The Fashion Show Project: Sydney's Dress

Let me begin by saying that yes, I am as horrified by Toddlers and Tiaras as you are, and no, I have no desire to ever walk on a runway, myself. Like wearing make-up, dresses of any sort, or basically anything other than jeans, T-shirts, hoodies, and combat boots, runway modeling is just another one of those girl-type dreams that I had nothing to do with.

For my little girl, however, it's another story entirely, as fashion is queen in her four-year-old mind, and so, bravely smiling but with many secret qualms, I entered us into our town's Trashion/Refashion Show.

I like the idea of showing Sydney that real fashion is, at its essence, about creation, not consumerism. That fashion design is empowering. That dressmaking is a skill, and an art. Never mind that I don't really care about real fashion--the kid does, so that's where we're homeschooling for a while. Whether or not our ensembles are chosen for this juried show, it's now our mother-daughter project to refashion ourselves a couple of runway outfits.

I put Syd in charge of visualizing her design. Here it is:


Please pay particular attention to the tall crown, the color scheme of bright fuschias and purples, the sleeve and arm detailing, and the butterfly wings. Those will be important later.

For a refashion entry, the entire ensemble must be constructed almost entirely from fabrics originally constructed for another purpose. Syd and I went to Goodwill one fine Sunday and found the perfect selection of fabrics for her design. We chose one main fabric, the centerpiece of her design, and then two other fabrics for detailing and accessories. I was worried that Syd would want to adhere so strictly to her original drawing that we wouldn't be able to find anything that would match closely enough, but the true trouble lay in dissuading her from being so delighted in every single thing that she saw that she wanted to completely alter her design to fit every new fabric. The main fabric, however, was an easy pick--here it is, just graduated from its former life as a woman's skirt:

Here it is, reincarnated:

I chopped off the skirt on both sides and then sewed it back together to fit Sydney's high chest measurement. I kept the entire length of the skirt, and so the dress is now about knee-length on Syd. The skirt had an invisible zipper in the back, which is now the zipper to the dress--I goofed on my seam allowance a bit, and so the dress is alarmingly snug, but Syd says it's comfortable, and fortunately the fashion show, if our outfit is chosen, is in just a couple of months.

Out of the extra material that I cut off of the sides, I preserved an entire length of the lace-embellished fabric--I finished the seam on either side of it and used it as a halter strap for the dress:
The tulle shrug is sewn across the entire length of the halter strap; it used to be part of the skirt's underskirt, shown here:

I like the extra bit of tulle at the neck because it covers Syd's shoulders, and I think it looks really nice from the back:

Syd is THRILLED with her outfit so far, and I'm relieved that it turned out so well. There were a couple of shaky moments during construction, and if our outfit is chosen for the fashion show I plan on bringing my entire sewing arsenal in case of last-minute emergencies.

Next up--a crown!

Homeschool Science: It's a Pizza Party!

Ah, pizza science. There's nothing better to take away the pre-lunch blues on yet another cold, slushy, grey winter day when nobody wants to leave the house but nobody particularly wants to be at home, either, than baking up a nice, warm, delicious pizza pie.

Especially if it's the four-year-old doing the baking.

While Will spent the morning immersed in a book (her current faves: The Incredible Journey, and yet another series about yet another family that is up to its ears finding homes for yet more foster animals), Syd got out the pizza party science kit that her Grandma Janie gave her for Christmas, and off we went.

First on the docket: yeast is gassy.

Syd measured out 1/4 cup of warm tap water (she even took its temperature, to make sure it was between 95 and 105 degrees), 1/4 teaspoon of sugar, and 1 1/2 tablespoons of yeast, and stirred them together in a small clear bottle. I stretched a balloon out to cover the opening, so that it looked like this:

Then I hid the whole shebang away over in the corner over a heating vent. Just forget about it for now, okay?

Next, Syd and I mixed up a super-simple pizza dough recipe, and although I don't usually proof my yeast, I did this time, so that Syd could notice, if she wished, that we were putting the same stuff in the dough that we just put in the bottle.

She noticed. Yay.

I also generally use a no-knead bread dough for my daily baking, but I do love to watch little hands kneading bread dough:

 
 
 
 Syd set the yeast to rise and went off to play ponies, and in just a couple of hours the dough was twice its size and...remember the balloon?

