*This post contains affiliate links.*

Do you want to see my labyrinthine process for finding and altering stuff for my photo shoots? I hope you said “Yes!” because I’m about to show you!

So, in April Showers Bring May Flowers – Part 1 the kids were dressed like this. How did I find and prepare all of these elements? Well, it all came together at the thrift store. (Doesn’t it always?)

Okay, so I alluded to finding these vintage umbrellas in my last post. Here is Annika, giving the first one a test run in the thrift store. She was immediately as obsessed with it as I was! It had been left out in the open, casually propped against a piece of furniture. In a moment of inspiration, I thought to check the nearby bin of umbrellas, just in case there were more…And there WAS a second one!!! You can *just* see its pink, crook-handle peeking out of the top of the bin, on Annika’s left.

My first inspiration for doing a ’60s photo shoot with the kids was sparked when I saw that downtown mural. These umbrellas sealed the deal. Now I had a vision! When I brought the umbrellas home, I noticed that their clear, vinyl material was dusty and cloudy. It was time to give them some TLC.

I rounded up some gloves, a spray bottle with a 50/50 white distilled vinegar and water solution, and an old t-shirt rag. Then, I gave the umbrellas an initial rinse with the hose.

Next, I sprayed and wiped the umbrellas inside and out with the vinegar spray and t-shirt rag.

That clear vinyl began to glisten! I wasn’t able to remove the rusted bits at the crowns, but fortunately it’s not noticeable when the umbrellas are in use.

I set the umbrellas to dry…

…And here they are, (mostly) squeaky clean! Emma’s:

Eliza’s:

When I found Emma’s purse, I saw its potential. However, it was dingy and dirty. It looked like the kind of grime that would wash out, so I gave it a chance. Sure enough, a soak in OxiClean freshened it right up! *Pro-tip*: Use a large jug, like this one of white distilled vinegar, to weight soaking items that don’t want to stay submerged. Also, make sure you put buckets of soaking items up high for the safety of your kiddos and pets. My bucket was on the floor just for the photo. Then, I put it on top of the washing machine!

I’m one of those people who “loses” my phone three times a day…BUT I have a photographic memory for every scrap of trim and every color of every item that comes home with me. So, I knew I had the perfect, vintage daisy trim in my stash to make the perfect headbands for the girls’ outfits. I draped a bit over Eliza’s head for visualization.

Dollar Tree headbands are great to have around for these kinds of projects! (Of course, you have to buy more than one pack if you want to make matching ones of the same color). These are great, since they are covered with fabric and don’t dig in behind the ears. It was super easy to trim the daisy chains to length and glue them to the headbands. I always like to dab a bit of Fray Check on the ends of any cut trim to prevent raveling.

Okay, so do you want to hear some TMI? Probably not, but I’m going to tell you, anyway. I save the hair from our hair brushes. Now, hear me out: This practice has lengthy, historical precedent. I mean, if you consider that the creepy Victorians had the hair of their loved ones plaited into elaborate jewelry and mementos, how weird can it be? Anyway, lots of antiquated hairstyles required vast amounts of hair that were beyond the scope of many the average scalp. (I take solace knowing that ladies of long ago also suffered from having thin hair.) So, I wadded some of the girls’ collected hair strands into hair nets. Then, I placed these little pads under their top layers of hair to give them those iconic, 1960s bouffant poofs. And, voilà! Their hair got a boost with material that matched their actual hair colors if it showed through.

Now for the clothes! Emma and Eliza’s dresses were hand-me-downs, and they are actually the same size.

(Eliza, of course, got the red one!) I needed to take in Eliza’s dress at the sides and hem it so it would fit her the same as Emma’s. Fortunately, the dress’s simple, A-line design made this quite easy!

One of my favorite “cheats”, especially on a deep hem, is to tack it in just a few places, like at the side seams and the front and back. (Hemming it all the way around can cause puckers and additional bulk, due to the hem width being usually quite a bit wider at the bottom than farther up the garment.) Then, I press, press, press with the iron!

