The Kitchen is Finished!

Our kitchen is finally done! The contractors finished up on the day before Christmas break, so we were able to enjoy the kitchen and do a lot of cooking over Christmas. 

And now for some Before & Afters!

You may have noticed something else that's new--roman shades for the windows! 

This past weekend I was determined to keep the momentum going and make the curtains.
I also made pillows for the new booth.

We love the booth and have been eating lots of dinners there. We hang out in the kitchen a lot more than we used to. Alan sits in the booth while I cook dinner and then I linger while he does the dishes!

I am also really proud of my invention for a sliding broom holder. I bought a drawer track to attach it to some of the wood trim that matched the cabinets, then added hooks. It slides in and out very easily and is perfect fit for the narrow space between the fridge!

 We are really happy that it all turned out so well and we love everything about our new kitchen!

Our Civil War Costumes are Finished!

Happy Halloween!! I wanted to share pictures of how we decorated our house and also our costumes!

Our front porch is ready for fall with a new orange wreath, mums, and some pumpkins. I also planted some yellow pansies in our garden, and the deer haven't eaten then yet. Hurray!

When you come in the front door, I added some spooky art to our chalkboard. I found the design on Pinterest. 

I also rearranged our mantel for Fall. There are two new things: a red wire  thingy that goes over a candle, and a tall basket that is supposedly for catching fish. They were both under $10 each and I like that they go with the colors in the room. 

Our dining room cabinet is also spookified. I added some eyeballs in a jar, books with creepy titles, skulls, and other  thigs I found around the house. It's like a witches curio cabinet!

And now on to what you really want to see...our costumes! We went with a Gone With the Wind/Civil War theme this year. I made Scarlett O'Hara's curtain dress for me and a confederate soldier outfit for Alan. I hope you like them!!

Civil War Dress: Part 1

This past week I started working on my Halloween costume for this year, Scarlett O'Hara's curtain dress! It's a Gone with the Wind theme this year, and Alan will be wearing a confederate soldier's uniform.

My dress will be made out of hunter green taffeta and will have some gold tassels and cords. I couldn't find a civil war pattern that I liked, so I am improvising. To make the skirt I used the same pattern as my Elizabethan dress.

After cutting out the pieces (7 total) I sewed them all together and gathered the waist. I was so excited when I tried it on my dressform with the hoop skirt underneath! I looped some gold cord around the waist and hung a large gold tassel from the cord.

Now I have to make the bodice, which is going to be more interesting since I don't have a pattern to follow. I'm up to the challenge!

Burlap Roman Shade for the Back Door

We've been working on our back door recently so we have a nicer exit to our new patio. The inside door was painted red on one side (and very chipped), so I painted the entire door white. I also replaced the door knob and deadbolt so they would match the new door knobs we replaced throughout the rest of the house. Getting the old knob off was a bit tricky, but we eventually got it off.  

We also replaced the storm door. No more bars!! It's now much easier to see out the window. And the new door has a retractable screen built in.

 Now with these changes the door felt a little bare, so I decided to make a roman shade for it. I used a kit from Joann's that has almost everything you need. I bought some burlap fabric and topstitched green ribbon down each side. 

Doesn't it look so nice on the white door?

I really like how the new shade complements the other shades in our living room. In this picture you can see how the pillows on the sofa go well with the shades. 

This back door project took longer than expected, but I'm so happy with the results! 

Spring Pinterest Challenge: Patio Umbrella Pennant Banner

I made a triangle flag banner for our patio umbrella as my project for the spring Pinterest Challenge sponsored by Young House Love. I wanted to add some more decoration to our patio and also to use up some leftover fabric I had when I made pillows for our lounge chairs. I cut out lots of triangles then sewed them together with the right sides facing the inside. I turned them right side out and ironed them flat. Then I sewed the flags together using double fold bias tape. I didn't have time to finish all the flags this week, but I did get 2 sides of the umbrella done. I just love the bright blue and green colors!!

