I am slowly going crazy

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Slowly going crazy, am I?
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Do you ever spread yourself so thin, you wonder how you haven't blown away like a leaf? I'm having one of those months, years, life times. I love being involved and having a lot going on, but things have been getting a bit out of hand. It's really no one's fault but my own.

Moral of the story? I don't have much time for this post, but I wanted to show a picture of my completed Ursula costume. I am pretty happy with how it all came out.

 

The dress is a summer one from Old Navy that's too long so I've only worn once. I thought the white vine design sort of resembled seaweed. The tentacles are made from triangles of sparkly purple fabric, black cotton and one layer of quilt batting. I sewed them right onto the bottom of the dress - I'll just cut off the inch or two that I sewed them to, then hem to the length it needed to be in the first place. I connected the tops of the two tentacles in front and two in back right to the dress. The left two and right two tentacles have ribbon loops to go over my fingers, so they move with my arms. As we were outside and it was windy, I put on a shrug too.

The eels are felt. I just made elongated ovals and sewed them together like a single piece of an Amish puzzle ball - 2" seams inside-out so I could make their fins. I curled them up and tied them with a rubber band for the week so they stayed that way when I attached them. Then I used a Sharpie to make eyes, nostrils and a mouth. They are attached from the inside with safety pins too.

Shell necklace, crazy makeup and half a can of Auqas Net later, I'm Ursula!

What do you think? 

We are having our Halloween party on Saturday and I think I am going to skip the hair thing this time. It is so gross to have that much hairspray and white coloring in my hair. I was impressed that I retained that volume the entire night!

Winter warmers

If you've noticed my Flavor of the Week pics on the right sidebar, you've probably figured out that I am obsessed with cute things that will keep me warm during Iowa's brutal winter - especially in gray. I try to avoid the outdoors as much as possible between November and March, but I still freeze inside. At the office, it's the worst. My hands freeze while sitting at the computer all day. Solution? Cute, fingerless gloves in soft gray that match everything.

I haven't crocheted in a really long time, but it seems that I still know what I'm doing. I just made these up as I went, trying them on frequently.

I want to keep these at work, but I am wearing them as I type this and I am realizing I'm going to want a pair for home too! Now I have to decide what color to make those.

What do you think? To add a bit more interest, I did a triple crochet row every third row and I added the small tabs with cute buttons. Both of those details are rather hard to see in the pictures though.

They aren't enough to make me wish it was winter, but they make me dread the snow just a little less.

Tattered Halloween Curtains

After I put up the Halloween decor, my cheery yellow kitchen curtains were looking a little out of place. I was going to sew some tattered curtains but I don't have a lot of extra time these days, so I opted for the no-sew version.

I made them out of crepe paper - although Martha recommends black trash bags. These babies cost about $1.50 for two medium windows! Tear off strips in varying lengths. Wrap around your curtain rod, forming a loop, and Scotch tape on the backside. Then stretch out the sides of the paper, alternating sides and spacing. Be careful not to tear them completely in half, but I just left any smaller tears because I think it makes them look more worn and creepy.

Halloween math

2 fat quarters
+ 1 free pattern
____________
4 Halloween treat bags!

These are so cute, I can hardly stand it. They were super simple to make too. The fabric is Boo to You by My Mind's Eye. The pattern came from the Fall 2010 Quilts and More magazine.

They are just the perfect size for a gooey popcorn ball and a few pieces of Halloween candy. I've made 12 now but I want to make more by Halloween because I have a few trick-or-treaters in mind that will be getting these. I cannot believe it's October already!