As a stay-at-home-mom, I don't have a work schedule like the guys in the movie "Office Space". No 15 minute coffee break twice a day. No slow commute to and from work by myself. No getting off work at 5pm and leaving it all behind in the office. That's not the reality of a mom.
My commute time is spent driving while playing "cash cab" to enrich our homeschool lessons, refereeing the "stop repeating me" feud and the "he's looking at me" situation and trying so hard not to lose my mind from the constant kicking of the back of my seat. No worries though, I still remember to stop for red lights and not cuss out loud at the idiots who don't.
My average day starts later than it used to, I'm peeling myself out of my bed at 6:30 or 7:00 if I'm lucky. And only because the kids are demanding that I get up and feed them, and greet the sun. There are no naps. They go to bed at 9pm and there are usually only one or two middle of the night requests for attention. It's not an eight to five job, but the hours have improved.
What's lacking is a little break. I would love to get a 15 minute break every single day! Two? Sure! But, one doesn't even sound realistic, two breaks would be a crazy little dream. Sometimes I can get someone to cover for me and I can get a little break. And once in a while, I can get a long enough break to do some sewing, but let's face it, I have to pay someone for that kind of relief.
Yesterday I got eight minutes. It was awesome! Nobody watched the kids, they were just behaving on their own and allowing me to have some time to myself. I think they smelled me and knew a break for me would be in everyone's best interests. I took a shower.
How fast can you shower? From fully clothed to fully clothed again? I beat'cha!
I didn't just jump into a cold shower (it takes way too long for our hot water to get from the tank to the shower) and do a five second rinse off; I actually took a shower. I used soap, shampoo and conditioner! I even slid the razor over my calves! Yeah, in eight minutes! I didn't waste time shutting the doors or any of that nonsense.
How nice! I got in and out of the shower and actually got clean! I could tell because I smelled much better. Most of the time I rush through so fast, the water doesn't even hit me. But today, wow! I got cleaned up! Sweet! Wish I could get an eight minute break a few more times a week.
The kids were fine. I normally hover over them like a very annoying helicopter. For eight minutes, I let them be and they didn't even notice. They usually can't last 8 seconds without intervention being necessary. I'm proud of them!
It's not a big long 15 minute break like a cashier gets, but the job isn't that glorious. I'm kind of proud of myself too. I took a full shower in 8 minutes. There was a time when shower-prep took five times that long!
Friday, November 15, 2013
Sunday, November 10, 2013
Disneyland x 24!
We went to Disneyland 24 times on our annual passes! Twenty-four! That's just amazing! Especially since the passes are limited, we are blocked out on holidays, weekends and all summer.
Each and every trip to Disneyland was a complete success. We had so much fun! That place is magical, I truly believe in the Disney magic. How can I doubt it when my kids have such magical experiences? Gracie got to sing with the Dapper Dans, Libby skipped with Merida, Gracie was chosen to be a Padowan in the Jedi Training show - twice!, Libby made Mulan light up with happiness, Gracie played with Pluto, Henry was amazed in Cars Land, Charlie snuggled with Pooh and Ariel, Gracie fired a canon and shot a hole in the clouds. I could go on and on. They had the times of their lives. Lucky lucky kids! And I'm so lucky to have been a witness and a part of the most magical memories of their childhoods.
Our passes this year were a wonderful gift from "The Grandmas"(my mom and her mom). The girls always knew that the grandmas gave us the tickets and I appreciate that they always gave the grandmas credit for our fun days at Disneyland. It makes me feel like my children are feeling a connection to their grandmas even though we only get to see them in person a couple of times each year.
To end our year of Disneyland, we went three times in our last week. Tuesday, I took all three kids: Gracie, Libby and Charlie. Thursday, I only took Gracie. And on Friday, I took Gracie and Libby. What a week! We did everything we love the most and found some new things in our last week. It was awesome!
After each day at Disneyland, I suffer from a Disney hangover. I always need a day to recover. It's so odd, but I feel run down and exhausted, and just yucky in general after a day at the Happiest Place on Earth. I really had to take it easy to recover from three days in one week, but it was totally worth the hangover to end our year with so much magic. It was nothing that lots of caffeine and advil couldn't cure. Luckily, the kids needed a day of rest so it was easy enough to declare a lazy day. Nobody argued.
