I resolved to be more than an occasional blogger, and yet its been ages since I’ve posted. Life has gotten busy, and I’ve been spending a LOT of time at my sewing machine working on items for my Etsy shop! Most recently I’ve begun on crowns and wands:
Felt crowns are deceptive. You look at one and think, oooh, that’s easy! Then you try constructing one. And while making felt crowns is not as difficult as sewing with slippery satin fabric, say, it can get relatively complicated depending on the applique and type of crown you want to do as order of construction is very important. You can’t skip any steps! A lot of people make them with ribbon ties in back, which is lovely in theory, but tying bows on the backs of kids heads is a nightmare. Their hair gets tied into the bow, its never tight enough and slips all around, and then you have children spending more time getting their crowns fixed than playing! Which is why I opted for an elastic band in the back for good fit. So anyway, I will climb down from my felt crown soap box and move on to other exciting ventures: The girls’ version of the gnome costume!
This one came about under pressure. I received notification that I had had a sale from my Etsy shop (woot!) for the little boys’ gnome costume. Except the buyer didn’t want what she bought. She detailed in the notes to seller that she essentially wanted a custom order, a gnome costume for her niece, which is great, just not what I was expecting! Fortunately I had made this little gingham skirt to go with my daughter’s Red Riding Hood costume that was in the size she needed and it worked PERFECTLY for a girls’ version of the gnome costume. In the future, however, I’ll make an elastic waist-ed circle skirt instead of this simple A-line. Girls like to twirl! 🙂
And finally, I finished the pirate costume props.
Hmmm…. As a costume I think it needs more, but how to do more and keep it simple? Decorative buttons perhaps. And the hats fit kids ages 2-4 the best.
I know I talk a lot about keeping things simple and I have to say: I’m not lazy, I swear! I have to keep everything I make on a certain level of simplicity or it will become a burden, instead of a joy, to do. And I’m doing this for my pleasure and not to add more pressure to my life! Sometimes I need to remind myself of that, too.
All my costume props are available in large sets for parties and wholesale, and I’m happy to teach you how to sew your own! Contact me to set up a time to take a lesson. 🙂
Happy Crafting!
WOO WHO! 