heat n’ Bond makes the same claim, but it sooo doesn’t work.  I still stitch.  I thought now was a great time to test that claim by Steam-a-Seam, I ironed those purple circles on without stitching around the edge.  I will let you know how that one turned out.

The second delight trailing down the kitchen towel catwalk…Mr. CandyCorn!
Sadly, this was the first towel of the season and it took a little hit due to my poor memory.  I didn’t re-look at the tutorial for the CupCake Towel and apparently forgot a few things over the last few months.  I stitched Mr. CandyCorn to the towel before I remembered I was supposed to zigzag over the top :0) 
Then, I tried to tilt the poor guy.  I don’t think it worked out.  He needed to be slanted a little more, or just left straight.  Whatever!  I still love him!!!

I went for the rick-rack with this towel.  I am an absolute SUCKER for RICK-RACK!!!  I threw that green button in there to throw things off a little.  I was told by an artist once that things look better to the eye when something throws it off a little.  It draws the eye to the artwork.  Kitchen towels can be artwork too, right?  A little stitching or accessory in a different color does the trick! 
Who woulda’ knew!?! 

Finally we have Mr. Bat…
Oh, I guess Mrs. Bat :0) She was tricky to sew around, but obviously well worth the frustration!
I wanted to keep this towel only the two colors... for no particular reason.
 I kept the decorating on the bat a little more simple, but…
Went a little crazy on the towel!  I used the ruffler foot on my sewing machine to sew a pleated ribbon along the bottom, then ruffled some scrap fabric for the fabric flower.  I just can’t stand how CUTE that flower is!
Here is how she looks on my dirty stove. With less time and WAY less energy this time around the photographing-the-towels thing, I opted for lower pictures to avoid having to clean my stove :0)
Disregard the disaster, my kitchen never changes :0) 
I hope you enjoyed my Halloween towels.  Want to make some of your own?  Click on the link to my CupCake Towel tutorial, grab some fabric, and run!





This project was linked up HERE:

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Saturday, October 23, 2010

Souper Saturday!!! Nov. 7th 9-1pm

We are so excited for this year's "Souper" Saturday!!!  Below you will find pictures of the projects we are offering.  Included is a rough estimate of how long each project should take if you were slightly craft-challenged.  If you know your way around a glue gun, you can expect to finish in much less time!

We are in need of volunteers to help with light sewing or painting, as well as a few good ladies to trade off helping on "Souper" Saturday itself.  Money, order forms and any questions can be turned in to Vanessa Campbell.

Bring a dessert to share.  Lunch served at 11:00.  You can look forward to fun Classes including:   Setting your holiday table, by Sis. Evertsen, and Candy Making, by Sis. Earl.

Also on display: creative gift wrapping ideas, Kids holiday crafts, and neighbor gift ideas

We will be sending around sign-up sheets for volunteers to bring soup and desserts.
I Wish Snowman  
The small snowman is 25 inches tall, the large one is 38 inches tall

This delightful snowman will literally light up your home this holiday season.  It comes as a kit, snowman already painted white, with the garland, snowflakes, and strand of twinkle lights  you see here.

Country Nativity 
10 inches high x 9 inches across

This sweet little family would love a place in your home.  It comes with base colors pre-painted, hair and fabric for the heads.  You assemble and apply the faces!

Approx. finish time 30 min to 1hr.

The Flakes, family of three

These guys are 17, 13, and 9 inches high.  They are made of Chenille, stuffed and ready for you to decorate!!!  The hats are pre-made making assembly a breeze.  The craft-challenged ladies can plan on an hour, but you can get 'er done in less!

Santa/snowman treat bags  
Approx. 8 inches tall when tied

These bags make a sweet treat even sweeter!  Just decorate these pre-made bags and take home to fill with the treat of your desire.  They will be a big hit for teachers, co-workers, and neighbors alike.  Like I said, the bags are pre-sewn, as are the noses and mustaches.  You simply glue on eyes, nose/mustache, and blush the cheeks.  Assembly- 15 min. a bag

Gifts in a Jar
Flavors offered:  Classic Cocoa, Chocolate Peanut butter Candy (Reeses Bar), and Instant Baked Potato Soup.  We will assemble the recipes you order at Souper Saturday as well as give you the recipes for several others.




Glass bulb snowman ornaments 
These glass balls are so easy you won't believe it!  Blush the cheeks, paint on the nose, and draw the face on.  These can easily be done in stages between your other projects.  Approx. time 15-30 min. cumulative

Teach the Children Family Home Evening Kit 

Kit includes 10 ornaments to go along with the complete FHE plan and a bag of Cookie mix.

Bags are sewn, ornaments painted unless you would rather paint them yourselves!  This item is simply assembling the items, tying bells on the string, and tying the bag closed.
Approx. time  10 min.

Holiday Place Cards = set of 4;  Christmas or Thanksgiving
size approx. 3inches high x 4 inches wide

When times are tough we are all in need of the smaller things that make the holidays special.  The addition of these cute place cards will give you that extra touch without costing a lot or tons of work.  Use them for names of the people or dishes at your holiday party.  All items are pre-cut, you simply assemble.  If you would like to have names printed on the white cardstock, write them on the back of your order form and they will be waiting for you when you arrive!


Novelty Print Quilt Pattern

I have had a hard time finding good quilt patterns for novelty prints the past couple times I purchased them.  I made up this pattern so tha...