The only thing we didn't do that we would have loved, was to stay late and see the night time shows. It is hard to stay late because, well, it's late. We never did get to see the World of Color water fountain show, but we did see Goofy's daytime fountain orchestra show, which was amazing with all of the fountains and water dancing. I'm sure the World of Color show is the same thing, with a light show on top. We only saw the fireworks once, but that was the day I lost my purse and validated the fact that I should leave before I'm too tired to remember to keep my purse with me. Goodness! We did well and we only missed a few things by not staying late.
I think we'll go again in another decade or so. When the girls are teenagers and they want to try all the big stuff and reminisce about their childhoods spent on the resort. Plus, by then we should be able to stay in a hotel on the resort and catch the night time shows.
I think if we do everything and see it all, we wouldn't leave anything to anticipate in their teen years. Some of the best moments are those "first" moments. I'm happy to leave some things undone so we can enjoy more firsts some other day.
Right now, we don't want to renew. Aside from the astronomical pass prices, it's just harder to get there and spend a good amount of time at Disneyland. With both girls in school now, we don't have as much time to play. Plus, that level of happiness is exhausting.
Now, I just need to organize all of my photos and figure out how to arrange them in photo books. Chronologically? By land? A book of character photos? Hmmm...
Each and every trip to Disneyland was a complete success. We had so much fun! That place is magical, I truly believe in the Disney magic. How can I doubt it when my kids have such magical experiences? Gracie got to sing with the Dapper Dans, Libby skipped with Merida, Gracie was chosen to be a Padowan in the Jedi Training show - twice!, Libby made Mulan light up with happiness, Gracie played with Pluto, Henry was amazed in Cars Land, Charlie snuggled with Pooh and Ariel, Gracie fired a canon and shot a hole in the clouds. I could go on and on. They had the times of their lives. Lucky lucky kids! And I'm so lucky to have been a witness and a part of the most magical memories of their childhoods.
Our passes this year were a wonderful gift from "The Grandmas"(my mom and her mom). The girls always knew that the grandmas gave us the tickets and I appreciate that they always gave the grandmas credit for our fun days at Disneyland. It makes me feel like my children are feeling a connection to their grandmas even though we only get to see them in person a couple of times each year.
To end our year of Disneyland, we went three times in our last week. Tuesday, I took all three kids: Gracie, Libby and Charlie. Thursday, I only took Gracie. And on Friday, I took Gracie and Libby. What a week! We did everything we love the most and found some new things in our last week. It was awesome!
After each day at Disneyland, I suffer from a Disney hangover. I always need a day to recover. It's so odd, but I feel run down and exhausted, and just yucky in general after a day at the Happiest Place on Earth. I really had to take it easy to recover from three days in one week, but it was totally worth the hangover to end our year with so much magic. It was nothing that lots of caffeine and advil couldn't cure. Luckily, the kids needed a day of rest so it was easy enough to declare a lazy day. Nobody argued.
The only thing we didn't do that we would have loved, was to stay late and see the night time shows. It is hard to stay late because, well, it's late. We never did get to see the World of Color water fountain show, but we did see Goofy's daytime fountain orchestra show, which was amazing with all of the fountains and water dancing. I'm sure the World of Color show is the same thing, with a light show on top. We only saw the fireworks once, but that was the day I lost my purse and validated the fact that I should leave before I'm too tired to remember to keep my purse with me. Goodness! We did well and we only missed a few things by not staying late.
I think we'll go again in another decade or so. When the girls are teenagers and they want to try all the big stuff and reminisce about their childhoods spent on the resort. Plus, by then we should be able to stay in a hotel on the resort and catch the night time shows.
I think if we do everything and see it all, we wouldn't leave anything to anticipate in their teen years. Some of the best moments are those "first" moments. I'm happy to leave some things undone so we can enjoy more firsts some other day.
Right now, we don't want to renew. Aside from the astronomical pass prices, it's just harder to get there and spend a good amount of time at Disneyland. With both girls in school now, we don't have as much time to play. Plus, that level of happiness is exhausting.
Now, I just need to organize all of my photos and figure out how to arrange them in photo books. Chronologically? By land? A book of character photos? Hmmm...
Wednesday, November 6, 2013
Peacock Costume
Libby wanted to be a peacock, but not just any peacock, a pretty peacock! Although this meant she would end up being a boy peacock because girl peacocks are ugly.
The fabric was some really old heavy polyester that I inherited from a lady. I haven't really had a use for it, and I figured a Halloween costume that will be worn once would be a good way to use it. That saved me from spending too much at the fabric store! I had plenty of fabric in all the right peacocky colors. I did buy one yard of (itchy) shimmery blue stuff for the top layer of the dress to give it a nice peacock glow.
