Summer Solstice Aaaaaaand She's Back!

Refashioners!
And beloved readers of other kinds!
I have returned!

Overdramatic yes? I missed you guys so much.

So, I was gone because of health stuff. Health stuff is chronic do it may happen again (scratch that: will) but when I'm here I am here baby, and right now I'm here.
And so I present to you the Wildeman Holiday Challenge 2013:
Summer Solstice: Dino Summer

Wildeman's outfit was made from a men's grey button-down that was resized for tinydom (tiny being a relative term, he weighs 25 lbs at 7 months). His pants are made of the coolest frakin' pink pteradactyl shirt, which became these super cool dropped crotch sweat pants.

Did I mention he's crawling and standing? *insert gush of mommy pride here*
So...you may have noticed there's no tutorial. Yeah, about that: I've realized I need to be more realistic about what I can and cannot achieve and tutorials for every outfit definietly fall into the cannot category. I'll still be taking in progress pictures and sharing the whole process but it will be quite a bit less detailed.
Thanks for your support everyone. I hope you stick around despite the changes. Being away from this community has made me realize how much it means to me.
See you soon!

Wildeman Wednesday #5

Wow, I totally thought today was Wednesday...
When I told my husband we had finally gotten pregnant at about 4:30 am on a Saturday morning his exact words were,
"I know. I have ninja sperm." followed by a fist pump and falling back to sleep.
Ever since Wildeman has been our ninja baby so when I saw this T at the thrift store I couldn't pass it up.
I forgot the before picture, but these were my pattern pieces:

The TV Heads - PRP Sew-along #1

When I first read the theme for this season of Project Run and Play week 1 (Art Inspired) I was immediately stumped but not because I had no ideas, I had way too many. Classic? Modern? First nations? Urban? I love art in all it's incarnations amd my mind was reeling. So, I reigned myself in, what kind of art stirs my heart the most? Art that challenges something, preferably everything. Art that can make a difference. A sentence sprang to mind, "If graffitti changed anything it would be illegal." And I knew I had to emulate Banksy, and pay homage to his message. An entertained society is a docile one. "Give me liberty or give me death!" has become, "Can you pass me the remote, I don't want to get up."

Don't get me wrong, I love film, and though I don't have cable I watch tv online sometimes but entertainmemt is meant to be a diversion, it has become a passtime.

Here is Wildeman in:

"Divertissement"

Hey, is that Easter up there?

If by up there you mean up there in the future then yes, it is.

Hubby and I are in the rather exciting position of starting family traditions this year, as we now have a little family to tradish with. Granted, Wildeman has no idea what Easter is, or what bunnies are and no way in hell is he eating chocolate this Easter but he'll appreciate all this in a couple years and by then we'll have it down pat.

So, good weather allowing we will be Easter brunching in the park with our lovely family (with brownies baked inside eggshells)  and if I recall someone started some kind of holiday challenge...what was that again? Oh, that's right:

Wildeman Holiday Challenge 2013 #4: Easter

and here is the adorable little bunny now in

 

The Shabby Bunny

Wildeman Wednesdays #4

Hello and Welcome to what is in my humble opinion the best Wildeman Wednesday yet!

Well...hopefully every Wednesday will be the best Wednesday...otherwise I'm moving backwards...

But I digress and over-use ellipses. My adorable baby boy is about 4.5 months old and currently in 9-12 month clothes. He's a big cat. We were generously gifted with so much clothing when we were pregnant, mostly 0-9 months stuff, that we had it in our heads that we'd be set until he was 9 months old. Ha! Conventions. No baby of mine will be contained by clothing sizes, apparently. And so I sew like a mad woman.

Yesterday morning I made these awesome pants (from two thrifted t-shirts) and paired them with a shirt that was twice refashioned (see the original post about the shirt formerly known as romper here).

Please give a generous (but not too loud because he's a baby) round of applause to Wildeman in:

Wildeman is a Wild Man

 

Shared on:
 

 



Wildeman Wednesday #3

This post is brought to you by 

the number 3!

 

Okay, I know it says Wednesday up there ^ and it is decidedly not Wednesday. I transfer my pictures from my tablet to my computer via Asus web storage and the site was down yesterday so I couldn't get anything posted.

 

On that same note, these pictures are awful. I really need to get one of the two cameras sitting on my desk fixed. Anyone know what causes a "lens error"? Both seem to have fallen victim to this strange camera illness within weeks of each other. Perhaps it's contagious?

 

Speaking of which Wildeman has been super sick (so have dad and mom but we're much better at breathing through our mouths than he is) which has been unpleasant. And the little munchkin's teeth decided that now would be a great time to work their way into the world. Awesome.

