Showing posts with label Sewing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sewing. Show all posts

Monday, December 14, 2015

Spooktober 2015

We had a fun Spooktober (October)!  As I usually do, I participate in the Photo a Day challenge.  This year I carried the Spooktober theme through all most of my photos.  I didn’t pressure myself with a photo every day, just when inspiration hit.

A is for apple
B is for Boo!
C is for (undead) cookies
D is for drink (and a Halloween movie)
E is for Eloise as Holly Golightly (Halloween 2012)
F is for facing my fear of clowns (Halloween 2013)

G is for Ghostbuster (Halloween 2012)
H is for hand (err… detached arm)
O is for Ouija (still in the wrapper)
P is for pinks and purple (my Halloween costume)
R is for rats
S is for skulls … glitter ones
T is for Transylvania (UE 2002)
U is for under-estimated… how long it would take to turn myself pink!
V is for Victorian dollhouse (built with no instructions)
W is for World Teacher Day Halloween treats
Extra: W is for "We're all mad here" (I wanted to wear my tights)
Z is for Zombie… as in Plants vs Zombie
MrE had a Halloween party at day-care on the Thursday before Halloween.  He asked early in the month to be the zombie from one of his favourite phone games “Plants vs Zombies”.  Of course, with a few days to go, he changed his mind but too late!  He enjoyed it on the day with a bit of help encouraging the excitement from MissE.

The Main Event: Halloween Day
Yay!  It’s here.  After swim lessons and lunch, we started the long process of getting ready.  It took a longer than I expected to turn myself pink.  In the end with the body paint failing, it was eye shadow that did the trick!  Next was Eloise and then finally we were all ready!

If you don’t know Adventure Time, here’s what they really look like.
Finn, Ice King, Jake, Princess Bubblegum, Marceline
And here's us!

 The Costumes:
MissE and MrE decided what the family would be dressing as months ago so I had plenty of time shop for props via eBAY and make not 1 but 2 Princess Bubblegum dresses and Ice King robes.  I had to make 2 because (1) dance fabric is terrible to work with (b) a double bed- sheet was too small.  The costumes were partially handmade.


Princess Bubblegum – I bought a cheap pink tank that perfectly matched my fabric swatch.  I made the skirt (bit more flattering than her dress on me) and my crown.  I bought cheap wigs from eBAY although I need to work out how to make these look a bit better for the next time we wear them.
Ice King – I bought the hat/ beard from the local pop culture shop.  I made the robe using a King-sized bed sheet from Kmart (cheaper than buying the fabric at a craft store).  MrH styled his nose using leftover felt from another project.
Marceline – Most of this MissE already had in her closet.  I made her red boot covers.
Finn – Again, MrE had most of this.  I was going to make the hat and backpack but I found an Australian stockist for both! 

Lithgow Halloween
After a few photos, we partially undressed again for the drive to Lithgow, NSW (150k from Sydney).  I saw an advertisement for Lithgow Halloween as part of their revitalisation project.  Lithgow was once a mining town and this festival is in their 3rd year now (it started in 2013 with just a trick-o-treat trail).   We are always looking for something new to do so why not?
Lithgow Halloween 2015
The drive wasn’t too bad, an hour and 45 minutes.   MrE decided to have a nap for most of it too!  Unfortunately as we made our way through the valley, it started to rain, not sprinkle but rain.  I had been pre-warned that it can get quite cold here even in the summer so I was prepared.


After re-dressing and holding what props we could in addition to umbrellas, we hit Main Street.  As it was still raining, space was tight under the awnings.  Each store on Main Street decorated their display windows for Halloween.  One of MrE, err, Finn’s favourites was the hair-dressers.  They were dressed as very stylish zombies and “trapped” inside the store.  Marceline liked the lucky dip.  They taunted the children from inside and a few times would surprise them by opening the door!   Most of the stores were also part of the trick-or-treat trail. 
I think this butcher has been overrun?
Yes, I'm going to have to pass.
Slimy lucky dip
We seem to be very popular!  We had fellow attendees wanting photos and screaming out at us.  Smile and wave, boys!  Smile and wave.  I was excited to see so many people dressed up and dressed up well!  As Halloween isn’t that big here, we see a ton of vampires, witches and superheroes.  The mayor looked incredible as Marie Antoinette.
We found BMO!
To the gallows with you!
As night fell, Lithgow took on a new light… 
Light projections on historic buildings
Can someone please unlock the door?
Finn to the rescue!
 The finale of the evening was a theatrical pyro-technic show.  Finn and Marceline loved watching the acrobatics and of course, the flames!





We had a fantastic Halloween night… we can't wait for next year!  We are already planning our costumes… but in the mean time, see you at Oz Comicon as Adventure Time!

Thursday, May 15, 2014

If the chocolate melts in your hands, you are eating it too slowly... April.

Here we are, 4 months into 2014 already.  April was a busy month with MissE finishing off her first school term, Easter and Anzac Day, and a camping trip too.

April Fools’ Day
At the ripe age of 5, I thought it was a good time to introduce practical jokes to MissE with the ol’ biscuit switcheroo.  She didn’t quite get it but hey, I tried.
Biscuit switch - I switched the contents of her cookies & crackers

Playgroup
We checked out a new park with the playgroup this month.  They had a great play until the skies opened.  Gotta love April.
Ryde Park


The Great Outdoors
We went on our first family camping trip this month.  You can read about here.  Trust me it's a good!

