Maternity Wolverine OOTD

Big belly nerdiness

Shirt: DIY

T-shirt: Thrifted

Pants: Feilds

Shoes: Thrifted Airwalk

Glasses: Clearly Contacts

Maternity OOTD 20 Weeks

I wore this while my husband and I walked around town handing out resumes.

Comfy, casual and super cheap.

Top: Thrifted 2.99$

Under shirt: Thrifted tank 1.99$

Leggings (not maternity): Fields 19.99$

Boots: Payless 27$ on sale

We're still waiting to hear back. Wish us luck!

Big Voluminous Curls Tutorial

Who says mohawks can't be girly and feminine? I for one was not prepared to give up huge curly hair just becuase I had shaved off most of my hair. So, without futher ado, let's get our curl on!

You're going to need some tools for this one:

Curling iron

Soft bristle brush

Your regular hair brush

Curl pins or bobby pins

At least a few fingers

And some gentle hold hair spray

Step one:

Brush ut your hair so that it's nice and easy to curl.

>

Step two:

Seperate a lock of hair from the base of your neck, at the very bottom.

You'll want to the rest of your hair our of your business with a hair tie or pin.

Tool time! Heat your curling irons ladies and gentlemen.

You're also going to want to make some hair pins available right about now.

And curl!

I like to curl away from my face, hold the curling iron on for just a few seconds, of course all hair is different, you'll have to get to know how yours responds to heat.

Now, pull out the iron and quick like a cat roll your hair back up in the same direction you just curled it until it's tight against your scalp. Grab that pin we prepared earlier and pin that sucker in nice and tight.

Good stuff.

Now do it again.

And again, and again.

You want to work up from the base of your skull toward your face.

I like to curl the hair at the front straight up, I have a theory that it gives you extra volume right around your face but I've never done proper labratory testing to prove the hypothesis so you're just going to have to trust me.

By now your head shoud look like this.

Naturally adjust for lack of mohawk or colour variation.

It acutally looks kinda cool.

Now, spray those pinned curls with your gentle hold hair spray and wait until they are dry and cool to the touch. Should be just a few minutes.

Freedom!

Release your hair from it's prison!

Don't worry, we have a couple more steps we're not quite done yet.

Now, using the fingers I mentioned earlier pick through your hair very gently to seperate the curls and add even more volume. Don't be raking your claws through there. Treat the curls with love. You've worked hard for them.

Gentle now.

Tool time!

Now very carefully use the soft bristle brush to smooth out the fly aways and give your curls a nice refined look.

What do you think? Not too bad at all, it only took us 20 minutes.

Perhaps if you are anything like the many ladies who have said to me something along the lines of,

"I would love to do that but I could never be brave enough."

or

"But I could never pull it off like you."

this will inspire you!

Girly mohawks for all the chicks who secretly want a mohawk, but have no idea how to make it fit into their sense of style!

And for everyone else: Whatever hair you want!

Craft on my friends, Mikelina

PRnP Week 1 - Boys Popoveralls

I'm so excited to be done on time!

For this season of Project Run and Play the week one challenge is, as always, the pattern remix. This challenge is my absolute favourite especially as it tend to offer an additional challenge to those of us who don't have girl's to sew for.

I didn't start this challenge until Tuesday, the day after the challenge was anounced. I was inspired by Sewing Like Mad's 32 pattern piece dress. Wildeman's Popeveralls have 25 pattern pieces in all. This is certainly the most complicated piece I have ever sewn for Wildeman!

I started by drafting this pattern on my own and drawing out on old wrapping tissue. Pretty!

I cut the pieces out from these old button down shirts that my aunt handed down. My whole family has started funneling old clothing to the family-refashioner. No complaints here!

Then I sewed each and every little piece with Edmund, my trusty serger.

I feel like I'm finally gaining the skills as a seamstress and refashioner to take my crazy ideas to fruition and really be proud of the things I make. I've come a long way in the last few years and so much of that is due to the incredibly community of bloggers who share their passion, skills adn discoveries with each other. I'm so glad to be a part of such a friendly, creative group of talented women.

Thank you and craft on!

Rock - A - Baby T-shirt Refashion Tutorial

Hello crafty humans (and readers of other species, no disrepect intended),
I have finally been able to get started on Wildeman's fall/winter wardrobe, which I must make in all 18-24 sizes despite that fact that my little man has not yet had his first birthday.
For my first trick I present to you...
Wildeman in
Rock - A - Baby


I started with this women's medium shirt that I picked up on a trip to Bellingham for 5$
I chose it or these epic epaulettes.
The first step was to cut it into pieces. I based the size and shape on a nearly too small t-shirt. But somehow still made the new shirt too small. I ended up using a handy old trick: side panels.
As always I lined up the shoulders and layed the shirt flat to attach the sleeves. I layed it flat to sew the epaulettes back on with the machine instead of sewing them on by hand, which was my original plan. I like sewing by hand but it hardly seems worth the time put in anymore now that Wildeman is taking fewer and fewer naps.
And voila! Super easy one-nap refashion with a big impact!