 

So, here is an uncomfortable but still trying to be cooperative little man in

 

Baby It's Cold Outside

BTW this isn't an attempt to be artsy (although my kid's pretty cute in black and white). The tablet was messing with the colour and Wildeman ended up looking purple in almost every shot. The warm uh...coveralls? Sleeper? Anyway, it's grey. You can see the colour in the tutorial. Just keep on scrolling.

My Other Pants are a Kilt - Part 3

It's the beginning of the end!
(but in a good way)


 If you have no idea what I'm talking about and you have never seen this picture before you want to be over here, not here.

If you are in the right place then: It's the beginning of the end! Congratulations to making it this far in the project and/or clicking on some links and reading some stuff!

By now I'm sure you're very familiar with this cutie.

My Other Pants are a Kilt Part 3

The Jacket and Sporran

This is part 3 of the tutorial for the Wildeman Holiday Challenge 2013: St. Patrick's day as well as my Sew-vivor audition this season.This formal Irish suit is made up of 6 different pieces. A button-down onesie, vest, jacket, bow tie, kilt and sporran.

No idea what challenge I'm talking about?
No idea what Sew-vivor is?
Haven't seen Part 1?

Caught up now? Good, on we go...

Part 1 -
Kilt and Vest

Part 2 -
Button down onesie

Part 3-
Jacket and sporran (You are here!)

I made the bow tie using this tutorial.

Baby Boy Formal Irish Jacket Tutorial

Wildeman Wednesdays #2

That's right! Twice in one day.

This week's Wildeman Wednesday bears a remarkable similarity to last week's (there's a tutorial through there). They're just bigger and shinier. I made pants for myself (and a man-thong for a friend of mine) and still had enough fabric for the front of Wildeman's new pants. The back is more scrap in a navy blue knit:

Can't wait until he's big enough to wear them!

Rock n' Roll Fever - Spring Fever Remix

Good morning Starshine, the Earth says hello.

Quoting bad movies...it's a bit of a hobby.

So Project Run and Play is having a quiet period of inbetweeness as they're gearing up for the all stars season which means yay for us because it's pattern remix time! I was completely stumped looking at this pattern as my baby is not so much a girl and I was having a hell of a time trying to figure out how to make this pattern look in anyway masculine and still make use of the great details:

 

 

That being said I had already fallen in love with that bib detail and there was no way I was letting it slip past me. And so I thought and thought and thought and I'm not sure what inspired me. I am really into fashion as art and costume design and in my own wardrobe I like to take risks and include a lot of pieces that most people wouldn't consider wearable like lime green and silver zebra-striped pants or hats made entirely of sequins.

 

Up until now I've been pretty safe with Wildeman's wardrobe. I have to stop that business or I'm at risk of stagnating. Once I had the conventions of baby clothing and boy clothing out of my head the creative block fell away and I had it! And that is why I love prompts especially ones that seem tailor made to trip me up.

 

Introducing Wildeman in

 

Rock n' Roll Fever

 

 

I down-sized the bodice considerably to fit my 4 month-old, added sleeves, and elongated it to become a romper. I interpreted the bib back as epaulettes, which are by far my favourite aspect of the outfit, Then I added an accent zipper in purple.

 



 

My Other Pants are a Kilt - Part 2

Hello Tutorial Readers,
(there is a tutorial down there)

Introducing Wildeman in:

My Other Pants are a Kilt Part 2

The Button Down Onesie

This is part 2 of the tutorial for the Wildeman Holiday Challenge 2013: St. Patrick's Day as well as my Sew-vivor audition this season.This formal Irish suit is made up of 6 different pieces. A button-down onesie, vest, jacket, bow tie, kilt and sporran.

No idea what challenge I'm talking about?
No idea what Sew-vivor is?
Haven't seen Part 1?

Caught up now? Good, on we go...

Sew-viving and My Other Pants are a Kilt Part 1

Hello Crafty Crafterson's

and also people who like to read about sewing/crafting and not do it. No judgment, just didn't want to leave you out of the greeting.

Today I bring you

Wildeman Holday Challenge 2013 #2

St. Patrick's Day

and also

My Sew-vivor Audition!

 

No bird killing on my blog but if I were the bird killing type I'd be knocking them out all over the place with one well-thrown stone.

 

Let me just remind everyone of the very first rule for the Wildeman Holiday Challenge 2013:

1. Make a complete, themed, ***non-traditional outfit*** for my baby boy for every major, and some minor, holidays...
 

Ok seriously, what the crap Mikelina? A non-traditional St. patty's day outfit? If it's green it's traditional and if it's not green it's not St. Patty's Day! I had a hell of a time with this one until I remembered that it isn't only Scots who have a history of kilt-wearing. Bingo. Plus baby kilts are just so damn cute. It was impossible to resist.

