Mary Poppins Costumes Halloween 2011

Happy Halloween everyone! Here are a few pics of our Mary Poppins' costumes. I had so much fun making them. Each is pretty different from the rest but funny enough they all took about the same amount of time. I'll be posting details about what I did for each costume later but I wanted to do a quick post to share how cute we look as a group.

We went to the zoo that had both trick or treating and a carousel to take pictures but my hubby had to meet us there and it was so swamped he couldn't get a parking spot. We went to the park only to find that their merry-go-round was closed but maybe if the weather stays good for a while we'll go back to the zoo and take some pictures on the carrousel, how fun would that be, Poppins pics on the merry-go-round.

What's for Dinner: Week 103

My eating has been terrible lately. The last two weeks have been a blur of 17 hour days and I'm not exaggerating. I've been eating when I can and what's easy which means lots of take out and string cheese. I'm excited to have real food again. I need some good ideas, if you've tried any good recipes lately and have a link I'd love you to share it in the comments. I want to try something new next weekend.

Day	Main Meal	Goals (Veggies, Whole Grain, Fish)
Sunday	Turkey Corn and Cream Soup and salad	Grains and nuts: granola bars, ww pasta Veggies: lettuce Fish: ??
Monday	Halloween Party
Tuesday	Marinara and Ravioli
Wednesday	eat out
Thursday	Turkey Lentil Curry Soup and Naan
Friday	Fondue
Saturday	Something New

10 DIY Costume Tips From Etsy's Handmade Pros from Lilsugar (and me)

Hopefully you got a chance to read my tips on Hideous Stinky Dreadful. But I've got more for you from other talented Etsians over at Lilsugar. Check them out.

And just because I love Halloween. Whether you're making your own costumes or not I'd love to hear what everyone is being this year? Yesterday I finally got to the fabric shop and bought the last of the supplies for our Mary Poppin's cast of characters. What's your family's plan?

Last Minute Tips For Making Your Own Halloween Costumes

(us a few years ago when I was an underage chinese gymnast and the musicmaker was Bela Karolyi -you know the American coach that was constantly say the Chinese were cheating)

Hey all have you started your kiddos (or your own) Halloween costumes yet? Me neither. I've been sewing costumes no stop for everyone else but I haven't started a stitch on the costumes for our own family. But I sent the last of the costumes orders out so I'm ready to start. And yes I am still planning on Mary Poppins, Bert, Jane Banks and a penguin or two or three. Call me crazy, everyone else does.

I wrote up a bunch of tips for last minute costume making and I'm sharing them over at Hideous Dreadful Stinky, Marigold has been having a fun Halloween fest over there so be sure to scroll through the older posts too. Here's the link to the post.

Any ways I hope it helps you fellow procrastinators a bit!

Tutorial: Tutus for Any Halloween Costume

  (wonder woman by jessicakertel1)
 
I am in love with the trend of using tutus for most any girl costume. I've seen so many cute ideas.The possibilities are endless and what's even better is that when Halloween is done your little one will have a cute tutu to play dress up.

(baby blue bird by princessdreamstutu)
You can do pretty much any animal think white with a fun hat for a chicken, black for a cute kitty or even a fun lady bug or bumble bee.

(snow white by thebudgetbowtique)
Also pretty much any princess, I've seen super cute Disney princesses, darling fairies and pretty much any other cool girl characters like super heros.

(witch by littledivatutus)

And for those of you who are more traditional, you can even go for a fun witch costume. Tutus are so cheap quick and easy to make.

What you need

• 2-4 yards tulle (depending on how long and how full you want it)
• elastic

 What to do

1. Cut your elastic to the size of your little one's waist and sew so that you have a circle.
2. Cut your tulle. For toodler sizes I usually do about 4 inches wide by 18 inches long. for less work just do 4 inches by the width of the bolt (a lot comes on 54 inch bolts which would be great for elementary aged kids) remember the length of your tulle halved minus a little since it'll poof up is about how long it'll be.
3. Attache each strip one by one by folding the strip lengthwise. Place the fold behind the elastic.
4. Loop the bottom of the strip around the elastic and pull through the loop. 
5. Repeat until you've reached your desired fullness.
6. Play around with the fullness by crunching the tulle, pulling the loops tighter or fluffing the strips.

