Wednesday, October 26, 2016

Water Faerie Halloween Costume

This year for Halloween I decided to be a water faerie.  I really liked all the mermaid make-up I was seeing on Pinterest but totally am not in the shape I'd like for all the midriff revealing required in a Mermaid outfit plus ....wings! Since we prefer to coordinate or theme if we are costuming together my sister decided to be a woods faerie.  

For this year we are doing Mickey's Halloween party at Disneyland with my sister and nephew on Oct 3rd and then regular Halloween so I needed an unobtrusive wing and I really want to try these amazing cellophane wings I'd been seeing on Pinterest as well. 

First I made the headdress we hadn't started the blog yet so no pictures of the process.  I also made an elf ear out of wire.  I wasn't satisfied with the process and ended up buying this really cool tool that I want to use to remake it. (Turns out I am so not ready for wire working.  Elf ear idea scrapped.)

We ran to the Goodwill and found some amazing dresses.  Mine was $12.   After reading an article on washing things from the thrift store at The Budget Fashionista I decided to invest in dry-cleaning the dresses because ewww. The chemicals used on the dry cleaning are supposed to kill anything that is on the dress.  Dry-cleaning was also $12, but ya live and learn. 

So a minor problem with my dress is I was a bit to round and  incredibly too busty for the size of the dress.  I decided to just take the zipper out and put a corset back in instead.  I found an amazing tutorial at Sew for Dough that I didn't really have the skill to make happen so I just took the inspiration for how and went from there as usual.

Step 1 was to remove the zipper from the dress with a seam ripper. I also removed the silly tie on the front.

Step 2 was to attempt to turn the tie into loops following the directions of the competent seamstress.

Step 3 was to acknowledge that I totally messed that up and just use ribbon instead



Step 4 was to attach the loops to the dress.  Working in the zipper seam I pinned a piece of ribbon and looped it back in about a fingers width across from the first piece I pinned it in place on a slight diagonal and then added the next piece ensuring that the ends of the loops overlapped.  Continue down the length of the opening.  Begin making loops on the other side of the seem making sure that they match up as evenly as possible with the loops on the other side. 
 
Step 5 I cut the bottom most layer of the skirt with the tulle edge out as close to the bodice as possible.  Then cut a piece of material out of it to use for the modesty panel.

Step 6 Hem the top edge of the panel that will be visible.  Then pin the panel to one side of the dress.  If the top line of loops doesn't quite match with the top of the panel just hide it with a piece of ribbon sewed over the top. Sew in using a line of tiny straight stitches.  At this point you need an assistant.

Step 7 Put the dress on and have the assistant tuck the panel in and the pin a few pins in a line where the panel and the dress are going to match up.  You want to attach it a tiny bit smaller than where it lays so that it doesn't bunch up too much in between the stays but also leave enough space to get in and out of the dress.

Step 8 Pin the other side of the modesty panel in and sew closed as you get towards the waist you should have the pins going in a triangle shape to taper the size. 

Step 9 lace it up.  I wanted to use the corset style lace where you have one string starting at the top and one at the bottom that meet in the middle and tie.  To measure loosely lace a piece of ribbon up leaving plenty of room to leave the stays unlaced while putting the dress on then add like a foot and a half and cut. 

Now you can fit in your dress!


Now that my dress fit I had to faerie it up a bit and downgrade the princess level by cutting up the bottom edge.  I cut each layer of the dress separately using randomly grabbed sections and cutting inverse v shapes out of the bottom edge.  Creating a random rough edge for the whole dress.

That's it for the dress.  Now on to the wings and the makeup.

Faerie Wings

I needed a simple, soft, unobtrusive pair of wings for the Disneyland Halloween party.  I found this amazing fabric at Hobby Lobby. It was so shimmery and iridescent it just called out to be made into faerie wings. I bought a yard of fabric.


I laid the yard of fabric out flat on the ground then brought one corner up to the side so that I could make it into a square.  I cut the left over edge off to use to attach the wings.  I turned the now square piece of fabric into a diamond shape and then cut most of the way into the center of the wing down along from the top and bottom points.