 

Introducing Wildeman in:

My Other Pants are a Kilt Part 1

The Kilt and Vest

 

The Exhibitionist - Baby Flannel Shirt with Cotton Panels Tutorial

Hello Everyone!

This is Part 2 of a tutorial for my Project Run and Play Sew-Along. This week was Week 6: Signature Style. Part 1 is over here (the hoodie and pants). The tutorial is after the jump.

My Signature Style:

 



Wildeman's version:

 

The Exhibitionist



He was getting grumpy fast, that flannel shirt was warm even with the cotton jersey panels for venting. My little man is a bit of a whiner when it comes to temperature.



The Exhibitionist - Alien Skull Hoodie Tutorial

Hey folks :)

Over at Project Run and Play this weeks theme is "Signature Style" and I had no problem at all identifying mine. My husband describes me as someone who "talks like a textbook and dresses like they are out of a music video". Couldn't have put it better myself. I like obnoxiously bright colours, bold prints, mixed textures and unexpected pairings. I have a mohawk and bold glasses, I don't think I'll ever switch to contacts. I like every aspect of my outfit to shout with personality.

But above all my number one factor will always be comfort. I have had fibromyalgia for over 4 years now and I avoid anything starchy, stiff or elastic, I wouldn't last a half hour. Luckily, the day I found out about this week's theme I was wearing an outfit that I though perfectly represented my signature style:

For mom:

 



I made every part of this outfit too! Skull T. Flannel. Pants.

 

For Wildeman:

 



The Ehibitionist

 



 

Baby Refashion Challenge!

Hello Foxy Crafters,

I have decided to start a challenge for the year of 2013. Now this kind of thing always makes me nervous as my health is very unpredictable. Right now I feel great but at anytime feeling great could end and I could be stuck in bed for days, weeks, even years. The fear that that might happen was almost enough of a reason to not make this commitment but you know what? I'm so sick and tired of living with my head down in case my symptoms flare and I have to drop everything. What would be the point of periods of near remission I didn't take advantage of them? So, without further ado I bring you...

The Wildeman Holiday Challenge 2013

Rules:

1. Make a complete, themed, non-traditional outfit for my baby boy for every major, and some minor, holidays (see the list below).

2. Every item in the outfit must be refashioned.

3. Each outfit may cost no more than 25$

4. I will post the outfit and it's tutorial at least 10 days prior to the holiday, that way you guys can have a go at it if you want.

5. Include total cost and full tutorial in each post.

The holidays:

February 14th - Valentines Day
March 17th - St. Patty's Day
March 20th - Spring Equinox
March 31st - Easter Sunday
June 21st - Summer Solstice
July 1st - Canada Day
July 4th - Independence Day
September 22nd - Fall Equinox
October 31st - Halloween
November 11th - Rememberence Day
December 21st - Winter Solstice
December 25th - Christmas
December 31st - New Years

Any other holiday suggestions?

Wish me luck and check back for each themed tutorial. Hopefully these will inspire both your creativity and mine and give me the oppurtunity to learn new sewing skills. Each challenge post will be tagged "Wildeman Holiday Challenge".

And here we go...

Mixologist - Boys' Week

Let's get down to business -

I just discovered Project Run and Play this week and I can't believe the level of awesome I have been missing out on. I immediately jumped on the chance to feed to birds with one seed (I'm not into killing birds, regardless of how many stones are employed in the process). Hubby, Wildeman and I were recently invited to Uncle Jukeboxs 20`s themed birthday party and everyone must be in costume. Everyone. So, without further ado I bring you Wildeman as...

The Mixologist

Waterproof Changing Pad Cover

You know what's a weird word? Pillowcase. Pillows don't go in a case. Why not bag or sack or cover. Or even pillowcasing. But case? Am I missing some period in the English language when a case was a bag?

Any way, this tutorial is for a changing pad COVER...not case. And on with the show!

When hubby and I bought our changing pad before Wildeman was born we thought we were getting one that was waterproof (seemed reasonable) but that was very much not the case (hehe, not the bag...it's beginning to make sense). Then we, being new parents, were all like, "Meh, who needs a waterproof cover, we'll be diaper ninjas's in no time!" It turns out the diaper is the ninja, evading explosive poos with wicked agility. Several dry cleaner bills later I finally got around to making a waterproof cover for the thing. I used PUL, polyurethane laminate, the same stuff they use for diaper covers. It was originally a fabric made for use in hospitals but now you can buy it in tons of baby-friendly patterns and colours. We were gifted with a few yards of it while I was pregnant, and I bought some in brown. The brown will eventually be a waterproof mattress cover for Wildeman when he starts sleeping in his own bed (I know the mattress isn't ninja).

Okay, seriously with the show now...