Show and Tell: Gummy Bear Costume

Holy cow I've been sewing costumes non-stop I promise after they all go out next week I'll be back to blogging properly but until then here's a costume I made for my friend's kiddo last year. She wanted to be a Gummy Bear. What a fun kid. I've heard rumors that she still wears it around the house randomly.

Treasury Love: Pumpkin Spiced Latte

Fall is here and I love it. The weather is perfect. I just wanted to share this lovely collection of Team Etsy Kids goodies by thatmoxiegirl. See it up close, get clickable links to all the beautiful items and see more from these talented people here.

Geeking Out With A Very Potter Musical

(I like this one best from about 3:30 I LOVE THE DRACO character-the first part is just okay to me)

So I have no idea how I never knew about this before but I've been laughing out loud hysterically since I discovered A Very Potter Musical. I was looking up Darren Kriss you know the guy who plays Blaine on Glee, yeah I'm a big fan. And I found out he wrote a Potter musical and I had to check it out. I totally don't regret it.


(Anyone up for a tapping Voldermort?)

Here are a few of my favorite parts so far. I'm only on Act 1 Part 16 now and there's a whole sequel. They are really dorky and my husband who loves Potter but hates Glee really does not understand what I see in these and to be honest I had to take breaks because it's a little fantabulously intense. But I do and I figure some of you might too. Ahhh the things that will keep a girl sewing to 2 in the morning!

Quick Boo Garland Tutorial

I was getting really jealous of everyone else's Halloween decorations so I decided to throw some quick things together. I  just used scraps I had laying around and a garland I had stashed downstairs from last year's wreath making kick.

It's really quick since I'm working like crazy on costume orders but I think it's cute enough and I bet you guys could make a way more awesome version with a little more time especially since half of this was made by the naughty nieces and it took us maybe 15 minutes tops.

What You Need

• white fabric
• stuffing
• ribbon
• garland
• fabric scraps (to make little pom pom poofs)

What To Do

1. Hang the garland
2. Cut white scraps into square-ish pieces (mine were stragglely but had a big patch in the middle)
3. Put a small part of stuffing in the white and tie with ribbon to make ghosts
4. Cut the other scraps into strips, gather a few strips and tie one around the middle to make a pom pom
5. Put the ghosts and pom poms on the garland
6. Go back to work (on wait that's just me, you just enjoy your cute new decor)

What's for Dinner: Week 102

Until my mom did them a few hours ago I had dishes from ahem a long time ago filling up my kitchen. I cooked dinner hmmm maybe once last week. Yup this is Halloween in the Fischer household. I had two huge bowls of tomatoes which my mom blanched for me while she cleaned. She's the best. I'm hoping my multitasking skills will allow me to sew while I make them into marinara tomorrow

Day	Main Meal	Goals (Veggies, Whole Grain, Fish)
Sunday	Pizza with out of town friends	Grains and nuts: granola bars, ww pasta Veggies: lettuce Fish:??
Monday	Turkey Corn and Cream Soup with Jalapeno Cheese rolls
Tuesday	MIL bringing dinner
Wednesday	Marinara and Ravioli
Thursday	eat out
Friday	Left over remake
Saturday	Eat out or take in

Guest Posting: Hooded Scarf Tutorial

Hi everyone, as many of you know I'm crazily sewing costumes for my shop. But I wanted to let you know I wrote up a cool tutorial for a hooded scarf that I'm really proud of and am sharing it over at Some Day Crafts. I hope you head on over and check it out they're quick and easy and would make great gifts for those people you don't know what to give to.

If you are visiting from Some Day Crafts, welcome! I hope you take a peek around. If you need some suggestions, here are some of my favorite posts

• Iron-on Tutorial learn how to make iron-ons out of pretty much any fabric you want
• Blueberry White Chocolate Cheesecake recipe Yup I tried to copy that delicious beast from the cheesecake factory and I think it turned out pretty close.
• Star Wars Party completely with freezer paper Lego Stormtrooper Tee and Star Wars inspired games 

reposted below

Today I want to share a quick and easy tutorial for how to make your own hooded scarf. These are great because before things get too cold you can wear them with a light jacket or cardigan to boost your warmth. Or if you're anything like me they are the perfect solution to those adorable, but hoodless winter coats. You can easily make the pattern for adults or kiddos. This year I think all the guys in our family will be getting one of these (they can be so hard to shop for).