The balloon looked like this:

It's this gas that also makes the bread dough rise--yeast eats starch and gives off carbon dioxide, expanding the gluten and yummifying the dough.

Once the dough was sufficiently yummified, Syd rolled it out, put it in a pan (Isn't that a good-sized pan for a personal pan pizza for a four-year-old? I'm now officially on the look-out at thrift stores and yard sales for some little patty pans for the girlies), and added her ingredients of choice--tomato sauce, cheese, and soysage crumbles:

 We baked it, tasted it--

And Chef Sydney declared her lunch to be absolutely perfect.

Cornstarch Glue, and Valentines, Too

Have I spoken to you of my famous kid, spokeschild for the line of bulk cornstarch for sale at Kodo Kids? I traded them usage of the photos from my oobleck tutorial, and they gave me an awesomely big bag of cornstarch, along with a couple of scoops and a chute for it.

We have made SO many things with our cornstarch:

• scented powder
• oobleck
• more oobleck
• pudding
• gravy
• some more oobleck
• and, most recently, cornstarch glue

Cornstarch glue is more like school paste than Elmer's glue, but it's strong and sturdy, and it's WAY cheaper and less wasteful than those darned glue sticks that we go through like crazy.

The recipe is simple:

1. Stir together one part cornstarch to three parts water, with perhaps one drop of essential oil or a couple drops of food coloring, if you wish. I've seen recipes that call for a 1:2 ratio, but I've tried that before, and the result for me was crumbly and nearly unworkable, and the kids refused to use it.

You'll be tempted to use a whisk, but the cornstarch mixture is going to get pretty thick all at once, so really it's best to use a wooden spoon or a fork. Stir continuously--it won't take very long.

2. Heat the mixture over medium heat, but turn it down to medium-low as soon as you feel the mixture start to get thick. It gets thick quickly, and you want to be able to take it off the heat as soon as it looks smooth but translucent, exactly like Vaseline in consistency.

3. Pop the cornstarch glue in an old butter tub, and keep it in the refrigerator when you're not using it.

To apply the glue, you can use a popsicle stick or even a butter knife. It's perfect for kid craft projects, anything from their everyday stuff to Valentines--

 
--which we are quite immersed in these days, as you can well imagine.

P.S. Do you love fun and eco-friendly kid crafts? Then you'll love my Craft Knife Facebook page!

The Littlest Photographer

Guess who found a brand-new camera in her stocking this Christmas?

 
 
 
 
 
 
It's become Sydney's mission in life to document all things "pretty", whether that be a toy dino with snow on its face or a self-portrait plus Gracie in a strangle-hold.

Cameras and kids are the most wonderful combination. I'm loving my introduction to the way that Sydney sees the world.

Snuggly Warm, Snowy Cold Photo Shoot

My house has rotten lighting (I'm house hunting, by the way--know of any good two-story non-ranch houses on around five acres of land, no more than a 20-minute commute from a good graphic design job, for under $200,000?), and so I have to do my product shoot outdoors. It's challenging enough in the summer, when I have to find the perfect spot of indirect lighting, but in the winter, when I have to find that spot on a sunny day...well, the Midwest isn't really famous for that.

I tried to compromise by shooting some indoor shots next to an east-facing window blocked by scrub trees, but combined with a model prone to making goofy faces, I only got a few keepers out of dozens of shots:

 
 
 However, even though it was stinkin' cold so I only got my I Spy quilt done, I did discover that the snow makes an excellent photo backdrop:

 
 It's so hard to put a quilt into one shot, and so I think that this corner-to-corner angle is going to be my new go-to quilt shot:

 And then, of course, there's fringe:

The I Spy quilt is now up in my pumpkinbear etsy shop, to be followed by some more one-of-a-kind listings as soon as we get some more snow!

The Dino Name Game

1. I am a big nerd about etymology.

2. I have a reading knowledge of Greek and Latin.

Hopefully, this has made clear to you why I have made my four- and six-year-old children a game based around Greek and Latin word roots.

It's super-fun, I swear.

Will is always fascinated when I translate dinosaur names for her--the names actually make sense!--so I collected the most common Greek and Latin word roots that are used for dinosaur names (ignoring, of course, the other two ways in which dinosaurs are named, which is after people or places), copied them neatly onto word strips, wrote the translations on the back, and then laminated them and cut them out:

I like the table of Greek and Latin dinosaur descriptors, but the most important thing to me was to include all the word roots for the girls' favorite dinosaurs, and the word roots that are the most descriptive and evocative, so I also did a lot of flipping through our dinosaur encyclopedias to pick up ideas.

