Happy Halloween! (And FAST costumes!)

My son wanted to be a sword guy after his Mastering Knighthood Summit a couple months ago. He received a foam sword (not pictured, as swords aren't allowed at school) and a shield he decorated there. To make an easy tabard, I asked Summit's Queen Emily. She recommended using a long rectangle of fabric folded in half lengthwise, or even a pillowcase (slit the long sides). Cut a head hole and put a belt on it: BAM. You're a knight.

Like Brooke's daughter and 10,000,000 other little girls, my middle girls wanted to be characters from Frozen. We got storebought dresses from Mom Approved Costumes, which arrived JUST in time. I braided some snowflake Christmas ornaments into Elsa's hair and used gel and hairpins along with white and glitter hairspray. Anna got a white strip of hair (hiding in the back plus more glitter, of course!) and a homemade cloak. I used felt instead of fleece and made the undercape a cape (which Anna's is in the movie) instead of a vest, but mostly followed Eclectic Housewife's Anna Cloak tutorial.

The rest of the morning will be spent sewing on the trim and button.

And of course, we have our troll . . . trolling.

Her costume is a towel cut into a long rectangle. I folded it in half lengthwise and sewed up a couple inches of each side, then cut a head hole. Slip on over a gray sweatsuit, tie on a raffia belt and voila, troll!

She hates it. At least it only took five minutes.

What are your favorite fast costumes?

Halloween 2014 Costumes: Frozen!!

Someone asked me a couple weeks ago what we were going to be. I said "What do you think?" We went for the obvious choice. This is the first year that PB is old enough to pick her own costume and duh she chose Elsa. We do like to pick unexpected costumes, though so without further ado!

I have to admit that "Elsa's" costume was purchased (thank goodness) but the other outfits were DIY.

 Since I didn't have anything to make for her outfit we did kick it up a notch with the hair, makeup, and accessories. So PB always begs to put on my makeup. Well I did for her costume and she hated it! For her make up I penciled in her eyebrows, put bright pink, purple, and blue on her lids, put on a bit of mascara, blush, and lip gloss.

 For her hair I knew I wanted pieces that were swept back and then a side braid. I gave her the choice of which hair style of Elsa's she wanted and this is the one she picked. I started by putting mousse in her hair and pinned back with a slight twist, three section on one side and one on the other to look swept back. I gathered her hair to one side and braided it. I put bobby pins in to secure the style. Then her daddy got to work using a whole can of white hairspray on her hair. She loved the results!!

Do you notice her shoes? Well we have two pairs of the same shoes in a 7 and 7.5. She is wearing the left of both pairs which we didn't discover until we got home!

Isn't this the best? When we were at the dollar store they already had out their Christmas stuff and PB wanted a pack of snowflakes. I was thinking of a cute belt with them but she wanted it to come out of her hand. I tied a ribbon on her wrist and one on her ring finger and tied threads onto them which were tied to the snowflake to keep it upright. To stabilize it on her hand I glued it onto a tan piece of paper.

Can you guess what she is? (Other than extremely cute, of course!) She is a rock troll/Love Expert! I made her little shirt out of an old one of mine and splattered it with white paint. I made her necklace out of Sculpey. I used two different shades of green ribbons for her head band. 

It doesn't get cuter than her!

For the King of Arendelle, I used his regular black suit and popped the collar and pinned it shut all the way up. I made the accessories from Sculpey, red fabric, cording, fringe, fun foam, and a big of cardboard.

For the Queen of Aredelle, I made the dress (not well so I won't go into a tutorial...) with black and purple fabric along with some decorative trim. I used Sculpey for my broach and fun foam for my crown. 

What is the funniest part of all? PB instead wants to be Anna for actual trick'r'treating. Good thing we have one of those dresses too!!

Two things to find in the pictures: Where's Waldo's arm and the pumpkins from last week's post!