What You'll Need

• 1/2 yard fabric for the outside (you can use anything you like)
• 1/2 yard fleece
• either a hood piece from a sewing pattern or a hoodie that you can trace to make your own hood pattern.

What To Do

1. First either find a hood piece from a pattern you have or grab your favorite hoodie fold it in half and then trace about an inch around it to make yourself a hood pattern. It doesn't need to be exact, hoods are really flexible. 
2. Cut two hood pieces and 1 scarf piece (the scarf pieces I cut were 5 inches by the length of the fabric so in my case 5x44 and 5x 50) out of the main fabric and the fleece. Your fleece may be longer than your other fabric which is totally fine. If that's the case just lay the shorter one on top of the longer one and cut the longer one down so they are the same size.
3. Sew, right sides together the two fabric hood pieces together around the curve (the part that would go down the middle of your head. Do the same with the fleece.
4. Try the hood on and see what you think. If you like a more fitted hood you can do what I did and sew across the point of the hood on each. Do this on a sewing machine so you can unpick if you don't like how it looks. Try it on and if you like it with the line sewn across cut off the extra nub at the top.This is totally optional but I like the shape better.
5. Now pin the center of the scarf piece to the center seam of the hood (right sides together) sew the hood piece to the scarf piece. Do the same with the fleece. 
6. You should now have two hooded scarves.
7. Next pin the two hooded scarves right sides together. 
8. Sew around all the edges leaving one of the skinny ends open.
9. Right side out out everything.
10. Close up the hole by tucking the ends under a little and sewing close and iron the the hooded scarf (it's best to iron from the main fabric side (not the fleece side).

You can wear it wrap style like the top picture, tied, or with the hood down completely. I sewed a lot of this on my serger but since all the seams are enclosed you can do it all on a regular sewing machine. I'd love to know if you try this out and definitely would love to see pictures. And I hope you'll stop by my blog and say hi.

Recipe: Quick Apple Pastry

The Rotten Musician boys were over this weekend to watch a movie that used one of our songs +20 Broadsword. It's the song that we did the music video for (watch it here if you're interested in a laugh of awesomeness, note the link goes to youtube which will start automatically).

Even though I am up to my everything in costumes I felt like I needed to make them a little treat. I had everything for this on hand and it was super fast and easy. Plus I could veganize it easily for our one vegan bandmate. It'll make your house smell like apple pie and it's got that same satisfying taste but without all the work.

Apple Pastry
1 sheet of puff pastry (thawed)
2 Granny Smith Apples (peeled, cored and sliced)
2 TBS sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
2 TBS butter (or butter substitute) melted
2 TBS maple syrup
Vanilla Ice Cream to serve it with

• Cut the puff pastry into 6 pieces.
• Slice apples.
• Combine sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle half of this on the puff pastry.
• Top with apples. Sprinkle remaining cinnamon mixture on top.
• Drizzle with butter.
• Bake at 400 F for 25 minutes or until golden brown.
• Top with drizzle of maple syrup. 
• Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

lilsugar top handmade costumes & 3 days left

Just popping in for a last reminder that October 5th (this coming Wednesday, yeah can you believe it's October already) is the last day to buy my costumes at the regular price. After that I will continue to take a few orders but they'll have a rush fee added.

And I'm excited to say my Gryffindor Costume was featured on lilsugar as on of their "10 Beautifully Handmade Halloween Costumes For Kids". So cool right?

What's for Dinner: Week 101

(Birthday Noodles)

I'm full fledged in Halloween mode. Sewing sewing and sewing. Food is going to be easy and basic for the next few weeks probably eating out more than normal just since I kind of need to get out of the house so I can ahem come back and sew all night. But that's Halloween I'll get a break in a couple weeks.

Day	Main Meal	Goals (Veggies, Whole Grain, Fish)
Sunday	Birthday Noodles for my dad	Grains and nuts: granola bars, ww pasta Veggies: lettuce Fish:
Monday	Chicken alfredo and peas
Tuesday	MIL bringing dinner
Wednesday	Eat Out
Thursday	Creamy Enchiladas
Friday	eat out
Saturday	Some Kind of Soup, suggestions welcome