Last Year's Pajamas Affect This Year's Planning

As Thanksgiving approaches this week, and my thoughts inevitably turn today gratitude and the upcoming holiday season I find myself thinking about the upcoming crafting projects that I should have started weeks ago and now only have a few a weeks left to get finished before Christmas is upon us.  This seems to be something that I do often as I looked back over last year's Facebook posts I realized that I am even a little ahead of schedule this year if I start on the children's Christmas pajamas anytime before December 10th.

Last year I was a little bit over confident in my time management vs. project size and quantity skills and I found that it got me into a little be of trouble.  I had previously made a set of fish pajama's for my daughter using Simplicity Pattern # 2481.  You can read pattern review and how that project turned out here.  It was such a hit with my daughter and such an easy project that I decided it was perfect for making in big quantities and I would be able to make three sets for my younger three child without any problem leaving me plenty of time to tackle a bigger project for my pre-teen and teen girls that are now borderline women's size clothing making their gift projects take longer simply because of their size.

Well it took me a week with a busy house and five children to get the first set of pj's done.  Red with blue Iron Man.  My youngest son Jeremiah was obsessed with super heroes at the time and I was really hoping he would like them.  But it took a whole week to make one set of pj's which left me on December 15th.

After the Iron Man pj's were done I was ready for a pattern switch and I cut and sewed the pink nightgown for my oldest daughter next.  It was a vintage looking nightgown New Look Pattern #6163.  This is an out of print pattern that I actually rescued from my mother's stash before she got rid of all her sewing patterns because it was a nightgown I had always wanted to make for myself.  Now the pattern is too small for me so I live vicariously through my girls by making it for them.

Their project ended up being a big recycle/up-cycle project.  Since that summer I had gone through all my sets of bed linens and set aside the ones that were worn out from age and washing or from our previous cats getting them with a claw.  So I took those sheets and let the girls pick the ones they liked best without them knowing why I was asking.  Then I matched them with a little bit of fabric and lace for the fancy old fashioned collars and this project was all set.

One Tip: when working with lace, especially if you want a layered effect and plan to put on a couple different ones.  Save yourself some time and at least look at the lace that comes pre-sewn and layered together for you already.  I know it is hard to see in the photo but the pink night gown has a three layer lace that came all put together and it was super quick and easy to sew on since it only took once around.  The blue nightgown however is the opposite, because it has two layers of single layer lace and I had to not only figure out how to layer it so it would look nice but I also had to take double the amount of sewing time to put it one since each layer was sewn on separately.

Everytime I got tired of sewing pleats or lace and ruffles I went back to crawling around on the floor to cut out sewing patterns. This gets harder every year and is honestly not something I am looking forward to doing this weekend as I cut out and plan for this years Christmas pajamas.  Unfortunately if I lay out the fabric on my folding tables it tends to slip and slide around and the pattern doesn't get cut out well.  Anyone have ideas for fixing this and helping me get off the floor?

My youngest daughter's pajamas from this pattern were a fun little up-cycle that ended up adding more time to the project than I had planned on or expected.  Originally they pink floral and blue butterfly fabric was part of a bedroom window curtain I had made for my girls bedroom clear back in 2005.  We have since moved several times and it never fit any of the windows right so I figured it was finally time to reuse the fabric.

Well this required a lot of seam ripping that I eventually gave up on and ended up simply cutting out the seams altogether because it was faster than using a seam ripper on them.  Once I got this set cut out and ready to sew I cut out my son's ocean themed set of pattern pieces.

By this time I was ready for a break and my knees were so sore that it took a couple of days before I was ready or willing to get back down on the floor to cut out the next couple of projects.

Honestly I am not sure how I did it, but I spent the morning of December 24th putting the finishing touches on one nightgown and two sets of shirt/pant pajama set and I was able to get them finished and wrapped just before dinner so that the kids could open them as their Christmas Eve gift.

Sewing the day of Christmas Eve instead of spending it playing games, singing carols and visiting with family is not something that I ever want to have to repeat.  And so it has me thinking about this year and wondering if I need to either get started sooner, or pick a different project to make for the kids that will still show them how much I love and care, without pulling me away from them during the holiday celebration.

Home Sweet Home: Summer Sun

My children were watching Care Bears a couple weeks ago and the way they animators drew and brought to life the moon, sun and all the little stars are what gave me the inspiration for for the face on my summer sun "O".

I started with a yellow acrylic paint as a base color and let that dry.  Then I sponged a yellow/orange color around the sides and on the sun's rays and let that dry.  Finally I sponged a bright orange in a thinner layer around the sides and over the sun's rays and gave that time to dry.