Are you looking for more ideas for DIY costumes?
Flintstones Family costumes
The Royal Family
Phineas and Ferb
A Prince and Princesses
X-Men
Professor Trelawny and Snape
Toy Story 2 Characters
and more!!

Fancy Pumpkins

I was asked to decorate some pumpkins for a wedding this past weekend. I had tons of ideas and looked around on Pinterest for some inspiration. I purchased the pumpkins at Aldi. You can't beat a $3 huge pumpkin...except if it is impossible to carve by hand. It took A LOT of effort to carve these and eventually I resorted to power tools but we'll get to that in a minute. Here are the pumpkins!

1. Monogram
This was the obvious first choice of pumpkin, especially because it was a wedding. I looked around on the internet for a fancy font and mimicked it on the side of the pumpkin with a washable marker. I used marker because it wouldn't leave an indent and could be wiped off. To carve this I used a knife and exacto knife. I WISH I had carved it with my husband's Dremel like I did the later pumpkins.

2. Mr. and Mrs.
I used a few fabric scraps to make the bow and veil and used puff paints for the rest. Surprisingly the puff paints didn't stay on very well and I had to emergency glue some of the letters back on last minute! The other writing on it said phrases like "Just Married", "Happily Ever After", and "M+C 4ever" For the Mr. I tried to do a block manly font and for the Mrs. I used cursive.

3. Glitter Dipped
This was the first pumpkin I made. I taped off an area and applied Mod Podge and glitter. I wasn't very patient and put on too much Mod Podge. For the second coat I used a Mod Podge/glitter mix which filled in the gaps really well. I wish I had done one more coat but I didn't have enough time for it to dry.

4. Rhinestone swirls.
So when I was getting supplies for this venture at the craft store I purchased a ton of stuff. I ended up using almost none of it. I got lucky with this pumpkin. I purchased some rhinestone border in the dollar section and it worked out great! It was self adhesive and already easy to apply since I didn't have to add each stone. It was two stones wide so I cut them up the middle and applied them in swirls. I think this one was my favorite pumpkin. That may have been because it was the easiest!

5. Spray painted
I first cut out a swirly shape out of contact paper and applied it to the pumpkin. I taped around the pumpkin to prevent over spray.  I only had to apply one coat of gold spray paint. I let it dry and removed the tape. I used puff paint to add the date and a few more swirls. Then while it was drying I had some help in the form of a little girl who thought she was helping with painting. It turned out okay, though!

6. Drilled pattern
I used three different size drill bits in a pattern to create this pumpkin. The largest one was 1". After I drilled all the holes I added some rhinestones for some sparkle.

7. Initials
This is when I figured out using the Dremel was a super easy way to get the carving done without so much effort (or at all because my hands were so tired from carving and I was having an extremely hard time).  I used the drill to make some pilot holes and used the Dremel to carve between the holes and perfect the shapes of the letters. Just FYI you will have pumpkin crumbs EVERYWHERE after using the power tools but it's worth it!

Here is a shot of how they were displayed:

Which one was your favorite? Are you going for a scary face on your jack-o-lantern or a decorated one?

Around the World Blog Hop: amendment

I forgot to tag someone at the end of my Around the World Blog Hop! I have this awesome amazing friend (in real life) with a super  lifestyle blog. Her name is Ashley and she blogs over as Dancing with Ashley.

She did a story time I took my girls to in August. Can you find me and my girls in the pictures?!

 Go check her out! 

Around the World Blog Hop

Have you been over to the Babblings and More blog? They are four crafty sisters just like us! Briana has challenged us to participate in the Around the World Blog Hop! So fun!

First as an introduction: My name is Brooke AKA Brave Brooke which is a nick name I got as a kid from my family for always wanting to push the limits. I live in the South with my two little girls PB and KZ and husband. My husband and I have been married for 7 years and live in a small suburb where we love the small town feel but easy access to the "big city."

