One Little Girl in a Pale Pink Coat Heard...

Aprile took me to a sing-along screening of 'The Sound of Music' to celebrate my birthday. There was a fancy dress competition, and I immediately knew that I wanted to create a costume based on the marionettes from 'The Lonely Goatherd' scene.

I made:

- a circle skirt, 

- a very quick corset-front vest, traced from a tank top,

- ears/horns (using my beloved gardening wire and masking tape, of course),

- furry boot toppers.

These were paired with tights, a white blouse, and a pink cardigan that are all part of my existing wardrobe. 

'The Lonely Goatherd' is one of my top 3 songs from the film (along with 'Maria' and 'Something Good'), and is, I think, generally under-appreciated by the film's loyal fanbase. I enjoy this song because it is upbeat, catchy, and challenging to sing (I did work on it in vocal lessons) and the scene with the marionettes is fun to watch. Although it's not considered to be authentic yodeling, the vocalizations sure are fun!

Here are some pics of my my fancy dress competition winning costume, in process, and completed!

New D&D player = new dice bag!

This character is described as having purple hair, vine tattos on her ankle that wind up her leg, and a tattoo of waves on her side. She's also a Dragon Master, and has a pact with a platinum dragon.

Dungeons and Dragons Dice Bags!

My friends and I recently started playing D&D. We just finished our first real dungeon crawl and defeated our first large creature, thanks to some odd-defying rolls and smart decisions made by the wizard Azrael and sharp-shooter Caoilainn. My character's name is Ash Yorrick Freewill, and she is a badass Tiefling Bard who is trying her best to defy her demonic heritage and be a noble fighter in the quest to protect the world from an evil uprising.

But, adventuring aside, I made these dice bags for the party based on our characters and their personalities/appearance/traits. I made the d20 bag for the DM. I admit that stitching on the d20 could have been neater, but Athena (my sewing machine) was having a hard time and, honestly, after all the geometry involved in making that bag, I kind of rushed to get it done.

Overall, the party was pleased with their bags, and I am happy to have made something cool for my friends and fellow adventurers.

Edit: I have been told by my friends that they have received some inquiries about the dice bags. I'd be happy to take on commissions for custom work. Email me for info! bmusingcostumesandcrafts@gmail.com 

Part of Your World, or at Least Your Kitchen

Short but sweet:
K ordered a Little Mermaid inspired apron for Mel for Christmas. Here it is!

Cancel "Operation: Dusty Rose"!

The mission: drapes and pennants for a nursery for new baby niece, due to arrive mid-October.

Colours: dusty rose, charcoal, cream.

Adele and I scoured the fabric store looking for the perfect shade of dusty rose for curtains the complement the light grey of the nursery walls, and soft, plushy rose carpet. Upholstery, drapery, clearance fabrics, ready-made drapery panels... Too red, too pink, too dusty with not enough rose, not quite the right balance between elephant's ear and a ballet slipper... and then there, along the walls with the bridal satins, we found it - the perfect dusty rose! Next step: curtains, and pennants in dusty rose, charcoal, and cream.

The newly purchased fabric was added to my sewing pile, and, thinking that I had at least two weeks before the nursery's future occupant would make her appearance, I procrastinated with the mandatory measuring, pressing, and pinning that would eventually make about 6m of satin into lovely, flowy curtains. Perhaps I was letting my former sewing teacher's warning about the slipperiness of satins dampen my motivation and confidence. I kept reminding myself that it would be a lot of work, but I love my friend, and I love her children, and aunties with sewing machines sew out of love, and really, little beats the satisfaction of seeing the results one's efforts. Whatever the reason for the procrastination, it's a good thing I hadn't started sewing yet, because on October 1, I received this text: "Hey Becky. You may want to stop work on the PINK curtain".

New baby niece turned out to be new baby nephew! Dusty rose was replaced with turquoise, and instead of making drapes, I just made pennants (as I was going to do with the dusy rose anyway). 

Revised Colours: turquoise, charcoal, and cream. 

Welcome to the world, Henri. Auntie Becky loves you already!

(Oh, and if anyone wants to buy 6.4m of Duchesse satin in rose dust, let me know.)

Rey's staff

Props are essential for any costume. For Lauren's Rey cosplay, I set out to make Rey's staff. I ended up making a scaled-down and less detailed interpretation, but it is clear what it is supposed to be.

Remember the show Art Attack? That show taught me that pretty much any craft project that one can imagine can be constructed using toilet paper rolls, paper, glue, and masking tape. One material I have added to the list is gardening wire (as seen with the Maleficent horns). This project started with a broomstick, the materials mentioned above, fabric scraps from the costume, and vinyl belt. The belt was trimmed down to make the strap, and scrap material was wrapped around the middle of the staff. The constructed parts were finished with black acrylic paint, and high-gloss craft varnish.

Lauren saw the work-in-progess (middle picture) when she came over for her first costume fitting. She asked, "Where do you get these ideas from?" Honestly? Art Attack. From the Maleficent horns, to the magic wand for my Gryffindor neice, the same principles apply: start with a base, build it up with other material, wrap it all in masking tape, and paint, paint, paint.

Also, when it comes to crafts and sewing, I view mistakes and failures as learning experiences. It makes me (relatively) fearless, and confident enough in my abilities to take risks, like Rey, when she piloted the Millennium Falcon. I'm trying to apply that attitude and confidence to other aspects of life.

Belts and Boots

I stand in front of the belts in the thift store, staring at two leather belts in my hands, trying to determine which one would better fit my overall vision for Lauren's Rey costume.

I narrow my eyes, feeling the texture of the details of the belt in my right hand. I turn to Lauren and crinkle my forehead, trying to picture the final product. I huff frustratedly, mentally going back and forth between both belt options.

"I trust your vision," L says reassurringly, seeing my obvious distress over the belt dilemma. I decide to hold on to both belts, plus a third one, and leave the decision until after L has finished trying on a selection of Rey-like tank tops and pants.

Lauren makes her way past the footware to the fitting rooms. I trail behind, looking back at the belts again, and then glancing at some scarves as I hear Lauren squeal, "B!!!!" from the next aisle  over.

She comes bounding around the corner, boots in hand, and we both know that we are at the start of another fantastic costume adventure. The boots are perfect. Absolutely perfect.

I can't wait to see how everything comes together.