Archives for February 2019

How do fairies stay warm? I mean, they can’t wear sleeveless gossamer in the dead of winter, right? Also, who has time to sew everything from scratch, nowadays? Not this lady! Well, this blog post aims to solve both of these problems.

It all started when I found this red, velvet shirt at the Senior Center Thrift Store. I planned to cut off the sleeves and use the existing collar and button fastening. However, it wouldn’t work to wear the wings over the cape. Should I cut a hole in the back of the shirt to allow the wings to pop through?

Then, I hit upon the idea of having Emma wear the shirt backwards! With the buttons in the back, the cape could be buttoned and unbuttoned around the wings. I could cut a new cape front up what was the back of the shirt.

To make that cut up the center back, I turned the shirt inside out and matched all its major seams together by pinning.

Then, I slid the scissors up the back of the shirt, gently pulling away from the pinned side seams as I cut.

Next, I serged down the new, front edges of the cape. After that, I bound the edges with 1/2 inch, double-fold bias tape. It takes a little finessing, but I like to fold in the ends of the bias tape to make a clean, finished end.

Next, I sew the bias tape on, one side at a time. This helps to make sure the bias tape doesn’t “scoot” around.

Oh, yeah! Time to cut off the sleeves! After pinning the shirt together in a few places, to make sure it was flat and smooth from the shoulder seam outward and downward, I fed it through the serger. The serger cut of the sleeve, stitched, and bound the raw edges of the material, all at one go! I did have to go back and finesse the grade of the slope from the shoulder down to the hem a couple of times. (Edna “No capes!”, from Pixar’s Incredibles 2 is throwing me shade for, in fact, making a cape.)

Then, I sorted through my sash for the perfect, silver, vintage braid to trim the cape. Voila! I started the trim on the inside of the collar and continued it around the other side and all the way down the front edges.

At this point, I had Emma try on the cape. I liked how it rested on her shoulders.

The cape needed a new front fastener. I also wanted it to stay resting wide on the shoulders. This would allow more of the other costume pieces to show. So, I found this gold and pearl chain in my stash and pinned it on to see how it would work.

After playing with the chain to find its ideal length and placement, I hand stitched it to the base of each side of the collar’s front edge.

And that was it! Here is the finished front:

And here is the back:

I was really pleased with how the cape turned out! Using a shirt really saved me time, since I didn’t have to attach a collar or do complicated fastenings around the wings. It was liberating to use what the shirt already had to offer. I will definitely be exploring more ways to convert shirts into other costume pieces!

*Disclaimer* I am an Amazon Associate. Any purchases made through my affiliate links gives me a small commission. I am careful to only promote products that I personally use and enjoy!

 

 

 

 

 

Okay, so I know that clothes don’t really “make the man”, but a few accessories go a long way to making an iconic prince costume!

We already owned most of these pieces (because I’m a bit special, like that). But, really! You probably already have a lot of this stuff in your house. I just accessorized. Minimal sewing was involved.

So, what is the anatomy of a prince costume? Here are the main components of Elliott’s royal garb.

And Oliver’s…

So, let’s start from top to bottom. How did I find/make/alter this stuff?

• Hat

Elliott already wore his brown, velvet soft cap as a Pilgrim. (Yeah, I know. Pilgrims probably didn’t own velvet.)

It definitely works for a prince, though! So, I took some stiff, gold netting I got at the Senior Center Thrift Store, and cut a circle out of it. I stitched on a decorative doo-dah with a pearl dangle (Hobby Lobby) and hot glued a feather to the back of it and added some adhesive gems. Then, I hand-stitched it to the hat. (A jewel fell off during the photo shoot. Next time, I will glue them on and not rely on the adhesive!)

Oliver’s prince hat was a vintage driving cap from my collection, but with the brim flipped to the inside and safety pinned. *Gasp!* Did I break my own safety pin cardinal rule? Kinda. However, a safety pin tucked into a non-stress area of a costume can be okay. The stiffened cap brim helped to pop the hat up on one side and give it that cocky, Elizabethan look. I decorated the hat, the same as Elliott’s, only this time I used a vintage button from my stash as the focal element.

• Shirt

Elliott wore a red dress shirt from his own closet, but with the collar flipped up.

Oliver wore one of Eliza’s outgrown blouses. I chose it because of the historical-looking ruffle details.

• Vest

Oliver wore a vest from a bunad (Norwegian folk costume) that I found on eBay. Vests are always great to have on hand, btw. Collect them! I added hooks to the inside front of the vest to hook to Oliver’s shorts. Even though the vest is size 4-5 and Oliver isn’t even three, the vest was none too long on him!

