Shaving cream Easter Eggs

While the kids are falling into their Easter sugar coma I am going to blog and write and craft my way through the impending madness - kidding, just kidding.  My kids will not be entering a sugar coma anytime soon but they are perusing their Easter baskets so I have time to drop a few lines about our Easter project.  We tried the shaving cream eggs this year and the results were mixed.  It was VERY fun but the colors were not as bright on some of the eggs - something we intend to fix next year because of how much fun we had!

Supplies
Cheap shaving cream (I got mine at Walmart for less than $1)
Food coloring
Hard-boiled Eggs
Paper plates
Cookies sheets (I used two jelly roll pans)
Ziploc bags or plastic gloves (to protect fingers from the dye)
Fork (to swirl the colors)

1. Spread the shaving cream on the cookie sheet and drizzle the color on.  The neon gel colors showed up best on the eggs as you will see later.

 2.  I used a fork and the kids used their ziploc bags to swirl the colors

3.  The fun begins....

 
4.  And my daughter's fun ended more quickly than my son's....

5. Once the eggs were coated we let them sit for about 10 minutes before washing the shaving cream off.

Finally, as you can see, the result was varied.  They turned out a little brighter than the seem in this picture but not nearly as good as we'd hoped given other results we've seen.  So, we will be tweaking this next year for sure!!

Suggestions on how we can improve this??  Please let us know!

Repurposed jeans - denim hobo bag

As I've said before, I lost a bit of weight so I am recycling some of the clothes that do not fit anymore. One of the items I am using is an old pair of trouser jeans that are just too baggy.  I've seen a lot of denim purses lately so I thought I'd give it a go.

First, I cut out the inner leg seams as show here:

 
Then, I chopped the legs off and stitched along the open bottom to create the base of the bag.  It was pretty easy.  The natural shape lends itself to a cute little hobo bag so there you have it.

Next, I wanted to make a little "belt" for decoration since I have belt loops still attached.  To do this, I cut two strips from one pant leg, about 4 1/2" wide and divide each strip into thirds as shown here:

I braided each strip so I had two of these:

I stitched the strips together to make a belt and set them aside.  Next I had to do an interior so I chopped the bottom off of an old t-shirt and stitched the bottom closed like I did with the jeans.  It took a bit to ease the stretchy t-shirt into the denim bag but I was able to form the lining rather nicely.  

For the handle, I took two more strips from a pant leg and using the wrong side of one attached to the right side of another, created this handle:

I stitched the handle in place, wove the belt through the loops and secured them and here you have it, a cute little denim hobo with a t-shirt lining.

Machine washable, four pockets on the outside and plenty of space on the inside to say nothing of the durability of denim!  I am looking at a magnetic closure as I think stitching one small circular magnet to the inside of the back waistband would work with the pre-existing metal button.  If not, I'm going to add a cute little denim loop to cinch it closed.

This particular piece is exciting for me as it marks the opening of my Etsy store - Kharmic Chaos - where I will be posting versions of items I make for sale.  If you are interested, this is the first item!

Steampunk Mad Hatter - overskirt

Day 5 - the last day of Steampunk Mad Hatter week and the breakdown of the overskirt.

Actually, it was quite easy.  I had a simple white, A-line skirt I'd made five or six years ago.  There is little to it so it was perfect for the repurpose!

Essentially, all I did was bunch it and gather it and stitch some buttons on it to give it the right appearance.  I wanted it to sit on my hips and I needed to make some minor alterations so I cut a bit out of the middle of the back and used strips of suede to make it fit just right.  There are A LOT of buttons on this and most of them are vintage - from my great-grandmother's button collection and some from my mother's collection.

Steampunk Mad Hatter - corset

Day 4 means the corset.  I have done corsets before so I already had the pattern but there are several options out there.  I personally used Simplicity 2966.

Along with the notions listed on the pattern, I used the same suede used for the belt for the inside and the iridescent taffeta-type fabric from the hat for the outside.  I followed the pattern with no real deviation.  Make sure that you have good interfacing to line both fabrics.

I dolled it up with some embellishments and voila!

Steampunk Mad Hatter - shrug & pants

Day 3 of my Steampunk Mad Hatter outfit means the two things I didn't do too much to.

