Queen of Hearts (pt 1)

Just a quick peek at Lu's Halloween costume! It's about 1/2 finished...but cute as heck. You can't see the whole thing (patience is a virtue) but you CAN see a couple of my favorite parts.

Tiny Top Hat

For size perspective, here's the hat sitting in my palm:


Here's how I made it! I took a small, round paper mache box and discarded the lid. That became the tall portion of the hat. I took apart the lid to a larger, round paper mache box, removing the rim. The circle left became the base of my hat. I hot glued the top to the base & painted the whole thing gloss white. On the second coat of paint (while wet) I sprinkled the entire hat with clear, superfine glitter. And boy does it GLITTER:


Then I just glammed it up some more with ribbon, maribou & a red silk rose. If I can find a mini pack of playing cards (party favor section) then I'll be tucking a Queen of Hearts card in the band behind the rose & feather.

The main portion of the skirt will be petals, with faux-applique hearts in reverse colors. I'm just fusing and the gluing trim around the edges. Not taking the time to actually applique them by machine! The underskirt is red tulle.


The underskirt is almost finished (Lu tied the tutu herself!) The petals are all heart-fused and cut out, and the white ones all stitched & ready to press. Now its on to stitching the red petals & starting the top (which is very simple!)

TGITW!!

(Thank Goodness it's the Weekend)

glam.

It's been a peaceful, quiet weekend.

Which could be because my cordless phone is dead and I forgot to pick up a new one yesterday. Ya think that was Freudian? In any case, I ended up with enough time on my hands to start a new project for Lu.

(I seem to be in a bit of a rut in the sewing for me department. Lu doesn't mind.)

I chose this cute Project Runway pattern from Simplicity:


I'm making the yellow version, with the hem band from the black view.

I'm using light purple knit from stash, nicely aged. In fact, it's almost as old as Lu herself. Hee. The best part (of course) is the embellishment, which took the better part of one viewing of Haunted Mansion.


This applique heart is from Anita Goodesign, part of a design collection called Sugar & Spice. I really, really heart Anita Goodesign. But they are pricey. I only buy the collections that I know I can use several different ways. I'm generally more of an individual design purchaser!

Stitched out perfect, even using metallic threads. I have a pucker on the lower right, but that's probably my fault from pulling too hard when tearing off my stabilizer. It should steam out just fine.

Stay tuned! I hope to finish this one tomorrow so I can move on to other things. Like Christmas! People! Do you realize there are only 66 Days til Christmas!??!


Just in case you're not sure (I wasn't), you can go HERE to check and see if you're on the Naughty or Nice list. (I recommend doing so now, while you still have time to mend your fences with the fat man.)

Ok, now I promise not to mention the big C again until after the big H.

Listening to George

mutual.

Admiration, that is.

The amazingly talented Niamh of Urban Threads just featured your own little jemima bean (aka ME) on her blog! SWEET!


Feel free to go HERE to view my 15 seconds of craft fame.

Since I am a huge fan of Niamh's artist-y goodness (and I've kind of had a crap October personally speaking) I feel all warm & fuzzy inside.

Thanks Niamh!

I've got two tees for my girl Lu ready for some UT embroidery, so keep watching (or should that be...watch out?)

I ask you, what's not to love about
humorously fabulous machine embroidery?

winner.

Jenna, you had us at Bjorn. If you haven't read Jenna's apology, go HERE and read it, it's a hoot. Thank you all for playing along! It was great fun and we had a hard time choosing a favorite. Jenna, if you will send your mailing address to jemimabean at gmail dot com, I'll get your book in the mail this week!

This afternoon I tinkered with my assortment of jewelry pliers & my new beads, & came up with this piece of finery:

Sparkly, dangly earbobs. As promised.

And then I gathered up some favorite patterns to pick out a new project. I turn my back for TWO SECONDS and this is what I find.

Me: "Fat Kitty! Have you no shame?"

Fat Kitty: "I don't understand a thing you say sometimes."

Listening to THIS

loot.

Twenty Dollar Saturday was a success! Wanna see what an Andrew Jackson buys in today's economy if you put your mind to it??

Firstly, I packed snacks. I didn't want to waste any of my moolah on eats and drinks.


Next, I stopped at the bank to pick up my $20. Must have been a conspiracy or something because I got 2 Alexander Hamilton's instead. Aha! Alex spends just the same as Andy. My plan can't be foiled that easy!


Next up...Oops. No really, that's the name of the store. It's a reseller of discontinued or overstock merchandise. And a TON of fun to browse around in because everything is dirt cheap. I fell in love with this little guy, the most expensive thing I bought all day:


See, me & the frog prince go way back. It started years ago when I lamented how I sure had kissed an awful lot of frogs in my time...where the heck was my prince anyway? It got to be a thing, and my girlfriends have been buying me frog prince's ever since. This one was just too cute to resist.

Oops Total: $4.92

Next up, the flea market! I have to be in the mood to enjoy flea marketing, and today wasn't exactly that day. But I did want a new book for reading on this lazy weekend I've got planned, and I also was hoping for a good magazine to thumb through. Score! This issue of Domino is even the Oct/2008 issue! And the book is by one of my favorite romance authors, LaVyrle Spencer.

October 2008 Issue of Domino = $1

Twice Loved by LaVyrle Spencer = $1

Flea Market Total: $2.18

I've been a little tired of my current selection of earrings. I am a loyal jewelry-wearer. I pick a good, classic pair and wear them every day. As such, I've got a gold pair of dangly hoops and a silver teardrop pair that I alternate. I've been wanting a little more flash and bling these days though.

Since I'd rather not blow the entire rest of my day's budget on sparkly dangly earbobs...a trip to Hobby Lobby was in order. Fate was smiling at me today because jewelry findings were 50% off! I picked up some ear hooks and eye pins, and some beautiful AB crystal beads. Sparkly, dangly earbobs coming right up!

Hobby Lobby Total: $4.87

Rue 21 just happens to be across the parking lot from HL, and they just happened to have some sidewalk sale racks today. Score again! Taupey-Gray tee, perfect for some rocking Urban Threads embellishment:

Rue 21 Total: $3.28

A Saturday outing just isn't an outing without a trip to Hancocks. Right? It really was my day because Buttericks & McCalls were both on sale for 99 cents today. My take? McCalls 5632, 5429, and 5631.

Hancock's Total: $3.24

Any math whizzes out there keeping a running total? Ya, I have $1.51 left. What am I going to find out there for $1.51?? Including tax? I thought about returning to the flea market. I had about 8 books in my hands before I decided to spread my money around.

Instead, I decided that since my luck had been so favorable all day, I'd try my local Wal-Mart, which has always carried the best overstock & mill end fabrics on the $1 table. (I know that's not true for most WM's, but we're very close to the distribution center which may make a difference. We get a lot of good stuff!)

Don't hate me because I'm lucky. But yes, 1.25 yards of beautiful pale lime, soft and buttery cotton knit came home with me.

Wal-Mart Total: $1.36

And the grand finale, Twenty Dollar Saturday Total is...
$19.85!!

So there you have it folks. A complete day of shopping til dropping, all for under $20!

listening to: Eddie Money of course!