Here you can see how I took in the side seams. I gradually blend the stitches out to the side seam, like I do when making a dart. Sometimes, when I feel fancy, I tie my thread ends together before clipping them. This gives your dart stitches extra security at the tips.

Elliott’s vintage sports coat was such a fun thrift store find! It just needed to be shortened a bit in the sleeves. I folded them back the requisite lengths and gave them blind hems.I also moved the cuff buttons up. Buttons are easy to move, but can be a bit time-consuming if there are a lot of them!

Whew! Even though this project involved minimal sewing, it still took a few hours to do the cleaning, alterations, and ironing. It takes some effort to get all the costume pieces “picture perfect”. I’m telling you this so that you can go into a similar situation with your eyes WIDE open. (In other words, don’t be like me and kid yourself that you can get all of it done in half an hour AND somehow still take pictures the same day!)

Stay tuned for my next post, in which I will show you all the costume pieces put together into outfits. We did an additional photo shoot with the whole family, so I will do outlays of allllllllll the items we wore before sharing the family pictures. Talk to you soon, friends!

We live in a small city. Some would see this as a limitation, but I love the challenge of digging deep and seeing treasures and opportunities around every corner. So, when our public library moved to a temporary location, further downtown, my eye was caught by some unique architectural features that I had never noticed before, like the alley we used for some of our “Newsies” pictures. Then, one day…

“But, Mom…I thought we were going to the library!”

“I know. Just a sec. What is this mural???”

It all came together when we got these matching, hand-me-down dresses. THEN, I found two vintage umbrellas at one of my favorite thrift stores. My hands were tied. This just HAD to happen!

Hair? Check. Accessories? Check. I will write more about how I put their outfits together in my next post. We parked at the library and strolled over to that groovy, color-blocked mural wall.

These flower power headbands were the only things I actually made for this photo shoot. Is that cheating? Imposter syndrome tells me that it is. Then, I remind myself that the whole point of this blog is: Yes You Can! Things can be worthwhile without being hard. Crazy, I know.

They really should bring back this style of umbrella. Isn’t the dome shape adorable?

Eliza is holding a beaded purse that belonged to my mom, when she was a little girl, in the ’60s!

Emma’s purse isn’t vintage, but it had the right look.

I love Emma and her “big girl” poses.

Check out this dapper dude in his green blazer!

Groooovy, man!

As ever, it was hard to get these goofballs to stand still! I had to weed through a lot of blurry photos. They were digging the ’60s vibes and getting into character.

Before we moved locations, we took a little stroll back down Wenatchee Avenue. You can see just a hint of the mural, in the background.

Our next destination was the Wenatchee City Hall. This behemoth is the old Federal Building. It used to house the post office, and I got my passport here, right before Jeff and I were married. Anyway, it was built in the late ’60s, and its stark, modern design meant that I had to include it in our photo shoot.

It’s not an authentic Heminger Family Photo Shoot unless we have to race the sun at the end! Maybe someday, I’ll own a camera that can better contend with not-so-ideal lighting conditions. For now, my smartphone does a decent job.

I love how these slightly blurry dusk photos look a bit like impressionistic paintings.

This is Elliott’s go-to, cool dude pose. I think it’s working for him.

What kid doesn’t love an umbrella? I had a similar one when I was little. It was also clear, but spangled with rainbow-colored hearts. In my imagination, it was my magical, Mary Poppins umbrella.

The Indomitable Eliza Kate. 

Well, that’s a wrap! However, it also wouldn’t be a Heminger Family Photo Shoot without a few bloopers. Enjoy!

Creepy eyes. And, the moment you’ve all been waiting for: The Many Faces of Eliza…

Well, I hope these pops of color will brighten your socially-distanced day! I look forward to sharing how I put these outfits together, AND a whole-family vintage photo session in some upcoming posts. Stay safe. I love you!