• Jacket

I snapped up this amazing, gold jacket at Goodwill when I saw it. What an amazing, versatile piece! It’s technically a girl’s jacket, of course, as so many things are that lend themselves to different time periods.

Since the jacket is a size 12, and Elliott is only six, it needed some fit adjustments. (It’s easier to transfer from fittings to alterations with the garment worn inside out.) I liked the contrast of the lining, so merely cuffing the sleeves worked as a simple, no-sew way to shorten them. Then, I marked where the jacket needed to be taken in, at the waist, with a safety pin.

I took the jacket in at the waist with a few hand-stitches. Not the prettiest, but I was afraid that my sewing machine would snag the satin. Oliver wore this cute, tiny tux jacket that also came from Goodwill.

• Cape

Elliott wore the same cape that Emma wore as part of her Sir Hiss “Robin Hood” snake costume for Halloween. The cape had been in my costume collection. I had shortened it and chopped off the hood, but left a bit of the hood to form a collar. I used gold bias tape to stiffen the top edge of the new collar and to help it stand up.

For this reincarnation of the cape, I added gold ric rac trim down the front edges and some cording to make a longer, fancier tie. Now, the cape could be worn over one shoulder and tied under the arm for added, princely flair.

• Breeches

I’m probably going to explore all the cheater ways to make breeches known to mankind! This time, I had Elliott try on a pair of his outgrown dress pants. I didn’t want to cut them short, because they go to a really cute outfit that I want Oliver to be able to wear in a couple of years! So, I took the minimally-invasive approach to turning these slacks into breeches. I had Elliott put them on, inside-out, and folded one leg up to the desired length.

Then, I hand-tacked each pant leg to the new height, but only with a few stitches at each side seam. This was quicker than hemming them all the way around. Also, such a deep hem meant that there was a significant discrepancy between the circumference at the hem of the pants legs and the circumference of the pants legs six inches up from the hem. The stitch lines would have been pretty obvious, and the hem would have been puckered. No thanks! I just had to help guide Elliott’s feet when he pulled on the pants, so he wouldn’t catch his feet in the wide gaps of the deep, new hems.

At this point, the shortened pants looked like pedal-pushers. How could I make them tight under the knee without the bother of elastic? I hit upon the idea of sewing some ribbon about two-thirds of the way around the base of each pants leg. The unsewn areas could be simply tied in a bow, to fit. My idea worked like a charm!

Honestly, I ran out of time to add ribbon ties to the hems of Oliver’s shorts. But, I did sew bars at the front of his waistband to connect with the hooks on his vest. However, I should have added more! Look at that shirttail hanging out! Oh well.

• Gloves

I mainly gave the kids gloves because it was so cold outside! However, they also added to the historical look of their outfits. I had a pair for everyone except Oliver. The kid doesn’t even like to wear coats, so I figured he could tough it out. And he did! Elliott’s gloves are 1960s vintage girls gloves. However, everyone of status wore fancy gloves in the 16th and 17th centuries; both men and women.

 

• Sash

Now for the main accessory that would tie the boys’ outfits together, not only each other, but to the girls’ feathered wings: The shoulder sashes! I measured Elliott and Oliver for their sashes by looping my measuring tape over each shoulder and down to their upper thigh.

Time to cut the sashes! I decided to use this wide, velvet ribbon from my stash. What I didn’t know, until I opened the bag, was that it was gift-wrapping ribbon. It was just “velvet” flocking on a plastic-paperish ribbon material. It was kind of brittle, but I decided to go ahead and use it, anyway. I cut it to length and trimmed each end into V-shapes.

Next, I hot glued this rich, metallic braid down the center of each sash. I cut it to match the V ends and applied Fray Check. *I am an Amazon Associate and will make a small commission from products purchased through my affiliate links. I am careful to only promote products that I personally use and love!*

I had so much fun with this next part! I decided that the sashes would look extra cool with an epaulette on the shoulder. So, I took a smaller bit of the red, velvet ribbon and glued on gold fringe and white feathers.

Just in case the epaulettes weren’t blinged out enough, I added gold trim along the top edges, red rhinestones, and star sequins.

Lastly, I hand-stitched the epaulettes to the tops of the shoulder sashes, so I could remove them, if I want to, in the future. This was probably a mistake, because the brittle ribbon material split a little, around some of the stitch holes. I used decorative pins to fasten the sashes at the hip.