I decided to make a pretty little fairy dress as the peacock body and add the tail as an accessory. I used Simplicity Sew Easy 1991 for the body/dress. This dress looked very easy and I thought I could throw it together in one day, which equates to about an hour's worth of sewing for the normal sewing artist (i.e. one that does not have three kids running amuck). I was so wrong. It's actually harder than it looks; I would say it is an intermediate sewing project rather than an easy one. But it certainly isn't hard. It just has a lot of pieces and a lot of layers.
Once I finally finished the dress, I couldn't believe it. It's soooooo not cute. The finished dress is three times wider than any kid! The belt cinches it together, but without the belt, it's just wider than wide. I thought about pitching it and starting over, but I was pressed for time. I really only had $6.99 invested in it (the shimmery piece), but I also had three days of sewing invested in it. Ugh. I decided to remember that it's just a Halloween costume and it would do nicely. It doesn't have to win a contest or anything. I certainly won't use that pattern again without making some huge alterations to the bodice and skirt pieces. And I would never use a thick polyester. It just doesn't hang well. The photo on the pattern is of a fabric that drapes well when cinched and hung. 1970s polyester was probably never intended for its use.
Just now, as I am typing out this sewing tutorial, I see that I screwed up the skirt. It has all of the pointy parts of the skirt lined up. I alternated the hem points. Eh, whatever. The kid didn't notice.
On to the tail.
I used an old Halloween costume pattern, McCalls 2205 for the tail. I chose the piece for the daisy flower head and folded it in half using three pedals. I cut two of those and added peacock feather applique to one side of the tail/flower. I wish I would have done both sides, but one side seems to have been ok. I just winged it on the applique process. I didn't do much except to lay out the improvised peacock feather pieces and sew them down. No fusing or anything. They might be a bit crooked. After decided the dress was ok as it was, any further imperfections were easy to overlook. Besides, time was not on my side.
Once I had one side of the tail decorated, I grabbed up a piece of white posterboard (we all have that lying around, right?) and I cut out a piece of posterboard to the same size as the tail, with seam allowance. Now I had to decide if I would sew the seam to the inside and flip it all around for nice pretty seams, or just sew around the outer edge and let the seam stick out. Since I was on a roll with this whole "good enough" attitude, I sandwiched the poster in between the top and bottom tail pieces and sewed around the outer edge leaving the seam exposed. The posterboard is forever stuck inside the tail now. Sure hope I don't need to wash it for any reason!
I sewed the tail to the belt and the costume was done! With the tail attached to the belt, she could flip it up or lay it down. Just like a real peacock!
The fabric was some really old heavy polyester that I inherited from a lady. I haven't really had a use for it, and I figured a Halloween costume that will be worn once would be a good way to use it. That saved me from spending too much at the fabric store! I had plenty of fabric in all the right peacocky colors. I did buy one yard of (itchy) shimmery blue stuff for the top layer of the dress to give it a nice peacock glow.
I decided to make a pretty little fairy dress as the peacock body and add the tail as an accessory. I used Simplicity Sew Easy 1991 for the body/dress. This dress looked very easy and I thought I could throw it together in one day, which equates to about an hour's worth of sewing for the normal sewing artist (i.e. one that does not have three kids running amuck). I was so wrong. It's actually harder than it looks; I would say it is an intermediate sewing project rather than an easy one. But it certainly isn't hard. It just has a lot of pieces and a lot of layers.
Once I finally finished the dress, I couldn't believe it. It's soooooo not cute. The finished dress is three times wider than any kid! The belt cinches it together, but without the belt, it's just wider than wide. I thought about pitching it and starting over, but I was pressed for time. I really only had $6.99 invested in it (the shimmery piece), but I also had three days of sewing invested in it. Ugh. I decided to remember that it's just a Halloween costume and it would do nicely. It doesn't have to win a contest or anything. I certainly won't use that pattern again without making some huge alterations to the bodice and skirt pieces. And I would never use a thick polyester. It just doesn't hang well. The photo on the pattern is of a fabric that drapes well when cinched and hung. 1970s polyester was probably never intended for its use.
Just now, as I am typing out this sewing tutorial, I see that I screwed up the skirt. It has all of the pointy parts of the skirt lined up. I alternated the hem points. Eh, whatever. The kid didn't notice.
On to the tail.