Growing up our mom instilled in us a love for being creative which she got from her mother. I have a quilt made by my great-great-grandmother hanging in my sewing area that reminds me of my legacy of creativity. On the white fabric of the quilt you can see the faint printing from the flour bags that were used.

I try just about any and all crafts. I really enjoy sewing which I focus mostly on clothing or baby items. I occasionally crochet and knit- especially when it starts getting chilly. I used to scrapbook but haven't in a long time and mostly just use my scrapbooking supplies to make the occasional card. I like to make delicious things for my family especially treats because I have a huge sweet tooth. My husband and I are big DIYers and love to learn new skills for improving our home. I have recently gotten into beauty and fashion blogs and have changed up how I do my makeup and dress a bit. I love dressing my cuties up, as well, especially with my homemade bows because we do live in the south and the bigger the bow the better the momma, right? I love throwing birthday parties and sharing them. I try to decorate every holiday, which reminds me I still need to put out my fall stuff!

Here are the questions for the blog hop:

What I am working on:

It seems like all my friends and family are celebrating something. We have new babies, birthdays, and weddings that have kept me running from one thing to the next.

 I told you all that KZ's first birthday was a couple weeks ago. We are finally getting around to her birthday party tomorrow. I have kept it really simple this time and I think it will be tons of fun.

 You should see the before for this clock! I will be posting the tutorial soon! 

 I'm making these for a wedding reception tonight. I can't wait to share all 7 decorated pumpkins with you. I'm not sure why I thought applying glitter to this pumpkin would be quick or easy!

This is for one of the new babies in the family. Due in just two weeks! (The orange is not neon in person)

How does my work differ from others of my genre?
When I was in college I tried to minor in art. The program at my school was tiny, as in 40 slots for a school of 30K+. They said I needed clear focus in the works I submitted for admission. Well I didn't get in and I have always blamed it on the fact that I didn't have a clear focus. My portfolio included 3-D, 2-D, mixed media, and no real focus. I feel like I am still like that today. I get in moods where I focus on one craft and later I let it sit to the side for months until I pick it up again.

Why do I write/create?
I have to write and create but I get itchy to share my projects. I love sharing when I have solved a problem, or found and easier way to do something, or a delicious meal. I always have a list of projects I'm thinking about or working on to share.

How does my writing/creative process work?
Well I usually look at something and re-imagine it or I look at a problem to be solved and think about a solution. I tend to sketch out the idea and think of the steps needed to get to the end result. MANY times I have to repeat a step or go back and change the order of something I'm doing. I do feel like I'm getting better at the planning stages and don't make quite as many mistakes but hey this IS Wayward Girls Crafts we have to do something wrong before the project is complete!

Today is our mom's birthday so a very happy birthday to our dear mother who started this crazy crafting fire in us all!

Sweater of many (custom!) colors

I've been way too quiet here on the blog lately, but not for lack of crafting! I've got a lot of things I keep meaning to share, but I'm so happy with this one, I had to make the time to blog.

Cast on: Sept 21
Finished: Oct 8
Pattern: Jolie Fleur from DROPS design.
Yarn: Knit Picks Wool of the Andes Sport in Rouge and White

That's right: the only two colors of yarn I purchased for this were the dark pink of the body and the white. The other colors were dyed on the white using McCormick food coloring and Kool Aid!

• Light pink (it's in there): McCormick Neon Pink
• Yellow: McCormick Yellow
• Green: McCormick Green
• Blue: Ice Blue Raspberry Lemonade Kool Aid
• Purple: McCormick Neon Purple and McCormick Neon Blue, 2:1.

Dyeing yarn with these is not only easy (and awesome!) but completely food safe, so you can use your regular pots and pans, and it's okay to use them for food afterwards. (I actually used Mason jars in the microwave...) Kool Aid contains enough citric acid to "set" the food dyes on animal fibers (wool, alpaca, silk) and nylon. Food coloring requires additional acid, and I used vinegar. The only other thing you have to do is heat it enough and the yarn soaks the dye right up--but this is probably a post for another day!