I don’t know about you, but it feels like Easter finally arrived and burst through a monotonous stream of days spent in isolation! (Rather like being released from a tomb!) In fact, my sense of time (never that good to begin with) has become quite blurred. The holiday totally snuck up on me, and it took our pastor asking us to participate in our church’s pre-recorded Easter Service to bring me out of the haze!

Pastor Dennis hinted that costumes would be nice, so that is what we delivered! You might recognize the following costume pieces from past blog posts:

• DIY Pillowcase Biblical Costumes (Elliott and Eliza’s outfits.)
• DIY No-Sew Saint Lucia Outfit (Emma’s Angel dress.)
• DIY Fairy Princess Cape Made from a Shirt (Emma’s embellished wings and tiara.)

It’s one thing to have all the costume pieces…It’s another thing to convince everyone to wear them, get in the car, arrive on location, and shoot pictures and videos…All before the sun goes down. As usual, Annika was not on board. I had a costume for her, but she freaked out, “Hulked out”, and tore the shoulder out as she stripped that thing right off. That is why this is the only appearance she deigned to make during our Easter play. Oliver (Roman Guard) participated in the video, but did not consent to being photographed, either.

Do you see that turret in the background? Are we in Europe? I wish! The location we used for this project was the grounds of Wells House. It sits on the edge of Wenatchee Valley College. It’s within walking distance of our home. We’ve been frequenting this place quite a bit, these days. It’s a great, isolated location for the kids to run around and play (without any tempting play equipment that they can’t touch, due to COVID19). The campus has an eerie feeling, since there are no college students or faculty about. With a little imagination, the Wells House and its garden could almost be a cemetery. Perhaps the flagstone patio and outdoor fireplace made of stone could be a tomb?

With our location picked, it was time to assemble our cast of characters. Here they are, as outlined by their costume pieces!

Emma: The Angel

Eliza: Mary Magdalene

Elliott: Peter

As you know, I always keep my eyes peeled for shoes that can pass for historic footwear. All of these sandals have taken me years to collect! Since things don’t always turn up at the right time (or at the right price), we have to get creative. This happened a couple years ago when I wanted Greek sandals for Emma. So, I turned to her existing shoe collection. These were her favorite purple sandals. They were already hand-me-downs when she got them, and I think it’s apparent that she finished them off! However, I was able to remove the frayed lining and flowers. Emma helped me to finish the transformation with spray paint. Now, they have a new life as costume shoes, and they currently fit Eliza! (The spray paint is an effective quick-fix, but it’s not very durable.)

Okay! Location? Check.

Costumes? Check.

Cast? Check.

Wait. What are we doing? Places, everyone! Action!

“Saturday evening, when the Sabbath ended, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome went out and purchased burial spices so they could anoint Jesus’ body.” Mark 16:1 NIV

“Very early on Sunday morning, just at sunrise, they went to the tomb. On the way they were asking each other, ‘Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?'” Mark 16:2-4 NIV

“There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow.” Matthew 28:2-3 NIV

“The women were shocked, but the angel said, ‘Don’t be alarmed. You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead! Look, this is where they laid his body. Now go and tell his disciples, including Peter, that Jesus is going ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there, just as he told you before he died.’” Mark 16:5b-7 NIV

“So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples.” Matthew 28:8 NIV

“When they came back from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven and to all the others. It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them who told this to the apostles. But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense. Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. Bending over, he saw the strips of linen lying by themselves, and he went away, wondering to himself what had happened.” Luke 24:9-12 NIV

“Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:16-20 NIV

“When he had led them out to the vicinity of Bethany, he lifted up his hands and blessed them.  While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven. Then they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy. And they stayed continually at the temple, praising God.” Luke 24:50-53 NIV

“Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” John 20:30-31 NIV

Whew! These powerful passages always get me. In case you’re also feeling a bit emotional, here is yet another compilation of the many faces of Eliza:

You can view our church’s pre-recorded Easter Service, below. Our family’s bits are within the first ten minutes. Of course, I encourage you to watch the whole service! It was beautiful, poignant, and even funny, to see the creativity and collaboration of our congregation in this video. It culminates in Pastor Dennis delivering his sermon from in front of the Memorial Wall in our church’s garden. This location holds extra significance for our family, as Jeff’s grandfather’s ashes (Bruce Gellatly) are interred in that very wall.

