thrifty reads

I've had some good luck thrifting children's books lately-including some cute vintage books in the mix.

An awesome truck book, cute book about rain, some Berenstain Bears books (I loved those as a kid),
a few Disney readers, Caps for Sale, Alice in Wonderland (gorgeous illustrations), a Golden book, American Tail (another favorite of mine!), and a Numbers book.

This one is my favorite-it may look unassuming, but on the inside it has page after page of gorgeous illustrations.

I just love them. What have you found thrifting lately?


OH, and Happy Halloween everyone! Have a safe and fun holiday!

Happy Halloween from a bunch of geeks!

Star Wars geeks, that is. Well, our family costume theme started when a friend lent me an Ewok costume, then it all kind of came together in the last week. Sadie LOVED being Princess Leia, and everyone seemed to recognize her easily, which she liked. We had our church trunk or treat (handing out candy from the back of cars in the parking lot, safe for kids and fun cause you know lots of people there!) Saturday, so we got all dressed up for that. Call it a dry run if you will, for Halloween night.

I told you about how I made her costume here, but instead of the yarn bun headband, I did her hair in sock buns. Using lots of hairspray and teasing her hair a bit helped it stay in, though by the end of the night you could see patches of sock through her hair, lol. She has been so into getting her hair done lately!

Charlotte wore the aforementioned Ewok costume, which she looked flipping cute in. She was not the biggest fan of the hoodie, but she wore it for pictures like a champ.

Rory was Anakin Skywalker before he turned into Darth Vader. He was NOT a sushi chef, though he insisted he looked like one. I made his costume the day before, well, at least I made the wrap thing, and the two belt thingies. *It's totally legit, because I copied the movie costume completely.

*sarcasm font

It was really thrown together, but I think he looks like a Jedi and not a sushi chef. Back me up, folks! haha. 

I loved my costume this year, Han Solo is one of my favorite movie characters of all time! I got most of my outfit at the thrift store-vest, shirt, and belt at least. Boots from Old Navy, pants from my sis, red duct tape from Target. You can't tell very much, but I sewed on felt pockets to the vest, which I turned inside out. (it has some green plaid wool on the outside, lol!)  I'll have to get a better pic, cause it looked cool! I didn't get a blaster or holster because there was a "no weapons" allowed rule, which we broke because Rory had his light saber. I also heard (the morning of) that cross-dressing was also not allowed, so we totally broke two rules. Such a rebel! I guess I had the Han Solo attitude. (though I was prepared to say I was Henrietta Solo, Han Solo's twin sister)




I decorated our car really simply...I cut out some jagged teeth from cardstock and taped them on the bottom and top of the back door. Yargh! Car monster. hehe. Easy and fun. (and crooked, but let's pretend it's not) I got the idea here, via Pinterest.

Princess Leia costume+belt tutorial

We (and my "we" I mean Sadie) have been all over the place when it comes to deciding on a costume! First it was a butterfly, then pirates...which I just couldn't get excited about. Last week a friend loaned me an Ewok costume for Charlotte, and with A LOT of convincing, we got Sadie on board with being Princess Leia. I think the Princess part of that sentence did it. I still owe her a crown though. We'll see what I can whip up in the next few days. ;)

I did make these Leia bun yarn things, but I'm not sure I like them...for one thing, what am I supposed to do with her other hair...? I guess these are more for babies with no other hair! I might try and do two sock buns...we'll see!

Edit: here's how her hair turned out-I love it!

Her dress is simply a peasant dress made of white knit. I used this pattern, and lengthened the sleeves, then cut the end off at an angle after she tried it on. No hemming! Boo yah. I love costumes...I tend to cut corners, lol.

 

 My favorite part is her belt! Love it.  I got the silver fabric from Joann's-it's some kind of vinyl-esque material.

Gotta finish the costumes for Rory and me now, Obi-Wan and Han Solo, respectively. What? There are no other girls in Star Wars! (besides Queen Amidala, but I barely count those "first" movies.)

PLus, I kind of love Han Solo. He's the ultimate bad boy.

 

So, interested in making one of your own? Probably not, since Halloween is in just a few days, but maybe someday this will be helpful for someone. That's the hope, at least...

Anyways!

You'll need:

Silver vinyl material (I got this stuff at Joann's, I'm sure it's readily available around Halloween especially)

Silver or grey thread

sew-on velcro

Stitch Witchery, which looks like this: 

and the free pattern! (the pattern is for about a 20" waist...you can always make the belt longer though)

So first cut out all the pieces (mine are not all shown here, but you should have 2 belt pieces, 4 side medallions, 1 middle medallion, and 5 circles.)

This is the Stitch Witchery stuff, which is amazing. It's sticky tape that dissolves in the wash, basically. It's great for sewing on trims and such, but I used it to keep my little "medallions" in place while I sewed them on, since pins would leave holes in this material.

So I applied some tape on each piece...

Then laid them out like so on one piece of the belt. Make sure they are evenly spaced from the top and bottom of the belt.

Then sew around each medallion...

...and then get smart and use your walking foot to do the circles. If you have a walking foot, use it! If you're using this kind of material it will make it so much easier, and won't make it pucker up.

Then once you've sewn the pieces all on, pin the two belt pieces right sides together.