I ran out of all the colors I'd dyed as well as the white and had to order and dye more. Fortunately, I'd kept careful notes of the dye formulas I'd used. Unfortunately, I lost those notes. But I was able to remember it pretty well!

I absolutely love how this turned out. But the best part is how much my daughter loves it. She came up to me while I was finishing it and spontaneously told me, "Thank you for working so hard on my sweater." And that makes it even more worth it.

Lots more information on the project and especially progress photos: Project on Ravelry

Legging Embellishments with DIY knee patches

I decided to tackle a few of the things in my "to mend" pile this week. On top was a cute pair of hot pink leggings with little holes in the knees. I debated cutting them off at the knee or putting on patches which won out in the end.

I found some brown and white polka dot fabric that looked so cute with the pink.

What I used:

Scrap fabric and paper

iron

Heat n Bond sewable adhesive

I first cut the shape I wanted out of the scrap paper to use as a pattern. I cut a piece of fabric and heat n bond slightly bigger than the pattern and ironed on the adhesive to the fabric. I then cut the shape out of the fabric. Ta da! Patches!

I ironed the patches onto the leggings. The heat slightly discolored the fabric but it went back to normal once it cooled. This was the tricky part. You can get heat n bond that is a little more heavy duty and may stay a little better but I used lite and it needed to be stitched around. 

I used my seam ripper on seam on the inside of each leg about an inch above to an inch below the patch on either leg. With the other side of the pants pulled away I used a zig zag stitch and sewed around each patch twice. I then sewed up the open seams and voila!

How cute did these turn out?! Too bad they are in the size in between both my girls right now!!

Oversized T-Shirt Upcycling

Today is my baby girl's birthday!! What a sweet blessing this little girl has been to us! Happiest of birthdays KZ!!

Remember how I've taken a couple of my husbands shirts and made them into shirts for me? See here and here.

Well I did it again! My husband needed a pack of black tshirts for work and he had a few left over from the package he bought so I used one to make into a shirt for me!

So the first thing I did was find an existing shirt that I liked to mimic the shape of. I wanted this new shirt to have dolman sleeves so I didn't need to change the shoulder or sleeve length. Here is the before:

Here is a list of the things I did to the shirt. I'm sorry I don't have more photos of the process this shirt has been a work in progress for many months (like since February!!).

1. Remove the pocket. You can't see it in the picture but this was done with a seam ripper.
2. Trace around shape of existing shirt onto new shirt+seam and stretch allowance (which I never do enough of)
3. Cut off collar and made new shape.
4. Sew up new sides. 
5. Take existing black fabric and make collar. I didn't have quite enough from the cut edges so I had to use some from a different project. I cut the fabric about an inch wide to the shape of the collar. I sewed right sides together and flipped the fabric inside the shirt. I then sewed around the edge of the whole collar.
6. I used the scraps from the tshirt to make flowers next to the collar.
7. I added two box pleats to the collar to make it lay flat.
8. I tried it on and it was too tight! I told you I never allowed enough seam and stretch allowance! 
9. I cut up the middle of the whole back of the shirt. I got 4" wide black lace and sewed it inside the cut. I tapered it at the top and sewed a hem on the bottom. 

Step 9 is then I put on some dark lipstick and went to take pictures. I got all set up and then noticed my neighbor was also in his backyard. Hey there new neighbor! Don't mind me posing in my backyard!

Have you done any upcycling lately? Do you have any great plans for the weekend? 

Tomorrow morning my husband is repelling down a HUGE building for the Special Olympics and in the afternoon (and on Sunday) we'll be watching General Conference! 

Hope you have a great weekend!

p.s. I'll give you a dollar if you can spot the birthday girl in one of these pictures...j/k I won't be giving any dollars out but look back and see if you can spot her little blonde head in there :)