EASTER!
“....if chocolate melts in your hands, you are eating it too slowly”
Easter Morning pancakes
Easter Egg Hunt
Found one!
Funny faces!  (cousin love)
Happy Easter!
My solution to too many Easter eggs: triple chocolate mousse
Let’s Go Outdoors!
For most of April we had beautiful summer-esque weather.  During Easter weekend, we visited Bobbin Head in the Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park and Chinamen’s Beach in Middle Harbour (Mosman) for some sunshine.

Bobbin Head
A gorgeous little spot... we packed a picnic and our fishing rods for the day.  We didn’t end up fishing with the numerous walks (Gibberagong Track / Mangrove Boardwalk ) and HUGE playground on offer. 

Scribbly Gum Tree

Eden showing us where the crabs were
And having a closer look...
Climbing rocks!
(We ran into Eden's buddy, Ari, from swimming)

Chinamen’s Beach
Picnic & kite flying
Eden pondering...
Beach time: fun with sand sculpting
Eden's racing car
SPLASH MOUNTAIN!
Daddy thought he was going to relax in the sand…
until Eloise showed up!
And when the weather turned towards winter, we headed to Bar Italia (Leichhardt) for a pasta fix. 

Breathe, buddy!
MissE


Easter Hat parade


Enjoying Easter donuts

End of Term
She did it!  She made it through her first term of school.  She spent most of her holidays with OSCH.  They did lots of fun activities – bowling, Big Blast, and mini-golf with a few themed days in-centre as well.  I wasn’t jealous at all.  She also had a sleepover at her cousins’ house.

Unfortunately she spent much of school holidays fighting a cough which is still lingering at time of writing.

Yellow Belt
Eloise has another belt!  This time, yellow.  Go MissE!


Eden is proud of his Jie-jie

MissE Says the Darnedest Things
Yes, we do.
Mr H took both on a field trip to IKEA for inspiration (all will be revealed, hopefully in May) and meatballs.  I always say the IKEA and the supermarket play the best music (guess I’ve gotten old?)
MrE: Stops in his tracks.  I hear “Let It Go!”
MissE: Singing loudly. “The snow glows white on the mountain tonight, Not a footprint to be seen, A kingdom of isolation, And it looks like I’m the queen”
Woman A: Turns and smiles.
MissE: “The wind is howling like this swirling storm inside, Couldn’t keep it in, heaven knows I tried”
Woman B: Your daughter has a wonderful voice.
MissE: What did she say, daddy?
Daddy: She said you sound just like Elsa.
MissE: SEE!  I TOLD you I sound just like HER.  And you think I don’t!

MrE
Representing NORCAL
It was an up and down month for Mr E.  On the ‘Up’, his speech is fantastic and he is also very polite.  He always says “please”, even when it’s a no.  “No, please”.  We rarely have to ask him to correct him when asking for something; always “Can I please… Can you please…”
MrE: Daddy, where is mama?
Daddy: Upstairs
MrE: What is she doing?
Daddy: I don’t know.
MrE: Can I go upstairs to see, please?

Unfortunately it means that him and Jie-jie get into arguments quite a bit.  They usually end in him saying “BLAH BLAH BLAH” to her because he is simply tired of listening to her talk.  That makes us laugh.  
And he is up for a good laugh.  A bit of a back-story on this one, MissE couldn’t pronounce “boobies” for a long time and she always said “doodies” so…
MissE: Mama, today was the first day Mrs.H didn’t have duties.
Me: Sorry, WHAT?! (given the back-story)
MissE: She usually has playground duties and didn’t have them today.
In the background, we hear a little person “Hee hee hee hee”.
MrE: Jie-jie said “doodies”.

The ‘Down’ MrE does not like to stay in bed.  He is definitely not as bad as Eloise was… I shudder thinking back.  Without fail, he gets up 30- 45 minutes after going to bed.  It’s usually because he needs to use the toilet (which is good) but seriously, the kid just went (before and after bath).

Me
Yay!  Date night… Soft-shell crab & papaya salad and an Australian advanced screening of Divergent.  I enjoyed the movie so much; I didn’t even mind the teen girls clapping every time Four and Tris touched.
{MissE and MrE were thrilled to have Miss Charli babysitting them too.}
Our favourite dish: soft-shell crab & papaya salad
I spent most of April with a man cold.  I am happy I had the flu shot because this cold was a bad one and with horrible timing, I had an event on at work which meant that there was no rest for me!  I am finally just feeling back to normal in the 2nd week of May.  Here’s to May being a healthy month in our house!

Crafternoon
 As we settle into 2014, one of my on-going and now long-term goals (I’ve had this goal since Eden was born!) has been to clean up my craft room.  As I have started clear my pile of the kids artwork (which I photograph and turn into photo books), I found wedding photos (ahem, 9 years ago), house building photos (this one is okay since we are still working on it… just been in for 5 years), and nearly completed baby books.  It’s a big task ahead but pleased that I am finally completing a few sewing projects here and there like this wet bag.  

Reversible Pinafore for Baby Gabriella Sol
(love her name).  Her mum is a British ex-pat
so the neon double-decker buses and Beefeaters
were perfect!
Finally done… sock monkey fabric and a shower curtain
(PVC is expensive!)

Until next time…