Max California

Try This Thursday #14:For Me!

2012-01-26T09:00:00.000+10:00

I was just checking what number I was up to and I realised that I skipped number 6. Hahah.

I decided to go through my "For Me" board on Pinterest. Some of this stuff I won't be able to make until after the baby is finished baking and is out, but a lot of it is pretty inspiring anyway!

Most of these aren't tutorials, but with some clever thinking I'm sure you can make it your own!

Source: crushculdesac.tumblr.com via Adam on Pinterest

Love the back on this with the exposed zipper!

Source: us.asos.com via Adam on Pinterest

This long stretchknit dress looks so comfortable! I think I could work it as maternity wear as well!

Source: outsapop.com via Adam on Pinterest

Clever Outi at Outsapop has got the Alexander McQueen skull up to print and make stencils! GO!

Source: weheartit.com via Adam on Pinterest

Shorts with lace!

Source: sylandsam.blogspot.com via Adam on Pinterest

Tutorial on how to glitter up your shoes! With love from some of my favourite DIY girls on this planet - Syl and Sam of Lipgloss And Black.

Source: Uploaded by user via Adam on Pinterest

Love this skirt so much. Make it from stretch fabric and use matching twill tape for the 'panels'. Attach garter clips if you want.

Source: quietlioncreations.blogspot.com via Adam on Pinterest

Tutorial on how to make your own wire script necklaces!

Source: outsapop.com via Adam on Pinterest

Love the safety pins making the graphic on this jacket

Source: tumblr.com via Adam on Pinterest

The separate collars thing is pretty in right now, I really want a studded one!

Source: trashtocouture.blogspot.com via Adam on Pinterest

This. Is a really amazing idea. Obviously you won't be able to make it from just one shirt, so try and grab a few shirts of the same colour or make the whole thing from scratch. Hell even different coloured fabrics in the basket weave on the back would look great!

If you try anything let me know! I want to see!

Red Tartan Blazer for the Monster

2012-01-25T22:04:00.001+10:00

I finished this on Sunday, handsewing the hems up just minutes before we had to leave. This jacket is by far the most complex thing I've attempted since dropping out of fashion school {halfway through learning all about jackets ironically} and it was a bit difficult but totally fun!

I rarely sew with commercial patterns these days, so when I had to figure out the instructions and stare at the diagrams I felt like I was reading double dutch! I don't understand how you guys do it! If I wore a hat it would be off to you.

Despite my issues I did remember how these sorts of jackets went, revere collars and two-piece sleeves. Matching up the plaid was pretty fun, I did well in the major areas, the body of the jacket all matches up and alarmingly the collar matches the back perfectly {unintentional but yey!}. Matching plaid has always been a bit fun for me. When I did work experience for Cyan Reign one of the things she was going to have in her fashion show were these freaking cute pink plaid hotpants. Well it took me three attempts of cutting them out before i had them right and guess what. She decided not to put them in the show. It was like my 'hazing' into the world of fashion. OH THOSE PINK PLAID HOTPANTS! Bane of my existance but it was pretty fun and she had a rad soundtrack playing while I continuously made mistakes.

I studded the shoulders and the pockets, making it a little bit punk. I used Burda 9671 for this jacket, and this was done up in the smallest size, size 3. I was sure it wouldn't fit the little Monster, since he is a tall skinny thing even though he's three in May {wait what?}. Surprisingly it fits pretty well, so hopefully it still fits him for winter! I really liked this pattern because it goes up to size 10. It was very time consuming, but now I've done it once I'm sure it won't be so difficult next time.

Also I started it when I was in my first trimester and just cutting fabric out was exhausting {woe is me}. Oh and I sewed one of the sleeves in backwards. I forgo that with two piece sleeves that there is a left and a right.

I lined it in teal lining, which is kind of fun! It's my favourite colour, teal/turquoise, and I love the unexpected pop when it's not being worn. Did I ever tell you my philosophy about lining? If you're a long time reader or real-life friend then yes, you probably already know but I'm going to say it again anyway. I love lining things with unexpected fabrics. You don't see the insides of pockets or waistbands so I love lining them in weird fabrics that totally don't go. I made a pair of punk jeans once and lined the pockets with kiddie car fabric. So fun. It's like a little secret in your clothes that no one else knows about.

The above photos I also made his purple shirt - resized down from a men's business shirt, and his pants - resized down from a pair of Tim's skate shorts that never were worn because he got too tubby {heh heh}. Bowling hat was $12 from a seller on eBay {it arrived squished which made me sad, but it was free shipping and it was for Vince so he would quit stealing mine}

Oh there's no buttons because while I enjoy sewing buttons on with my machine now {seriously look it up and try it out on your machine. It's revolutionary! haha}, buttonholes are a totally different subject we won't speak of. Oh how I yearn the buttonhole machine at fashion school.

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Tutorial: Faux Henley Tee

2012-01-21T11:52:00.001+10:00

I have a stack of tees I need to reconstruct and resize for my little Monster, shirts I've bought from the op-shop or shirts that Tim doesn't wear. I really need to get cracking on them because he's so tall and skinny shop-bought things don't fit him so good anymore, not to mention I'm trying really hard to have most of his wardrobe handmade. Instead of just straight resizes, I decided to mix things up a little.

I made this Superman tee first, from one of Tim's shirts. I loved how it worked out so I made another.

This Blink 182 one.

And then I decided I would make another and make a tutorial for you!

I'd never really heard of 'Henley' style tees until I started blogging. I guess it's an American thing? I always thought of them as collar-less polo shirts, or undershirts that looked awesome as regular shirts. Haha.

Download the pdf here! If you make one, please add it to the Flickr pool!

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15 weeks

2012-01-19T07:00:00.001+10:00

I wrote a new, belated, post on my pregnancy adventures blog if you want to go check it out! Go vote in the poll too! What gender do you think Monster the Second is going to be? All my friends say boy, I say boy, but the poll says most of you say girl!

One week after this photo, my tummy suddenly POPPED and I am very very pregnant

Stay Magic

2012-01-18T09:00:00.000+10:00

Vin insists glitter is stars.

He thinks I took them from the sky and put them in the bottle.

Stay magical, kid ♥

Blast from the Past: The Trashy Sequel

2012-01-17T17:25:00.001+10:00

Here's the sequel of photos of things I've made in the past pre-Monster in my life! Click here to see the pretty version if you missed it.

Pretty much all of these pictures were taken myself, or snaked from friends who took them. None of us are professional photographers {Except for where credited}. I was just a little trashy rock chick who didn't fit into any sub-culture but had friends in all of them. Also this was like 5 years ago.

PVC tutu! This sold faster than I could list it, back in the eBay days!

Furry Bear-Ear headband. I keep meaning to make more of these!

Please excuse the boobage! D:

I really loved this hoodie. It wasnt to keep me warm at all, but it just fit so well. I eventually decided to get rid of it and a friend snapped it up which made me happy.

First ever yoked shirt. I didn't ever bother putting buttons on it and would do it up with safety pins! Haha. I had a really cool steer-skull patch I stitched onto it

This was basically my uniform of life for a few years. Mini skirt, leggings, cute tee. The tee was an old ladies leopard-print top from the op-shop and I sliced and diced the heck out of it.

Sick Photoshop Skills, yo... LOL. A handful of t-shirt surgeries I made! How fun though

my friends called this pic, Max-a-million :P

I made a tonne of mini skirts!

I can't believe my epic photoshop skills. Doesn't it make you jelly? hahah. Transformers tee transformed {for the second time}

I did a fashion show for a program called Stitch-It. I had the opportunity to do it again this year but there's a little alien in my belly right now that I really can't commit to anything that I will want to go major gung-ho at! Hopefully in a few years I can do it again!

It was fairy tale themed and all my friends and my friend's band were the models! Footwear of choice? Docs!

Sleeping Beauty in green leopard-print haha.

Big Bad Wolf hoodie

Halterneck T-shirt from my friend's band's tee. Oh I wore this SO much!

Back of a Blitzkid tee became the front and bottom of this pencil-skirt with suspenders. My sister then stole it and wore it to work frequently! ahah.

Calabrese t-shirt surgery and leopard-print bloomers. So cute!

Black, hooded, button up dress with a low-waist and pleats in the skirt. That was the ideas I wanted in a dress and that's what I made. Posing on the old bathtub seemed like a really cool idea.

And also no shoes...

Did you ever meet the B-Grade Horror Hoodies? They were like a cross between mummy wraps and a zombie. We stayed up all night making them, my friend Lucy and I. I really miss having someone around to that with {not that I could anymore} but it was fun and we drank to much coke and overlocked until we were SICK of it. So many memories and dumb delerious in-jokes made that night.

I have decided I need to do a Trashy Sequel, sequel! Too many photos!

I'll leave you with this however, the Pink Polka-dot Playskirt!

HOW CUTE IS MY SISTER <3

Blast from the Past: Pretty Things

2012-01-16T18:07:00.001+10:00

I don't think I've ever shared on this blog pictures of things I made before I feel pregnant and the most awesomest kid in the universe. So here's some things! I used to have a label after I dropped out of fashion school, but I just wasn't into it enough to try and advertise and work really hard at it. I liked making things, I just hated selling them. I just wanted to give everything away!

I made LOTS of things, so this post will be dedicated to all the pretty dresses I made. Stay tuned for the trashy sequel!

I made some sailor dresses for Greazefest. My sister, my friend and I all wore themed outfits for all three events.

Cute tiki dress I made. This photo makes me feel a little bittersweet. I packed up five of my most well-made favourite dresses and sent it down with a friend to a store who was willing to take my things. It didn't work out and they kept the dresses. Store is now shut down. Another reason I'm done with sewing and selling!