You'll need to sew around the entire edge of the wing, to keep it from fraying and give the wing some structure.  I used a zig-zag stitch.  I also felt a need to hand sew "veins" into the wings by had with a large gather stitch.  I don't think that they were really necessary, were a huge pain and a waste of time.  I think that if I wanted the definition it'd be fine to machine sew them but trying to cinch them later just didn't work as planned.

Take the remaining strip of fabric and fold it in half lengthwise (hot dog style for those of us who still remember elementary school) and cut the strip in half.  Then fold the strip in half again.  Pin and stitch creating a casing.

Hold the strip up to your shoulder going under the arm as if it was a tiny sleeve to measure for size.  You want it to be snug so the wings don't fall off, but not so tight that it is uncomfortable.  Cut the casing to the appropriate size.

Take a piece of 3/4 inch elastic and measure the same way, but hold it stretched to measure.  Your elastic should be an inch or so shorter than your casing.



Trim seam allowance and turn your casing inside out.  To easily turn your casing pin a safety pin to a piece of ribbon slide the ribbon through the casing then pin it to the end, pull the ribbon through,  bringing the end of the casing with it and then unpin the safety pin when you finish. Then thread the elastic through.  (Yes my fabric changed color, I forgot to take pics of this part of my wings since I was on the phone with my mom, I took pics when making my sisters wings she was an autumn faerie so hers are brown.)

Pull back the sides of the casing and sew the ends of the elastic together.  Sew the ends of the casing closed.  After a variety of attempts to make it a neat and tidy inside I finally decided I was comfortable just folding the ends into each other and sewing it taught with a little square of stitching.  Make sure you close your ends in the same place you stitched the elastic closed and then sew that same spot to the wings and it keeps all the ugly stitching in the same place against your body when the wings are on.

This next step is going to be much easier with an assistant.  Hold the wings up to your body with the uncut corners out in your hands and figure what point you want the wings to attach to your shoulders.  The uncut middle of the wing should reach somewhere mid-body.  Take the seamed portion of the sleeve and attach it to the wing at the point you want it to lay on your body the sleeve should face out away from the wing.

Cut a piece of beading elastic to make a loop around your middle finger.  Sew one end to the the uncut corners of your wings.  I used a zig-zag stitch and just sewed the heck outta it.  Cross the elastic when you sew it to the other corner.

The wings will go on your body via the sleeves and then when your fingers are in the loops they will open, close and move with you.  If you need greater ease of movement simply slip the loop off your finger and let the wings hang closed.  These are the most practical wings, or ridiculous costume accessory I have ever chosen to wear.


Faerie Make-Up

A huge part of any costume for me is hair and make-up to complete the look.  I couldn't imagine trying to take pictures of this process so I thought I'd give a video a go.






Wheeww that was the longest post ever!! Thanks for staying with me this far!
Amanda


Faerie Wings

Since the faerie costume post is becoming ridiculously massive I keep cutting parts out of it for easier finding.

I needed a simple, soft, unobtrusive pair of wings for the Disneyland Halloween party.  I found this amazing fabric at Hobby Lobby. It was so shimmery and iridescent it just called out to be made into faerie wings. I bought a yard of fabric.


I laid the yard of fabric out flat on the ground then brought one corner up to the side so that I could make it into a square.  I cut the left over edge off to use to attach the wings.  I turned the now square piece of fabric into a diamond shape and then cut most of the way into the center of the wing down along from the top and bottom points.

You'll need to sew around the entire edge of the wing, to keep it from fraying and give the wing some structure.  I used a zig-zag stitch.  I also felt a need to hand sew "veins" into the wings by had with a large gather stitch.  I don't think that they were really necessary, were a huge pain and a waste of time.  I think that if I wanted the definition it'd be fine to machine sew them but trying to cinch them later just didn't work as planned.

Take the remaining strip of fabric and fold it in half lengthwise (hot dog style for those of us who still remember elementary school) and cut the strip in half.  Then fold the strip in half again.  Pin and stitch creating a casing.

