Dr. Seuss Character Tutorial: Thing 1/2

Thing 1/2 tutorial

I am sorry to say that I have no before pictures of my materials

Materials: 

• Feather boa
• beanie (mine was thrifted)
• Hot glue and  gun
• Felt
• Fabric paint pen (bold point)
• safety pins

Steps for assembly:

I purchased a beanie in blue for my daughter and my son from my local thrift store. I also used Michaels's price match policy to get the online price at hobby lobby for the feather boas. All I had to do was show them the price at the register. I got the one with actual feathers. This post was my inspiration.

Once I had the materials, I plugged in my glue gun and started gluing the boa to the beanie. At this point, I must advise caution because I burned my fingers with the hot glue. it seeps through the knit pretty easily. Also, I recommend glueing the string that holds the feathers in the boa to the beanie for strength. If this project is being completed by a child, I recommend adult supervision.

Once my beanies were done, I tried them on my models, the monkey and the elf.

For the patches, I purchased the larger piece of craft felt and a fabric paint marker in black. At Michael's there were several available. I chose the large one with the "bold" tip. Using a pencil with 2mm lead, I traced a salad size plate (after checking proportion) onto the white felt. Then, I penciled in the design. Technically you could go crazy with this and make it look exactly like how the things look. I wasn't being that careful, so I just wrote in "Thing 1/2" on each piece of felt and traced it in the black. The last thing I did was cut it out.

Finally I pinned the patches to the front of red clothes. The Monkey will be wearing it pinned to an exercise shirt, as it is a PE day for him in school. He will be wearing plain red exercise shorts to complete the outfit.

For my daughter, I purchased a red dress from the thrift store. I personally like Savers because I do not have to search through everything. They separate by size and offer a 20% off coupon that you can use on the spot if you donate.

I decided to pin it to the inside using 4 safety pins. Alternatively you could baste it to the clothing, which would still allow for easy removal.

Here is the Elf holding her dress and hat.

Jelly Jolt, the Super Sidekick: costume tutorial (jellyfish)

This is part 4 in a 5 part series. 
The elf decided to be Super Narwhal,  so the monkey decide to be Jelly Jolt, Narwhal's sidekick.

For this costume, I'm going to dress the monkey in blue and use a blue umbrella to make the jellyfish shape. Then, instead of sewing a mask,  I will paint on a mask using make up.

Enter Pinterest...and B-chan. I got the idea for this costume on Pinterest.

Materials:

Umbrella (color and shape of your choice)

Ribbon

Dollar store battery operated lights

Tape (not pictured) 

Stapler (not pictured) 

My 2 requirements for this costume were that it be able to fold up and be taken apart at the end to be used as a real umbrella. So my dear, sweet, B-chan set to work taking photos for me and assembling said umbrella jellyfish one rainy October Saturday afternoon. 

First he rigged up the umbrella on a chair so that he could work on it. He used a couple of bungees, a work clamp, and my kid's fairy cleaning wand (read: bottle brush).

Then he set about measuring and cutting up the ribbon for the tentacles. I bought some sparkling, some wavy, and some satin, along with some tulle. All were in a blue that matched the umbrella. 

Once he had them cut and laid out, he arranged them on the umbrella and used my cute little mini stapler from Daiso to attach them.

Then he attached the battery pack with tape.

Finally, he set to work on attaching the lights. This seemed to be the hardest part, as he had to re-do it. The first time he doubled the lights along the spokes. Unfortunately, our light string was too short for that. He regrouped and followed a spiral pattern that I suggested. 

Finished product!

Turn it upside down, put everything in, and it folds!

Narwhal, Unicorn of the Sea: costume tutorial (horn headband)

This is part 3 of 5 in a series.

So, the elf decided to be Super Narwhal from the Narwhal and Jelly book # 2. 

Being the crafty mom I am, I couldn't just buy something already made. I had to design and make it myself. (I don't think I did enough dressing up as a kid.)

Part 3 of my series walks you through making a headband.  Note: I did watch a YouTube video to help me with this.

Also, a trip to Hobby Lobby is in order. Or since unicorns are really popular right now, you could try to remove the ears on a pre existing one, then doctor it up.

I used a baby photo prop unicorn horn (sorry no before pic) and tore off the elastic and hot glue. I bought a flat jewelry piece to glue on to the head band, as well as a narwhal charm (it was just too cute) that I found. I also had to buy a few spacers so that you could see the narwhal under the fluff of the tulle. 

The color scheme is a silver color that goes with the gray of the pants and shirt.

I already attached the charms to the flat jewelry piece. I had to attach extra jump rings so that the charm would face forward. 

Next I hot glued the horn to the flat piece, taking care to make the horn point up.

After that cooled down, I attatched the flat piece to the head band with the felt over it to stabilize. I used hot glue for this, too.

Headband, done.

Narwhal, Unicorn of the Sea: costume tutorial (cape)

This is part 2 in a 5 part series.

The elf decided to be Super Narwhal of the Narwhal and Jelly books for the school dress up occasion. 

Today's tutorial will cover the cape.

I found a piece of yellow fabric for the cape at my local Savers for $2 during the Labor Day sale. Win! I also just happened to have an old cape laying around from the monkey's old Lightning McQueen costume... hand painted, by the way.

 I laid it out and added about 4 inches to make it longer.

Using a 24" hip curve ruler and a (broken 😥) 12" curve  ruler I connected the extension measurements. 

Then I cut out the half circle. Next I stitched the seams and pressed them.