Buddy the Elf costume

One of my favorite movies is Elf with Will Ferrell, and we have a tradition to watch it every year at Christmas. 

Alan looks a lot like Will Ferrell, so when I found this pattern I just knew that I had to make Alan a Buddy the Elf costume!

 I didn't have any extra time in the weeks leading up to Christmas to work on the costume, so I didn't start until two days before Christmas when we were visiting my parents. It's a good thing my mom has a sewing machine! I cut out all of the pieces one night, and then I sewed all day long on Christmas Eve. I tried to work as quickly as I could in order to finish it that night, but there was just too much to do. But I finished it on Christmas Day, just in time!

Then we proceeded to have a photo shoot, complete with some re-enactments from the movie...

"I passed through the seven levels of the Candy Cane forest, through the sea of swirly twirly gum drops, and then I walked through the Lincoln Tunnel."

"Of course you're not an elf. You're six-foot-three and had a beard since you were fifteen."

"Don't knock over the Christmas tree!"

"Buddy, don't eat those cottonballs!"

"We elves try to stick to the four main food groups: candy, candy canes, candy corns and syrup."

"You did it! Congratulations! World's best cup of coffee! Great job, everybody! It's great to be here."

Buddy with Papa Elf

"The best way to spread Christmas Cheer, is singing loud for all to hear."

Doesn't Alan look just like Buddy?? There's really nothing better than a 6'5'' elf to get you in the Christmas spirit. And I have to give a shout out to Alan for being the best husband ever--he did this willingly!

Next year I think Buddy will be making more appearances so he can check on the little ones and report back to Santa!

Titanic Costume: Rose's "Jump Dress"

For Halloween this year, I decided to go as Rose from Titanic. Did you know that it's the 100th anniversary of the Titanic sinking? Simplicity re-released their Titanic pattern this year that first came out after the movie in 1997, so I decided to make this red and black dress. 

It's also known as the "Jump dress" because it's the dress Rose wears at the beginning of the movie when she attempts to jump over the railing. This is when Jack and Rose first meet, and he saves her from going overboard.

Don't jump Rose!

On the top part of the dress, there is a red satin bodice with a black lace top over it that has cap sleeves. It's a little hard to see, but I also put black sequin trim on the neck and armhole edges of the red bodice.

On the bottom part of the dress, there are actually three layers. First a red satin skirt, and then a single layer of black tulle. Attached to the tulle are two rows of black fringe and two rows of lace. To give the lace a wave-like shape, I cut out along the flowers and removed the top part of the border. 

The third layer on the bottom part of the dress is made out of a fabric called point d'esprit, which is basically black tulle with small dots. This layer is cut away in the front and forms the train at the back of the dress. To finish the edges, I used fabric glue to attached some black sequins, then trimmed away the excess fabric. Let me tell you, gluing through sheer fabric isn't easy! 

Did the sequins get stuck to the newspaper? Why yes, yes they did. 

 After all the layers were assembled, I had to attached them at the empire waist seam. I had to start with the outermost layers and work in, so first I attached the train, then the tulle, then the red satin. 

And here I am wearing the finished dress! 

These pictures make it seem like it went by fast, but it actually took a fair amount of time because there were so many steps along the way. I did have a lot of fun making this dress though. I really enjoyed the chance to use so many fun fabrics: satin, tulle, lace, fringe, and sequins! 

The only major change I made to the pattern was to add a black satin sash to better define the empire waist. There was a lot of fabric gathered around the waist, so I wanted to cinch it in so it wasn't so poufy!

To complete my costume, I bought a blue sapphire necklace from ebay just like the one Rose wears in the movie. Ok, not exactly like hers because mine only cost $10! I also wore long black gloves--the ones I wore to my prom so many years ago. And my costume wouldn't be complete without Rose's better half, Jack! To make things a little more interesting for Alan, he dressed up as "Frozen Jack" with blue lips, white face paint, and gel in his hair to make it look wet.

I'll never let go Jack, I'll never let go!!