Hold the strip up to your shoulder going under the arm as if it was a tiny sleeve to measure for size.  You want it to be snug so the wings don't fall off, but not so tight that it is uncomfortable.  Cut the casing to the appropriate size.

Take a piece of 3/4 inch elastic and measure the same way, but hold it stretched to measure.  Your elastic should be an inch or so shorter than your casing.



Trim seam allowance and turn your casing inside out.  To easily turn your casing pin a safety pin to a piece of ribbon slide the ribbon through the casing then pin it to the end, pull the ribbon through,  bringing the end of the casing with it and then unpin the safety pin when you finish. Then thread the elastic through.  (Yes my fabric changed color, I forgot to take pics of this part of my wings since I was on the phone with my mom, I took pics when making my sisters wings she was an autumn faerie so hers are brown.)

Pull back the sides of the casing and sew the ends of the elastic together.  Sew the ends of the casing closed.  After a variety of attempts to make it a neat and tidy inside I finally decided I was comfortable just folding the ends into each other and sewing it taught with a little square of stitching.  Make sure you close your ends in the same place you stitched the elastic closed and then sew that same spot to the wings and it keeps all the ugly stitching in the same place against your body when the wings are on.

This next step is going to be much easier with an assistant.  Hold the wings up to your body with the uncut corners out in your hands and figure what point you want the wings to attach to your shoulders.  The uncut middle of the wing should reach somewhere mid-body.  Take the seamed portion of the sleeve and attach it to the wing at the point you want it to lay on your body the sleeve should face out away from the wing.

Cut a piece of beading elastic to make a loop around your middle finger.  Sew one end to the the uncut corners of your wings.  I used a zig-zag stitch and just sewed the heck outta it.  Cross the elastic when you sew it to the other corner.

The wings will go on your body via the sleeves and then when your fingers are in the loops they will open, close and move with you.  If you need greater ease of movement simply slip the loop off your finger and let the wings hang closed.  These are the most practical wings, or ridiculous costume accessory I have ever chosen to wear.

Tuesday, October 25, 2016

Dress Resize - Add a Corset Back

When I was making my Faerie Halloween costume I found a great dress at the Goodwill but had a minor problem in that I was a bit to round and  incredibly too busty for the size of the dress.  I pulled the dress resizing portion of the post out to make it easier to find.

I decided to just take the zipper out and put a corset back in instead.  I found an amazing tutorial at "Sew for Dough" that I didn't really have the skill to make happen so I just took the inspiration for how and went from there as usual.

Step 1 was to remove the zipper from the dress with a seam ripper. I also removed the silly tie on the front.

Step 2 was to attempt to turn the tie into loops following the directions of the competent seamstress.

Step 3 was to acknowledge that I totally messed that up and just use ribbon instead



Step 4 was to attach the loops to the dress.  Working in the zipper seam I pinned a piece of ribbon and looped it back in about a fingers width across from the first piece I pinned it in place on a slight diagonal and then added the next piece ensuring that the ends of the loops overlapped.  Continue down the length of the opening.  Begin making loops on the other side of the seem making sure that they match up as evenly as possible with the loops on the other side. 
Step 5 I cut the bottom most layer of the skirt with the tulle edge out as close to the bodice as possible.  Then cut a piece of material out of it to use for the modesty panel.

Step 6 Hem the top edge of the panel that will be visible.  Then pin the panel to one side of the dress.  If the top line of loops doesn't quite match with the top of the panel just hide it with a piece of ribbon sewed over the top. Sew in using a line of tiny straight stitches.  At this point you need an assistant.

Step 7 Put the dress on and have the assistant tuck the panel in and the pin a few pins in a line where the panel and the dress are going to match up.  You want to attach it a tiny bit smaller than where it lays so that it doesn't bunch up too much in between the stays but also leave enough space to get in and out of the dress.

Step 8 Pin the other side of the modesty panel in and sew closed as you get towards the waist you should have the pins going in a triangle shape to taper the size. 