Now that we have a nice, big stack of descriptors in a drawstring bag (more on that later), the girls enjoy pulling the cards out and using them to construct funny dinosaurs:

Here Willow, who wanted to face the cards so that I could see them, was trying to make "the longest dinosaur name in the world."

Her plateotripteroderm just may win the prize!

My New Kitchen Aid

My mother-in-law, noticing that I cook with the girls nearly every day (and also, likely, noticing that the recipes that I cook with the girls are inevitably shockingly elaborate, outrageously messy, and have had a seriously detrimental effect on the state of my kitchen and my emotional health), took pity on me and bought me a new toy for Christmas:

I have owned my new Kitchenaid mixer for approximately five days now, and so far the girls and I have used it to make vegan strawberry cake, four loaves of bread dough, and the vanilla cupcakes from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World, complete with the vegan "buttercream" frosting, also made with my new Kitchenaid mixer:

Yum:

Yum!

and YUM!!!!!!!

This afternoon, my Kitchenaid and I are going to mix up some meringue, because baked Alaska doesn't just bake itself, you know.

Tiny Little Memorials

Down on my belly in the cold to photograph this interestingly and lovingly decorated grave near where my grandmother lies:

 
Doesn't every cemetery need one fabulous eyesore?

Acrylic Paint and Fabric Paint Duke it Out!!!

Y'all, don't get locked into that whole "only use fabric paint on fabric" business. It's a conspiracy, I tell you, and frankly quite unnecessary.

These past couple of weeks, I've been sewing up a coupla dozen personal peace flags for a long overdue pumpkinbear etsy shop update (I have to take photos outside for them to look at all decent, and in this weather...brrr!), and if I had to use my uber-expensive Jacquard Neopaque fabric paints on every single PEACE, I would be out of business!

That's not to say that you should never use fabric paint on a non-wearable fabric project, or should always use fabric paint on a wearable fabric project...basically, you have to experiment a little, and figure out what paint to use based on the properties of the individual paints.

For instance, acrylic paint dries stiffer than fabric paint--good quality fabric paint shouldn't dry stiff at all. So for a T-shirt, or baby clothes, you def want to use superior-quality fabric paint. But for your jeans, or a hat, or any other article of clothing for which drape isn't important, knock yourself out with acrylics, if you'd like. But if you're painting even a non-wearable fabric project, but you need it to be flexible and have a lot of drape, you probably want to use fabric paint. With my peace flags, the stiffness of the paint doesn't make a difference, so it doesn't matter if I use fabric paint or acrylic.

Coverage does matter, though, and it pretty much depends on the color of the paint, and a bit on the brand, how well a particular paint will cover a particular fabric color. Even with the Jacquard Neopaque fabric paints, which are supposed to be, well, opaque, the yellow needs two coats before the blue fabric print behind it doesn't show through. Same with the green over the silvery-white fabric that I chose. The white, however, gives perfect coverage in one coat, even over the green fabric that I'm using, as do the rest of the darker colors. With the craft acrylics, every color that I've tried needs two coats before it's opaque over a dark print, so if I have to do two coats anyway, I'd rather use the cheaper acrylic paints than the waaaay more expensive fabric paints.

I like to work with what I already own, too, so for me color matters--I'd rather use the perfect color in a more expensive paint that I already own than go shopping for the perfect color in a less expensive paint. For instance, I like the green of the fabric paint much better on this particular fabric, and I thought the red of the acrylic paint gave the best contrast on the trickier-to-match red fabric, so that's what I used:

Of course, you can always purchase textile medium to give acrylic paint the draping properties of fabric paint, but that's just something else to buy.

The Darkness that You Make for Yourself

The time is 11:00 a.m.

SYDNEY: "I want to play with my glowsticks."

ME: "Then you have to go into the bathroom, close the door, and turn out all the lights."

 
 
 
 

It turned out to be a workable solution.

Work in Progress: DANCE

 
 
 
All I need now is to acquire some ribbon someplace or another, and my little dancing girl will have a tidy place to keep her tights, leotard, and ballet shoes.