First ever tiki dress. It's a wiggle dress and was like size 8! I made it to wear when we went to pick Tim up from the rigs when he had been gone for 3 weeks. This dress I loaned to above friend to wear and well... I've never seen it again.

Cabaret-inspired dresses! My mum and I made a lot of these and sold quite a few! I'm pretty sure I have one left somewhere, but that is getting to donated to the op shop with a tonne of other things that have been stored in boxes and moved to about 4 different houses!

Minnie-Mouse flavoured sundress

Voodoo-esque wiggle dress. I really want one of these again!

One of my friends is a photographer, and he was doing a shoot for Fiend magazine. I made some pretty things for the shoot! It was so much fun, and it was before I did work experience for Cyan Reign so it was my first real photoshoot!

Photo credit: Mark Greenmantle

Cute little peasant top I made. I had always wanted one, and couldn't really figure out how to make one so I just winged it after staring intently at one in a shop for ages.

I made this cute blouse from a vintage pyjama pattern! Super cute.

Oh and here's a photo from my wedding. Can you believe it was 4 years ago! Goodness. I made my dress the night before. The dress was so simple, made from really pretty raw silk {I dislike shiny satiny things} and the shrug was just made from lace with a ribbon for the tie. Super simple but it looked good!

I'm dragging Tim because this was our wedding cake topper

I have A LOT more pictures of the pin-up dresses I made. There was another photoshoot, but I have the photos on my other computer so that will have to be another post another day! Hope you enjoyed this little blast from the past, it's a little cringeworthy for me, and a lot of memories, but just proof that I didn't ALWAYS make little boy's clothes! haha.

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Grease Monkey II

2012-01-13T14:05:00.003+10:00

I promised a pattern and a tutorial for these about a year ago! I made a new pair, and I'm tweaking the pattern now! {omg look how much he's grown since then!}

I used pretty much the same pattern as last time, just had to lengthen the legs a whole lot for my skinny long-legged kid!

Another thing I changed from the original deal was to add pocket flaps {with no pockets} on the back and stitch a little bandanna beneath one of them.

We took photos down at my dad's garage, with his bike.

Like the original, it features a cute collar, back yoke, dropped waistband and long enough legs to roll up.

The little guy was long past due for his nap, so he wasn't entirely too co-operative!

And yes, that is a blue mohawk he now sports!

I'd been intending to these some time in the next few months, but with Project Run & Play's theme this week being Boy, I thought I may as well make them and enter. Not that I have even the slightest chance of winning, have you seen half the viewer entries? I might have been in with a chance last week for the June Bug pattern remix but guess what, all I needed to do was sew in a zip and I procrastinated and when I remembered I was 2 minutes late to enter. LAME. I'm still going to finish them and post them up because they are the cutest little outfits either!

Have you made anything Boy inspired this year yet? Enter it into the Project Run & Play flickr pool and you could win a gift voucher at Fabric.com! Check their blog for rules and details!

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Recycled Crayons

2012-01-10T09:00:00.003+10:00

I've always wanted to do this, and we finally got around to it one rainy day.

It didn't take long to remove the paper from the crayons and break them all up. I used an ikea ice-cube tray which they say NOT to use in the oven, but hey, I'm a rebel right? If the oven was cooler things may have gone better, heheh.

The ice-cube tray warped a little, it has now been confined to my craft studio for future crayon makings since it's no longer fit for ice making. The crayons were a bit of a waxy mess, with clear wax settling on top at first. My oven was WAY too hot. I popped them in the fridge though and they sorted themselves out! You can kind of see that there is a definite layer between the backs and the fronts.

The crayons however, turned out great! There was a few broken ones as I tried to get them out of the mold, but once I got into it, it became easier and no more broken stars.

Little Monster loved the 'Sdars'. The colours came out really bright too.

There are a gazillion tutorials on the internet for this, but here's the one I used

Strangely enough one of my friends was doing the exact same thing! She made some cars and boats as a present for someone.

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Follow me on Twitter

2012-01-09T17:23:00.000+10:00

Don't forget, I'm on twitter too! Follow Snip_Snips to stay up to date with blog posts, and also quick snaps of what I'm working on!

Superhero Comic Art Tutorial

2012-01-07T09:00:00.001+10:00

Oh yeh, I'm still framing comic book panels!

Tim and I made more art!

We chose five of our favourite heroes... and Superman {mainly because I like Superboy}. There is Aquaman, Batman, Nightwing, The Flash, Superman and Green Lantern.

Each symbol is made from a panel of the hero's comic. I wish I had have chosen a brighter picture for Supes, but oh well!

We bought a massive frame for about $12 at Crazy Whatever they name it now {seriously it changes every year AmIRight?} I think it's called... Sam's Warehouse now? I don't even know.

We pulled the backing board out of it, here's the frame with the glass.

I scanned a tonne of my comic books and printed them out in black and white. Then Tim and I cut the excess off so we just had the panels.

We glued the comic panels straight onto the backing board. This by itself actually looked really good!

Instead of scanning in my comics, I found some preview panels of my favourite series without the wording on them. I chose 6 heroes and printed out a page for each. Then I made some stencils from baking paper and got the symbols of my heroes.

I traced around each symbol on the pages I'd printed, then cut them out.

Meanwhile time cut out six squares from black card and glued them over the black and white comic book pages we had already glued down.

That's Tim's favourite spot just up there, the one of Catwoman's butt.

Then we glued the superhero symbols made out of superheroes to the black squares, one hero per square.

Aquaman, Batman, Nightwing, The Flash, Superman and Green Lantern.

Then we let it dry, popped the board back into the picture frame and hung it! Everyone LOVES it when they see it, I love it too.

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Friday Photo Dump

2012-01-06T08:53:00.000+10:00

Yeh I'm moving the Monday photo dump to Fridays. I had some reason to, but now I can't remember. Oh well. This is from the last month, lots of family, a funeral, and some adventures

Mustard Sweater & Golf Pants Surgery

2012-01-04T10:34:00.001+10:00

I had this outfit cut out for a while, but it got lost in my mass amounts of "Things I start making then get distracted by something else" pile. The mustard sweater was from a sweater dress my mum gave me to cut up, I love how soft it is. The plaid golf pants were a pair of jeans my sister bought when she was like 16 that i loved and coveted forever until she gave them to me and I turned them into skinnies for myself. The zip busted, and I couldn't be bothered fixing it so I resized them down for Vince.

I cut the sleeves from the bottom of the existing sleeves, so that the cuffs would stay and I wouldn't have to hem it. I did the same with the body of the sweater, using the cuff of the bottom of the dress for the hem.

He was wearing a black tee underneath, hence the Star Trek-ness...

I used my trusty pants pattern that I've modified from a million other pants patterns and pants that fit Vin best. I kept taking these pants in at the waist because he's so skinny and otherwise he needs to wear a belt to keep his jeans on.

I bribed him with a gingerbread man we had made, but he was SO SILLY. He would not hold still for a pic. Oh well, action shots are fun.

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Pirate Party!

2012-01-03T09:00:00.097+10:00

Little Monster delivering the invites

I decided I wanted to throw a party for my Monster before the end of last year, and after a day of thinking up themes we decided on a Pirate Party!

I designed the invites in Photoshop {Elements}. The fonts I used were Black Sam's Gold + Champagne

I printed them out on coloured thick paper and tore the edges to make them look old, ya know, like you did in primary school when you were being 'arty'. {Arrrrrty? lol}. Then I tied them with twine and put them in mini water bottles we recycled. I tied string around the bottles too, and put some sand and seashells in the bottom. Then we put them in a treasure chest my sister gave me years and years ago that now holds Vince's 23 pairs of 3D glasses.

We drove to our local friend's houses and delivered them all {we were dressed as Pirates}.

I asked Tim and my Dad to build a mast for out the front, instead of balloons. This looks like a ghost ship mast, but it's so cool! They made it out of curtain rods, the nappy bucket {which my dad spraypainted?} and the leftover calico and hessian. The bricks weighed it down because the wind kept catching it!

Dad + Vin having a swordfight out the front

I made all the little loot bags from calico fabric with X Marks the Spot stencilled to the fronts of them. It was hard finding pirate goodies last minute that weren't online. I had bought the little spyglasses a few weeks earlier because SOMETIMES I am prepared. The kids got a bubble ~~wand~~ sword, a couple of little games, pirate stickers, bandanna and a spyglass, They also got pretty trinkets/necklaces from whatever they found as 'buried treasure' in the sandpit.

I made all the bandannas {12 all up I think!} just from triangles of fabric and double folded the edges and hemmed them. Easy!

All the loot bags in the treasure chest

A few months before, Oma + Grumps bought the little Monster this pirate ship sandpit! Since we were waiting for the patio to be extended and built, I hadn't put it together until the week before the party. I figured the guys could just build the roof around the sandpit ^_^ haha.

The Monster and I built this all by ourselves! It took us all day and ol' precious preggo lady here got awful awful cramps :< I need to learn to take it easy. Still. Look how cute it is!

I made some rectangle-shaped bunting for outside, I loved the noise the wind made as it flapped against it! I might make a bigger and longer one for keepsies out there {Our patio now has a roof. It was mid renovations}

He wore his pirate costume for all of ten minutes? None of the babies wanted to wear the bandannas and I didn't even remember to get a photo of them all together! We had so much fun and I was running around like crazy.

I wanted it to be as sugar-free as possible. There really isn't any need to give toddlers and younger sugar at all, even if it is a party! So I did my best and I came up with some things :) No one complained at the lack of sugar!