This hope of new life and resurrection is offered to us today and everyday! I pray that this light will burn brighter in our hearts as we return to an unknown future of social distancing; missing the fellowship of our family and friends.

“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:38-39 NIV

He is risen! He is risen, indeed!

*This post contains affiliate links*

Uh-oh…You just found out that your child needs a pioneer outfit…Most of us are going to face this conundrum at some point in our children’s school careers.

Some pieces are relatively easy to find. Dress? Check! Boots? Check! Bonnet and Apron??? Sometimes the accessories are the hardest to find. And YET, these pesky little costume pieces are usually the very ones that you really need to create that iconic “look”. Well, have no fear! After reading this post, (and my next one on aprons) you will be just one pillowcase away from making your very own matching bonnet and apron for your little pioneer!

Supplies

• Fabric (1/2 yard, or a pillowcase)
• 3/4 inch-wide elastic, about 7 inches long
• Stiff, sew-in stabilizer (optional, but it stiffens the brim)
• Thread
• Scissors
• Safety pins (2)
• Paper
• Tape
• Pencil
• Ruler and rounded shape for making lines and curves
• Sewing machine (I mean, I guess you could sew the whole thing by hand!)
• Sewing needle

What is my deal with pillowcases? Well, of course I could select a few yards of any fabric I want! However, I am really drawn to pillowcases for four reasons:

1. They’re cheap! I can usually find them at thrift stores for a dollar, fifty cents, or even less!
2. Some of them already have interesting trim, i.e. lace, ric rac, piping, etc.
3. They take the guesswork out of planning how much material I need.
4. There’s something freeing about working within limitations. (This is all the fabric I have!)

That being said, it can take a while to come across pillowcases with cute prints. Solid ones exist in abundance. Ones that look like gingham and calico? Not so much. However, I eventually found two, plaid pillowcases; one for Emma and one for Eliza. I liked the contrast in prints between the geometric lines and their floral dresses.

I used this vintage bonnet from my collection as the basis for the pattern. While it is darling, the colors and print of this bonnet are too 1970s for pioneer times. (I’m persnickety.) As you can see, the trimmed hems of the pillowcases were almost exactly the same length and width of this bonnet brim! This really got my wheels turning.

Next, I measured the different parts of the bonnet to come up with the basis for my own pattern. It’s a little tricky to measure a 3D object to render a 2D paper pattern.

Are you ready to see my super fancy pattern-making tools and methods? (I’m joking!) First, I taped two pieces of printer paper together.

Using my bonnet measurements as a reference, I made marks to create the pattern piece for the crown (poofy, back bonnet pattern piece). Yes, that is Oliver’s foot, and yes, that is the splatter cover from our microwave. (I like using random, rounded objects in our kitchen as my tools for grading curves. The long, vertical edge of the paper is the center back of the pattern piece, designed to be placed on a fold of fabric.

I re-examined the vintage bonnet and realized that the side of my crown pattern needed to swoop outward a bit more. So, I marked additional measurements, graded a new curve, and drew a connecting line to join the new curve down to the base of the crown. To do so, I used this metal t-square. It was a required purchase for my scenic design class, in college. (We learned to draft theatre sets the old-school way!) My dad absolutely loves this t-square. He covets it every time he visits. Sorry, Dad. You still can’t have it! (I guess I inherited some of the family engineering genes, after all.)

After marking the bonnet crown pattern piece with fold lines, etc, I began to make the pattern for the brim. I started by tracing the curve of the original bonnet brim and drew a straight line for the side.

With pattern pieces drafted, I snipped open the side and top seams of my washed and dried pillowcase.