Next it was time for the face.  I used a dot dash pattern around the edge of the sun's face and painted on the face with the smallest paint brush I had.  The white dots on the eyes I added very last with the tip of a toothpick.

It turned out so bright and cheerful, just like all those fun summer days I remember as a kid playing outside, eating popsicles and swimming in the pool.  A perfect project for a blustery fall day when you are missing the out of doors.

You can check out the main post for this project and all it's monthly letter "O" links here HOME SWEET HOME.

Home Sweet Home: Patriotic Star

Veteran's Day is coming up in less than a week and it has me feeling a bit patriotic.  So while I should probably be painting my "O" symbol for the month of December I couldn't resist the opportunity to paint my patriotic star for the month of July.

This Star has been one of my favorite "O" symbols to paint for this project so far.  I used a pencil and a ruler to mark the stripes Then I picked red, white and blue paint.  It took several coats of paint to cover up the pencil marks and I learned that faint marks on future projects will be easier to cover up.  I used some white sheer ribbon and some silver grosgrain ribbon to decorate the middle.  The stars were sparkly silver brads from the scrapbooking section of the craft store.  I cut off the prongs and glued them onto the wood with superglue.

I love how this turned out and I can't wait until July comes around so I can set it out and use it for the the month.  If only all of the "O" symbols for this little wooden sign turn out this cute.

You can check out the main post for this project and all it's monthly letter "O" links here HOME SWEET HOME.

My Little Pony Inspires a Rainbow Mask

I grow up in love with the movies and the tv shows and the toys that were such a big hit in the 1980's: My Little Pony.  My three daughters have fallen in love with the vintage toys and movies that I have kept or purchased from Ebay and they have recently fallen in love with the latest version of the tv show.

Since I started designing and developing children's felt masks for my mother's Etsy shop I was inspired not only by this particular childhood favorite but also by my children's love of bright colors.  My oldest daughter is a fan of wearing every color of the rainbow every day that she can.

So this mask is for all those little girls and princesses out there who love dragons, and unicorns, butterflies, rainbows and fairies.  You can look for this mask in my mother's shop here.

Home Sweet Home: Pumpkin

This simple pumpkin has been one of my favorite "O" symbols to paint for this project so far.  I used several different shades of oranges and layered along each of the black lines where the grooves and bends would be in a real pumpkin to give it depth and shadow.  At least as much as you can give depth and shadow to a flat piece of wood.  The layers of oranges are a little bit hard to see in the photos.

My sister Amber was the one who came up with the idea for the rafia ribbon along the top and the fall oak leaves that are coated in glitter and sparkle.  The green vine curls were done with florist wire wrapped around a pencil.

It turned out cute enough I am looking forward to putting it up in a couple days when we get to November and it is time to switch from Halloween decor to fall and Thanksgiving decor.

You can check out the main post for this project and all it's monthly letter "O" links here HOME SWEET HOME.

Home Sweet Home: Ghost

Fall is moving in and October is quickly blowing by.  Already is almost time for Halloween.  And what better time to add to my Home sign decor with with my ghostly letter "O".

This simple little ghost sure stretched my painting ability.  I have never before tried to paint fabric folds onto a flat surface before.  It made me wish that the 2 x 4 piece of wood his shape was cut out of had a wider base.

The idea for the patches I got after looking at lots of scarecrow pictures on pinterest and I decided that they would look cute on a ghost too.  I sanded the wood, painted with assorted acrylic paint colors and then sealed the paint with a satin finish gloss sealer.

Costumes for the kids have taken a really large back seat this year and I admit that they will mostly be reusing costumes from past years and hand me downs but none of them have complained yet so maybe that means I can let myself feel a little less guilty about not doing as much sewing and enjoy the painting I have been doing just a little more.

You can check out the main post for this project and all it's monthly letter "O" links here HOME SWEET HOME.

Guest Post on Colossal Skeleton Miniatures Painting

My sister Heather was recently here for a visit and graciously agreed to write a post about her favorite recent miniature that she has painted. It also happened to be one that she painted while she was visiting my house and we were painting one afternoon together or was that one very late night? Either way I enjoyed the visit and the time we had to chat and be creative and now you all get to enjoy her handy work as well. She is such a creative inspiration in my life and I am so grateful for that so thanks Heather. And without any further ado here she is.

When I first got into Dungeons and Dragons I swore I would never paint minis. It seemed like fun, but I already had too many hobbies and not enough time. Not to mention the monetary commitment it would take to really get started…. And I stuck to my guns. No minis at all. I mostly run my games with multicolored parcheesi pawns (different shapes for players/monsters) with a couple of bases to indicated size.

...Well, until July this year, that is.