Simple Outfit Of The Day ( And Surprise)!

My blogging has been a little incosistent as of late. With the beginning of a new season of Project Run and Play I would like to recommit myself to this incredible and talented community of sewing mamas and to my baby, Mikelina Makes. And I would like to explain my absence with this single picture instead of with words:

Yep, Wildeman has a sibling on the way, baby [blog-named] Heart is due in April and between rushing to sew maternity clothes for my showing-at-nine-weeks bump and going through tests and such we have been crazy busy!
oh, and did I mention...
WE BOUGHT A BUS!!!
The less crazy among you may be wondering, "...hmm? What now? A bus? Why is that exciting. Why would you even buy a bus?"
Well, friends, readers, casual link clickers, avid googlers we bought a school bus to convert, and promptly move into. Roadtrip of life!
Readers, Mr. Bunbury. Mr. Bunbury, my lovely readers:
I'll link soon to the new bus blog where I'll be chronicling the whole process from 1993 school bus to travelling home for a family of four!
So many exciting things! I can't wait to share them with you all and to see what you all are doing!
Live long and crafty my friends!

For Girl's Who Like Baseball

Hello Crafty Ladies and Gentleman.

I found the most incredible fabric for 7$ at a thrift store last week! And while it definitey had to become a little girl's dress for my etsy shop I just couldnt pass up the oppurtunity to make something for myself too!

It's a just a basic circle skirt with a tie closure. I'm wearing a black petticoat underneath it for maximum poofiness. There are great tutorials all over for it but it has one basic principal: Cut a circle.

Just had to share my newest project.

AND: I went thrift store shopping down in the states yesterday (So cheap, America is awesome - even if they still have pennies) and got sooo much fun stuff. Amazing baby boy refashions ahead. It's been a while since Wildeman got something new.

-Mikelina

Sharing Is Caring!

Hello lovely crafters!

I am so excited right now because today I am being featured over at House of Estrela by the lovely and talented Magda as a part of her Refashion Month. You should definitely check that out over here.

My post is a refashioned retro swimsuit:

Refashion month has been going on all month so be sure to check out all the inspiring creativity from the other contributers as well as Magda hereself!

-Mikelina xo

The Up Down Pompadour - Hair Tutorial

Hello and Welcome to my first hair tutorial!
A while ago (too long ago) I got a request for hair tutorials from Kay Brady. I loved the idea but was hesitant at first because long chick-mohawks aren't exactly something you see everyday. Then I realized that for most of the hair styles I do the mohawk is not a necessity.
So, let's get started shall we?

Pinspiraton: Sunburst Miniskirt

My Pinsiration:

Happy Summer Crafty Ladies and Gentlemen!

I have had my eye on this pin for at least a year now. I fell in love with it right away and knew that it would be so easy to do but couldn't quite bring myself to wear a mini-skirt until I had lost more of the baby weight (which is not something I'm happy about btw. I have to work on that. Miniskirts look great on big girls!) . And now this oh so easy, oh so cute refashion is mine!

I unfortunately don;t have a source for this as the pin clicks to through to a 404 but I pinned it to my very overdue Spring 2012/2013 board. 3 down, 16 to go.

Miley Cyrus, "We Can't Stop" Inspiration

Hello Crafty Craftersons

I think that Miley Cyrus may have won me over this week. I'm not sure why yet but I was equally disturbed and entertained by her latest video "We Can't Stop". Disturbed by the blatant over sexualisation of young girls (I just want to specify here that I am 23, therefore a "young girl" and I have nothing at all against healthy, personal, meaningful, expressions of our sexuality) and generally entertained by the song, art deco style of the video and giant teddy bear backpacks.

But most importantly of course by the fashion:

Miley Cyrus wore this super cute teddy in just a few short cuts from the video but I fell in love with it at first sight. Super comfy, sexy pajamas out of an awesome T? An awesome graphic T?!?

I was in heaven.

Go Canada!

Peaceful, pandering independence is the best.

 So, Canada's birthday is coming up and how am I celebrating? With plaid! Red plaid! Red plaid flannel! My kid looks like a tiny lumberjack. Speaking of which allow me to present to you:

  The Tiny Lumberjack

The shirt was made from a plaid flaneel men's buttom down, 5$, and it went like this:

A tutorial over here. Just make it bigger or smaller respectably ;)
The pants were formerly an awesomely stripey shirt. I love these pants! Definitely one of my favourite Wildeman pieces. I wish I had gotten better pictures but I will update later with more. Right now there's a pesky border and a few hundred miles in between us but soon...we will be reunited!
I messed up a bit on these pants (as much as I do love them) so I'm going to be remaking them, mistakelessly (hopefully). Tutorial forthcoming! I will be posting a tutorial for the ridiculously cute bow tie soon!