Step 9 lace it up.  I wanted to use the corset style lace where you have one string starting at the top and one at the bottom that meet in the middle and tie.  To measure loosely lace a piece of ribbon up leaving plenty of room to leave the stays unlaced while putting the dress on then add like a foot and a half and cut. 

Now you can fit in your dress!

Saturday, October 22, 2016

Fascinator Witch Hat



Halloween is coming up and a friend asked me to make her a mini witch hat. This is probably one of the easiest projects I've ever done, and the cheapest. I spent only a 1.50 making this, but if you don't have poster board, ribbon, felt, and a spider ring lying around it'll still only cost you about 5 dollars. 






What you'll need:  

  • 1 sheet of stiff black felt
  • 2 sheets of regular black felt
  • Poster board
  • Hot glue
  • 10 inches of black ribbon (optional)
  • 1 black, plastic, spider (optional)

First, you'll need to cut out a poster board circle. I like working with tangible measurements so I traced a Disneyland Hatter hat but feel free to free hand it.  


Then cut a smaller circle out of the circle you cut so that you have a brim about an inch wide. Stab a hole into the center to cut around from the inside rather than cutting through the brim. Cut out a piece of black felt just slightly (about a centimeter) bigger than the poster board and cut the center out of that as well.


Then roll a piece of black felt (make sure it's the stiff kind- it costs more at about 1.50 but your hat will be floppy if you use regular) into a cone and fit it into the brim of your hat. Trim the edge of the felt hanging past the brim to no more than one inch and cut slits all along the felt to fold up onto to bottom of the brim. Use hot glue to secure the edge of your stiff felt closed along the cone of the hat and then hot glue the cut strips to the brim securing the cone in place. 

Then attach the felt circle you cut out to the top of your brim and apply hot glue all along the bottom brim. Place the hat down onto a piece of black felt making sure to glue the bottom side of the top felt down around the poster board.  Then cut around the edge of your hat making sure that the edge of the poster board does not show through.



You could put this on a headband, a ribbon, or attach clips, but what I did was attached small hair ties to make loops to bobby pin the hat in place. I knotted the hair ties, glued one side down, and for extra security glued a small scrap of felt onto of the hot glue. 

Finally, add a piece of ribbon around the brim and accent your mini witch hat with a spider for a subtle, creepy touch. 



Thursday, October 20, 2016

Tamago Kake Gohan (Egg with rice- Japanese Breakfast)

Whenever I make sushi one of my favorite parts is being  able to stop when the sushi rice is done and have a quick bowl of tamago kake gohan.  I saw a Facebook post that said something about the breakfast you're probably to afraid to eat and it was the final push I needed to make sushi myself.  It just looked so delicious and I didn't know how else to try it. 

When you have finished making your sushi rice scoop a small bowls worth.  I like to make a small divot in the rice so the egg cooks a bit from the heat of the rice.  Sprinkle toasted sesame seeds, soy sauce and green onions on top.  Take a fancy picture.

Then stir it all up and enjoy.  When you stir it well the hot rice cooks the egg a little bit so it's not all slimy textured.  It is such a simple and amazing combination of flavors. 

Ingredients
Hot sushi rice
Egg
Optional: soy sauce
Sesame seeds
Green onions

Sushi Rice

I pulled out just the rice portion of my sushi post to make it easier to find.  Cause sushi rice is delicious for other things like Tamango Gohron or poke

Sushi Rice

Begin your sushi by making Sushi Rice.  I was ambitious today and started with two cups of rice. 

Measure your rice and place into a bowl (I use a large sour cream tub) fill with water swirl rice to rinse and then dump out.  Repeat 4-6 times.  When you are finished the water should be clear enough that you can see the rice instead of milky.  Drain rice in strainer leave for 5-10 minutes.  Place rice in pan (or rice cooker).  Place your index finger on the rice as you fill with water stop when the tip of your finger is covered.
Place pan on stove and bring to a boil stirring once or twice.  After it boils turn down to low heat cover and cook 8-10 minutes.  Turn off heat and allow to sit for 10 minutes. 

