Happy Holidays from Kharmic Chaos!

I've been neglectful.  I own up to it completely.  November is an extremely busy month in our house.  I participate in NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) which means I spend most of my extra time writing.  This year, my daughter half participated and managed to write several short stories and poems which made me very proud.  The kids were heavy into toilet paper/paper towel roll creatures and people so our house is now littered with aliens, the 10th Doctor, a Dalek or two, and representations of our family members.

Now it is December and for us that means homemade Christmas presents and LOTS of baking!  We are cutting down our list of baked goods this year but only slightly.  I will share some of our recipes since I work hard to use family friendly recipes for the kids to maximize their help.  One of our favorites would be the Raspberry Star Cookies found on Allrecipes.com though we do not tend to do the star shapes and often use different flavors of jellies and jams.  

Tehawks, our Elf on the Shelf, has returned to wreak havoc on our house with her mischievous ways.  She's dumped the marker bucket in my son's room along with a few decks of cards, hung from the Christmas tree, fished for Goldfish crackers in the toilet - and all this in just one week of being here!!  It appears that we will soon have her pet moose joining us as well since he is causing too much trouble at the North Pole.  *sigh*

Look for pictures of our cookies and crafts as we move into the holiday season!

The finished Thorin Oakenshield costume

Sorry for the delay, we've had some serious cold and flu issues going on here and since November 1 I have been actively writing for NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month - 50,000 words in one month!).  Football is finally over for my daughter so we should be able to get back in the swing of things with the close of the month.  I have noticed, thanks to my rather observant children, that we do more things that we could post about - the cookie "cakes" I did for the football team, minor projects and helpful hints that make our lives easier.  I will do my best to be more diligent about this in the future, perhaps a "catch up post" to drop some of those things all at once.  Anyway, the name of this post is Thorin Oakenshield and that is what I want to deliver.  It was a rather crappy day here when we went trick-or-treating so the picture quality is not what I would have liked but it happens.  So, without further delay....

Thorin costume part III

Okay, the undercoat and overcoat are now complete.

The undercoat is the same material as the corset/armor as it was made from my sister's wrap around bridesmaid skirt.  I decorated the sleeves with the same pattern as the chest plate.  My model would not try it on again for me as she is currently feeling under the weather so please forgive the lack of photo at this time.

The overcoat is made from a faux leather jacket I wore as Bellatrix Lestrange a few years ago.  I cut it down and trimmed it up a bit, added some faux fur and here you have it!

The 10th Doctor costume

My son settled on the 10th doctor and I have to say, it is a fitting costume.  He wanted me to dress as the TARDIS or a Dalek to go with him but I declined.  It was the easier of the two to create so I am grateful to him for being so thoughtful...he he.

I managed to get the shoes at the Converse outlet for $20 and other than the sonic screwdriver, they were the most expensive part of the costume.

The suit, shirt, and tie were thrift store purchases - $19 in total - and big enough that he can wear them for some upcoming conventions we are looking to attend.

I made the trench coat with some excess fabric I had in my collection.  It was a bit tricky since the only pattern I had was Simplicity 5386 (Adult Male, The Matrix knock off costume pattern) and I needed to seriously size it down.  On top of that, I had to literally create the collar and alter the neckline.  It doesn't lay as well as I would like but he loves it and the overall effect works.

The sonic screwdriver can be found at Barnes and Noble, on Amazon, and honestly, if you Google 10th doctor sonic screwdriver there are several results.

Thorin costume - part two

The armor was going to pose a challenge any way I sliced it so I started with it.  My sister gave me several of her old dresses a while ago - including her bridesmaid dress from my wedding which happens to be a navy blue iridescent two piece.  The top is a corset that zips up the back and fits my daughter just so when she wears her costume shirts beneath it.  It is plenty loose and thanks to a fantastic silver fabric pen it now looks like Thorin's armor.  Fortunately, she has two more layers so I didn't have to go all the way around the corset with the design!

Thorin costume part one

ea this costume could get so complicated -or expensive! Consequently, I had to make some adjustments.  I pulled from some old costumes and some scrap fabrics - as pictured below:

AdI wore this coat when I dressed as Bellatrix Lestrange. A few alterations and it will become the outer cloak.

Fur purchased at Joann Fabrics, faux leather from the coat and scrap black fleece.

The bridesmaid dress my sister wore in my wedding.  It will become the armor and under coat.

You can see I have my work cut out for me...more pics coming soon!!

Things we've learned...

It's been a while, I know and I feel guilty about it.  We moved, school started, I started working full time again, my daughter was playing football and crafting took a back burner...but we've still been busy.  So, some things we've learned in the last few months:

1. Not all laminate furniture can be repainted as we are two for three on the furniture repaints.  The desk and file cabinet came out fantastically but the bookshelf turned out so-so.  (Pictures will be posted soon)

2. While it is often said that women/girls change their minds frequently I would argue that boys can be just as (if not more) infuriating when arriving at a decision on Halloween costumes.  (Final decision: the 10th Doctor)

3.  No matter how awesome a costume idea is, the completion of the costumes can become pricey so be prepared to make some concessions.  (Just wait until you see the finished Thorin Oakenshield for my daughter).

4. There is this amazing site that I have just been introduced to that is my new guilty pleasure... Craftsy.  Say hello to patterns, online classes, and project ideas galore - some of the patterns are even FREE!

5. There are so many amazing ways to inexpensively decorate a home and bring a cohesive design out of next to nothing.  I will be do a breakdown of our new living room space though in many ways it is still a work in progress.

6.  You actually can have too many paper towel and toilet paper rolls for projects.  (I promise, we have two plastic drawers overflowing with blank ones and I have a dozen new figures on my craft table....from Dr. Who to a Dalek to some random "people" my kids created).

7.  The new show, Sleepy Hollow, is fantastic and I cannot wait until the kids are old enough to watch it because I LOVE the mythology involved!

8.  If there were a way to add more hours to a day, I would because there is never enough time to craft or write or just snuggle with my kids.  I do work very had to fit in that last one wherever and whenever I can.  Life is too short and they grow up too fast.

Stay tuned, we will have pictures soon...but I will be at a convention for work the next three days!