Boba Fett shirt

I enjoy sewing, crafting,

making stuff in general,

for Miss C. it is always so easy,

but for Brick Master, it is a challenge!

Now that he is 10, he wants to be cool,

even cooler since he changed school in the middle of the year!

So here is my easy craft for him:

a Star Wars painted sweat shirt

(which is a great way to hide stain....)

I found the pattern at Ether Graphics,

it was originally designed for pumpkins,

but I thought it would be perfect for a shirt.

I recopied it on freezer paper and cut it out,

ironed it on the shirt, making sure

the paint would cover the stains!

( a great way to recycle an almost unwearable shirt!)

(here is a great tutorial on freezer paper/paint from Made)

And since Boba Fett is a little beat up, I did not apply

the paint too thick, so that some of the blue would

show up in some area.

I am pleased to say my big boy is happy

and he is wearing to school day,

I am still the Mom!

At least until he goes to middle school!


Happy crafting!

mini musketeer

Yesterday I showed you

Miss C. in her pink musketeer costume.

so today here is the doll version:

I used the same fabrics,

just a little more silver satin

as I was out of pink satin

(and still not buying fabric!)

The design is very similar:

skirt, corset and cape.

But the shirt is different, it is more like a dress,

with a white band at the bottom,

it makes it look like a petty coat.

I used the same pattern than for the witch costume,

for the dress and corset.

For the skirt, I followed my own tutorial on dolly skirt.

The cape is just a rectangle with a silver band

appliqued on the back,

just like Miss C.'s cape.

Both are attached with snaps,

so easily removable...

just in case of danger like in "The Incredibles"

So here are my two pinkies,

ready for action!

Happy sewing !



 

musketeer!

So I did not really finish

the costume in time for Mardi Gras,

Miss C. still wore it,

even incomplete!

I guess I am really the one who is uptight

about details!

About a year and a half ago, when I discovered
blog world, I saw this wonderful costume
at Brown Paper Packages.

It was so perfect, I bought fabric for it,
and then did nothing....
About a year later, the instructions for making
this costume were posted
and once again I did nothing,
but of course it was still in the back of my mind.....

Well it finally happened,

I made the Barbie pink musketeer costume!

I did not make many changes from the directions,

I just attached the petty coat to the skirt,

so there is less fabric at the waist,

the petty coat starts at the hips.

The design on the corset is slightly different,

I really like finished edges

and costumes are worn often in this house,

at least once a week,

if not every day!

You can see where all that shirring came handy!





Because I am not buying any fabric anymore

I worked with silver instead of gold

and there is no hat,

I had just a little hot pink satin left

from this bag.

But I had enough panne velvet

to make a mini-version!

More about it tomorrow!

update: Here it is!

Happy sewing!



spring is here and a spring stashbust

Spring has finally arrived

and in the new house,

it is fun to check the garden to see

what is growing,

it is always a surprise,

and so far a good one!



I decided to participate to the spring stashbust

at The T-Shirt Diaries.

 Even after the purge for the move,

I still have a large collection of fabric,

and not enough space

so it seems the perfect thing

and the perfect time to participate.

But first thing first,

here are the "supplies"

I know just a few pieces!

Happy sewing!





rum cake for Mardi Gras

Who is ready for Mardi Gras?

No wild party here,

just a nice little dessert:

rum cake!

(which can also be done without the rum,

but please try to channel our inner pirate:

Captain Morgan or Captain Sparrow,

I am not picky!)

My mom used to make a large one for Mardi Gras,
the traditional way with yeast : "baba au rhum",
but it takes a while,
and like cupcakes are cute version of big cake
so are these mini rum cake!

 

This is the recipe that came with my mini Bundt pan,
I have been using it for years, so good!

2 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
1cup flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1/8 cup melted butter
1/4 cup milk

(very well greased pan!)

mix all together for 2 minutes
bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes

then make the syrup,
this is where you can skip the rum!
I usually make it plain, use it for the kids
and then add the rum.

1 cup of sugar
1 cup of water
1/4 cup (or more) rum

mix water and sugar, bring to a boil while stirring constantly.
Poor over the still hot little cakes.
I found it best to give some time to the cakes to "drink up"
the syrup, but no necessary to do it the day before.

Enjoy eating these rum cakes!

Not enough time for cake?
there is always time for cocktails: hurricanes of course!

Happy Mardi Gras!

learning new sewing techniques

While I should have been organizing

my craft room,

or fixing the crowded too small basement

this week end,

I played and learned some new sewing techniques.

I had not been sewing for a long while,

may be more than 2 months,

I know hard to believe,

I feel almost back to normal!

Alright, onto this new stuff I am talking about:

Shirring with elastic thread,

probably not earth shaking for most,

but I had never done it!

I followed this tutorial

and it worked!

A very important point:

do not forget to steam at the end,

it is like magic!

I must admit it was fun,

it makes me wonder why I did not try earlier!

Onto the other new to me technique:

a gathering foot,

not a huge one (and expensive)

but a small, regular one:

I had purchased it a while ago,

but it never really worked for me.

But I was about to gather a few row of white muslin,

I decided to give it another try,

and this time success!

The best settings are big stitching length and

fast speed.

If you slow down or stop, it will not be uniform,

it also only work for light fabric,

but it is so much easier to stitch to the other fabric.

I made my band extra long as I did not know how much

gather I was going to get,

but in less than one minutes

I had 3 yard of gathered band,

ready to sew onto the garment,

yep it is fast.

Now you might be wondering what I am making,

with hot pink panne velvet

and white muslin....

Well a Mardi Gras costume of course!

I am not sure it will be done for tomorrow,

luckily Miss C. does not really care about the date,

just me!

Happy sewing!

my solution for large windows

Remember my large windows?

I had to take care of them,

for a few reasons: privacy in the evening for the back,

barking control for the front (and echoing!)

and also energy efficiency, even with double pane windows!



I also previously mentioned that I am a little bite

of a curtain snob,

which happens to be a problem right now

as finances are tight.

So instead of buying yards and yards of fabric,

I went the painter drop cloth route,

I know it has been done before...

(including by me!)

But the price cannot be matched!

I purchased 7 drop clothes (9 x 6)

and after washing them and ironing them (!),

I hanged them on rods, close to the ceiling.

(and yes we have a stainless steel table!)

It balances out very nicely with the green walls

and I think it looks amazing with the fireplace.

Black dog likes this location,

even without a fire!

For the front and side windows,

I used double rods,

and reused the previous owner's light curtains,

they are too short but they will do until

I can purchase some better one

(they are natural fiber, so I do like them,

they just are too short!)

 

I am also planning on cutting this drop cloth in half

to make 2 panels,

one on each side of the window,

just need to finish organizing my craft place

(that could take a while!)

in the mean time it is functional!

Do you remember the weird wall I was talking about?

well here it is:

I am not sure how to describe it,

it is lattice-like, but sturdy,

it adds a lot of presence and light to both sides,

and it definitively has a fun retro vibe!

It is a great place to play hide and seek,
 depending on the angle,
you can see through or get a solid wall,
it makes for some fun time!

To finish this part of the house
we need to put some art/picture/stuff
on the walls!
It feels already like home!

Happy day!