I used an old Halloween costume pattern, McCalls 2205 for the tail. I chose the piece for the daisy flower head and folded it in half using three pedals. I cut two of those and added peacock feather applique to one side of the tail/flower. I wish I would have done both sides, but one side seems to have been ok. I just winged it on the applique process. I didn't do much except to lay out the improvised peacock feather pieces and sew them down. No fusing or anything. They might be a bit crooked. After decided the dress was ok as it was, any further imperfections were easy to overlook. Besides, time was not on my side.
Once I had one side of the tail decorated, I grabbed up a piece of white posterboard (we all have that lying around, right?) and I cut out a piece of posterboard to the same size as the tail, with seam allowance. Now I had to decide if I would sew the seam to the inside and flip it all around for nice pretty seams, or just sew around the outer edge and let the seam stick out. Since I was on a roll with this whole "good enough" attitude, I sandwiched the poster in between the top and bottom tail pieces and sewed around the outer edge leaving the seam exposed. The posterboard is forever stuck inside the tail now. Sure hope I don't need to wash it for any reason!
I sewed the tail to the belt and the costume was done! With the tail attached to the belt, she could flip it up or lay it down. Just like a real peacock!
Friday, November 1, 2013
Halloween 2013
Did it! Survived another Halloween! At the end of the night, I sighed with relief that the day went so well. Two awesome school parties, three adorable hand made costumes, trick or treating, a big pot of chili, fun with friends and neighbors, and tons of candy. And, my husband seemed to enjoy his birthday even though it was, as usual, a side-event after trick or treat.
It was a good one.
My kids go to an awesome Montessori school. They have a lot of kids from various walks of life and like most schools, they do not celebrate Halloween at school. I am glad about that. I like that the school respects those who do not do Halloween, and I like that my kids are learning to respect others in this way. But, they do something else that fits in with Halloween and the kids who do celebrate don't miss out on festivities with the alternative. This school is pretty cool!
Happy Non-offensive Fall!
The kindergarten kids study animals. Each student chooses an animal and does their own research and learning at home about that animal. On the last day of October, they dress up as the animal they chose to learn about and present what they learned. All of the kids wear their project costumes and the parents bring in treats for the autumn project party. At the party, the kids are encouraged to mingle and ask each other about their animal. Even the party is educational!
Libby chose to study a peacock. We read about peacocks, looked at pictures, looked online, and we went to a dairy farm where they have a couple of peacocks in a pen. Libby asked the farm hand what peacocks eat and he told her they feed them "mash" which is smashed corn. I made her a peacock costume and she made a poster for her presentation.
The lower elementary classes (grades 1,2 3) had a project called "Time Machine". Each student chose a culture and time from the past and studied it. They could choose anything they wanted. At the end of the month, each student dresses as a person from their chosen time and presents what they learned about the history of the culture.
Gracie chose Ancient Egypt. She watched a Brainpop video, read about it, and we went to the Museum of Man and explored the exhibit with the help of a docent. She learned a lot about ancient Egypt and the culture of the Egyptians. She designed her costume and I made it the way she instructed. As it turns out, Ancient Egypt was a popular place to go in the time machine! Several of her little classmates also studied the same topic. They had fun talking about what they learned and comparing. At their "party" the kids all gather together and the parents go around asking students about their chosen historical period. Then the kids mingle and are encouraged to ask each other about their character's life. It's really a cool project and the kids learn a lot from each other.
Charlie is only three years old, but he is a wise little boy. I repeatedly asked him what he wanted to be for Halloween hoping to hear pirate or superman or Winnie the pooh, or something easy and popular with the tots. He was consistant with his request: He wanted to be Sandy, our dog who passed away in July. He couldn't just be any puppy dog, he had to be Sandy. Luckily, I found some soft minky fabric in the right color for the costume. It had little swirls so it might look like a sheep, but it was soft and the right color and that was the best I could find, so I got it. He loved it! He kept hugging the fabric and thanking me before I even had the costume cut out!
Charlie has this whole "Gramma can make anything" thing figured out! He told me just how to make it with ears like this and a tail like this and paws, wait, no paws, yes, paws. He couldn't decided about the paws, so I attached paw mitts that had a hole for his hands to escape if he wanted them out. Happy Puppy! Guess it was a good thing I didn't talk him into another costume.
His Sandy costume turned out pretty good. A bit sheepish, but mostly dog. He woofed and panted and gave puppy kisses. Had the day been a bit cooler, he might have worn his puppy costume all day long. He wore it to the school parties and then donned it again for trick or treating.
