Camera Dump and Christmas Projects - three months late!

I'm a bad blogger, and I'm sorry.  Yes, my last post was in October.  I can explain.  I've been busy.  I got a part-time job (Any guesses where??? That's right, Trader Joe's!).  We had our Halloween party (Next year I'll post some how-tos for that.).  We did Christmas.  I made some projects and cooked a lot of food.  I've made some new recipes, mostly from blogs I found on Pinterest.  But nothing original, although I have lots of ideas spinning in my head.   Life happened.  School, work, doctor's appointments, blah blah blah.  And then I'm trying to deal with the sad fact that our church that we've been going to for almost 15 years is crumbling right before our eyes.  I haven't felt like blogging.  And I feel guilty for still having Thanksgiving pictures on the camera and not having done anything with them.

So here is the camera dump:

I was a sugar skull for Halloween, and I did my makeup with the help of some temporary tattoos.

We made our Hexenhaus at Christmas, and some glue snowmen that dried weird so I may try again next year to get them right.

The handmade portion of DD's Christmas gift was a set of play teabags for her tea set and this cute little bracelet purse.  I got the inspiration for the teabags from here, and the tutorial for the purse here.

For DS's gift, I made him a stuffed penguin (yes, still the penguin thing!) loosely based on this chicken, and this cool two-sided superhero cape I upcycled from a thrifted P.E. shirt.  The shirt was already two colors, and I added felt appliques with a tight zigzag stitch.  

All in all, I paid hardly anything for these gifts, because most of the fabric, except for the muslin for the teabags, was already on hand.  I felt pretty good about making some cool toys for next to nothing.  

 Of course, the kids liked each other's presents, maybe better than their own, and DD is off to save the world.

I will try to be a better blogger this year, but that means I need to do some original things that are worth writing about.  Hmmmmmmmm...

Hollister Knit Top to Preschooler's Dress PLUS Rosette Tutorial PLUS the Proper Spelling of "Voilà"

Okay, I admit it, I have never set foot in a Hollister store.  I have nothing against Hollister.  I do value being able to see and breathe while I shop, but no biggie.  Oh, and I'm 36.

However, I did manage to snag this cute top while shopping at $5 bag day at a local rummage sale:

Which is almost like shopping at Hollister, I would imagine.

I was so happy when it fit me, but, hey, I'm 36.  And also I did not want to buy a special undergarment just to go under said garment, so I thought it better to make it into a frock for the girl cub.  First, I cut off the sleeves and the back, leaving the nice ribbed collar intact.

Then I turned it inside out and stitched the collar ribbing together where the shoulder seams had been to make a halter.  I cut off the excess and turned it right side out, and then I pinned and topstitched the sides (where the sleeves had been) all the way up and around the halter and down the other side.  I used this opportunity to angle the sides in quite a bit to fit the chest of a 5-year-old.

I cut off the excess fabric, made a little pleat in the back, and folded and pinned the back elastic to the inside and topstitched it.

Holy color enhance, Batman!  Okay, so now the rosette...

I've seen plenty of rosette tutorials around, but I wanted mine to be not so tightly wound and also not have hot glue all over it (for comfort's sake!), so I made my own.  I cut my fabric scrap from the shirt back I had removed, 2.5" X 11" or so.

I folded it in half the long way and stitched one end closed.  I used a long stitch length to make a gathering stitch all the way down the side.  I gathered, especially tightly on the closed end, and then knotted the threads.  At this point, I started singing, "Come on Eileen" because it reminded me of a Scrunchy I had in Junior High.  I turned it right side out with a chopstick, tucked the open ends closed and stitched it shut.  No need to make it too pretty on this end.

Ah, now some hand stitching...

Locating the inner corner of the more tightly gathered end, I tried not to poke my leg.

I stitched down through the corner, coiled it to meet the next layer and stitched through the inner edge, pulling it tight.  After going through a couple more layers, "floofing" it as I went (Yes, that is a technical term!), I made sure to catch the inner corner of the other end, pull the thread tight, and knot it.

