JJ's Party Prize

JJ's class had a holiday party this morning.  When I picked her up at dismissal, Ms. W notified me that JJ had won a prize playing the pin the nose on the witch game.  As Ms. W turned to me to hand me the prize, my eyes almost bulged out--it was a huge pumpkin which weighted 20 lbs. Many of JJ's classmates asked how I was going to get the pumpkin home once they knew I did not drive a car to school.  I could only shake my head and hope that I had enough strength to get this baby back home.  Our usual 5-minute walk home turned into 15, as I had to make frequent stops to rest my arms.  By the time we got home, my arms were shaking badly.  I could not even steady my hands for the photo shooting.  All this time, JJ was jumping up and down for the prize she mysteriously won (she kept saying, "I didn't even know how I won the game.")  If you come by our house for trick-or-treat tonight, you will see this guy sitting by the front door.  Have a safe evening!

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Mermaid Costume for JJ

JJ wanted to be a mermaid this year and picked this pattern at the store.  The mermaid fever had long passed by this time and there were only two patterns to choose from.  By looking at the picture on the envelope , I was not thrilled.  I mean, the crown and the top make the whole costume look cheesy.  And let's not forget a mom's dismay when I pictured JJ shivering on an October night with this short sleeve dress.

I picked up this blueish green long sleeve top at Target as replacement for the top.  It was bell shaped and needed a little touch of "sea life".

I cut a piece of rectangle, hemmed the long edges and gathered the center line.  Pinned in place.  Turned the top inside out and sewed the two sides of the shirt in 2" (a few inches below armholes) to make the top fitted.

Turned the top right side out, hand stitched the "bras" in place.  Added a piece of sequence at the center.

Worked on the skirt using the pattern.  Instead of attaching the skirt to the top, I added a waist band to the skirt and had the skirt as one piece (thus, no need to sew in a zipper as the pattern instructed.  sweet!)  I did not want to make a dress just JJ's size and only have her wear it for a day.  Thinking like a frugal mom, I sewed the skirt one size bigger.  Of course, my thrifty spirit was challenged when I fitted JJ into the skirt.   JJ's petite and the skirt was dragging on the floor.  She would be tripping over her skirt before she could walk out the front door.  I folded the "fins" of the skirt under and hand stitched to shorten it.  Looked just as great with the doubled up fins.

Right before heading out, I felt something was still missing from this outfit and quickly sewed a scallop with the remanant and attached it to a hair pin.  

Happy mermaid , relieved mom.

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One Hour Candy Corn Costume

Do you have an indecisive child who could not make up her mind to dress up or not, or what to dress up as until  the 3rd week of October and decided if you love her enough, you'd do magic for her?  Well, I have one whom I love dearly but drives me up thewall with her indecisiveness and the last minute panic inspiration.
Until she made up her mind, I decided to focus my energy on JJ's mermaid dress (read how I "wrestled" with the dress in my next post).

She finally said she "would not mind" dressing up as a candy corn.  Yippe!  The hardest part is over!

I was too lazy did not have time to sew the bodice, so I got a white tank for the top. The rest took very little time to complete. You ask how I did it?  Short cuts, short cuts and more short cuts.

Stitch the yellow and orange fabrics (1/2 yd. each) together and press seam open.

Fold the tank to the desired length and use the "new waist line" as guide to draw the two sides of the skirt.  Add 1/2" seam allowance, cut the sides and sew close.  With right sides facing, stitch the skirt to the tank (at your new waist line).

Cut felt pieces to make candy corn appliques.  

Now I have a sweet candy corn.

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Mrs. Potato Head Costume

My Sketch of Mrs. P

I needed a costume and I needed one bad.  Our CG was assigned to host the welcoming table at the Family Fun Fest.  And dressing up for the event was a MUST!  I was so busy sewing the girls’ costumes that I only had one night left to come up with an easy custom.   

I searched for costume images and quickly realized that while I could not pull off being a princess, a gypsy or goldilocks, I could, however, be a very convincing Mrs. Potato Head.

Luckily, I had a hot glue gun and enough felt.  It was the easiest costume I've made so far.  Done in 1 hour. Woo-hoo!

The Ladies At The Welcoming Table

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Halloween fun

F borrowed a kids' cook book home and was inspired to make some snacks. Since Halloween class party was just around the corner, we decided to make the "spooky mouth" with apple slices and marsh mellows. Looks pretty nasty, wouldn't you say? Got lots of "Eeewww" from the kids. hahaha. Mission accomplished.

Ice Cream Carton covered with construction papper--a pumpkin candy box ready to be opened by the little neighborhood trick-or-treaters. =)

"Spiders and Mold Covered Mac And Cheese" for a 2nd grade class party. A big hit.

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I Am From the Same Movie My Brother's In

I went nuts over the Star War theme (see Z in his Jedi costume) and made this Princess Leia outfit for my youngest one.  To make her look believable, I crocheted 2 hair covers to make the signature Princess Leia hair buns.  Don't know what you think, but she's the most adorable princess Leia I've seen.  Love you, Joyjoy!

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