Just like every year, our first trick or treat stop is next door. The neighbors spoil my kids! This year they gave the kids a candy necklace making kit. They're gonna love that! Keith took the first trick or treat shift and walked the kids up the street and back and they filled their bags. They took a break at home and shoved as much candy into their mouths as they could, then I took them out for round 2. I took them in the other direction. Once again, they filled their candy bags. Libby was exhausted by the time we got back home. They each ate a couple of handfuls of candy, and it was off to bed.
The kids had a blast! Keith enjoyed his pot of chili and cornbread. The neighbors brought him a growler of beer from a local brewery. He also got a card in the mail, and the only thing he had to say about that was "it's not from your mom? that's weird. She must be slacking!" We never did get around to eating his birthday pumpkin pie, but it was a school night and everyone was stuffed and tired so we'll do it later.
It was a good one.
My kids go to an awesome Montessori school. They have a lot of kids from various walks of life and like most schools, they do not celebrate Halloween at school. I am glad about that. I like that the school respects those who do not do Halloween, and I like that my kids are learning to respect others in this way. But, they do something else that fits in with Halloween and the kids who do celebrate don't miss out on festivities with the alternative. This school is pretty cool!
Happy Non-offensive Fall!
The kindergarten kids study animals. Each student chooses an animal and does their own research and learning at home about that animal. On the last day of October, they dress up as the animal they chose to learn about and present what they learned. All of the kids wear their project costumes and the parents bring in treats for the autumn project party. At the party, the kids are encouraged to mingle and ask each other about their animal. Even the party is educational!
Libby chose to study a peacock. We read about peacocks, looked at pictures, looked online, and we went to a dairy farm where they have a couple of peacocks in a pen. Libby asked the farm hand what peacocks eat and he told her they feed them "mash" which is smashed corn. I made her a peacock costume and she made a poster for her presentation.
The lower elementary classes (grades 1,2 3) had a project called "Time Machine". Each student chose a culture and time from the past and studied it. They could choose anything they wanted. At the end of the month, each student dresses as a person from their chosen time and presents what they learned about the history of the culture.
Gracie chose Ancient Egypt. She watched a Brainpop video, read about it, and we went to the Museum of Man and explored the exhibit with the help of a docent. She learned a lot about ancient Egypt and the culture of the Egyptians. She designed her costume and I made it the way she instructed. As it turns out, Ancient Egypt was a popular place to go in the time machine! Several of her little classmates also studied the same topic. They had fun talking about what they learned and comparing. At their "party" the kids all gather together and the parents go around asking students about their chosen historical period. Then the kids mingle and are encouraged to ask each other about their character's life. It's really a cool project and the kids learn a lot from each other.
Charlie is only three years old, but he is a wise little boy. I repeatedly asked him what he wanted to be for Halloween hoping to hear pirate or superman or Winnie the pooh, or something easy and popular with the tots. He was consistant with his request: He wanted to be Sandy, our dog who passed away in July. He couldn't just be any puppy dog, he had to be Sandy. Luckily, I found some soft minky fabric in the right color for the costume. It had little swirls so it might look like a sheep, but it was soft and the right color and that was the best I could find, so I got it. He loved it! He kept hugging the fabric and thanking me before I even had the costume cut out!
Charlie has this whole "Gramma can make anything" thing figured out! He told me just how to make it with ears like this and a tail like this and paws, wait, no paws, yes, paws. He couldn't decided about the paws, so I attached paw mitts that had a hole for his hands to escape if he wanted them out. Happy Puppy! Guess it was a good thing I didn't talk him into another costume.
His Sandy costume turned out pretty good. A bit sheepish, but mostly dog. He woofed and panted and gave puppy kisses. Had the day been a bit cooler, he might have worn his puppy costume all day long. He wore it to the school parties and then donned it again for trick or treating.
Just like every year, our first trick or treat stop is next door. The neighbors spoil my kids! This year they gave the kids a candy necklace making kit. They're gonna love that! Keith took the first trick or treat shift and walked the kids up the street and back and they filled their bags. They took a break at home and shoved as much candy into their mouths as they could, then I took them out for round 2. I took them in the other direction. Once again, they filled their candy bags. Libby was exhausted by the time we got back home. They each ate a couple of handfuls of candy, and it was off to bed.
The kids had a blast! Keith enjoyed his pot of chili and cornbread. The neighbors brought him a growler of beer from a local brewery. He also got a card in the mail, and the only thing he had to say about that was "it's not from your mom? that's weird. She must be slacking!" We never did get around to eating his birthday pumpkin pie, but it was a school night and everyone was stuffed and tired so we'll do it later.