Just make sure to pin within the seam allowance (3/8"), so that the pin holes don't show.

Back stitch a few times on the end that you'll turn it from.

Then gently start turning it inside out. This material is stiff, but work with it and it won't take long!

This is what it'll look like. eek. Needs some top stitching!

Use your fingers to roll the edges out, then top stitch close to the edge.

Tuck each end under and stitch that down too.

Use some Stitch Witchery to stick on the velcro pieces (cut however long you like, I wanted mine to be semi adjustable so I cut them long), then sew them on!

Sew the other velcro pieces on, then try on the nearest Princess you can find! She'll think you're the coolest mom in the galaxy! har, har.

costume sneak peek

 

Can you guess Sadie's costume? (don't mind the wobbly stitches, lol!) 

I'll be posting more tomorrow! (with a little tutorial)

How's your costume making going? Or if you're not making them, what are you going as?

Sadie's new (future) coat

I made a coat for Sadie yesterday. (she doesn't look too happy about it, huh?...you'll see)

It was muy, muy grande.

I cut out the 3T/4T size, and I guess my petite gal is not quite there yet. Look at her though....she's so forlorn, mourning her coat-she-cannot-wear-yet.

However there are some silver linings.

1. It will fit next year....(hopefully)

2. I have a smaller size cut out already that I didn't sew up last year. (cutting out patterns is the pits!)

3. I have time to find 4 matching buttons, cause really, it needs more buttons.

For now, we'll enjoy seeing this cute print hanging up on the wall in my sewing room, taunting me.

Til then, lovely coat!

Pattern

Fabric

outfit a day

Today I bring you.....another outfit post courtesy of the Sadester. (and Rory, thanks hun for humoring me)

She got a little frustrated while taking pictures this time, but she stuck through it and did good!

Here's the rundown:

Top: thrifted-$4
Cardigan: thrifted (Target originally)-$3
Tank top: Downeast-$10
Jeans-Target-$5 (clearance)
Shoes: Old Navy-$10 (also clearance)
Earrings: Etsy-$5 (similar earrings)

Outfit total: $37 (nice, eh?)

This was a blurry, "hold-the-camera-up-higher-Sadie" picture. (yes, I cuff my jeans...)

We had our friends Cassy and Dylan over to play this day. (Cassy for me, Dylan for Sadie) The kids had fun and we had time to chat it up.

Some little mustard poppy earrings finished off the look!

I am obsessed with mustard yellow and coral lately, so I was happy as a lark in a...birdbath, when I found this cute top thrifting! This outfit has some of my favorite pieces included, so it makes me smile to wear it!



Sidenote: Our backyard is like a mini forest. I think I saw a wise old owl and a happy-go-lucky fox out there last week. (I jest)

What colors have you been obsessed with lately?

Sadie is getting more and more non-compliant with taking my outfit pictures, lol. I had to bribe her this time, luckily it only cost about two Pez. She knows how to negotiate.

Here's the rundown:

Top: thrifted, J. Crew-$2
Tank: Downeast-$10
Sweater: thrifted-$5
Necklace: Forever 21-$4
Jeans: gift from my sis-$free!
Shoes: Old Navy-$10 (what can I say? these are my favorite shoes right now)
Hair clip: Target on clearance-$3
Ring: Etsy-$18

Total: $52

She's doing ok, though I still get these Bigfoot-esque pics sometimes. (attack of the looking downward chin!) We were headed to the park this day, and it was overcast but not burning off yet-which is strange but makes me really excited for cooler weather! Which means to me; sweaters, baking, and my birthday! lol. Not til next month, but still. I also wore this to my monthly Bunco night, didn't win, but had lotsa fun!



 I love this necklace, though it's kinda a cheapie...the gold coating is wearing off on the chain, behind my neck, lol! So I can only wear it with something that has a collar.



I love my new honeycomb ring! I probably will DIY a bunch of rings in the near future. I have lovely short and stubby fingers as you can see. This is about as long as my fingernails EVER get. I hate long nails. See how much you're learning about me? Whether you wanted to or not. ;)

I did my hair in two braids, then twisted them together and pinned with a million and a half bobby pins. My head kinda hurt by the end of the day.

This last outfit was almost totally thrifted. Everything but the undershirt and accessories I thrifted for not much moola at all. I am seriously addicted.

Top: Thrifted-$2
Undershirt: Downeast-$10
Skirt: Thrifted-$2
Shoes: Thrifted-$6
 Belt: Thrifted-$2
Earrings: Kohls-Free with coupon
Necklace: Forever 21-$8?
Ring: Etsy, Vintage-$9


So the thrifted parts only cost $12...not too shabby.

Total: $39

I did a sock bun hairstyle-it might be too big for my tastes, though. But....if you do it on damp hair and sleep on it, it makes curls in the morning! (check out my above curly ponytail for proof)
I love finding techniques for heat free curls.

I love this big chunky ring!

Here's some better detail on the top, I love the pintucks and pleats!



So those are my blog-worthy outfits this week. THis is fun! Hope you guys enjoy my awkward faces.

I promise I have more projects coming. Like, Halloween costumes! I actually am making a few this year. I didn't feel like it, but I've got a second wind. Details soon! (if I can finish them in time!)