Halloween Costume: Gumball Machine

For my Halloween costume every year, I love being able to craft something myself instead of buying a pre-made costume. One of my friends gave me the idea of being a gumball machine, and I thought it would be cute and fun to make!

She told me she had seen the costume online, and that someone had glued pom poms all over a shirt and wore a red skirt with it. Another friend suggested I glue actual gumballs to a dress. I found that pom poms are more difficult the get ahold of than anticipated - I tried several stores with no luck. Online, I found that they were expensive, would not come in the mail in time, and did not come in packs large enough or in the right colors. I decided to use some leftover felt I had from other craft projects - I had several colors to use, and figured it'd be a lot easier to glue or sew onto my costume anyway.

This is how I made it:

I bought a red dress,

traced circles onto different felt colors (pink, yellow, gold, pale lavender, purple, dark green, and dark blue) to cut out,

 and sewed the circles onto my dress.

Using black and silver duct tape, I made a quarter slot and place for the gumball to come out of.

 

I also made a pair of fun dangly earrings using red pipe cleaners - I rolled one into a ball for each gumball, and attached a ball to a head pin, and attached the dangle to an earring.

The whole costume was only $5! I found the dress on sale, and already had the other materials (tape, needle and thread, and leftover felt).

 

Have a safe and spooky Halloween!
<3 Mandy

Laminated Pressed Flowers

I love flowers. And to think there's a way to preserve them for *almost* forever, of course I'd jump at the chance.

When I was 6, my parents got me a pressed-flower kit for my birthday, complete with wooden boards, tissue paper, mounting cardboard, and metal fitments. I used to go around picking flowers in the backyard, press them, and then glue the flat flowers onto cards a couple of weeks later.

Today, I still do the same thing.

Using clear contact paper, I laminated flowers from special occasions.

 

 Here are some unlaminated cards I made last year.

Picking Flowers in Galway, Ireland

Ironing flowers: the fast way to press and dry them

 

<3 Mandy

DIY Holiday Gifts

For the holiday season, or for birthdays, I always enjoy making handmade gifts for friends. I decided to make a Mason Jar Hot Chocolate Snowman for a Secret Santa gift, and a stuffed elephant ornament for my housemate who loves elephants.

Mason Jar Hot Chocolate Snowman

To make these snowmen, I got 2 small Mason Jars and filled one with hot cocoa mix and the other with marshmallows and chocolate chips. I glued the jars together. Using velvet cloth and a piece of cardboard paper that I rolled into a tube (you could also use half of a toilet paper roll), I formed a hat. I sewed fabric to the round metal piece of the Mason Jar lid so that it would look more like a hat. I used small circles of velvet to make buttons, made an orange triangle nose, and wrapped him in a striped scarf. I also glued on two googly eyes.
 

Twin Mason Jar Hot Chocolate Snowmen

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Stuffed Elephant Ornament

 I sketched a rough elephant shape onto cardboard to make a template, and then cut out the following pieces:
-2 light pink body
-2 light pink ears
-1 dark pink H for underside of legs
-1 light pink tail

I sewed the pieces together and filled the elephant with stuffing. I also embroidered 2 little ball eyes. 

 

Kissing Elephant  Twins

<3 Mandy

More Retro Fashion: Socks

I've been really into retro fashion, hence the tattoo chokers I made recently. While I normally wear ankle socks with my Converse, I thought it'd be fun to jazz up some crew socks I hardly wear, as well as more frequently wear knee socks.

For a little bit of fun, I took these hot pink crew socks I wore in elementary school (amazing quality -- the elastic is still in tact!) and embroidered the words "PIZZA PUNK" on the outer ankle and an image of a pepperoni pizza slice onto the inner ankle.

When I was little, I used to wear white lace roll-down socks (apparently they sell them at American Apparel now), so I sewed some white lace to the edge of a pair of plain white socks.

u rox my sox
<3 Mandy

Halloween Costume: Mrs. White from Clue Boardgame

For Halloween this year, my housemates and I decided to dress up as characters from the boardgame "Clue" one night. I thought it'd be fun to be Mrs. White, the maid, as I had an idea of how I wanted to make my own costume. Seeing as how I love lace, I was excited about the idea of crocheting and sewing lace onto an elegant black dress.

To make this costume, I took on making the following pieces:
-black dress
-lace collar
-lace apron
-lace headpiece

♥♥♥

I bought a size XXL plain black T-shirt, which fit baggily enough on me to wear as a dress, and restyled it so it would fit more elegantly. I cuffed the sleeves to make them fit more regularly on my body, so they'd be less long and droopy. I sewed on a lace collar I crocheted (shown below), and also crocheted a leaf motif chain for each cuff. To prevent curling when worn or after washing, I secured all of the lace in place with lots of tiny stitches.
Though the shirt is pretty long, it's not quite long enough to wear alone as a dress. I plan to wear a white lace skirt or slip underneath to add some length and to have some pretty lace peeking out of the bottom.

The quaint collar I made a couple of years ago wasn't quite right for this project, so I wanted to make another one using lace. Referencing this video, I crocheted a white lace collar that more appropriately fit a maid costume.

My mom helped my dad to shorten his pant legs one time, and I decided the leftover cuff of one leg was the perfect size for an apron. I sewed around the edges to make them neat so they wouldn't fray, and I sewed a length of lace around the edges, ruffling it slightly. I left the top part open so it could act as a small pocket (perfectly sized to fit my phone and keys and other small accessories) while being worn. With the other pant leg, I unraveled the stitches and cut it into two thin strips, which I sewed on to act as strings to tie the apron around my waist.

  
Using a scrap of dark green velvet cloth and some lengths of black yarn, I crocheted little black flowers to top a barrette. I made 5 flowers in total: the center one adorned with little silver seed beads, the 2 surrounding it with white thread crocheted in, and the outer 2 plain black. I cut little velvet leaves and also wrapped my barrette with the green velvet. As a finishing touch, I added a bit of spotted white mesh tulle to make the barrette more maid-like.

♥♥♥

Worn with a pair of black knee-high socks and a pair of black shoes (either all-black Vans for a more casual and comfortable look, or heels for a fancier occasion), and a white lace skirt worn under the dress, my Mrs. White costume is complete! The dress I made can also be worn, not as a costume, but as a lovely shift dress.

Happy Halloween!
<3 Mandy

T-Shirt Upcycling

I had a couple of old plain shirts I wanted to add a bit of pizzazz to. With some leftover colored floss from making friendship bracelets, I sewed a little geometric design onto a piece of paper, which I glued onto a piece of colored paper to put into my sketchbook. I liked the design so much that I thought it'd make a perfect addition to the edge of a plain white shirt.

 

I thought the shirt still looked a little plain after embroidering it, so I decided to add a pocket.

First, I made a stencil of the pocket shape I wanted, and using leftover fabric scraps, ironed and sewed them into the proper shape. The two blue pockets were recycled from a blue linen dress that my mom cut and shortened, and I embroidered little designs on them. The floral pocket was made using a scrap from a kitchen curtain.

pocket stencil

I sewed 255 little red squares onto one of the blue pockets, which I added to the embroidered white v-neck.

I sewed a few little yellow x's to the other blue square, which I added to a green and white striped shirt.

I love how little changes to clothes I already have can make a big difference in my wardrobe. I'll be looking for more ways to add a little something to my plainer articles of clothing.

<3 Mandy