Saturday, October 19, 2013
25 Years of Wedded Bliss
25 years ago, I put on a fancy white dress and my boyfriend put on a fancy white tux. By the end of the day, we were married and went off to live happily ever after.
That, we have done. And we have done it well! In the past 25 years, we had four daughters and three grandsons. We moved several times and helped each other finish college. We went through a few jobs too. We've seen each other through illnesses and injuries and through triumphs and successes.
One thing we've always done is remain a team. Whatever comes up, we are in it together and we support each other. Sure, we have disagreements, but not about anything big. We argue over what to pack for camping, not what to plan for our future. We work on the big picture together. I guess that's why we are still married. We made a promise to be a team and get through life together and we both meant it when we said we would. And we do.
Honestly, I think I just got lucky. I know a lot of people who didn't. My husband is an awesome guy! He's fun, responsible, hilarious, dependable and respected. And he's crazy enough to put up with me all of the time. Nobody can predict the future, but we have always stuck together and one day melted into the next and here we are: celebrating our 25th anniversary.
Seems weird to say it's been 25 years. Every time we go to a wedding, I think of our wedding day. It is fresh in my mind just as if it weren't so long ago. Saying it was a quarter of a century ago really sounds odd.
To celebrate, we both said "Happy Anniversary" on facebook and we each posted an old picture. That's it. We barely even saw each other! Our anniversary landed on a Tuesday. Eh, it was just another day of the week. Tuesdays aren't for celebrations. They are a work day. It was also the day after our daughter's 5th birthday, so it was easy to overlook.
We'll have a party for our 50th anniversary. Friday, October 1st, 2038. You're all invited. Bring presents!
That, we have done. And we have done it well! In the past 25 years, we had four daughters and three grandsons. We moved several times and helped each other finish college. We went through a few jobs too. We've seen each other through illnesses and injuries and through triumphs and successes.
One thing we've always done is remain a team. Whatever comes up, we are in it together and we support each other. Sure, we have disagreements, but not about anything big. We argue over what to pack for camping, not what to plan for our future. We work on the big picture together. I guess that's why we are still married. We made a promise to be a team and get through life together and we both meant it when we said we would. And we do.
Honestly, I think I just got lucky. I know a lot of people who didn't. My husband is an awesome guy! He's fun, responsible, hilarious, dependable and respected. And he's crazy enough to put up with me all of the time. Nobody can predict the future, but we have always stuck together and one day melted into the next and here we are: celebrating our 25th anniversary.
Seems weird to say it's been 25 years. Every time we go to a wedding, I think of our wedding day. It is fresh in my mind just as if it weren't so long ago. Saying it was a quarter of a century ago really sounds odd.
To celebrate, we both said "Happy Anniversary" on facebook and we each posted an old picture. That's it. We barely even saw each other! Our anniversary landed on a Tuesday. Eh, it was just another day of the week. Tuesdays aren't for celebrations. They are a work day. It was also the day after our daughter's 5th birthday, so it was easy to overlook.
We'll have a party for our 50th anniversary. Friday, October 1st, 2038. You're all invited. Bring presents!
Sunday, October 6, 2013
Princess Mulan's Matchmaker Hanfu
Made It!!!
The girls have been wishing for Princess Mulan dresses for quite some time. I finally found time to get to the fabric store and while I was there, I actually remembered to grab up some pretty blue fabric for the waist band. Really, that's what the big wait was all about. I've had the pink satin and the red trim for quite some time.
I only made one dress because my older girl is growing out of the dress up stage and she would rather wear something normal but themed. I haven't figured out what to do for her yet, but I did buy some Star Wars fabric for when I figure something out. In the meantime, only one hanfu is in order. Which works because Libby's 5th birthday was quickly approaching so the dress could be a gift.
It only took me a couple of days to make the dress, which would equate to a couple of hours in normal person time. It's been proven many times that I am not functioning in any level of normal, sewing or otherwise. But it should be noted that it was a quick project.
I used a normal looking dress pattern, mainly for the measurements of the shoulders and sleeves and bodice width. The hanfu does not at all resemble the pattern I used, but I am growing out of a need for much of a pattern; I just need the major cutting points and then I can wing the rest of it.
I made the hanfu just like a dress in that it has a top bodice section and a bottom skirt with a zipper up the back. I'm not so sure that is the proper way but I wanted it to have some flair at the bottom and I wasn't so sure a shift or A line cut would have the same effect. Besides, the gathered waistline would be covered by the waist band so it didn't really matter. I also made the skirt ankle length (or so I thought until my kid put it on and I discovered her legs are a lot longer than they used to be!)