Shrug:

I purchased this white shrug a few years back and it was in my trash/scrap pile because of the discoloration and holes along the edging.  BUT, it was perfect for a makeover since it was generally in good shape.  I picked up the brown trim - about three yards worth - and stitched all the way around.  Then I added more embellishments and was done!

Pants:

Easiest part of the entire outfit!  These pants are just wide-leg, dark brown cords that I bought a while back and are now a bit too loose.  I cut the bulky flaps off the back pockets and tacked the waist a bit but otherwise they were untouched. So, I am not including a picture of them.

Steampunk Mad Hatter - Necklace & Belt

Day 2 of Steampunk Mad Hatter week brings us to the necklace and the belt.  

Necklace:

Simple chain & pendant - extremely easy to put together with a few jewelry making tools.  The chain was preset with a closure so all I had to do was select the correct length and insert my pendant (I chose a leather circle with golden hands).  Easy peasy and done in five minutes.

Belt:

I used scraps of suede left over from curtains I made a while back.  I folded the 6" wide strip in half, right sides together, and stitched it closed along the long side leaving both ends open.  I pulled it through the open ends and after tucking the ends in, I stitched all the way around the outside to give it a more finished look.  Then, I went to decorating!

Here it is in segments: 

I attached this awesomely huge button to one end and then started decorating.  The chain needed a little something so I added the mini keys and the cute little potion bottle that is filled with embossing powder.

The cute little MY BUTTERFLY book is actually Wee Book Bling by the fabulously talented SJ Byrne (who is also the author of MY BUTTERFLY).  You can purchase customized pieces HERE.  I also wore two other pieces like this on the belt during the Author Fair.  The satin strip held my large potion bottles via a long piece of cord.  

 The first small pouch is just a strip folded into thirds (the flap folded into a point).

The second, larger pouch was a wider strip folded in half and then a flap added over the top of it.  This was convenient and held my necessities ;)  Yes, that is a mini PRIDE AND PREJUDICE book.

 This part is the back so not quite as decorative but I intend to embellish it further in the future.

And this is the other end.  Easy, peasy.

STEAMPUNK MAD HATTER WEEK!

I am devoting this week to breaking down my outfit for That Book Place's Author Fair - the reason I have been lax in my Kharmic Chaos blogging.  It took a great deal of time to put this together but I am proud of the outcome and look forward to continuing to add to it.

This is my personal version of a Steampunk Mad Hatter:

I've given the break down of my potion bottles before, and as you can see they really added to the outfit.  So here is the breakdown of what I made/repurposed from head to toe and when each will be spotlighted this week.

Hat - I am doing this first as it was the most challenging, time consuming, and rewarding.  I will be selling versions of this hat at future appearances.

Necklace & Belt - Tuesday

Shrug & Pants - Wednesday

Corset - Thursday

Overskirt - Friday

The Hat.  Perhaps the most important part of the entire ensemble and I knew I had to get it right.  I've researched how others have made these types of hats and I ended up doing a hybrid of some of the suggestions - essentially, I did it my way.

Supplies

Posterboard

Fabric (I used an iridescent taffeta-type material)

Glue Gun & Glue Sticks

Embellishments of your choosing

Hair Clips

First I cut the posterboard in the the sizes and shapesr I wanted.  I experimented for a bit before I got the right design for this style.  Since I wanted the top to be comically large in comparison to the brim I made the brim a solid oval shape.  My pieces were somewhat like this:

I covered the two ovals and the circle with fabric using the glue gun.  The rectangle required some work including a bit of trimming but I eventually got the shape I wanted and taped it closed before covering it with fabric as well.  

Then came the construction part.  Wrong sides together, I attached the two large ovals to make the brim. Next came the tube, centered on the largest oval and finally, I attached the smallest oval to the top to finish it off and then the fun began!

What I used to embellish: Buttons, jewelry chains, knitting scraps, charms, and ribbon.  Lastly, I attached hair clips to the bottom to secure it to my hair.  Here is the finished product:

This was so much fun!  I intend to make several more variations!

Back with another repurposed sweater!

I'm just going to show part of the upcycle for this sweater today because starting tomorrow it is going to be STEAMPUNK MAD HATTER week.  More on that tomorrow!  For now, here is the sweater I am upcycling/recycling/repurposing:

I got this sweater a few years ago and have lost a bit of weight since then so it just looks sloppy now but it is still in good shape and I am a bit of a nerd who still likes the argyle effect.  The back is plain gray and that gave me an idea since I have another sweater just like this in solid black.  I'm going to show the cuts I made on this sweater since the black did not show up as well.