Orange slice pirate ships. We printed out tiny flags and stuck them onto toothpicks in the oranges. Yum!

This is the printout I made real quick by finding a Jolly Roger on google images and putting it on a black background. This was the only skulls at the party, ahah, I'm just SO over them.

I got these cute as tiny paper cups from eBay, and made up three bags of popcorn. Everyone enjoyed snacking on it all day!

I took this pic of the table before the hot food came out {home made chicken nuggets and cheerios}. Tim made the watermelon pirate ship fruit salad, his mum made the cob loaf which was SO AMAZING. Mum made the veggie sticks with avocado and garlic dip {the little Monster's favourite}.

The best photo of four out out of the 9 kids that were there? I can't even remember how many there were. The two on the right of the photo are the Monster's friends we see all the time, Little Genius and Bruce Wayne Jnr {not their real names obviously}. The little dude in the blue shirt came all the way from Brisbane with his mama for the party, which was fun!

We made pirate head handprint art! Little Genius WOULD NOT have a bar of it, but his baby sister Bug would, her handprint was tiny. It was really fun to paint the kid's hands, some of them were really into it and others were just staring at me like "WHUT are you doing?"

They got to take their art home. On the back was the date and that it was Vince's Pirate Party.

My sister Betty {blue} + I {red}

As usual my dad goes above and beyond!

I quickly made this flyer up the morning of the party to stick it to things, That's the little Monster doing his pirate impersonation and saying YARGH. Cute.

It was a really great, but exhausting party. I can't wait to throw another kids party soon!

You can check out the Pirate Party Pinterest board I made of all my inspirations here!

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Project Run and Play

2012-01-01T20:18:00.001+10:00

I've followed this blog for a year or so now, probably longer, and it's always been so much fun to watch what the designers come up with each week for the designated themes. For anyone not familiar with the blog, it's similar to the show Project Runway, but its about making clothes just for kids. They choose several designers and every week there is a theme. At the end of the week they show off all the designs, and us the readers get to vote on our favourites!

This round starts on Monday, January 2nd {which is in two days for me ahhha} which is a bit exciting, and this time they are having a sew along! That means that even though we're not in the competition, we can still make things along with the theme that is chosen for that week. You know what makes this even better? Each week there are prizes, and a winner is chosen from the people participating in the sew along! This week's prize is a $25 gift voucher from Fabric.com {high-five!}

They announced the season's themes here, and this week's theme is a pattern remix of the June Bug dress by Craftiness is not Optional. Basically you download the free pattern and make it your own. Put your own spin on it. The due date is this Friday the 6th. I made up my first version of what I'm doing, but I need to tweak it a little to make it perfect.

It's not a difficult pattern to work with, and even if you don't totally change it, just make it yours. I really encourage you all to give it a go! What are you waiting for? GET SEWING

Head over to Project Run and Play blog and suss it all out!

Best of 2011

2011-12-31T09:00:00.001+10:00

Here's a summary of my favourite posts from this year! Looking forward to the new year and the new addition!

January

Hooded Keyhole T-Shirt Surgery Tutorial!

February

Collared Button-Up T-Shirt Surgery Tutorial

March

Robot Alien Dinosaur's Card Pouch Guest Post

April

Grease Monkey Mechanic Coverall

I loved this little mechanic's coverall I made the Monster in April. I promised a pattern and tutorial and that will be coming in 2012!

May

Comic Book Necklaces Tutorial

The beginning of May was Batman Week! I had my friend's wedding to sew bridesmaid dresses for and we flew to Tasmania for it, so the Batman Week was left sort of incomplete. Hoping to bring you a new and improved Batman Week in 2012!

June

Faux Shrug T-Shirt Surgery

July

Oops not much posting :/

August

Jedi Minidress Tutorial

August was Star Wars Month! It was pretty fun but totally exhausting.

September

Star Wars Peplum Dress tutorial

So cute, I love this dress!

October

Dinosaur Planter Tutorial

October seemed to be all about making things for my house. Pretty sure this will continue in the new year as we build things for out new outdoor area!

November

Nursing Pads Tutorial

November I discovered I was pregnant with our second baby :)

December

Stencilled Maternity Countdown Tee

I am really looking forward to 2012. I have so many plans and I hope we all have a wonderful year :) I'm working on a more regular posting schedule, need to have some guest posters for when the baby is born in July {so if you'd like to volunteer send me an email!}, patterns to download, more tutorials, more awesomeness and more of what you love! Also, obviously, I'm looking forward to meeting the little Alien growing inside me!

6 weeks

2011-12-06T13:22:00.000+10:00

I'm actually 9 weeks now, and about to take my second progress photo this afternoon, but better late than never eh?

The shirt took me FOREVER to make. Most unfun stencil ever. I got the idea from here.

Tutorial: Nursing pads

2011-11-27T15:34:00.001+10:00

These are ridiculously easy to make! I made some for myself last time I was pregnant, and while I was clearing out my studio this week I found a whole Batman tin full of ones I had already cut out!

Hit the jump for the tutorial

For the absorbent material, I used a blanket I go second-hand {and washed don't worry!}. It's like a towelling feel but softer.

This is a second blanket I got. It's sort of like a brushed cotton, but a little thicker. You can use whatever you like, old towels with flannelette over the top, as long as it's going to soak up a little bit of leakage!

Cut out your pads. The picture above showed what I needed for a pair. For each pad I used two circles of the blanket fabric and one circle of patterned cotton. The cotton goes on the outside, just to make it pretty, it's totally not even necessary.

Stack the two absorbent circles with the cotton on top and stitch around them. I serged around mine and let it at that. If you don't have an overlocker you can zigzag stitch on your machine, or perhaps sew two rounds of regular straight stitch.

And that's it! I already had about 30 pair cut out, and I was able to sew half of them in about half an hour!

Now trust me on this, when I breastfed Monster I was like a Jersey cow. I made nursing pads identical to these and they worked so well, the best bit is you can chuck em in the washing machine and they come out good as new.

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Monday Morning Photo Dump #11

2011-11-21T09:17:00.000+10:00

Peter Pan

2011-11-19T14:11:00.000+10:00

A few weeks ago, I decided that my Monster and I would have a Peter Pan day! Things didn't go as planned as some exciting things concerning the baby in my belly were happening which included several blood tests and doctor visits, but what DID happen was that Monster got to watch Peter Pan, and he got to dress as Peter Pan!

He loved it. He wore his little costume all day, and then a few days later when I took the boot covers off his boots he got anxious when he couldn't find them!

I winged the boot covers completely, and I cannot believe how awesome they turned out! I shall definitely be making a tutorial and pattern for them!

I used brown fleece and sewed elastic underneath to keep them on his gumboots. I added fold over cuffs to make them more Peter Pannish, and a little point on the toe!

His hat his made from green felt, and I used the shapes Ashley showed in her Peter Pan Costume at Make It and Love It. I found some red feathers in a bag {I think they were left overs from his Cowboy + Indian Party?} which cracked me up that they just happened to be there! I glued one inside the brim of the hat

Think Happy Thoughts

His shirt and shorts are reconstructed from a green zip-up jacket mum gave me to reconstruct, I kept the original collar and the zip, melting it at the bottom so it would unzip completely when I had to cut it shorter.

The shorts are just basic little shorts I made from the go-to pants pattern for my skinny tot - Dana's Kids Pants.

I was making a Tinkerbell costume for myself but I never got to finish it. My little Peter Pan really enjoyed himself, but I want to try again to make a special adventurous day just for him in Neverland.

Monday Morning Photo Dump #10

2011-11-14T09:01:00.005+10:00

The Wiggles T-Shirts

2011-11-11T11:11:00.001+10:00

Toot toot chugga chugga Big Red Car

One night on facebook my friend had as her status that someone was trying to sell 4 tickets to the Wiggles concert the next day. I jumped on my phone and sorted it out with my friend Sophie and the next day two mamas and two little boys were headed to the concert!

Monster has one Wiggles branded item, his precious blue gumboots he is so fond of wearing {I'm sure you've seen him in them a lot throughout this blog}. His best friend Genius also has one Wiggles branded item, a pair of little jocks.

To rectify the situation, in less than two hours I had whipped up two t-shirts!

I used scraps of fabric I already had, luckily in Anthony blue and Sam yellow! Trying to think of a quick and easy design, I jumped onto the Wiggles website and found their colouring pages! Scrolling down I saw EXACTLY what I wanted, Masks for the kids to print, colour and cut out! These turned into Freezer Paper stencils!

Sam the Yellow Wiggle

Anthony the Blue Wiggle!

I painted them in no time, hit them with the hair dryer to make them dry faster then ironed them to heat set the print. I am SO happy with how they turned out. Seriously, if you don't have freezer paper yet, GET SOME!

Sophie bought the boys some toy dog bones to give to Wags the Dog and a bunch of fake roses each to give to Dorothy. When Monster and Genius gave the bones to Wags, the ringmaster sung a song about them with their names in it! It was so cute, the boys of course didn't care.

Monster had THE GREATEST TIME EVER dancing. I couldn't get a clear photo of him.

Pre-Wiggles cuddles. These two are bros.

Soph giving them their supplies!

Genius got his photo taken with Sam. It was so cute. Sam was showing Genius how they were wearing the same shirts. ADORABLE. In the big finale at the end he came over to the corner of the stage and was showing the same shirt thing again.

Doing tricks

It was like a Toddler Rave.

He knew how to do Heads, Shoulders, Knees and Toes. No idea how but yey Monster!

Break-Dancing

Something exciting happening apaprently

"Mum no photos! Their playing my song!"

Fistfulls of Confetti

Bros for Life

They had a huge day, minimal naps occured, and then they found a bee

Best Day Ever.