I cut the sleeves the right length and then added "bat wings" to the wrist. I also made the tip of the wings longer than the top of the wrist so that it resembled Mulan's long sleeve tips without going overboard. Just a bit of effect for authenticity but not enough that it would be annoying to wear.
The bodice top gave me some pause. I had to think about how to make it overlap like a robe. I ended up cutting four bodice pieces and then folding them and ironing them down the way I wanted them, trimming off the unwanted half at the diagonal and stitching the two pieces of bodice together at the waist. It has a lining of the same satin, which is why I needed four pieces. Two outer and two for lining. There is probably a hundred easier and more conservative ways to cut the bodice out, but to keep it straight in my mind, that's how I did it. I will have to practice or draw up a little pattern piece.
I used some of the leftover cheap red stuff that I used for the Captain Hook Halloween costume last year to trim the bodice and make the red waist belt. The embroidered blue piece was easy to make into a waistband. I measure the child around the middle and made a rectangle to match. I sewed the red band to the middle of the blue rectangle and added apron ties.
Now I had the pink satin underdress with the red trim on the bodice and the separate blue and red waist band. Done!
There were just a couple of problems. I forgot the red upper skirt and the waist band slid straight down that satin covered kid. It wouldn't stay up.
I added a piece of gathered red to the bottom of the blue waist band and that fixed that issue. Then I tacked the waist band to the dress in the back, front and under the arms to keep it from sliding down. We don't need to spend all day yanking the waist piece up over and over again. Now, it's done!
Princess Mulan's pink hanfu was an awesome birthday gift for my little birthday girl! We hauled it around all day at Disneyland on her big day, but it was too hot to wear satin. Also, Mulan wasn't "home" when we went to the Princess Fantasy Faire. In the evening when it cooled down, she put her hanfu on over her clothes in lieu of a jacket. It was so cute! We sure heard a lot of compliments in the couple of hours that she wore it and her little friend instructed me to make one for her and her sister.
Happy Birthday to my little princess!
*** UPDATE ***
11/8/2013
My little Mulan met the real Mulan at Disneyland. Mulan saw her and gasped with excitement! She was like a little princess on Christmas morning when she saw Libby in her Mulan hanfu! Very exciting! Here are the princess twins together:
The girls have been wishing for Princess Mulan dresses for quite some time. I finally found time to get to the fabric store and while I was there, I actually remembered to grab up some pretty blue fabric for the waist band. Really, that's what the big wait was all about. I've had the pink satin and the red trim for quite some time.
I only made one dress because my older girl is growing out of the dress up stage and she would rather wear something normal but themed. I haven't figured out what to do for her yet, but I did buy some Star Wars fabric for when I figure something out. In the meantime, only one hanfu is in order. Which works because Libby's 5th birthday was quickly approaching so the dress could be a gift.
It only took me a couple of days to make the dress, which would equate to a couple of hours in normal person time. It's been proven many times that I am not functioning in any level of normal, sewing or otherwise. But it should be noted that it was a quick project.
I used a normal looking dress pattern, mainly for the measurements of the shoulders and sleeves and bodice width. The hanfu does not at all resemble the pattern I used, but I am growing out of a need for much of a pattern; I just need the major cutting points and then I can wing the rest of it.
I made the hanfu just like a dress in that it has a top bodice section and a bottom skirt with a zipper up the back. I'm not so sure that is the proper way but I wanted it to have some flair at the bottom and I wasn't so sure a shift or A line cut would have the same effect. Besides, the gathered waistline would be covered by the waist band so it didn't really matter. I also made the skirt ankle length (or so I thought until my kid put it on and I discovered her legs are a lot longer than they used to be!)
I cut the sleeves the right length and then added "bat wings" to the wrist. I also made the tip of the wings longer than the top of the wrist so that it resembled Mulan's long sleeve tips without going overboard. Just a bit of effect for authenticity but not enough that it would be annoying to wear.
The bodice top gave me some pause. I had to think about how to make it overlap like a robe. I ended up cutting four bodice pieces and then folding them and ironing them down the way I wanted them, trimming off the unwanted half at the diagonal and stitching the two pieces of bodice together at the waist. It has a lining of the same satin, which is why I needed four pieces. Two outer and two for lining. There is probably a hundred easier and more conservative ways to cut the bodice out, but to keep it straight in my mind, that's how I did it. I will have to practice or draw up a little pattern piece.