Then Iadded a piece of double fold bias tape made from the yellow fabric around the neck to finish the edges. I also added the ribbon. By the way, I don't claim to have mad sewing skills, as evident from my seam line, just that I am doing this for fun and to upcycle.

 

Lastly, I used a zig zag stitch to add a ribbon to tie it on.

Aaaand, cape, done!

Narwhal, Unicorn of the Sea: costume tutorial (pants)

This is part 1 of a 5 part series on costumes for the monkey and elf based on the graphic novel Super Narwhal and Jelly Jolt. 

For Halloween at school, kids have to dress as a literary character.  Enter Narwhal, Unicorn of the Sea, a children's graphic novel about a narwhal. The second book in the series is Super Narwhal and Jelly Jolt, from which we take our characters.

The elf decided to dress as Super Narwhal and the monkey, as Jelly Jolt. Today's tutorial explains how I'm adapting a pre-fabricated pair of adult exercise pants into a pair that fit my 5 year old. Also, I'm making them into bell bottoms to look more like a fin.

I chose a pair of the elf's leggings and used them as the pattern. I traced the top half of the leggings along her pair then measured out to the sides to create the bell shape.

Trace the leggings onto the adult's pair and add shape for bell.

I folded the adult's leggings in half, lining up the seams, so that I could use the existing seams as much as possible.  Then I pinned the legs along the pattern.

Next, I ripped out the seam for the waistband, to avoid uncomfortable side seams.

 I also pinned and marked the cut line and seam line on the pant legs.

Next, I cut out the pattern pieces. 

I pinned the legs to sew the side seams.

The basic look of the pattern.

At this point I tried them on her for size. The fit was pretty good so I took them back off.

On a different day...

I sewed together the leg seams.

 Then I tried them on the elf again to make sure they fit. Since I use a vintage machine and not a serger, I checked for places my stitches missed catching both edges. I mended those holes by going over the seam again.

Once I knew they fit, I sewed together the waist band.

Then I pinned it to the pants, and stitched it to the pants.

Next, I cut off all the excess fabric from the inside of the pants.

Then, I finished the bottom edge with an over edge stitch.

I turned them right side out, and pants are done!

Stay tuned for part 2!

Pokemon Mermaid Party

The Party
So, I'm throwing a joint birthday party for my children. While the monkey wanted a Pokemon party, the elf wanted a Mermaid party. My solution?... Underwater Pokemon and Mermaids.

The Craft
Two of the props I am the most proud of  are the Mermaid crown and tail I made as photo booth props.

Mermaid tail
The majority of supplies I used for this project were from Dollar Tree.  I used a rolls of sequins in a complementing color to a poster board.
I think 4 rolls should be a safe number for a fairly small tail. Hot glue in small sections seemed to work the best. The design was already penciled  on before flying, though. Then, I hole punched the top and wove a ribbon through to tie it around the waist.  Lastly, I covered the top with ribbon for a finished look.

Mermaid crown
This project was not quite as cost effective, but I did get the idea from Pinterest. Luckily most of the materials were on sale at Joanns. I also used a 20% off coupon.

Materials:

Hildie & Jo- tub of assorted beads (pink/purple), plastic (pearl) beads 6mm, seed beads (gold)
Offray 5/8 in x 21 Ft single face ribbon in
pink
Assorted shells that suit your purpose (I used a pack of scallop shells and some from the Dollar Tree bag I bought)
Gold floral wire (Get the thicker one. I forgot to save the package.)
Hand Made Modern semi permanent markers- Acorn & Mocha (from Target)
Mod Lodge Satin
Acrylic crystals and nail deco pearls (already had)
Copious amounts of hot glue (no joke!)

1. Form the wire to the size you need.
2. Decorate shells with marker.
3. Arrange shells and glue them onto the wire.
4. Wrap the wire with ribbon and secure the ends with hot glue.
5. Glue pearls and beads onto shells to hide any flaws and give it an encrusted look.
6. Add seed beads a little at a time.

Caution: This part was difficult and a bit painful with the hot glue, but the hot glue worked better than the Mod Podge I tried the first time. Use common sense and be careful. Hot glue should be used with adult supervision.

7. Finish with a coat of Mod Lodge applied with a foam brush.

Note: The design is a bit front heavy, so you might consider adding some sort of clip or comb to keep it in place.

8. Admire your beautiful creation!...(and mine.😉)

Neo Lava Bottle

This bottle works as a timer for time-outs to help children (and adults) relax. You can use it as part of your discipline or just a consequence for needing to calm down. Its fun to just stare at it and watch the pieces fall.

Tutorial

Materials

1. Glitter (fine, medium, & corse)


2. Glue (clear)

3. Glitter glue

4. Super glue

5. Water

6. Water bottle of choice (Voss, featured)

7. Sequins (optional)

8. goop remover (also optional)

Steps

1. If you get a nice bottle, obviously drink the water first. I still used filtered water from our Pur tap filter. I also used heated water mixed with room temperature water to help the glue mix, and filled it about half full.

1a. Actually, before I filled the bottle I removed the label residue with Goo Gone. I found that pulling quickly meant less sticky stuff.

2. Decide how much glitter glue you want to use. Then add the individual sizes of regular glitter.

3. Add the clear glue until almost full. Close the lid and test (a couple times), adding more glitter and glitter glue as necessary. For this project, I used the small Voss and most of an Elmer's

4. Use Super Glue, Crazy Glue, or anything else with a permanent bond to glue the lid on.

5. Time your creation. The big pieces will fall quickly, while the fine glitter may never really settle. Mine settles about 5 minutes at this posting. It may slow as the water cools.

Ta-da!

Shaken

Settled