My sister, Tiffany (our intrepid blogstress) had begun painting minis and showing us her completed subjects over skype connection on game night. When I went out to visit, I knew it was a real possibility that she would be painting while I was there. I was determined, no painting with her. Period.

And I managed.

Until I didn’t.

The rest, they say, is history.

Since July, I have been happily submerged in mini-painting. I’ve painted some pretty awesome minis. Giants and oozes, Harpies and Adventurers… even an awesome Silver Dragon. My collection of painted minis grows, but not nearly at the rate of my collection of unpainted minis (as these things go).

It wasn’t until October 2018 that I painted this: 

Reaper Miniatures Bones Colossal Skeleton (77116)

I was once again visiting my sister (with one of my other sisters) and the three of us had been painting for a day already. The weather was wet, raining all day. Then we had some sun, just enough for long enough to prime a few new things to paint.

I had purchased this skeleton with the intention of making one of my campaign groups face it. So the paint job had to be epic. First came assembly. The Colossal Skeleton comes in four pieces. Two arms, a head and the body. I attached the head and the dagger-hand before painting. The nature of the tombstone hand means that it is easiest to paint if both pieces are painted simultaneously and then the arm attached.

After assembly came trimming any visible seams (of which there were few) and then priming. My preferred primer is Army Painter Colour Primer. They are designed to be both primer and basecoat, eliminating the time and paint for basecoating. I have found that they spray on smoothly and cleanly and I have very few problems with it. My preferred shade is Uniform Gray (CP3010).

After priming, the fun stuff starts.

I always start with the biggest areas first, leaving little details and the base for last. In this case, I began with the actual skeleton. I based him with Army Painter Necrotic Flesh, then dry brushed it in layers in the following order: Skeleton Bone, Drake Tooth and Brainmatter Beige. I then highlighted him with Mummy Robes.

Fun fact - I adore highlighting. It’s one of my favorite techniques. It brings emphasis to edges, curves and corners. One of these days I’m sure I’ll overdo it and end up making something look like a cartoon character. Until then, I’ll just keep trucking.

After that, time for the fabric. The reds used here are also Army Painter. Abomination Gore for the base, then Dragon Red for the middle dry brushed shade, followed by Pure Red. It was highlighted with Pure Red lightened with Matt White (just enough to make it a shade lighter, not pinken it.

For the browns in the belt, leather straps around the arm, neck and leg, along with the wood of the brace on the leg, I layered Army Painter colors in the order of Oak Brown and Leather Brown. I then lightened the Leather Brown with Banshee Brown and highlighted with Banshee Brown.

The hair of the orc head, the tombstone, the fur of the loincloth and the stones on the base were done with Army Painter Dark Stone, then Uniform Gray, then Stone Golem. These I chose to leave un-highlighted. The letters in the tombstone I painted with Matt White.

The orc head and orc hand on the back I painted with Army Painter Army Green, then Combat Fatigues and highlighted with Scaly Hide. The eyes were painted with Matt White, the tongue painted Dragon Red.

The rope wrapped around the hammer and the arms and legs I painted Reaper Master Series Auburn Shadow, which I lightened with MSP Amber Gold and then Amber Gold on its own. The highlights were done by adding a tiny bit if Matt White to the Amber Gold to lighten it a shade.

The dagger, chain loincloth, spiked ball-and-chain, and shackles were painted with Army Painter Plate Mail Metal, and accented with Vallejo Model Color Old Gold. Plate Mail Metal was also used to drybrush a topcoat onto the cross of the tombstone. I used the old gold to turn my skeleton into a pirate by giving him a gold tooth.

After this, he was nearly done. Just the base and accenting to do. For bloody accents I used Game Color Scarlett Red (My first time using this color, and borrowed from Tiffany. It’s a great red). I tried to keep the accents small and organic, but numerous enough to be noticed. The red dots in the eyes of all the skeletons were done using Pure Red.

For the base, I painted the dirt first. I used Army Painter Oak Brown, then Monster Brown then Banshee Brown. Unhighlighted, as it’s the base. I went for a grave dirt sort of effect. The grass was based with Angel Green, which I then lightened with Scaly Hide and top-brushed with Scaly Hide on its own.

Nearly complete I then had a decision to make. What wash to use? I was thinking Army Painter Strong Tone, but Tiffany suggested Dark Tone instead. Since she always makes great color suggestions, I decided to test the Dark Tone on a toe. It looked great, so that was the wash I used. For a finishing touch, we sealed him with a matt sealer.

Overall, I’m really proud of how this mini turned out. I’m really excited to present him to my players when the time comes, surrounded, of course, by an army of the undead!