Next, I played with the layout of my pattern pieces to get the most use out of the fabric. (I was also going to eke an apron out of the remnants.) The brim piece was placed along the bottom edge of the pillowcase so that I could take advantage of the double-layer of fabric and ric rac trim that was already there! Extra stiffness and prettiness in one step? Yes, please!

After cutting these pieces out of the material, I moved the brim pattern piece up to cut another piece of fabric for the brim lining. I also measured and cut two strips of fabric, 19 1/2 inches by 2 1/2 inches for the bonnet ties.

This next part is optional, but I wanted the bonnet brim to be stiff. I have had lots of bad experiences with fusible interfacing, so I prefer to use sew-in varieties.

I stocked up on my favorite kinds of interfacing when Jo-Ann had a 50% off sale! You can also find them on Amazon. I especially like Pellon’s 50 Heavyweight Stabilizer.

Once I had all my fabric pieces cut out, I serged along the straight edge of the brim lining. I did the same with the main brim, but serged the interfacing piece to its wrong side, at the same time. One and done!

And here are what the brim pieces looked like from the backside. At this point, I proceeded to serge the brim, lining and interfacing, all together, along the curved sides. This turned out to be a mistake! I should have waited until I sewed on the bonnet ties, first, since they are attached to the brim.

Oops! It’s not fun to have to unpick serger stitches. Live and learn! So, before I went on, I stopped to prepare the bonnet ties. There are no pictures of these steps, but it’s quite easy! I sewed the ties into long cylinders, wrong side to wrong side. Then, I mitered and stitched the ends closed. I popped them right side out with this handy Quick Turn tool. You could use a pencil or pen to poke the ties right side out, but the tool makes it sooo much easier!

With the ties read to go, it was time to sew them to the bonnet brim. I placed the ties 3/4 inches from the corner edge, stitched them down, and then finally re-sewed the bonnet brim lining and top piece together, wrong sides together, along the curved edge. I used a 1/4 inch seam allowance.

At this point, I lay the finished brim aside and started to work on the bonnet crown. I began by serging all the way around its raw edges. Don’t worry if you don’t have a serger! The way I put this bonnet together ensures that all the raw edges are enclosed, which minimizes raveling.

I folded the serged bottom edge up along its serged line (1/4 inch) and stitched it across. Then, I folded it up another inch and stitched it at the very top of this new fold line, to make an elastic casing. I checked the back of my vintage bonnet to see how long I should cut the elastic to cinch the bonnet in at the back.

At this point, I would do things a little differently if I could do it all over again. The vintage bonnet’s elastic was only about 4 inches long, so that was the length I cut and stitched into Eliza’s new bonnet. However, this made the bonnet very snug on her, and much too tight to fit a larger child. Since it still fit Eliza, (and I didn’t want to have to rip out any more stitches) I decided to let things be. When I made Emma’s bonnet, I learned from my mistake and cut her elastic 6 1/2 inches long, which gave much more ease.

Next, I secured one end of the elastic to one end of the casing and used a second safety pin as a giant needle to scrunch the other end of the elastic through the casing. Afterward, I stitched the elastic down at each end with lots of back and forth stitches. That elastic isn’t going anywhere!

Next, I used my sewing needle to make gathering stitches along the top (curved) edge of the bonnet crown. I used red thread to make the gathering stitches easy to see. Now, I am not O.C.D. in most areas of my life, (take one look in my house, and you’ll see what I mean) but I am O.C.D. about creating nice, even gathers in my sewing projects. To achieve this, I divide the material to be gathered (the crown) and the material it will be sewn to (the brim) into even sections. Then, I pull the gathering threads to bunch the gathered crown material to fit evenly between these pinned points on the brim. From there, I often add a lot more pins to reeeaaallly finesse where each gather will land. This is probably overkill, but it’s what I do!

We’re getting sooo close! Okay, so I removed the red gathering threads, and all that was left to be done was to fold the brim over and hand-stitch the brim lining to cover our newly-sewn, gathered seam. I always find this finishing work to be so satisfying! It creates a final product that has no raw edges. All of them are safely tucked away, which makes a garment that is both beautiful and durable!