Try This Thursday #13 - Mermaids!

2011-11-10T10:09:00.004+10:00

Ever since I saw Little Mermaid, which I discovered came out when I was in preschool [1989 yo!], I have wanted to be a mermaid. Betty + I would prance around the house with skivvys on our heads as long mermaid hair, the sleeves dangling past our shoulders.

There's something about mermaids that is magical and pretty, graceful and sweet. Also I dig clamshell bras.

Most of this Try This Thursday is more inspiration than actual DIYs! I'm planning a Mermaid celebration on my blog before the end of the year, so you'll probably see a tonne of this stuff made!

Source: etsy.com via Adam on Pinterest

Dinglehopper haircomb!

Source: etsy.com via Adam on Pinterest

Ariel costume!

Source: missfit1023.deviantart.com via Adam on Pinterest

This is a tutorial on how to make a latex mermaid tail!

Source: etsy.com via Adam on Pinterest

Simple starfish headband

Source: beautylish.com via Adam on Pinterest

Mermaid hair tutorials

Source: polyvore.com via Adam on Pinterest

Mermaid nails! [look familiar? I recreated the look a few weeks back]

Source: etsy.com via Adam on Pinterest

Starfish haircomb

Source: etsy.com via Adam on Pinterest

Mermaid headpiece

Source: etsy.com via Adam on Pinterest

Mermaid wig!

Check out my Mermaid Pinboard here on Pinterest!

Oh Baby Baby!

2011-11-09T21:37:00.001+10:00

I'm just going to leave this here...

{I'm only 5-6weeks. This is going to be a loooooong pregnancy}

Lady Bug Foot Art

2011-11-09T09:00:00.000+10:00

As usual with the introduction of most of my posts lately, the original idea for this was found on Pinterest. Since our baby friend Bug's naming day was Ladybug themed, Monster and I got into the spirit of things!

We I decided that Monster should make Bug a card for her party! He was VERY excited with the idea of painting his feet!

I painted the sole of his foot red, he's not even ticklish! And the heel of his foot I painted black. Then I got him to lean on me as he stood on one leg, using his painted foot as a stamp. He thought it was HILARIOUS.

The first one was perfect! It was too much fun, so we decided to make some more and give them to grandparents and lucky others. Things went a little crazy and...

well look...

That is a messed up Ladybug!

While we waited for them to dry, I taught Monster what a dot was and how to make one. Dot Dot Dot! Still fun!

When the bug feet prints were dry, I drew on some spots, eyes and antlers with a permanent marker.

Remember guys, if you want a Pinterest invite just pop your email in the comments below!

Sweet Ham Steaks

2011-11-08T09:00:00.010+10:00

I bought the Aldi cookbook a few months ago and can I just say I LOVE IT. Best recipes, I know that every ingredient is at my local Aldi store and Tim gets excited that I actually feel like cooking.

A week ago I made these. Tim was out of town so it was tea for two with me and my date, my little Monster. He helped me cook, and he tried to learn how to use a knife... upside down.

Sweet Ham Steaks

Ingredients {Serves 5}

432g can pineapple slices in juice
1 tablespoon olive oil
500g ham steaks
1/4 cup white vinegar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon wholegrain mustard

Instructions

Drain the pineapple slices with a sieve over a bowl and save 1/4 cup of the juice
Heat the oil in the pan to a medium high heat and add the ham steaks
Cook for 2 minutes on each side and set to the side
Add the pineapple rings to the pan and cook for 2 minutes on each side.
Add the white vinegar, brown sugar and wholegrain mustard to the pan. Bring the ham steaks back into the pan party
Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, stirring for 2 minutes.
Allow to cool a little, the sauce will thicken
Eat up yo!

Monday Morning Photo Dump #9

2011-11-07T08:52:00.001+10:00

More tea light luminaries from tin cans

2011-11-06T09:00:00.000+10:00

I made a few more, and have got all my friends collecting tin cans for me now! I want HEAPS. I'd like to say a hundred, but that may be too ambitious and that's a lot of damn candles to light, but think how pretty it will look! Maybe 50. 6 down, 44 to go!

I made a strange diamond star burst one, I kinda went nuts with the marker when I was designing it. Whatever, there'll be more random ones I think. There's also a Batman luminary and one that says LOVE.

That LOVE one? Hilarious story. See that strange shaped 'O'? It's a larger can than I'd used before, so I filled it with water, whacked it in the freezer. Couple of hours later I pull it out, it's all iced, sweet! I decide to do the design low down, since that's where the candle is, and I start hammering away.

Water starts seeping out of the holes rather rapidly, and I think, "WOAH. It is defrosting REALLY quickly." I tilt it up so it is standing up and all this water GUSHES out of the L and the O. Th top of the water was frozen, but underneath it was still water!

I quickly wrapped it in a plastic bag and shoved it back in the freezer. A few days later I checked on it and it has this giant ice ring around the base. Hilarious.

Also I updated the original post with step-by-step photos so it is a proper tutorial now!

Crayon Wall Explosion Tutorial

2011-11-05T09:00:00.003+10:00

If you have Pinterest, you have seen this A LOT. It was one of the first things I found on the place, and my husband FLIPPED. OUT. You probably saw this in yesterday's post ;)

I bought a huge canvas easy enough, but do you have any idea how hard it is to find crayons in more than a pack of 12 around here?

So ridiculous!

eBay to the rescue! I bought a 64 pack for $9 including shipping. Ah yeh.

My lovely assistant Tim :)

Distracting Vince by posing with the Hot Glue Gun

We laid the crayons out in a line, glueing them down with Liquid Nails. I didn't trust the hot glue wouldn't melt during the next stage, better safe than sorry!

We let it dry over night in the spare room, far away from little inquisitive Monster fingers {He has attempted ONCE to remove the crayons from the canvas}

The next day we attacked it with the hairdryer!

It took about 20 minutes? Tim and I took it in turns, although Tim's shifts were longer than mine! He really, REALLY enjoyed himself with this project! {As I mentioned earlier, the whole Pinterest thing has made him all excited about DIYing our home}

We hit the tips of the crayons to make them start running, then Tim discovered if you hit the middles and ends big chunks would suddenly glob out {that is totally a technical term I swear}.

I really love the texture!

This photo makes me hungry

Because we are beautiful + unique snowflakes, Tim + I decided to flip the canvas so instead of the crayons looking like they were running down the canvas, it looks like they are exploding!

{Linking up to Creative Me Mondays at The Southern Institute}

Hello Yellow!

2011-11-04T20:29:00.000+10:00

Well we did it!

And by we I mean Tim did absolutely everything. I put some tape down in one corner and Monster put some tape on the floor to help.

We painted a feature wall!

Our house belongs to my parents, we're super lucky! Two of the bedrooms are already painted pretty {the end room has an ORANGE feature wall} and Monster's bedroom has a moss-green feature with the other walls being like a taupe. The studio in the backyard has a turquoise wall. My mum is mega into feature walls.

The house is cute. I love it. What I don't love is the peach rafters and the peach floral paper border around the walls.

This is after we took the border off the wall. SUCH a difference in the paint colour.

I really don't like the colour peach, and I think the more I live in this house the more my dislike for the colour grows.

When Tim + I decided we wanted to make our house into a home, we asked my parents if we could paint at least one wall. For the year we've lived here, my mother knows how much I have not enjoyed the peach floral border, but forbade me to do anything about it.

She gave in!

So we painted it 'retro gold'

I am so in love with it. Yellow makes me so happy and it brightens the whole area up even more{there are a lot of windows in the small living area, which gets lit up so nicely in the day}.

It took tim about 2 hours to prep the area, bleach/sugar soap/mold inhibit the wall and to tape up everything. Then it took him about an hour and a half to do the first coat, and later that night he did the second.

He painted this wall yesterday!

Tim's pooped face

Ugh it makes me so happy, and mum + dad really like it which works!

Little Monster + his bestie Little Genius playing :3

We have plans for black + white accessories in the living area, you may have already noticed here and here! I'm going to make black and white striped curtains for all four windows in the area {those blinds above the table are going! There are similar blinds around the corner in the kitchen}. We're also going to make little papel picado mexican-inspired flags to go across that peach beam that runs above The Wall. The dining table and chairs Tim is going to paint gloss black.

Now to convince mum to repaint the rest of the walls ^_^ I WILL conquer the Peach Floral Border

Try This Thursday #12 - Ladybugs, Ladybeetles and Ladybirds

2011-11-03T09:36:00.000+10:00

I call them Ladybugs!

I've been working on little activities for the Monster to learn about his favourite things. A few weeks ago we did bees, since he had a real fascination with them when I showed him a bee in the clover on a walk. I'll post up those activities soon I swear!

This week we did Ladybugs. Little Monster's best friend Little Genius has a baby sister, we'll call her Bug! On November the 6th she is having a naming ceremony, which is sort of introducing the little one to the world and naming her guardians. It is Ladybug themed!

Genius and Bug's grandmother has made Genius and Monster matching red vests with black spots [I was so stoked and happy that someone had made my little Monster something like that!]. I'm also buying Monster a bowler hat and adding black feelers to it so he can be a Gentleman Bug!

Here's some Ladybug/beetle/bird projects I want to do!

Source: beeinourbonnet.blogspot.com via Adam on Pinterest

Ladybug Cakepops! AMG!

Source: weheartit.com via Adam on Pinterest

Ladybug nailart!

Source: whipup.net via Adam on Pinterest

Ladybird softie! This kinda reminds me of a cool pincushion or something

Source: lessonplans.craftgossip.com via Adam on Pinterest

Ladybeetle bottle caps

Source: beeinourbonnet.blogspot.com via Adam on Pinterest

Ladybug PRETZELS

Source: etsy.com via Adam on Pinterest

Ladybug hoodie, so easy to DIY!