I used some of the leftover cheap red stuff that I used for the Captain Hook Halloween costume last year to trim the bodice and make the red waist belt. The embroidered blue piece was easy to make into a waistband. I measure the child around the middle and made a rectangle to match. I sewed the red band to the middle of the blue rectangle and added apron ties.
Now I had the pink satin underdress with the red trim on the bodice and the separate blue and red waist band. Done!
There were just a couple of problems. I forgot the red upper skirt and the waist band slid straight down that satin covered kid. It wouldn't stay up.
I added a piece of gathered red to the bottom of the blue waist band and that fixed that issue. Then I tacked the waist band to the dress in the back, front and under the arms to keep it from sliding down. We don't need to spend all day yanking the waist piece up over and over again. Now, it's done!
Princess Mulan's pink hanfu was an awesome birthday gift for my little birthday girl! We hauled it around all day at Disneyland on her big day, but it was too hot to wear satin. Also, Mulan wasn't "home" when we went to the Princess Fantasy Faire. In the evening when it cooled down, she put her hanfu on over her clothes in lieu of a jacket. It was so cute! We sure heard a lot of compliments in the couple of hours that she wore it and her little friend instructed me to make one for her and her sister.
Happy Birthday to my little princess!
*** UPDATE ***
11/8/2013
My little Mulan met the real Mulan at Disneyland. Mulan saw her and gasped with excitement! She was like a little princess on Christmas morning when she saw Libby in her Mulan hanfu! Very exciting! Here are the princess twins together:
Thursday, October 3, 2013
The Redondo Twirly Skirt -or- Spin till you are Dangerously Dizzy
The first time I saw this skirt, an adorable little girl in my daughter's kindergarten class was wearing it. The next time I saw her, she had another one on. Then another. Her mom sews! I got to know her mom a bit, but I forgot what she said her name was. That's ok, I just call her "The Redondo Mom" because of the skirt. Well, I don't call her that, I just refer to her silently in my mind as the Redondo Mom. Pretty sure she wouldn't answer me if I actually called her that out loud. Yeah, that might not be so cool.
That was 2 years ago. I've been thinking about that skirt ever since. It's that stinking cute!
Recently, Redondo mom shared the pattern with me. I was so excited! Like, Christmas morning (after coffee) excited! I traced the pattern, all sizes, then traced another one for a friend of mine who has two little twirly girls, and returned the pattern unharmed by my crazy children. They'd find it and spill something on it for sure.
I've been sewing for 21 years now. I've seen so many patterns and could most of the time put them together. This one had me completely baffled. The two skirt pieces look like partial snail shells. I held them and tried to figure out how on earth they make a skirt, and how they fit together, which way is up, which end goes where... yeah, I don't know.
I followed the instructions very carefully. Rechecking every time I put things together. It never made sense. I put the curves together even thought it felt like I was making mistakes. They didn't look like they wanted to line up. But, that's what it said to do.
First, I made five swirls, then put those curly panels together and you'll never guess what! It totally made the cute little skirt! Perfect!!! I'm not sure how that happened when it felt so weird. I really need to practice sewing things that have no straight lines. This was a step out of my comfort zone. Which made it especially satisfying!
Then I tried out the pattern on the largest size pattern. It was so sweet! But it turned out too long for my little spinner. Hmmmm.... Let's try again.
I now knew which end was up, so I shortened that end. I also cut the pieces a wee bit skinnier and made one more for six panels. Then I cut two types of fabric for the panels so they could alternate. Of course, I cut a couple of pieces backwards and had to recut them. I'm learning. I sewed them together and next thing you know, skirt #2 was done! Score! It looked a lot better than the first. In fact, it looked good enough to wear. We gave it to a little girl for her birthday.
Then, I made a third. This is fun! Skirt #3 turned out just as good as the second one and I love it! More than that, the girls love it! The largest size fits my smallest girl, so I'm going to have to figure out how to expand the pattern for my bigger girl. She likes to twirl too.
The skirt doesn't take long to sew. Maybe an hour or two at the most. Of course, it takes me longer because I have to keep three kids from taking all my pins out of my pin cushions, cutting up my fabric scraps, running hotwheels under my sewing table (over the pedals) and keeping the Barbies from climbing all over my ironing board. Slows down the sewing a bit.
I cannot wait to make more Redondo skirts! Thank you, Redondo Mom! or whatever your name is.
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