Fabulous Five! Coraline Edition

Around these parts we love Coraline. We probably watch it (And by we I mean Wednesday and I) once a week. It is the most perfect rainy day movie ever. Have you seen it? Have you read it? If you have done neither, I wholeheartedly recommend both! For anyone who loves the idea of a magical other dimension-quest-sort of movie with a hint of darkness (Much like Labyrinth, Alices Adventures in Wonderland and Mirrormask) this movie is just what you ordered! The book reads really well, and quickly since it is a novella rather than a full length novel.

I thought Coraline was fairly Halloween-y (Especially since I wanted to be her for Halloween!) and would fit right in for the bi-weekly Fabulous Five. The following is five simply awesome ideas/crafts/art I found that relates to Coraline.

First up...what is a post about Coraline without a handmade Coraline doll? This one is made by Sew Lolita of Etsy and I think it is just gorgeous. The book does not have a doll in it which was only weird at first (Because I watched the movie first) it added lots to the movie but the book definitely did not suffer for lack of it.

 For those of you that have seen the movie did you not absolutely love Coraline's sweater made by The Other Mother? I did! And when I found this version on Etsy knitted by Catwalk 7 I fell in love. For those of you who can knit yourselves (You lucky lucky people) you can download the pattern for the actual sweater (knitted for the Coraline puppet) here.

This Other Mother Box made by donovanbeeson @ Instructibles is awesome. Apparently when Coraline was about to hit theatres, fifty bloggers were sent this version. Not one to be left out, Donavan Beeson created their own and an instructible to go along with it. If you decide to make one will you show me?

They're good for lost things, or bad things. (Depending on whom you ask.) This Candy Stone made by belleazure of Etsy looks just like the one Coraline uses in both the book and the movie to find the eyes/souls of the ghost children. I need want would like one in my Christmas stocking!

And although this is not a prop related I would just love love this cake made by see-through-silence of Deviant Art. Just in case you are wondering, my birthday is in July!

I think my favourite character in the movie is Mr. Bobinsky. I loved him and his accent. I couldn't find an embeddable clip of the scene I wanted but I walk around saying it all the time in his accent too of course.: "I am the Amazing Bobinsky! But you can call me Mr. B because amazing I already know that I am."

And you? What is your favourite scene from the movie or book? Do have a preference? Do you have any fan art you love or make? I don't but I hope to make a doll soon. ♥

Cupcake Pumpkin Patch

I went a simple yet pretty route for this year's Halloween Cupcakes. Pumpkins! I made the cupcakes from my Fabulous Pumpkin Bread recipe found here. The decorating is a simplified version from Hello Cupcake. I love them. Hopefully so does the rest of the family. Tonight begins a weekend full of family Halloween fun! Cheers!

Wednesday on Wednesday : Halloweens Past

With Wednesday dressing up this Sunday for her fourth Halloween, I thought I would share with you some photos from Halloweens past.


When Wednesday was but a mere three months old we put her in a pumpkin for some great photos. Unfortunately the lighting was horrible, good thing the photos were adorable!


Due to my inability to decide on a costume, at the last minute I put her in a super fuzzy piglet outfit from Wal-Mart. A little ghetto but a lot of cute!


Last year I was totally on the ball and made Wednesday's Little Red Riding Hood costume from scratch. She looked so cute!

I can't wait to show you pictures from this year! Here is a hint: It will be over the rainbow awesome!

My Crafty Weekend - Black and White Edition

Monday Monday ... La la, la la la la la...To be honest, Monday has always been one of my favourite days. Don't get me wrong, I love the weekend and all it's sleeping in glory but when I was the working nine to five sort, Monday wasn't half bad. The way I saw it was Tuesday was the real day to be loathed. After all it was the furthest from the weekend. I always found the Mondays were so busy at work that they flew by too fast to get grumpy about them. Nothing good ever came of a Tuesday in my book.

You know what else is awesome about Monday? My crafty weekend of course! And I have been a crafty little minx I have! I finished one of my Sew What! Holidays challenges and seriously, I could not be more pleased with it! But due to the hiatus I cannot share with you photos or the how to. But,here is a teaser photo!

I have also been working on some card designs. I love paper craft I do. In a couple short weeks I will have all of my paper crafting supplies at my finger tips and let me tell you that has me giddy with anticipation!
But you guys have been crafting up a storm! It is getting harder and harder to pick which projects to feature so starting next week, I am going to showcase the links that received the most clicks. But that is next week. Today, I'll show you a couple I loved from last week!

This autumnal collage was made by the ever talented KJ of Let's Go Fly A Kite. This project is great for both it's simplicity and adaptability. Picture this changing with each holiday, I am sure Martha has enough punches to facilitate the undertaking.