In small saucepan prepare the seasoning.  Add 1/4 cup Rice vinegar, 2 tbsp Mirin, 1 tsp sugar and 1/2 tsp salt. Heat and stir till dissolved. (If you don't have Mirin or don't like using alcohol for cooking just use all rice vinegar and and an extra 1/2 tsp sugar)
Turn out the rice into a non metallic container.  (Ideally a flat wooden Japanese rice Hangiri I usually use my trusty sour cream tub but ended up in a flat bowl as it was too small for 2 cups rice) with a rice paddle or wooden spoon (nonmetallic) cut the seasoning into the rice until thoroughly combined.  Let sit.

Sushi!

I love sushi, but I don't always love going to get sushi.  Growing up in the valley there's a lot of cheap sushi places that have very small portions 2-4 pieces. I always want to to try a ton of different things but I never want to eat the whole roll.  Moving to the OC I struggle to find the sushi place that I am looking for and I'd like sushi for lunch, debating these issue for several months I searched Pinterest and after learning how to make sushi rice and that as long as the fish is frozen before hand you should be safe I worked up the courage to make sushi myself. 
My fist time I started with a variety of California rolls because it seemed the easiest way to begin. Today I got brave enough to try tuna (it's our favorite type of sushi).  I wanted to do the tuna on top of the rolls but chickened out last minute.

Sushi Rice

Begin your sushi by making Sushi Rice.  I was ambitious today and started with two cups of rice. 
Measure your rice and place into a bowl (I use a large sour cream tub) fill with water swirl rice to rinse and then dump out.  Repeat 4-6 times.  When you are finished the water should be clear enough that you can see the rice instead of milky.  Drain rice in strainer leave for 5-10 minutes.  Place rice in pan (or rice cooker).  Place your index finger on the rice as you fill with water stop when the tip of your finger is covered.
Place pan on stove and bring to a boil stirring once or twice.  After it boils turn down to low heat cover and cook 8-10 minutes.  Turn off heat and allow to sit for 10 minutes. 

In small saucepan prepare the seasoning.  Add 1/4 cup Rice vinegar, 2 tbsp Mirin, 1 tsp sugar and 1/2 tsp salt. Heat and stir till dissolved. (If you don't have Mirin or don't like using alcohol for cooking just use all rice vinegar and and an extra 1/2 tsp sugar)
Turn out the rice into a non metallic container.  (Ideally a flat wooden Japanese rice Hangiri I usually use my trusty sour cream tub but ended up in a flat bowl as it was too small for 2 cups rice) with a rice paddle or wooden spoon (nonmetallic) cut the seasoning into the rice until thoroughly combined.  Let sit.



Prepare your Ingredients

Cucumber: I like cucumber in rolls.  You should use Japanese cucumber which have smaller seeds and nicer texture than American cucumber but American cucumber is what I had.  To make it work I cut the cucumber in half.  Then I cut that half in half lengthwise.  I peel the skin off and scrape out the seeds with a spoon.  Then I cut it into small strips. 




Avocado: I love avocado in anything and especially sushi.  I just cut the avocado in half and then slice the half without the pit into thin slices.  I let the skin stay on and just peel it back as I use the slices in the rolls.



Tuna: I used a 4 ounce frozen tuna steak I bought at Aldi.  Slice the tuna thinly.  To top your sushi slice the fish very thinly with your knife at an angle.  (I chickened out at the last minute and decided I wasn't ready for the challenge.  Didn't like my cuts or have faith in my rolling slicing capabilities to top my sushi. Maybe next time.). The long thin slices go in your tuna rolls and any miscellaneous shapes get chopped up for spicy tuna.  (Yum!! spicy tuna) Toss the cut pieces of in a bowl for spicy tuna.


Spicy tuna: Add a 1/2 tbsp of mayonnaise and 1/2-1 tbsp (to taste) of Sriracha sauce if using American mayonnaise add 1/4tsp of rice vinegar and a pinch of sugar.  Stir.