Source: etsy.com via Adam on Pinterest

Ladybird dress! I want this for me!

But I will probably make something like this...

Source: shopcurious.com via Adam on Pinterest

Pretty huh! And subtle. Ish.

Source: lipglossbeat.tumblr.com via Adam on Pinterest

Ladybug eye make up!

What do you call them?

Pinecone Centrepiece

2011-10-30T09:09:00.000+10:00

Painfully easy but I love the look!

A few weeks ago we went on a hilarious family adventure with my in-laws. We got lost in the middle of a forest, then when we arrived we checked crab pots in a little old boat [I got to row!], had a feast for lunch before Monster and I both had a huge midday nap [heh]. Then we went fishing in ankle-deep mud and Monster and I decided t find cool pinecones.

I spray painted them with gloss black and gave them a few coats to make sure I was getting every little bit. Then I but them in a nice white ceramic bowl I had. It doesn't look like much now, but Tim is redoing our dining set to be black and the wall it is against is going to be painted yellow!

This is only half the pinecones we have. I want to paint the rest but I don't know what colour. White? Gold? And what should I do with them?

Try This Thursday #11 - Project Make a House a Home!

2011-10-27T09:15:00.000+10:00

So I'm trying to turn the house we live in into more of a home for us. We've been here almost a year and a half and it still doesn't seem very 'us'. We think we'll do an adult like thing and buy a piece of furniture that is grown up, and then later we realise we have betrayed ourselves and we hate it!

The major change we are doing here, with the landlord's permission [lucky us we rent off my parents!], is to paint the main wall in our house a nice cheery yellow! It didn't take too long to convince my husband Tim, which is a change, because I told him yellow was happy and inspiring. He agreed. Our main living area is quite small, but I've gotten good at making it look spacious, There are lots of windows that let in quite a bit of light so a bright yellow is going to look so happy!

We're really excited, and we've already started a few projects to reflect what is Our Family. Our main motivation is when our friends from Brisbane come to visit, it doesn't seem like the kind of house that we live in at all. We want friends and family to walk in and go, "Wow. This is so the Greens!" [ps that's our real last name!]. Mostly Tim wants it to be an arty creative place for me, which is a bit cute don't you think? We also want it to be a place that reflects our super awesome nerd powers and also how important our friends and family are to us.

I'm so excited that Tim is on board with this, and that he is getting excited and actually starting some DIY projects on his own!

That was a long-winded introduction, but this week's Try This Thursday is going to be straight from my Pinterest [which I suspect they all will be now] of all the things we plan on doing to our house to make it a home!

Source: diylife.com via Adam on Pinterest

This is a headboard made up like the galaxy with fibre-optics! Tim said he wants to build this for our room! Follow the links to the Instructables tutorial

Source: Uploaded by user via Adam on Pinterest

More outdoor lighting ideas from recycled jars! This is soooo pretty

Source: Uploaded by user via Adam on Pinterest

We are going to just buy a whole heap of cutlery from the op-shop and spraypaint the handles in pretty bright happy colours! It may scratch off, but I'm going to spray clear acrylic over them too. I don't know how long it will last but hey, it's pretty!

Source: Uploaded by user via Adam on Pinterest

Love this idea for a framed art! I'm not sure what word I would choose, but I bet once I start thinking of some it will be hard to stop at just one!

Source: pureandnoble.blogspot.com via Adam on Pinterest

Use a glue-gun to write on a bottle or a jar then spray paint the whole thing!

Source: Uploaded by user via Adam on Pinterest

Fox lamp! I discovered this a year ago, but she has since uploaded the pattern for the fox!

Source: burdastyle.com via Adam on Pinterest

Hanging chair for a kid. Must teach Tim + Monster that it is NOT a swing...

Source: alphamom.com via Adam on Pinterest

Snowglobe soap!

Source: housetohome.co.uk via Adam on Pinterest

LOVE THIS. Glue toy animals to the lids of jars and then spray paint them!

PS if you want a Pinterest invite just leave a comment or send me an email! If you're confused who 'Adam' is, it's short for Adam West. Another name I answer to!

Dinosaur Planter Tutorial

2011-10-25T08:52:00.021+10:00

I made this dinosaur planter yesterday after seeing something similar on Pinterest!

A few months back, we scored a big milk-crate of dinosaurs for $10 from a garage sale. Monster has loved them, I find dinosaurs everywhere and it makes me laugh as I wonder what he was imagining when he was playing with them.

I chose one of the dinosaurs and cut a hole in the back. Choose a toy that is rubbery, and not solid! I used a small hacksaw to cut across the dinosaur's back, then I could cut a rectangle.

I was just going to use a corkscrew, but my husband drilled holes in the bottom of the dinosaur. He got a bit carried away actually, haha.

I gave it about 3 coats of spraypaint, letting it sit for a few hours inbetween so it wouldn't drip. I let it dry overnight and then this morning I put some gravel in the bottom, followed by potting mix + soil and then one of my smaller aloe vera plants!

I love the gloss-black look! Tim has told me to make two more.

And here's the original I found on Pinterest

Source: svpply.com via Adam on Pinterest

Monster's Punk Vest

2011-10-24T14:44:00.001+10:00

Inspired by the punk jackets my friends in Brisbane wore, I decided my Monster needed his own.

For once it wasn't hard to get him to 'pose' for photos. He just kept his attitude...

It was very easy, I used the bottoms of a pair of Tim's jeans, so they were scuffed and frayed at the hems. I made a basic vest pattern like in this tutorial, but left it open instead of having buttons.

Then I studded it with studs from an old belt I had that had broken. Putting some bleach in a spray bottle I sprayed it and left it dry overnight so it has the faded and worn look. Using various patches I had around, you can buy patches on eBay or Etsy, I stitched them on to the vest! Some I ironed on, and as you can see in the pic I do need to stitch them, which is going to be irritating since they're so stiff and thick.

The back I made a banner patch from some leopard-print felt. I was going to stencil something over the top but I'm not sure what yet.

The one underneath is a Dead Kennedy's patch I made from an old t-shirt I owned

[Linked up to Creative Me Monday over at The Southern Institute]

Monday Morning Photo Dump #8

2011-10-24T10:00:00.001+10:00

This week will be better. I will make it so!

[funny how photos only capture small moments]

I cut myself a fringe [bangs], did mermaid nails [I did clean them up I sear], dressed like a mum by wearing my mum's mustard cardigan, Tim's Tomar Re mask arrived, Betty found old photos on Myspace of us, my friend photoshopped a photo of Monster so he looked like Yoda, bought Arkham City the collector's edition and flipped out over the Batman statue, Monster got a new toy elephant he named Boba, Tim did Monster's hair like a rockabilly bebe, and they started ripping up our backyard [for backyard awesomeness]

Tin Can Luminaries Tutorial

2011-10-23T21:14:00.001+10:00

Edited to Add more pictures of the step by step!

This took me literally 5 minutes to create [plus preparation time]!

We're getting our backard overhauled, and at the moment it's like an adventure to get to the wheelie bins, but we're getting a nice big entertaining area. And we're getting a trampoline. A big one.

Anyway we have a trillion and one ideas for decorating the new area, when it is completed, so I thought I would start making pretty things now!

I got a few cans from the recycling bin, one soup can and the two smaller ones are tuna cans! In this picture you can see I haven't painted them yet. I'm going to spray paint them black in the morning!

Super easy to make! I filled the cans with water this morning and put them in the freezer. We went and did things and when I came home tonight they were nice and frozen.

You will need a nail and a hammer, a permanent marker and a towel so you don't freeze your fingers {shush, I'm precious}

If the bottom of your can is out of shape, relax, mine all do this. We'll fix it up later.

Draw the symbol on with the marker.

Hammer the nail in just a little. Small holes don't let much light through, so I get the nail through past its point into its regular width.

Repeat along the line you drew

Soon it will look like this! Put it in the kitchen sink and run hot water over the ice on the inside to melt it all completely, shoudln't take too long at all.

Now let's fix the bulge at the bottom! Flip your can over.

Civer it with a towel and hammer it lightly over the bumpy bits. {that is not gold nailpolish. I was spraypainting. Again.}

Mostly flat + good enough!

I put the cans in the sun to dry completely, then hit them with a high gloss black spray paint.

Let them dry and tada! Here are the six I have made so far.

"Love". It's sappy I know but there has been a lot of Love lost between many people I know lately, and I wanted to remind myself that as long as there is Love in my family that is all that matters.

This is what we use to call Batman when there's no power and the Batsignal won't work.

Here is their home for the moment.

And a tea-light candle and voila!

Pretty!

Try This Thursday #10 - Summer is Coming

2011-10-20T11:18:00.000+10:00

If you don't have Pinterest you are MISSING OUT! Oh my gosh I swear I am making more things because all my bookmarks are organised and I can see at a glance what I want to do!

This week's TTT is going to be the top 9 things I want to make that I found on Pinterest! If you want a Pinterest, but need an invite, leave me a comment with your email address and I'll send you one!

It's almost summer, and I am in definite summer mode [even though the sky is very gra today] so that's the theme of my Try This Thursday

Source: honestlywtf.com via Adam on Pinterest

I made bracelets like this with my friend Jemma, turned out so pretty!

Source: missomnimedia.com via Adam on Pinterest

Source: vanessachristenson.com via Adam on Pinterest

I tried these the other day, so simple!