I gave Elliott and Oliver gold necklaces to finish their prince looks, and that was it! So, maybe there was a bit of work involved. These prince costumes illustrate, once again, that accessories are often what really “make” a costume deluxe. You don’t have to make everything from scratch to achieve that. Focus your energies on collecting some costume pieces that lend themselves to multiple time periods or genres. Then, spend your creative time on making a few, simple bits that really transform the costume.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So, we’ve established that I’m crazy, coo-coo coconuts, right? I have almost nothing left to hide. We’re going to take a look at what it’s REALLY like to photograph five little kids. Wearing multiple layers of elaborate costumes. In the snow. In below freezing weather. I was running on no sleep and I was torn between laughing and crying, because most of this shoot did not go well. However, laughing won, so please giggle with me as we go over the best bloopers from this photo shoot. (Can you call it a “photo shoot” when you’re only using a smart phone to take the pictures?)

“My concept is like a Victorian fantasy version of Elizabethan England. With a Valentine’s Day winter twist.” That’s what I told Jeff before we dressed the kids for this photo shoot. Heady stuff. The reality of that, however…Should I tell you how long it took us to bathe Annika and Oliver, curl Emma’s and Eliza’s hair, and to dress the kids in at least five layers of clothing, each? No, I don’t want to. Okay, it was over two hours. Plus, Emma just loves it when I style her hair. The screaming starts as soon as I touch it. Emma, if you’re reading this, someday, I’m sorry for embarrassing you. But this is Mommy’s revenge.

Honestly, one of the hardest parts is judging when it’s the right time to add Annika to the mix. All she wants to do is run!

Let’s try that again…

Okay…

Ready…

Set…

Nope!

Okay, so now she wants to be in the picture…

Seriously? Why.

Emma was annoyed with Eliza for not taking direction, but she didn’t really want to take direction, either.

Okay, so here are more fun moments with Annika. You might think that she’s upset because she face-plants in the snow. But, she actually loves the snow. She’s just mad that we prevent her from taking off.

She’s going to make a run for it!

Then, mean ol’ Dad catches her…

Seriously. So mean!

Look at that! I’m married to an athlete! I mean, the ability to capture your baby, set her back in frame, and then leap the heck out of the shot…Totally worthy of being an Olympic sport.

That went well.

In fact, that was so much fun that we’re going to do it again.

There he goes, again! Look at that agility! The speed! The grace!

Time to dispense some M&Ms. Oh, yes. We resort to bribery!

Hangry.

Some serious side-eye from Eliza…

Let’s look at that again, but up close. Yeah, she’s totally over it.

Poor little thing! I actually did feel bad, because it was bitterly cold. I couldn’t wear gloves while I took pictures, and the exposure to the freezing air was almost painful! It was a relief to call this shoot a “wrap”.

Despite all these bloopers, we still came away with some sweet pictures. If nothing else, the kids will have some great childhood stories. “Yeah, do you remember all those crazy photo sessions Mom made us do?” I’m just providing them with colorful anecdotes that they can share with their friends in college…They’ll thank me later…Right?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Happy Valentines from Yes You Can Costumes! I hope you’ve had a day of warmth and love with those you hold dear! So, I decided to go all out, like a Victorian romantic, and create some costumes inspired by our winter wonderland. Here are some images that helped fuel my vision! The identities of the girls in the photographs have been lost to time, but the painting is “Take the Fair Face of Woman, and Gently Suspending, With Butterflies, Flowers, and Jewels Attending, Thus Your Fairy is Made of Most Beautiful Things” by Sophie Anderson, 1869. Apparently, this painting has the LONGEST title in the history of the world.

In case you’re not from Washington State, we have been experiencing a “snopocalypse”. Some people hate it, but I am LOVING all the beautiful, white, powdery goodness that’s been falling from the heavens! Anyway, over the last couple weeks, I have found excuses to detour on the way home from errands and slowly drive by a prospective photo location: St. Luke’s Episcopal Church. I felt a bit awkward; pulling over, rolling down the window, and taking pictures of the church’s exterior. But what an exterior!

Isn’t that beautiful? This gorgeous building inspired me to bite the bullet and commit to see my vision through! I called St. Luke’s Episcopal Church to ask their permission to use their exterior as the location for this photo shoot, and Reverend Frances Twiggs graciously gave me her permission.

It took us a couple of hours to get ready. It was super cold, so Jeff and I layered the kids in about 5 layers of clothing, each. Even so, it was literally freezing, outside. I knew that our models wouldn’t last for long, so I had to work quickly.

