Lorax on the Loose

Halloween was great this year! Lots of costume parties and Bert's Haunted House. My costume was a hit and stayed put. I must have glue gunned a thousand different sized puff balls to the leotard. The large mustache was made out of scavenged fake fur, a bra and wire. My helper helped me make it. We made a hood like we made for my squirrel costume, sewed in the bra so that it could connect to my face. and then added wire so that it would stick out. It was a little hard to breathe, but looked great. I also made stickers to passout and a tree sign.

Some people knew what I was, but most had no clue what I was and they couldn't take their eyes off me. I even got orders for my outfit in different colors.

The Lorax the movie will be out in March 2012. Maybe I will wear my costume to the theatre!

Smile On My Face

I was feeling a little sad today and found these costumes that put a smile on my face. Most days I am bored by the masses uncreativity, especially around Halloween. I feel like anyone can wear a sexy costume or throw together a basic costume. I am always inspired by creative costumes! All of these are hand sewn. Enjoy...

I Speak for the Trees

It's that time of year again, Halloween. This year is going to be great! There are some large trees on my block that might be cut down and so I went to the hearing last week and spoke for the trees! Seeing that I am also an Arborist and manage tree plantings, this year it only makes sense to be Dr. Seuss's The Lorax.

I am going to be doing less sewing this year and more glue gunning. I went to a fabric store to see how much some orange fake fur would be to make the costume and it was super expensive, so I am putting my personal spin on the character. I bought this leotard and I am going to glue gun a crap load of orange pom poms onto it. I think it will look pretty funny and will definitely look Dr. Suessy. For the large mustache I am going to use a bra like a few years ago. I also, went to Scrap over the weekend and found a few fun things and pieces of fake fur to accessorize the costume.

This year Halloween is on Monday, so I will be able to do Halloweeny things Friday, Saturday, Sunday and help out Bert on Monday night on his Scarecade. I am super excited!

Starting Small Making a Bra

Last Sunday I made a bra using a Collete pattern called Nutmeg. The bra I made is more like a bra to wear under semi-see through shirts, so I wanted it to be pretty. I have a few shirts and it is nice to wear something cute underneath. I used two different fabrics: a silky one for the top and a cotton on for the bottom of the bra. I also used elastic around the bottom and the straps are all made out of ribbon and tie in the back. It is a little big and I should have used a little less elastic, but overall I think it turned out well for making it in an afternoon. The pattern also, has little shorts you can make. I might make some to go with it.

From Swap to Pizza Night

As you know Project Runway Season 9 has started and I am tickled pink. I am not a real big tv/reality person, but I just love this show! Yeah there is unnecessary drama, but I still love seeing the process of the design and garment from the start to finish. It is very inspirational, emotional and motivating for me.

This year I decided to have a Project Runway Premiere Pizza night. I made pizza from scratch and about 9 people came over to eat and watch the first episode. It was super fun and the pizza actually came out okay.

Since I was making this an event I of course had to wear something I made. At the last clothing swap I went to I got a lot of great pieces. One of them was this bright yellow Gordon's Gin cotton dress. It was sewn by a girl at the swap. I immediately saw it and had to have it. It was a little tight so I added a side zipper so that I could get in and out of it. So I wore a hand made dress that I got at a swap and I tailored it. If that doesn't say Project Runway then I don't know what does.

This Thursday I will be in my pj's on the couch with a glass of wine to watch it, next week who knows....

Rush Hour Outfit

Last Wednesday after work I started looking through all my thrift store finds that I have said I would alter and make modern and wearable. I found this long silver robe. I really liked the fabric, the tassel and zipper in front, but it is huge and not flattering. The cool part is that it is homemade, but not by me.

From this to this

I cut the back in half and then took much of the fabric off so it is more fitted. I cut fabric off the bottom and hemmed it. I rolled up the sleeves and added a belt. In less than an hour I made this cute little number!

I am excited to get back into sewing and redo more thrift store finds!

Ms. America wins Award

I was invited to the 17th Annual Billy Carter Softball Extravaganza by my man friend Drunkle Sam. What this event is, is a bunch of old friends getting together and playing baseball, bbqing and just having fun and being silly on the 4th.

The weather has been nice in SF this summer so it sounded to me like a perfect opportunity to make an outfit. I spotted a cute pattern on burda.com. It was bustier top. I used the pattern and followed some of the directions, but pretty much just pieced it together as I went. I added boning and some padding from a swimsuit to make the cups. I used some scratch red white and blue fabric as well as gingham. To make it fun I added baseball themed fabric and baseball buttons. On the front I added ribbon and red balls. Yay! It was fun to design and make :)

At one point I went to catch a ball and the snap in the back broke. But being the sewing dork I am I had thread and a needle and fixed it and was able to stay in the game!

For the shorts I found some red and white pants from Goodwill. They were too big so I took them in and cut them to be shorts. I made the back pockets and sewed them on with buttons. With the leftover gingham I made a belt to tie the outfit together. Then I wore a tiny 4th of July hat. It was a fun day! Both teams I was on lost, but I did win the Reinforcements Award!
Drunkle Sam looked hot with his awesome 4th outfit! Thanks Sam for a fun 4th!

An Unexpected Home Sweet Home

I have moved yet again, but I already feel at home. I never felt at home at the last two places, so this is a good start. I moved to Hayes Valley in the inner part of San Francisco. For almost 8 years I have lived in the outskirts of the city, where it has been mostly, quite, residential, families, no scenes and has parking. Now I live in Hayes Valley on a busy street and I hear the city out my window. The cars and sirens whizzing by actually make me feel happy and young. Yes I'm weird! My new sewing space is all set up and I love it. Every morning I wake up and feel inspired because I have a clean neat workable space. This is the creative space I have been wanting. My room has tall ceilings, a chandelier, fire place, bay windows and long curtains; all of which add to the lovely space.

I wouldn't have choose Hayes Valley for myself because the neighborhood is a little poshy, but I couldn't pass up the opportunity. It is a central location and close to most everything. My roommates are great! Super friendly, mature and fun. A few days ago we had a roommate dance party in the kitchen.

The neighborhood:

I look forward to creating my next projects in my new home...bikini, boat shade thing and a hairpiece.