Source: lunevintage.blogspot.com via Adam on Pinterest

Source: grosgrainfabulous.blogspot.com via Adam on Pinterest

Source: missomnimedia.com via Adam on Pinterest

Source: aestheticoutburst.blogspot.com via Adam on Pinterest

Source: flickr.com via Adam on Pinterest

Source: svpply.com via Adam on Pinterest

I need to get some more coloured spraypaints that aren't black + white!

Monday Morning Photo Dump #7 [belated]

2011-10-20T10:53:00.000+10:00

Whoops my bad, here's a late photo dump :)

Mostly caught up with all the photos I have that I wanted to share, so now you'll be seeing what I did the past week each Monday. Last week was all about friends and family time. There were about 6 trips to the park :)

Learning Colours with Paint Swatches!

2011-10-15T09:00:00.000+10:00

So my little guy is almost 2 and a half. For the longest time he wouldn't talk. I knew he was just being stubborn, and he was very delayed compared to his friends. I WISHED he would talk but I wasn't overly worried about it.

A few months ago he decided to start talking, and he's been amazing ever since. He can speak in small phrases, he knows the names of almost everything, and his favourite colours were Green and White [and still are].

Since he was picking up on two colours and remembering them, I tried teaching him the other colours. He was having a hard time, and if he got the colour wrong he would quickly point to something green and go "It's Green!" to make up for it.

At the hardware store with my friend Emily one day, I was looking at the yellows to decide what colour to paint our wall. Then I had the idea!

Swiping a few of the colours, I wrote the names of them on the cards. I know he can't read but at least he can recognise the shape of the word maybe? That's how I read anyway :P

I stuck them up on the wall in his little corner where he eats his breakfast and colours. He can now name all of them except for Grey and Brown.

The best part? It's free!

Robin Costume

2011-10-14T13:46:00.001+10:00

I decided my little man needed a Robin shirt to go with his other superhero shirts. That idea turned into a costume that he could wear every day if he wanted.

If you didn't know, there have been several Robins! Only four of them I care about though :) Dick Grayson was the first [he became Nightwing], then Jason Todd [he became Red Hood], Tim Drake, Stephanie Brown [I do not love her] and then finally - Batman's own son, Damian Wayne!

I decided that the Little Monster's costume would be modelled off Damian's Robin costume, which looks like this...

Yeh he's only like 10...

I cut up a red dress that I never wore and a black t-shirt that had sequins all over the front to use as the shirt. Damian has green gloves with gauntlets on them, but I knew my little Monster wouldn't wear gloves, so I just made the gauntlets as cuffs!

The Robin symbol was from a scrap of yellow stretchknit that I stencilled [hurray Freezer Paper!][yeh I'm obsessed with that stuff now] black onto. I heatset it then stitched it onto the front of the shirt.

The hood is attached to the cape, and is separate so he can wear the shirt with or without the cape/hood.

I'm sorry, but this little Robin is too cute to fight crime today!

I'm writing up a tutorial for this shirt and cape too, and also working on a little green mask, so stay tuned! It should be up this weekend with a pattern too!

[Linking up to the Tatertots + Jello Weekend Wrap-Up Party!]

KCWC: Rae's Dragon Slippers

2011-10-14T12:59:00.000+10:00

If you know me, then you know that Rae of Made by Rae is probably one of my biggest inspirations for awesome stuff for little kids. I love everything she does, I love her adorable little babies, I love her clever brain, I think she's amazing!

Earlier this year, for Celebrate the Boy month, Rae did the cutest tutorial for dragon slippers! I was going to make them right away, but better late than never right?

I used red fleece for the outside and black for the inside. The little tongues are just red felt. The little ridges is white ricrac and the eyes are black buttons! The soles of the shoes are lined with red felt to keep them soft, and the bases I used the rest of the scrap of black fake leather that I used on my Harley Quinn costume. I was really impressed with the fake leather, I don't even know what it was but I scored it at a second-hand shop, my friend Emily found it for me. I wore the shoes I had made for two days straight on bitumen and cement and the bottoms of them weren't even scuffed or scratched!

It was almost impossible to take photos of him in them. He was way too busy skipping, jumping, leaping and rawr-ing.

And stamping

I made his Pyjama pants too, a whole quartet of them, but I'll save that for another post

Rawr

I was making a few things yesterday, and didn't finish any of them until this morning, which is why there was no Kids Clothes Week Challenge post yesterday! I'm making up for it today though, wait and see!

Le Shirt

2011-10-12T12:10:00.000+10:00

I bought this shirt from the op shop a few months ago, didn't even try it on just went STRIPES and bought it. I thought I could rock, I really did. I couldn't. the neckline didn't work with the bagginess on me. So I never wore it.

The shirt looked like this. I only remembered to take a before photo after I stencilled on it!

The neckline gave me the idea to make it into a shirt similar to this that I have done before. I flip the buttons so instead of being at the neck they are at the bottom.

Woah. I look really mad!

I loosely used Dana's 90 miniute shirt tutorial, but I need to work on my pattern for the envelope-neck tee because it's too loose at the front.

Do you have any idea how uncooperative the little Monster is lately with modelling for me? I mean he LOVES me making him things, once I'm done something and I show him he'll go, "Waow" in his little 'my breath has been taking away' voice which makes my heart explode, and he is so eager to wear his new things, but when I try to take a pic, I BEG him to just stand for two seconds. Nope. He's off.

Seriously my new favourite photo of him

"Please just stand here in front of the stump for a second so mummy can take a photo..."

He heard a plane

Then Eddie ran outside

My friend reckons it looks like the hamburglar!

So here is a photo of the shirt lying flat. I get this little French feel from it, so I call it Le Shirt. You all know I'm a dork, don't act like you're surprised.

I got the inspiration for the little mask from something someone pinned on Pinterest

Source: simple-pretty.com via Adam on Pinterest

Stencils and Templates!

2011-10-11T21:56:00.001+10:00

Hey fiends!

I just added a new page to the blog! In the tabs underneath the header, there is a page between the Tutorials page and the Tips & Tric ks page is a Stencils and Templates page!

On this page [which I will sort out some sweet organising system] I will be putting up all the stencils I make and use for you to print/trace/use yourself!

At the moment it is mostly superhero symbols, at the time of this post there is a Batman stencil, a Robin stencil, a Green Lantern stencil, a The Flash stencil, a Superman stencil and a Sad Keanu stencil [that post is coming soon]. I'm also adding the Toxic stencil I used on the Toxic Waist skirt and the moustache on the Strong Man singlet.

Check it out yo!

KCWC: Strong Man Singlet

2011-10-11T14:33:00.001+10:00

This morning I stenciled a moustache onto some stripey fabric, then made a quick little muscle shirt out of it using a singlet of the Monster's as a guide.

After about 10 years of hearing the internet tell me how wonderful Freezer Paper was and being irritated I couldn't just pick it up at the store, I bought some off eBay. 75 feet to be exact! Let's see how far it will take me!

I used Dana's tutorial of Freezer Paper stencilling, which you can find here.

As you can see it is a tad short! This Monster won't stop growing UP!

"Show me your muscles!"

I'm seriously in love with Freezer Paper stencilling! I have so many things in the Monster's Pinterest board of things I want to stencil!

He has a 'silly walk'

I got the idea for the shirt from this rad singlet in the Elsie Marley Flickr Pool!

Source: flickr.com via Adam on Pinterest

KCWC: Batman Urban Hoodie

2011-10-10T19:06:00.002+10:00

After seeing this post by Cirque du bebe, it kinda cinched the deal with me that I should invest a whole $7 into a pattern for the Urban Hoodie. The pattern was emailed to me this morning and I squealed in excitement!

I had issues with the little Monster model, but I'm really happy with how it turned out! I used a batman shirt I had reconstructed for him already, but I had an epic fail on the neck [it was like an off the shoulder top...]. I cannot throw anything away with a perfectly good Batman symbol screenprint on it, so I saved it for about a year... Maybe I do need help?

I used that tee for the right front panel, and some black and white striped fabric for the left front panel. The rest is black stretchknit and the entire thing is lined in white stretch.

I lined the hood in something else that probably should have been thrown away also. A batrillion years ago I bought Tim -my husband- a pair of batman boxer shorts. Well they lasted a very long time, faded by the sunlight while drying on the clothesline, until one day for some reason I found them with a giant tear in the uh... bottom region. Nevertheless I knew I would use the boxers for some pocket linings or something small, so I kept them. It was only a few months before I got to use them as hood lining, but still, further proof I have a problem...

I also discovered today that my beautiful new sewing machine, Spaceship, can sew buttons. That's right. It can sew buttons onto the garment. It seriously took me ten seconds after figuring out how it was done.

GONE ARE THE DAYS OF HANDSEWING STUPID BUTTONS TO THINGS!

Not that those days ever existed, if you look through my detailed records on here you will see that the moments of me using buttons on ANYTHING are almost non-existant because... I hate hand sewing!

NOW THOUGH. NOW BUTTONS SHALL ADORN EVERYTHING!

Anyway, little wiggle-pot Monster was done with taking pics, wiped his nose on the sleeve of his new jacket and took off...

The pattern for this hoodie was by Heidi and Finn on Etsy. This was my first item for the Kids Clothes Week Challenge over at Elsie Marley.

[Linking up to Fabric Tuesday linky party]

Monday Morning Photo Dump #6

2011-10-10T09:00:00.000+10:00

My sister's wedding, September's haul of comics, Little Monster's hair cut, and celebratory swimming in the backyard for Spring with his BFF - Pumpkin.

Red Head

2011-10-09T21:00:00.000+10:00

What do you think of my new hair?