Here are some different views of the finished bonnets. First, Eliza:

And Emma:

These photos of the girls are teasers for a future post I’ll do on this beautiful photo shoot. We drove out to Entiat City Park and played along the Columbia River as the sun set. But before that, I will also show you how I made their matching pioneer aprons from the pillowcase remnants. Until then, have a creative day, my friends!

P.S. Someday, I hope to create a downloadable PDF of this bonnet pattern. Email me at info@yesyoucancostumes.com if you’d like me to pursue this. I need some motivation to venture into learning how to create printables!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our family recently had the super fun opportunity to be in a local, promotional video! It is for Link Transit, our public transit company.

How does this relate to costuming? Well, let me tell you…Getting five small children dressed in their cutest winter attire, complete with coats, hats, and boots, is definitely a theatrical production! Up to this point, our kids hadn’t rode the Link Bus except during “Touch-A-Truck”. This is a fantastic event put on by the Women’s Service League of North Central Washington. All sorts of vehicles assemble in a giant parking lot, and kids can touch them, and even climb inside! There are fire trucks, police cars, a S.W.A.T. tank, helicopters taking off, and so much more. I hope your community offers something similar, because the event is pretty much heaven for little kids!

Here’s a photo of our family from “Touch-A-Truck”, back in 2013. I can hardly believe how little Emma (4) and Elliott (3) are in these photos! I had just had Oliver, a month prior, and Eliza was 16 months. During this same time, Jeff was Bert in Music Theatre of Wenatchee’s production of Mary Poppins. (Hence the significance of the banner on the bus.)

Alrighty, back to the present! Some awesome friends we know through our theatre connections gave us this opportunity, and our kids were sooo excited to ride the “Rainbow Bus”, as they call it. So, I went through all of our closets and dressed the kiddos in all the Hanna Andersson clothing items and vintage coats and hats they could stand, and we toodled on down to the bus station. (Can you tell how excited they are by their classic “scrunchy faces”?)

The bus was decked with garlands, ribbons, and ornaments. It was pretty magical! The kids couldn’t wait to climb aboard. (Don’t worry. I re-tied Emma’s boot lace.)

“There aren’t any seat belts?!?!?” The kids were both thrilled and perplexed by the lack of restraints during the ride!

Piped in Christmas music added to the festive mood. Okay, I have to stop for a moment and acknowledge this gorgeous, red, wool vintage coat I found for Annika. Five dollars at Goodwill, people! Five. Dollars.

Oh, and this Hanna Andersson dress that Emma wore, that I also found at Goodwill for five dollars. These sweater dresses retail for at least sixty dollars. And, they’re Swedish. And they’re gorgeous. So, yeah. I couldn’t grab it fast enough!

Okay, now we can go on. Sorry, I just get sooo excited about great finds!

Once we were settled, we were handed prop presents. I was sure that Oliver wouldn’t be able to control himself and would rip one open…But he managed to leave the packages intact…With lots of little reminders! The kids just loved viewing familiar streets from the higher perspective and large windows that the bus afforded them.

After a bit, we were dropped off at a bus stop, so that the camera guys could get video of us both exiting and boarding the bus.

Since we had by far the most kiddos, they had us get off at the first stop so that we would also be the first group to be picked back up.

They couldn’t have picked a better day to film! It was crisp, outside, but also gorgeous and sunny!

Santa himself boarded the bus for the last leg of our trip! He and his elves gave the kids candy canes and Christmas ornaments.

Back at the station, the Link Transit crew served us a delicious pizza lunch, and the kids enjoyed some coloring. All in all, it was an amazing, memorable morning! Once again, I have fallen even more in love with my community. Oh, and the actual holiday video? You can view it here!

I hope I’ll be able to make a few more posts before Christmas, but just in case…All of us at the Heminger House wish all of you a merry, blessed Christmas!