Amelie Jacket by Amelie & Henri (via Craftsy)

I love this site.  Seriously.  Craftsy is fantastic and full of amazing patterns and project ideas.  It's like Etsy meets Pinterest meets Hobby Lobby if all three were on steroids.  Yes, it is that good.  Anyway, my lovely friend (hi A!!!) and I were browsing this site when we came across this fantastic pattern for a jacket and I finally made it.    I purchased the pattern and finally had the opportunity to make it.  Well, I really didn't have the time for it being the holidays and all, but I wanted something new for once so when I saw the adorable white and black flannel with vintage keys all over it I knew it was meant to be.  I selected a black cotton with swirls to complement the flannel lining.  I could not be more thrilled with the result, it is LOVELY and I am looking so forward to showing it off but I simply had to share it here and give MAD props to Amelie & Henri for such an amazing pattern!  THANK YOU!!

Puppy Chow

I love this recipe.  My kids and I enjoy this munchie - along with almost everybody else I know - and it is SO easy to make.

The initial recipe is here.  But we have some little tweaks and tips to share.

1) Add a lil extra PB to the chocolate/PB combo
2) Add some vanilla and 1/4 c butter to the chocolate/PB combo
3) Try a flavored version of Chex (we liked the Vanilla)

It is SOOO easy to make this and a real crowd pleaser!

More recipes to come along with our Christmas crafts!!

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!