I'm kidding, it's a wig! I bought it a few weeks ago and it arrived on Friday. It is part of my Mera, Queen of Atlantis costume for Supanova in November! [She's Aquaman's wife]

Check out the post on my costuming blog for more pics!

Superman Hoodie

2011-10-09T18:23:00.004+10:00

I couldn't find the Little Monster's only hoodie that fits him at the moment [he is growing and growing and it's only up! All his sleeves and pants are too short!] so I thought, blargh I'll just make him one!

A lot of my friends will be slightly horrified because slowly I have started coming to be a fan of the Superman. Now it will never be as awesome as the love I have for Batman and assorted other heroes, but I do respect Supes now, and I REALLY like Superboy, his clone!

Also all I had was blue fleece.

I used a hoodie that was a wee bit too small for him to make the pattern, then whipped it up. I freehanded the superman badge on paper first then used that as a pattern. I cut it out of red and yellow fleece scraps.

Awesomely the fleece was not terribly stretchy, so my 2 year old's big brain could not fit through the tiny neck hole I had made. I solved the problem by cutting a slit down the centre and then hemming the slit.

[Linking this post up to Mama Loves Papa's Small Style, Just Something I Whipped Up @ The Girl Creative, and Creative Me Mondays at The Southern Institute]

Elsie Marley's Kids Clothing Week Challenge!

2011-10-09T17:41:00.000+10:00

Tomorrow marks the start of the second Kids Clothing Week of the year over at Elsie Marley. Naturally I'm excited, since I LOVE making stuff for the little dude!

The premise is that basically you spend an hour each day for the week working on making something for your little kid! You don't have to make seven complete items of clothing. If it takes you the week to make one thing, that's fine! The idea is to just get sewing for your kids [like I need any more motivation :D ]

Here's some ideas I'm going to be using as inspiration for this week. I bought some Freezer Paper off eBay last week, which is very hilarious I'm sure for you Americans, but it's difficult to get here in Australia! Anyway I'm super psyched to use it for stencils!

[Source]

I definitely want to do this stencil!

[Source]

Cirque du Bebe convinced me to buy the Urban Hoodie pattern [$6 on Heidi + Finn's etsy store] because of this adorable striped number!

[Source]

Fisherboy shorts by one of my favouritest blogs ever! [Slightly amusing since they are a thoroughly wholesome family with 5 girls! + one brand new baby boy!]

[Source]

I really like this two-tone effect! A lot!

[Source]

These were made for the KCWC earlier this year, I LOVE THEM

[Source]

Cannot get over the cuteness of this 'Strong Man' shirt!

[Source]

I love Very Purple Person's pointed hoodie! It's supposed to be spring here, but I'm going to make this anyway!

[Source]

I'm also going to make the backpack I got the pattern for by Rae like, uh, last year? I'm so SLACK! From past experience with Rae's patterns, I'm really excited for the perfect pattern, clear instructions and the humorous way she writes :D

You can check out other things I would love to make for my Little Monster on the 'For Vince' Pinterest board

Head over to Elsie Marley to check out the pre-party she had this past week, there's quite a few tutorials and round-ups.

Some other places you can check out for sweet children's clothing tutorials + inspiration are:

Made
Made by Rae
No Big Dill
Chez Beeper Bebe
Ruffles and Stuff - for girly girls!
Sewing in No Man's Land
Small Magazine - amazing inspiration. Seriously my favourite children's magazine. And it's free. And it's online

And of course don't forget to check out my Tutorials page! If you have written some ace kids clothing tutes, leave the link in the comments for us all to suss out!

See you tomorrow, Snip Snip!

Here Comes The Bride

2011-10-09T14:21:00.000+10:00

[photographer was the very talented Mark Greenmantle]

My little sister Betty got married on the 30th September to her best friend, which is why I've been a little scarce. Don't worry, the wedding was SUPER DIY on her and mum's behalf, so there shall be some awesome posts coming up!

Monday Morning Photo Dump #5

2011-10-03T10:07:00.002+10:00

All photos edited in Instagram

Monday Morning Photo Dump #4

2011-09-26T10:08:00.001+10:00

All photos edited in Instagram

Not American

2011-09-20T09:23:00.000+10:00

I'm getting so frustrated lately. It seems that every contest I want to enter is 'for US residents only'. Not just crafty giveaways, I'm talking even places I would like to buy cute gear from - they don't ship to Australia.

Seriously COME ON! What is this? I buy stuff on eBay all the time, I've bought giant boxes of things from the States and I am prepared to pay the shipping. If it's all about the cost of shipping can't you at least give us that option? Why just alienate your readers and shoppers that don't happen to be American?

It's getting to me you guys. Really getting to me. I got so excited when I saw this tee. Yes it just looks like a regular tee with Star Wars across the chest, but the Star Wars logo is see-through, so I could wear different singlets underneath and have different colours coming through.

Also there is a Star Wars hoodie I had my heart set on, as well as the Boba Fett-ish underwear set. But guess what? They don't ship to Australia.

At least I got a response when I emailed them. They said they'll ship to Australia 'soon'. Thank you I appreciate it but wow. It's 2011, not 1811.

Whatever. Way to encourage me to DIY even harder.

/end rant

Monday Morning Photo Dump #3

2011-09-19T10:05:00.002+10:00

All photos edited in Instagram

34 Tutorials!

2011-09-17T08:55:00.000+10:00

I organised all my tutorials the other day! Did you know I have written 34? That's crazy! I didn't think I had that many but I sorted through all my posts and found them. Check out the Tutorial page! It's got a neat new layout, way easier to navigate [I hope]!

Let me know what you think!

Death Star Singlet

2011-09-16T09:00:00.001+10:00

Not sure if I blogged about this shirt or not? I'm currently going through all the photos on my old computer and finding loads of things I don't think I had ever put up here!

If I have well, uh, let's reminisce together shall we?

I stenciled this singlet on May 5, I remember this because we were celebrating the afterparty of May the Fourth [be with you] as Revenge of the Fifth

It was a plain white singlet I had made last year, but I had nothing to wear that night. We were actually going to go see Thor and I thought this would be appropriate? hahah. Anyway!

It was a mad dash to make myself another Star Wars shirt, I didn't have ANYTHING to stencil with so I used one of those plastic shipping bags I had gotten a parcel in. It made the stencil easy to make and cut out but I had to tape it down everywhere so it was not appropriate for stencilling something even as simple as the Death Star!

Overall I love the way it turned out, even if one of my friends teased me and asked why I had a half-eaten orange stenciled on my shirt.

Beach Shorts

2011-09-15T17:30:00.001+10:00

At Spotlight the other day, I spied this cute blue + white striped terry towelling fabric. All I could think of was my boy's delicious chunky legs sticking out of a pair of shorts at the beach.

This is a 2 year old jumping :)

And that's exactly what I made it into when I got home. I was over-enthusiastic and got 1.5m. And these shorts took up like... 25cm. Soooo I need to think of some cool towelling fabric projects!

Hilariously enough I went into my studio to hunt for some cord [didn't find any] and found green and white striped terry cloth...

Little Boy Herp Derp

I used Dana's Kids Pants pattern and adjusted it to make it into short shorts. I seriously love this pattern. It's a perfect for for my Little Monster! He's tall and skinny and although the length is a little too long I know I can give them wide hems and give him room to grow! When he's out of nappies they should still fit around his little slender hips too.

I like big butts and I cannot lie

[I linked this project up to some Linky Parties!]

Dress with a Peplum + Tutorial

2011-09-15T14:51:00.002+10:00

See this dress?

I made it out of a Star Wars single bed quilt cover. I drafted the pattern myself from my old fashion school blocks.

I am so ready for Anakin to take me to prom!

It was pretty fun to make, even if the Star Wars print on it was apparently old curtain material. It was rubber backed! It was thick to sew on my poor old machine [I made this before I got my new machines] and it was kinda sticky. The turquoise part was the back of the quilt cover and is just a very thin cotton poplin.

I bought the quilt cover on eBay for about $10 which was awesome and when I recieved it I realised that it had been homemade by someone else. There were no tags and I suppose that is why they used the curtain fabric? Either way it was too awesome.

I still have about half of the Star Wars fabric left. I have no idea what to make out of it but it's definitely heading to my sacred fabrics pile. You know the rare stuff you get in small quantities you are too scared to use in case you don't do it justice? Yeh the remnants are destined for that place.

Do you want to make one too? You can download the pdf of the tutorial here. In it I'll show you how to draft the pattern yourself [this means a perfect fit!] and how to sew it all up!

[Seriously having a terrible photo-taking day so yes, you get three pics almost identical as a preview. Also I linked this project up to some Linky Parties!]

Monday Morning Photo Dump #2

2011-09-12T10:03:00.001+10:00

All photos edited in Instagram

Super Hero

2011-09-09T08:44:00.000+10:00

One of my friends asked me to make a little superhero outfit for her son for a party. I haven't met her son yet, even though he's almost 1 and a half, but him and I are facebook friends so it's totally okay.

Heh heh.

I knew I'd be making something similar to what we did for the Little Monster and the Little Genius when we all went to Movieworld. Leggings and a tee with a cape. She didn't have a specific hero in mind, so I kinda just made it up as I went along.

I just used whatever I had lying around, black and red stretchknit, a scrap of white and loads of Vliesofix. I made the leggings first, stitching a small lightning bolt on the back of one leg and running a large bolt down the outside of the other.

He was mad at me because HE wanted to take the photos

Then I made the tee. I made a diamond shape and stitched it to the front piece before adding another lightning bolt. The sleeves are raglan sleeves I decided to do last minute and in a contrast colour of red. The cape is detachable and is attached at the backs of the shoulders with small press-studs.