And VOILÀ!!!!! a rosette.  And now for a moment of honesty...

I hand stitched the rosette to the dress in a strategic location so as to hide the weirdness from the seam ripper.  O.o

I made an oops the first time I sewed down the side.  I feel better now that I got that off my chest.

DD loves this dress.  I might have to take it up another inch or so in the halter, though, because when she wears it, she says, "Mommy, this dress is too big.  It almost shows This Part!"  (while stretching neckline down and pointing to nipple).  5-year olds.  *shakes head*

Creature Randomness

Just posting some pics of creatures I've made recently.  These are maybe some of the less fabulous ones.  Except for Maxwell, the Sad Alien Bunny.  He's pretty cool.

He's upcycled from a scarf.  And I still have the other end of the scarf to make his twin.  :)

Speaking of upcycled scarves, here are a couple club-footed gnomes.

Some sock creatures:  Sockkat (who is still in need of arms) and a Funny Bunny.

Here is Señor Tooth, made from project scraps.  He is a prototype of things to come.

Project Numero Uno - Upcycled Tee

I tried so hard to be Scrapbook Mom.  I'm not gonna lie, tiny shreds of pink patterned paper lost my interest before I got through week 6 of my daughter's existence outside the womb.  She is now an active 5-year-old.  AND this is not my first attempt to be Blog Mom.  The first was thwarted by an unsupported video format, when my son was maybe 3 months old.  I never even wrote the first post.  At least he is only 2 1/2 now, so it's not like I totally ditched the effort;  I've been thinking about it since.  And it's not like this is even going to be a blog about my kids, although I am sure they will be involved somewhere along the way.  Because they are pretty much my life.

Here is DD setting the table for Valentine's Day dinner. (I know, this is so 2 months ago!)  Note the Halloween plate in action.  We like to mix our holidays.  So, Happy Easter!!!

So here I am, posting about new projects, partially because if I make it public, it will be motivation to not quit so soon.  (I might have fully completed only 3 or 4 craft projects since the kids were born.)  And also, I'm just putting this out there so that, although many blogs and "pins" show me that I am highly inadequate in the crafting department, other readers/pinners might be inspired to try something new and different.  Because if I can do it, anyone can do it.  Literally.  ANYONE.

Oh, and let me start this by saying that I am NOT a photographer.  In fact, most of the images you get may be straight off my phone.  This is a T-shirt that I got from the Devils' blood drive.  I traveled for at least an hour and a half each way so that a could be a pint low and get this shirt and a matching hat.  And they only gave out men's size XL.  Does that make me a die-hard fan?  Maybe.

So, using a tutorial that I found here, I sliced it up and got it ready to be a little more useful:  cut the sleeves off just inside the seam, cut straight across the top, cut the bottom seam off, and also cut about 1 1/4" off the bottom to use as the straps later.

Then I turned it inside out and pinned it so I could take it in 3" on each side.  Three inches!!!  It WAS an XL, after all.  I have recently lost 25% of my body weight, which I'm sure I'll talk about at some point.  And I'll post some recipes.  But taking this in 3 inches on each side was exhilarating!  Now it is a women's S/M.  I also had to cut new armholes that were in a few inches from the original.    This is the shirt after being taken in and having excess material cut off.  

I should have taken a picture after the next step, I guess, but then I sewed across the top, on the front and the back, creating a pocket for the strap that was about an inch wide.  (I folded down about 1 1/4" inside and sewed using a 1/4" seam)  You can kind of see it here, from the inside.  Check out the tutorial if it is unclear where you should sew.  This is my fancy strap-threading device.  Fabric pencil + rubber band, and it worked like a charm.

I tied it on one shoulder, but you could make 2 strap pieces and tie both shoulders, or find a good spot to sew it back into a loop and not have any ties.  Or even find another kind of material to thread through for straps.  Heck, you could change it with the seasons if you want!  

All in all, a very easy project that can be completed in less than one naptime.  And just in time for playoff game 7, if you have a looming deadline like that.