 I love to bake. The Mister loves that I love to bake, especially when I make peanut butter cookies. So when I read that these are apple peanut butter cookies I had to visit Patty of Life on the Ridge Side. I am making these tomorrow, no ifs and or buts about it! If you want to you can get the recipe here at her blog.

Have you visited Nancy's Couture yet? If you haven't then you have missed a great tutorial on making a body double of your wee one. While she does hers with Saran Wrap, I might be inclined to recommend a turtle neck (only because the heat/sweat factor of a non breathable material like plastic wrap or garbage bags). But her idea to fill it with foam? Brilliant. Check out the whole how to here at her blog.

Ready to show me all the fantastic things you have been painting, knitting, roasting, gluing and sewing and all the all crafty -ings! Remember, the golden rule: visit the link before you and leave a note of encouragement! And with that I am off to finish what I started last night! Happy Monday folks!

     
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Sew What! Holidays Challenge Two Reveal! + Reader Showcase

Happy Friday folks! Today, This post will be somewhat picture heavy as I am combining my reveal with a few reader's reveals plus my cohort's photos! Alright, way to much to do today so lets get started!

I hope I am not disqualified. I made...another refashioned denim skirt! I know...I know...technically not an outfit, but I do have a shirt I am in the middle of taking up that goes with it perfectly and when I have it done I'll take some action photos.
The skirt is from a pair of white jeans I bought off a dollar rack at a local consignment shop. They were just a smidge too tight and so I thought a skirt would be the perfect way to make them fit perfectly as with my last denim skirt. Not so much. The thing about a pencil skirt, versus a refashioning where you cut offf the legs and sew a 'tube' to the jeans is you actually need them to be one size too big instead of one size too small.
I say this because you have to undo the leg seams all the way to the fly and then pull the fabric together until you have a nice straight line to the bottom. Ditto with the back. So you end up taking away more butt room than your butt might like. Hopefully nothing a pair of circulation cutting off control top pantyhose can't fix though right?!
The skirt is really cute though and I think the grey silk scarf tied belt really softens it up nicely. And before you can ask "What is so holiday about this less than whole outfit?" I want to point out the silver stitching that came on the jeans. I took that silver and continued it down the front of the skirt for a bit of sparkle. Also, the top in refashioning limbo is white and silver and I am hoping to have it ready for a New Years Eve fiesta!

While I like my skirt, I LOVE love love The Sewing Dork, Cynthia's holiday outfit for her youngest daughter. Words cannot describe the utter awesomeness that is this. First off, it is a refashioning of a too small tunic. Second, it has the most adorable appliqueing, third look at those bloomers!! Love it, I hope she blows up a photo or two of V in this because the babe and the outfit are just too much!

Tavia, of Mama Tave, made these gorgeous hand warmers as an accessory to holiday outfits. Are they not just wonderful? I have been meaning to make some for about a year now, maybe I'll get a pair done before the snow flies here! From the sounds of it though, they are addictive!

A late entry to the Gift For Him challenge was submitted by email from Penny R. Her hubby recently received a BBQ for an anniversary present and she made him the smashing apron so he can now grill in style. I love the fabric choices.

Thanks for sewing along this far folks! Remember, Sew What! Holidays is on a two week haitus but that doesn't mean you have to take a break! We are just gearing up for Halloween and U.S. Thanksgiving. I finished my third challenge project yesterday and Holy crap! Does it look good. :) So for those of you who are joining late here is your chance to play catch up and for those of you have had some creative block going on, this is the time for you to recharge those juices!

For a quick rundown of projects and how to submit them visit this post here.
For those of you cool cats who would like to share the fabulous button on your blogs and posts, just copy and paste the code int he text box. Cheers!

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Wednesday on Wednesday

Smooches!

Upcoming Review

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My Crafty Weekend : Reader Showcase.

Good morning good morning! As mentioned yesterday I am working n some stuff, but instead of sharing some teaser photos I thought I would just get straight to your photos from the week previous link up! I must have been busy because I didn't even get to check some of the links out and I have been enjoying the posts!

I almost have (almost) no words for this pumpkin bowling set made by Kimbo of A Girl and a Glue gun. It is just so freakin' cute! Can you believe she free handed all the designs? I would be using and abusing some clip art for sure! Visit her blog to see more great pictures and read how she made them.

 This absolutely lovely cherry blossom pillow is made by Daisy Cakes. We love all things cherry blossoms in this house. The Mister has them tatooed on his arms and torso and I love the symbolism behind them. I love the use of twine for tree branches. Visit her blog to read how she did it.

This beware sign made by Rachel of Holy-Craft is fabulous for two reasons. The first being how gorgeous it is. The second is how quick she put it together! To see how quick visit her blog here.

Now it is your turn! To show me all the super duper things you have been working on? This counts for baking, sewing, scrapbooking, gluing, building and so on and so forth! Remember, the golden rule: visit the link before you and leave a note of encouragement! And with that I am off to finish what I started last night Happy Monday folks!
     