 

Here are the cuts I made:

The sleeves will be used for fingerless gloves (both the black and gray) and the top 1/3 will be used for another project (both the black and gray).  The bottom 2/3 of each sweater will be made into a skirt, one for me and one for my daughter.  

Supplies:

Sewing machine

Thread

Elastic (for the waist)

Embellishments

This was so easy and took about fifteen minutes. All you do is make a casing for your elastic by folding over the top and stitching all the way around but for 2" that needs to be left open for feeding the elastic through.  Make sure your elastic is long enough to be comfortable for your waist and feed it through (I like to use a safety pin in the end of the elastic piece).  Feed the elastic through the now formed waistline, stitch the ends together and then stitch the 2" opening closed.  

I opted to use some scrap fabric I had to make a white cotton ruffle around the bottom of mine to add a little funk to it.  

How I made the trim:

1) Cut two 5" wide pieces 1 1/2 times the width of the skirt.

2) Stitch the pieces together end to end

3) Stitch a narrow hem to give a finished look

4) Baste the top of the strip to allow for gathering

Stitch the gathered trim to the bottom of the skirt by placing the basted top beneath the finished bottom of the sweater so that it will lay flat.  I finished it off by stitching the ends of the trim together.  Here is the finished product:

It makes a cute skirt!  I am going to add some different embellishments to my daughter's skirt and will post hers when I complete it.  But again, this week is going to be STEAMPUNK MAD HATTER week on Kharmic Chaos!!!

Mini-break

We have many more crafts - MANY more - including the bits of the outfit I made for my Violet Patterson persona.  However, I have a convention to attend this weekend and want to take time to put up patterns and very specific information for some of the pieces I've made over the last week.  Do not fear, Kharmic Chaos will be back on track VERY soon!

DIY "potion" bottles

I like costumes.  It is so fun to dress up and be somebody else for a while.  In the past I have done some pretty elaborate costumes, diaper bags and purses, even custom clothes for myself and the kids.  Now that I am an author with more than one pen name, I find that I can put those skills to good use as I fashion wardrobes for each of my "personas."  For instance, as Violet Patterson I am author of the Emerald Seer Series, a paranormal romance/urban fantasy series geared for the 16 and over crowd.  As part of her gear I have opted to create some "potion" bottles. It was surprisingly easy and didn't take very long.  

So, here is what I used:

A small, empty bottle from Pom juice

nail file (I used disposable ones)

cord/twine

cotton balls

glitter

wood glue 

adornments of your choosing

Remove the lid and tab so you have just the plastic bottle.  Using your nail file rough up the outside of the bottle to remove the labels and give it a smoky appearance.  When you are done, it will look like this:

Use the wood glue around the top and then wrap the cording around so that it looks like a coiled rope.

I used wood glue to secure a bit of scrap suede (from another project) around the middle as well so the and attached a jewel to it for decoration.  

Tear up some cotton balls and drop them inside with glitter or embossing powder to get the appearance you are seeking.  I added a bit of chain, charms, and a cork.  Here are two of my favorites:

Papercrafting on canvas

We did something easy tonight - but very fun!

What we used:

One 8X10 and three 4X6 canvas boards
A few sheets of scrapbooking paper in complimentary colors
Plain, white Elmer's glue
Brushes
Blending bowls
Ribbon


This was so easy but the kids had such a wonderful time.  I took two old bowls that we normally use for crafting (mismatched but easy to clean) and filled them with approximately 1/4 cup of glue each.  I added a bit of water to thin it just enough so we could brush it easily and evenly.

The kids brushed their canvases evenly with glue, a nice heavy layer and then the real fun began.  They took turns tearing up and arranging their paper pieces in "just the right way" to cover their entire board.  Each time we put a piece down, we covered it with a layer of glue to make sure everything stayed put.  We covered the large board together after completing our individual pieces.  I am not sure what the kids found more enjoyable, tearing the paper or painting it with the glue but it doesn't really matter, does it?

When they were satisfied with the paper arrangements, I printed out our initials and this wonderful E.E. Cummings quote.  The kids glued them down and I attached ribbon to the backs so we could hang them on the wall.  It was ever so much fun and we now have more art work for our walls!