Naturally, Annika had no interest in being photographed whatsoever. You can see the older four, lined up and ready to go, and she is taking off!

Forget this, Mom. I’m eating snow!

Brrr!

Catch me if you can! I wanted to get some pictures of her costume, from the back, but not THIS many.

So, I decided to turn my attention to the members of the royal fairy court who were interested in being photographed.

 

Prince Oliver. (Even royalty struggle with keeping their shirttails tucked in.)

The Heir and the Spare: Two princes for the House of Heminger! These little men make my heart burst at the seams!

Prince Elliott.

Want to feel extra swashbuckling? Wear your cape over one shoulder!

Their royal highnesses, the Crown Prince and Princess.

Best friends.

The sisters who dance together, stay together.

I love being able to count on my big kids to cooperate for the camera!

The girls’ wings were purchased, and then I added detachable feather pieces to the center backs and embellished ribbon covers for the elastic arm straps. (I will write more about this in future posts.)

I warned the kiddos that the tramping in the deep snow and the eating of the snow would make them colder, faster. But, I’m only a mom. What do I know?

This is it! This is my best picture of all five kiddos together. Princess Annika was NOT on board with the program!

This is my best shot of Annika.

Prince Oliver was also starting to edge away, hoping that I wouldn’t notice…

Emma and Eliza were so sweet together.

Princess Eliza’s favorite color is red.

I love seeing Emma get into character. She was really “feeling”the bling! Do you know what her cape is made out of? It’s a women’s shirt! (More on that in a future post.)

I loved altering clothing and costume pieces that we already had to make the boys’ prince costumes. Stay tuned, and I will show you how I did it in upcoming posts!

If you’re still reading, thank you SO much for following my blog! You are such an important part of my artistic journey, and your support means the world to me. Happy Valentine’s Day!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Did you know that you can use costumes to “trick” your kids into loving dance and cooking international cuisine for the family and call it “school”? Yes you can!

International costumes are some of my favorite things to collect at thrift stores! I’m not exactly sure how some of them make their way to the small, inland city of Wenatchee, but I try to grab them when they do!

For example, I found this African tunic at our senior center thrift store a few months ago. We have been learning about African geography through our Classical Conversations home school program. So, I thought we should pick an African country to learn about through food, costumes, and dance!

Sometimes Emma and Elliott aren’t in the mood to sing and dance when Mom makes it part of school. Shocking, I know! However, their curiosity was piqued when I told them that I had African costumes they could wear on a “journey” to Ghana.

“Say what?!?!? We get to wear these fabulous, bright, and richly detailed tunics? Color us intrigued!” Okay, so maybe those weren’t their exact words, but they were something to that effect.

Oliver asked to wear one, too.

Costumes were traded around, according to fit, and then we started to dance! I found a great YouTube video of Ghanan school children dancing. It was slow enough that Emma and Elliott were able to follow along.

They got into it! The rhythmic stomping and contagious drum beat had them hooked. Before long, all the little ones were drawn into the fun and excitement.

We watched several YouTube videos of Ghanan dancing. The kids identified that lots of the dances started as a group, and then gave way to soloists. Emma was only too happy to oblige. By the way, do you like our splitting sofa cushions? This is real life, you guys!

From here, the dance turned into a “village procession”, followed by a “drum circle”.

To say that the costumes were transforming would be a huge understatement! The kids wanted to wear them all morning and include them in their play, later in the day. Here, Emma is wearing her tunic while writing a page for her school project notebook.

Speaking of cooking, Emma and Elliott also made a dish from Ghana: an African Chicken Peanut Stew! Here are all of the ingredients.

Peeling.

Chopping. (They thought the chopper was loud!)

Seasoning.

Browning.

Pouring.

And now for the unusual ingredients (to us Americans, anyway)…Adding roasted peanuts and peanut butter to the stew!

Stirring.

After an hour of simmering, we temporarily removed the chicken from the pot. I shredded the meat and added it back to the stew.

We served the finished stew over brown rice. The verdict? Both Emma and Elliott despised the sweet potato. Elliott was weirded out by the peanut taste. Emma took this as a sign that she should rise to the occasion and claim that she LOVED the peanut taste. “But, please serve me the stew with only the chicken. No sauce”.

So, while this stew was not a slam dunk with the entire family (Jeff, Oliver and I loved it, by the way), the Ghanan costumes and dances certainly were! The kids and I can’t wait to wear more international costumes on our next geography journey.