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Sew What! Holidays! Invisible Edition!

Soo...as you can see I have nothing to reveal. Zip. Zilch. Nada. Bupkiss! I have a few excuses but really it comes down to sewers block. Until today. But today I had a morning of laundry and an afternoon of sunshine and fresh air at a family member's birthday party. I was so inspired today though that I am hoping to have two pieces to reveal by Thursday, maybe sooner!! Fret not though, you can always ooooh and aaaah at the holiday outfit Cynthia created.


For those of you who need a recap on the projects and how to submit them here you go:
Week one : A gift for him *bonus craft: holiday garland
Week two : A holiday Outfit
Week three: A stocking or toy or both!
Week four: An ornament for the tree

The challenges will still be posted a week prior to a showcase for each project on Sundays. And for those of you worried that this bit of Christmas sewing might interfere with your other holiday prep such as Halloween and Thanksgiving, there will be a two week intermission starting October twenty fourth (So everyone has a week prep time for Halloween) and ending November seventh (just in time for American Thanksgiving.)

Also, reader submissions will still be taken by:

1. Comments with links to blog posts
2. Emailed photos 
3. Uploading them to share in the Flickr Sewing Dork Showcase group. It is super fun to browse through all the great ideas and submissions!

I hope that was easy to decipher. If you have any questions or concerns please do not hesitate to contact me via the button on my sidebar.

For those of you cool cats who would like to share the fabulous button on your blogs and posts, just copy and paste the code int he text box. Cheers!

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Fabulous Five! Plastic Bottle Edition

Friday is here again folks! Another week another dollar and now we get to have some fun! And to help you through until that quitting time whistle blows here is this week's Fabulous Five!

So, a couple weeks ago I came across this gorgeous bit of melted plastic at Aunt Peaches (One of my new favourite blogs) she calls it "Swiss Candy Jewlery" and I think it is quite aptly named. It is made out of plastic juice glasses. Visit her blog for the full tutorial. Go for the crafts, stay for the back stories. You'll understand when you visit if you haven't already.

Which got me to wondering, how many other fabulous recycled plastic projects are out there? Let me tell you, it was not hard to find at least five but it sure was hard to narrow it down to five!

When I typed in "recycled plastic bottle crafts" to Google and clicked on images, one of the first images to grab my attention was a photo of recycled plastic bottle beads. It took some searching for a tutorial because the original photo was for a dead link. I did manage to find a couple great tutorials though. This one from Dis.Ar.Ray @ Cut Out & Keep seems easy to follow. And for anyone who is deterred by the need for a heat embossing gun I read in a few comment sections that lighters/candles and stove burners work well too. This is my new motivation to buy the rainbow pack of Sharpies I have been eying for a year. Bonus points for those of you that know what PLUR means! :)

Okay, jewlery is nice but how about this absolutely stunning chandelier made from what looks like a metal hoop, some seventy billion clear bottle bottoms and a heck of a lot of patience. Made by Michelle Brand it just screams pretty doesn't it? The bottle bottoms remind me of flowers and the transparency lends to a more expensive acrylic don't you think?

And if you think the chandelier was a labour of love, how about this recycled bottle greenhouse?! The plans are located here (in PDF form)and are made available from REAP, an organization in Scotland that works for sustainable development. via New World Geek. (The blog is on a haitus but the archived posts seem to be worth checking out)I think this would be a brilliant project for a family, or local community garden or school etc. Maybe even me next spring!

Speaking of gardens, how about this uber-downscaled version! Hanging bottles for an upside down garden on your balcony or fire-escape. These ones are made by Mike Lieberman AKA The Urban Organic Gardener. His website is full of super posts about gardening on your city balcony in particular was this tutorial on how to create a hanging garden from 2 litre plastic bottles. YOu can dress them up with paint or coloured tape or leave them with their labels to accentuate your green living!

I know that technically that is five but we are counting Aunt Peaches Swiss candy as the inspiration for the post and so we get to showcase one more groovy project.

Super simple, super sweet and for the kiddos is this project for Discovery Bottles from Disney's Family Fun site. I love the look of these as well as the simplicity. The only thing I would recommend is to use a silicone based sealant instead of hot glue (Between the bottle and cap) and maybe a drop or three of tea tree oil to keep the water fresher longer? Seriously though water and sparkles, does it get any better? You could totally turn this into an I Spy game with a card attached to the bottle with pictures (for pre-readers) or words (for school agers) with a list of things to find.

Phew! All done, but I think the new feature is true to it's title yes? Those were some pretty fabulous ways to re-use plastic bottles yes? I think so too. I also think that Fabulous five will be a bi-weekly series. This gives me lots of time to sit down for one of these marathon linking posts!

And with that, I bid you adieu. ♥