What would you name this super hero? Or is he a super villain? What are his powers?

Painting with Spray Bottles

2011-09-08T11:40:00.000+10:00

I've been on a bit of a link adventure the last few days. You know where you are checking out one blog and it links to another and that links to another and you end up having about 45 tabs open and a whole new list of things you want to make? Yeh, I call that a Link Adventure. I love it, it helps with motivation. Ya know, if I can drag myself away from the laptop and actually start making things!

Anyway, on this link adventure this morning, I saw this really cute and simple idea over at the Land of Nod blog. Painting with squirt guns.

The last few days Little Monster has been running around with his squirt gun, but of course when I actually decide we can use it for something constructive I can't find it. So I got the next best thing, spray bottles!

As you can see by his dimples, he was having a BLAST

Make sure if you're using spray bottles that used to have chemicals in them that you wash them out thoroughly!

It seriously was so simple. Just use whatever you have around the house. I used the Chronicle roll of paper I use to make patterns and ripped off a long section. I pegged it to the fly screen on the back door and covered the cement with old towels. I used two old spray bottles and filled them with the worst paint I have ever bought.

I bought the paint last year for one of the Little Monster's parties and although I usually can get good quality paints for cheap, this was just awful. It was so watery and not suitable for what I wanted it for. Luckily I kept a hold of it and it was PERFECT for putting in spray bottles!

If your paint is a bit thick, water it down and it should come out easily. I did have a few problems trying to make sure he painted only the paper, I did catch him squirting it out across the driveway and our dog has blue patches now. The Little Monster was mainly good though!

I let it dry for the day on the grass then cut it to size and framed it in a cheap frame I spray painted black. This is going to look great on feature wall we are planning! [More on that laters, I am SO excited]

After he woke up from his nap I casually showed him his art up on the wall, just pointing out to him the new picture. He stared at it blankly for a moment before he recognised it then he stated telling me how he painted it outside. The Little Monster is quite proud if it!

Trash Ballerina Costuming and Inspiration Blog

2011-09-08T09:33:00.000+10:00

Remember that place? I'm back to blogging over there again, aiming to do one post a week! Any requests for costumes you'd like to see feature, hit me up!

King of the Castle: Crown Tutorial

2011-09-07T19:21:00.001+10:00

I made a crown for the Little Monster almost two years ago when Where The Wild Things Are came out at the movies. I made a little hood for him as well, but the crown still kicks around in his dress-up box [which is, by the way, quite pitiful. It contains 24 pairs of 3D glasses, a construction helmet, said crown and the Yoda beanie].

I had made that crown out of felt and it looked like this...

Today he wanted to play dressup. I got to wear the Yoda beanie and a pair of safety goggles [thanks son] and he wore his crown and a pair of 3D glasses. He wanted to wear the crown all day, and somehow it stayed perched on his head.

I decided my little prince deserved a new crown, so I set about making him one.

You can click the jump below to read the tutorial or download it as a PDF here!

This tutorial is going to show you how to whip up one of these cute little crowns!

You will need:
• Usual sewing supplies [tape measure, pins, scissors, matching thread, sewing machine/needle + thread]
• Scrap of white stretchknit
• Scrap of yellow stretchknit [I used fleece]

Ready? Lessgo!

1. Measure around the Prince’s head. Or let him do it himself. This little dude has a 51cm head.

2. Cut out a strip of white stretch knit fabric a little longer than the circumference of your prince’s head. I only added one cm for the seam allowance because I know this would stretch. You don’t want it too small though or your little prince will get a headache! It’s width should be how wide you want the white section to be x by 2 [You’ll be folding it] + seam allowances! So say you want it 4cm wide, make it 8cm plus 1cm seam allowance on the top and 1 cm seam allowance on the bottom = 10cm wide. Cut two strips of yellow fabric, the same length but the width should be as tall as you want the crown points to be.

3. Cut out triangles from the strips, making them identical!

4. Sew the edges of one strip together, and do the same with the second strip. You will have two loops of spikes

5. Turn one of the loops the right way out and slide it inside the other loop

6. Pin the dips and points together, matching up the centre back seams

7. Stitch along the points

8. It will look like this!

9. When you are done it should look like this!

10. Trim away the seam allowances and cut the tops of the points off. Make sure you don’t snip into your stitching!

11. Using the Force, a lightsaber chopstick or something pointy, turn the points of the crown

12. Iron it

13. Fold the white strip in half and stitch the short sides together so you have a loop

14. Fold the loop in half

15. Slide the crown section inside the white loop so all the raw edges are facing up. Pin the centre back seam together and then pin along the loop

16. Zig zag together

17. Flip the white section down and VOILA! Your majesty has acceptable headwear!

It's a lightsaber chopstick, not a wand!

If you make this crown, feel free to add it to my BRAND NEW flickr pool to show it off! I'd LOVE to see your results.

I linked this up to some of the Linky Parties here.

Seamstress Tiger

2011-09-07T10:39:00.001+10:00

I found this on tumblr the other day and oh boy it made me laugh!

Go follow Seamstress Tiger now, you're guaranteed to be nodding your head and grinning!

Spotlight Voucher

2011-09-07T10:23:00.000+10:00

Hello fellow Australians! If you are a Spotlight VIP member [which you should be since it's free to sign up and you get AMAZING deals] you are able to head to this link and print out a $10 voucher! You can use this coupon when you spend $25 or more, even if the items are already on sale!

It's Valid until Sunday

T-Shirt Surgery: Lace and Bow Back Minidress Tutorial

2011-09-06T09:00:00.001+10:00

Turn an oversized tee from this

To this!

Hit the jump below for the full tutorial...

You're going to need:
An oversized t-shirt [hell a regular fitting tee will do fine!]
The t-shirt pattern you made!
Stretch lace/ribbon

I cut up one of the sideseams of the shirt and across the shoulders so I could open the shirt out.

Fold the shirt in half so you can see the print, making sure it's centered! Pin the front pattern to the shirt and cut out

Pin the sleeve pattern to the existing sleeve and cut it out. I used the hem on the original sleeve

Now trace around the back of your minidress pattern. I traced about 5cm under the armpit then ruled a line across.

The pattern piece is sideways, the shoulder is at the top left, the neckline on the left

Draw a line from the bottom of the piece to the centre back, anywhere you like.

I drew a line across the back of the mini dress pattern so I could match up the seams.

Fold the back pattern piece of the mini dress at the line you made, then ad one cm and cut out. This is the lower back and majority of the back of the dress

I was running out of t-shirt at this time, so my upper back piece came out a little short!

No matter! I cut the remaining sections out of scraps and stitched them on

Pin the sleeves so the right sides are on the insides and stitch

Using a zigzag stitch, stitch the lace to the raw bottom edge of the upper back section. Sew lace to the top of the main part of the back dress too.

It should look like this!

Stitch down the centre back with the longest stitch [or the gathering stitch if you have it on your machine]. Gently pull the threads before clipping them, helping the fabric with your fingers to gather up.

Stitch the back to the front at the shoulders

It should look like this [inside out]

Pin the front and back armpit together at the side seams, make sure the upper section goes underneath the lower back section.

Pin the rest of side seams of the front to the back + Stitch!

Pin the sleeves to the armholes and stitch [One day very soon I'll put up a sleeve attaching tutorial!]

Make a floppy bow from the scraps! I used the side pieces I had cut off

Stitch them together so you have one long strip

Tie into a bow

I safety pinned the floppy bow over the gathered piece of the back

Yellow

2011-09-05T22:51:00.000+10:00

A lot of people don't like yellow. Me? I love it. Next to turquoise it's my favourite colour.

I remember in year 12 Tourism, my teacher telling me about something we were working on, "Nobody likes yellow." In true defiant, opposite of everybody, rebellious teen that I was, I said, "I do." I didn't LOVE it then, but I sure did like it, and maybe just that little going-against-the-grain moment I had made me appreciate the colour all the more.

Seriously though, look how CHEERFUL this colour is!

[source]

It's the colour of my favourite flower in the world, the tulip

[and holds a deep symbolism to me]

[source]

Betty + I

[source]

Yellow is so awesome that Dana from MADE even did a Celebrate Yellow theme. You can check out the things she made here.

I need way more yellow in my life

I'm linking this post up today with Stitched in Color's adventures in Celebrate Colour, it's going to be fun!

Tomorrow

2011-09-05T16:41:00.000+10:00

There will be a tutorial to download for you guys on how to make the pattern and sew this Star Wars dress with peplum! I'm working on it now. I think it is better for you guys if I do the tutes in PDF for you to print out or view online or whatever rather than a blogpost with a trillion photos to scroll through? Let me know!

I made it out of a quilt cover! What do you think? I'm so ready for Darth Vader to take me to prom!

I'm going to enter it into Crafting with the Stars. I entered earlier this year but was unsuccessful in getting into the final 12, here's hoping this is the one that gets me in!

Tomorrow there will be a brand new banner and layout too, since Star Wars Month is over! I still have about 15 tutorials queued up I need to finish, so I'll be posting them up over the next few weeks.

Anyway, I think you should enter this with me! You have until September 15!

Monday Morning Photo Dump #1

2011-09-05T10:04:00.000+10:00

All photos edited in Instagram

Green Lantern T-Shirt Surgery x2

2011-09-05T09:32:00.000+10:00

When Green Lantern FINALLY came out here in Australia in August, I made myself a minidress to wear to the private screening we went to! I won a shirt there so I made a second dress when I went again later that week with my friends!

The green was the original shirts, and I added the black fabric.

This one has a lace back

And a small lace panel across the chest

Both super simple designs but I really like them!

Tutorials coming soon! [Excuse the phone pics!]