Bowl of water



Make the Rolls

OK it's go time.  Lay out your sushi mat.  Place a piece of Saran wrap on top.  Take a piece of nori out of the package fold it in half lengthwise for bite sized rolls. Place your half sheet of Nori on your mat shiny side up.  Wet your hands and grab a small handful or rice.  Spread the rice out on the nori wet your hands if it's getting too sticky.  Sprinkle sesame seeds on the rice if you like then flip. 

Make a very thin row of ingredients.  Mix it up how ever you like.  I started with tuna, cucumber, avocado.  If any of your slices seem too large cut in half.

Bring the edge of the nori over and wrap.  ( First time I rolled my plastic wrap into my roll.  The wrap is one with the mat you may need to pull it up and away.) Be careful that your edges meet so your roll closes.  

Slowly begin to squeeze evenly and tighten the roll with your sushi mat.  Open the mat and see how it went.  (Occasionally mine end up with a silly triangle bump on one side.  Just replace and roll again with even pressure to smooth it out.)

If you over fill your roll like this one where I tried some rice on the inside for the first time the roll won't close it will squish out and make a mess.  


Sometimes the nori squishes in to the roll and does close. Try to bring the nori back out and over more neatly and re-roll as best you can.  There's an art to sushi making and practice makes perfect.  So keep making sushi.


Place finished rolls on a plate in the fridge to make slicing easier.  When you're done making rolls and ready to eat slice the rolls into one inch pieces with a very sharp knife.  Have a wet towel handy to wipe the knife with whenever it feels sticky. A little bit of a sawing motion works better than just pressing down anytime the knife doesn't go straight through. 

Top with eel sauce, spicy mayo, Sriracha  or serve as is. Have soy sauce and wasabi handy for dipping.  Some pickled ginger is also nice to have on hand.

Eel sauce
4 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp Mirin
1 tbsp brown sugar

Combine in small saucepan and bring to a boil.  Boil for one minute then simmer till thickens slightly.  Will thicken upon sitting.

Spicy mayo
1/4 c mayonnaise
1-2 tbsp Sriracha
1/2 tsp rice vinegar
1/4 tsp sugar

Combine in bowl mix.

Tools
Sushi mat (I found one at Daiso for $1.50)
Sharp chefs knife
Saran wrap (stretch tite from Costco FTW)

Ingredients
Nori/seaweed (make sure your sheets are wide enough to wrap around a roll I first got ones too narrow.  Sprouts had full sheets and I've seen them at some Ralph's)
Sushi rice (how it's made more than type I use regular white rice that I buy in bulk)
Fish (tuna steaks I found mine frozen at Aldi for $4.99 for a 3 pack, Imitation crab sticks)
Avocado
Rice vinegar
Cucumber
Sriracha
Mayonnaise
Sesame seeds
Cream cheese
Wasabi (found at Daiso also saw at Sprouts)

Ingredients for Sushi Rice
2 cup White rice (actual sushi rice is best but any short grain will work fine I haven't seen sushi rice in the supermarket and haven't gone to an Asian market)
1/4 cup Rice vinegar
2 TBS Mirin
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt

Wednesday, October 19, 2016

Halloween Ghost Lights

I had a giant string of ping-pong ball lights from IKEA that I wasn't using and I thought they'd make a great base for some ghost Halloween lights.  Napkins, floral wire and a black sharpie marker are the total supplies needed. 




If you don't have a spare string of ball lights around you can poke a hole in actual ping pong balls and attach them to a spare string of white Christmas lights.

My napkins happened to have little flowers along one side which are definitely not suitable for ghosts so I cut that off then refolded them into squares at their smaller size.  If you want to make your life easier just get some plain napkins. 


Fold the napkins over into a triangle a few at a time and then cut in a random pattern to create a ruffled edge so your ghosts are fluttery.

Unfold your napkin one at a time and in the middle draw a cute little ghost face. 



Position your napkin around the light and cut a length of wire to wrap around under the light and twist to secure. 

Repeat until you have a full string of lights.  

We hung ours up around the outside of the window with a series of tacks in the window frame.