Halloween Block Party

Being new to these parts, I was excited to learn my neighborhood had a little Halloween Celebration... and it was anything but little

There were costumes and floats

Guest appearance by Sharkie

 

and lots of cute kids...

 So I invited some characters over, enticing them with food and candy

Back at the homestead...

Hope you had a Happy Halloween!!

It all started with this...

Shopping for a wig so THIS GUY

 can be a lion for Halloween

and then I saw THIS wig

So of course I had to get it

Which then meant a trip to the fabric store

on the night before Halloween to compile a costume
fit for the red, white and blue

I wouldn't call it procrastination
just a costume change

No, I was not Wonder Woman,

Just my own interpretation of the American Flag

All set to rid the world

of killer lumberjacks

in different colored high heels

Carving Pumpkins

Friday we had our 8th annual pumpkin carving party

Its serious business...

Go Giants~!~!~!

What's the hardest thing you've ever done?

I was in an interview once and that question was asked of me. 

"Tuxedos" was my response.  "Periwinkle Tuxedos" 

I'm pretty sure my high tech interviewer never heard that response before, so with a little smirk, he asked me to explain.

I made Tuxedos for Cindy and Eric's bridesmen in their 2004 wedding.  To this day, it is the hardest thing I've ever done. 

I made tear-away pants too!

Actually, making the tuxedos themselves was not that difficult, what nearly killed me and delayed production (so I was up until 3am the night before the wedding in a hotel room sewing) was the pockets.  Welt Pockets to be exact. 

Welt Pockets are SUPPOSED to look like this:



image via sewingtutorials.blogspot.com

... Not like this:

There are so many things wrong with this welt pocket,
I don't think its necessary to go into all of them.

Let's just say I cried.
tears of pain
tears of sorrow
tears of frustration
tears of failure

I've never tried to do a welt pocket again. 
Of course I should just get back on that horse

but I'm not ready yet

I'm waiting for someone handsome to ask me to make a gold lame tuxedo
(to match my imaginary gold lame dress)
Then maybe I'll reconsider.

Oh!!

and do they remind you of anything (from a previous post perhaps?)



Fashionary

Aside from the one fashion design class (that I stopped going to half way through the term), I don't have any formal academic fashion design training (that doesn't mean I don't rock at it though!)  Everyhing is self taught or learned from my mom. 

Somewhere in my mind I thought in order to be a designer you had to be a good drawer (as in one that draws, not something you put your socks in).  I'm probably not the worst with paper and a pencil, but as a designer and seamstress I rarely put an idea onto paper.  Occasionally, yes, but as a practice, no.  I usually mull it around in my head until I can translate it into a shape, materials, etc. and once I get the vision perfected, that's when I get to work! 

Well, my friends, I think that is about to change!  Earlier this month, my friend Lan gave me something called a Fashionary - It is more than pretty cool.  Its a sketchbook targeted at fashion designers.

The neat thing about it is each page has little dotted lines that form a figure; a guide for your sketching. 

I used up several pages already sketching out ideas for both Halloween and other future projects!

Overall, I'd say it speeds up my creative process and is a great way to get my creative juices flowing.  This book both relaxes and invigorates me all at once!

To get your own... check out http://fashionary.org/  - they have a men's template book too!

THANKS LAN!

Red Dining Room - Hot or Not? (I vote not)

In this month's issue of House Beautiful, they had a page that discusses using red wallpaper in a dining room.  Everyone loves red (me! me!) and everyone loves to eat (me! me!); why not combine the two?   

Sounds like a great new trend, right? 

is it tacky to show a wrinkled magazine page?  (Sorry)

Let me just say its not my cuppa tea - for many reasons; the top two being:

#1 wallpaper
#2 red wallpaper

You see, someone already thought of the fancy red wallpapered dining room thing.  Like 50 years ago.  And I'm living under it.

This is my dining room ceiling

which was discovered under a layer of paint
which was discovered under another layer of wallpaper
(did I mention this is all happening on my ceiling?!)
(did I mention I also found remnants of this under other layers in my master bathroom?)

And while I admit I unearthend this red treasure last spring, I determined it was a battle I was too weak to fight and decided to call someone to just texture over it. 

I'll let you know when that call is made; it will be money well spent

Gold Lame, my heart beats for you

My uncle is getting married in December and this weekend my mom and I are going to go dress shopping.  For her.  Me, I get to wear a(nother) bridesmaid dress (its blue and fancy and purty).

It will be a black tie event and in prep for this upcoming shopping excursion, I went through a few websites and picked one or two a baker's dozen of cocktail dresses appropriate for her style and body type...  Its a game!  Each day she gets to pick her favorite of three and then this weekend we'll discuss and review her favorites to get an idea of what she likes (and what I can persuade her to try on) before trying them on in person.

Of course if it was me we were shopping for (which we're not) and if it was me picking out my own dress (which I'm not), I'd wear this Monique Lhuillier number.  I first saw it a few weeks ago a la Bailey from Peppermint Bliss - it was her wedding afterparty dress (and yes, Bailey, I've been blog-stalking you for months). 

  

Seriously - we all need a reason to wear frivolous dresses like this

- even if its to the grocery store -  "um, I'd like paper please"

  

 I've been dreaming of gold lame ever since

splish splash!!

Attention all Swimmers!

What are you wearing in the pool this Halloween? 

 will you be a little dumb and Harry?

 Or Dumber with Lloyd?

 Will you drop down and do twenty?

Or rattle some bones?

 or be a WONDER WOMAN -

I'm personally opting for Wonder Woman cuz that's how fly I am!

Dyslexic

I always feel signs like this should be misspelled on purpose

Halloween in da House!

Its October and time to get-a-decoratin' around this place... 

We got some skullz n ghosts...

Creepy people peeking into doors

Black cats crossing your path



a severed head

And a candy-coated crime scene!

shower curtain + broken zipper = great dress for a wedding

I decided (somewhat last minute) to make a dress to wear for a wedding yesterday afternoon.

You may recall a shower curtain purchase made several months ago.  Using the skirt from Vogue 1174 and the bodice from Simplicity 2693

I created this:

complete with POCKETS & fun details like lace on the lining: 

All would have been great except for the zipper splitting minutes before the ceremony started showing my exposed back and undergarments to select guests.  I spent a few panic-stricken minutes crammed in a bathroom stall, with my dress half-on, wrestling with the zipper wondering in vain a) how on earth I was going to get out of the restoom and to my car while showing the least amount of skin and  b) whether it was possible to get a new dress without missing the ceremony or reception.  Despite all, my mad-zipper skillz saved the day and I made it to the ceremony in time.  

Crisis averted! (phew!)

 

In the end, it was the perfect dress to spend a warm October evening with great friends 

AND a beautiful bride

Congratulations Katie and Jake!