Halloween Costumes on Parade

When I was a kid, Halloween costumes were pretty much a cobbled together affair for most of us. Some kids got those flimsy printed jumpsuit things that they wore over their clothes, or maybe we scored one of those plastic face masks with elastic around the back of your head and cut out holes for your eyes and nose.

Here are some photos I found on the web. These are Ben Cooper costumes. Ben Cooper manufactured costumes from the 1950's into 1990's.

From The Bat-Blog



Oh-h-h, an I Dream of Jeannie costume, from the Go Retro Blog

These costumes were packed in boxes and would be stacked seemingly to the ceiling. There were four kids in my family, my dad was in grad school, and mom supported us working at the library. The hope of ever actually getting one of these was a slim hope indeed.

I did a little Internet research and found some of those costumes selling for upwards of $100.

Casper, Wyoming circa 1962



We generally had three standard costumes at our house: gypsy, ghost, panda bear. The panda bear costume had been made by my aunt for her kids and passed down to us. Pandas were popular in the 60's because China had sent a couple to the National Zoo and they were all the rage. Once my brother was old enough to go with us, we had a cowboy in the contingency. A hobo was also a safe go-to costume. We decorated brown paper lunch bags for treats and away we went, out into the night. Way back then kids could still trick-or-treat after dark. In fact, it went on most of the night.

We sure were cute. I'm the gypsy on the left.

After my daughter was born, I couldn't wait to start sewing costumes for her. Oh boy did I ever have plans for her to be the cutest little thing in her day care.

That first year, a dear friend bought her a ready-made pumpkin outfit. I had no plans for "off-the-rack" and certainly not a pumpkin but my friend was so precious and excited that there was no way I would want to hurt her feelings. It really wasn't a big deal anyway. She was kind of pumpkin shaped at the time (my kid, not the friend).

The following year I made a flower outfit for my little rosebud. It consisted of a pink fleece jumpsuit with a green leaf collar. The hat was a simple bonnet with artificial hydrangea glued to it. Poor kid roasted in that thing but she was super cute when the day care came to visit me at work.

The following year was the infamous woodland sprite costume. It had a full lavender ankle length layered tulle skirt and lavender wings with silver glitter and flowers to match the tulle and flower garland around the neck. It also had a floral and tulle garland with ribbon tails for her head. It was beautiful.

But when she tried on the finished outfit, she started crying. Not a little whimper but a full out cry with huge tears dripping onto the bodice. She was inconsolable and refused to wear it. She didn't even want to look at it again. I don't know why and neither did she. All I can think of is that I had sewn tiny little bells to the flower centers and the ends of the over-skirt petals and maybe she thought they were little bees. This photo was taken almost three years later (growing up but not around) and where the rest of that beautiful costume went is any one's guess.

The following year was the year of the cowgirl, mainly so she could get new cowgirl boots and a matching hat. If she had worn underwear as a costume, she would have been happy, just give her a hat and boots.

Next came Dorothy, because she liked that movie and thought the Wicked Witch of the West was the most terrifying thing ever. But there was no way she was going to dress as the witch so Dorothy it was, especially after we found an authentic pattern. And red sparkle shoes? This was her fourth pair.

Ah, the Renaissance Girl, by far my favorite costume. She helped pick out the material: satin for the dress, quilted "velvet" for the bodice and skirt trim, white satin and gold "sheer stuff" for the sleeves and underskirt. I wish I could show you her face because she has the sweetest smile in this picture. However, as a matter of policy, once she began to look like herself, I prefer to keep some degree of anonymity. You mom's understand.

She wore this costume the next year at school with a silver crown, a bow, and a quiver of "arrows" for Story Book Day at her school. The kids were encouraged to dress as their favorite story book character. She was Queen Susan from Chronicles of Narnia.

The following year was a knight in shining armor year. My kid loves knights and Narnia, Shrek and dragon hunters- all in the name of vanquishing evil. It's the reason we took up fencing. Somehow, we don't have a picture of her wearing this costume. I suspect my mother-in-law has one as her neighborhood is the scene of the trick-or-treating mayhem.

We used some of that polyester fabric that's supposed to look like sequined material and turned it inside out to get the chain mail look. My kid would throw me under the bus for a real chain mail suit. She wore black leggings and big ol' black boots. She also had one of her many swords along with her just in case a dragon flew in to steal candy.

The following year, I knew that I would be overseas during Halloween. We gathered all the parts we needed for the pirate outfit, including the fabric, and my mom sewed this awesome Pirate jacket. I was a little envious that I missed getting to make it. I blurred the kid's face but with the beard she painted on her face and the eye patch, she's pretty unrecognizable.

Next came Indiana Jones, a last minute, cobbled together outfit, just like when I was a kid. Zippy loved being Indy and spent the night leaping off of things, charging around the countryside with her whip, whacking at bad guys and nepharious looking trees and fence posts, belting our the theme song the entire time. I do recall that the candy haul that year was exceptional for some reason.

Last year, my good-versus-evil kid made her appearance as an X-wing fighter pilot. Again, no pictures because I was working and no one else thinks of taking pictures. You'd think it would rub off. Anyway, she was adamant that there would be no homemade costumes. My visions of lovingly sewing a beautiful wedding gown someday are beginning to fade just a bit- unless it has a sword or light saber.

Sigh.

We've already begun the wrestling match that makes up our coming to an agreement about what to be for Halloween. There's simply no chance of sewing a princess gown, not even Princess Leia. Maybe Chewbacca.

What wonderful costumes have you been sewing?

Smash Those Pumpkins

I made these pink pumpkins for a breast cancer awareness display at work.

I did a very quick count just now and came up with fourteen beautiful women whom I know who have battled breast cancer. Family, friends, co-workers. Not all of those fourteen women won their battle.

So Save the Ta-Tas. Grammy Your Mammies. Smash Your Pumpkins.

Do whatever it takes to equip yourself with the knowledge you need to protect and detect.

I've listed some resources below:

• Susan G. Komen, as expected, has a website full of information. Check out the page ion Breast Self Awareness.

• CareFlash has a video on how to do a Breast Self Exam.

• BreastCancer.org has a nice video about symptoms that you should not ignore.

• Also check out the site for the National Breast Cancer Foundation.

It's Candy Corn Season! Yippee!

I try to eat healthy. I really do. But I have a sweet tooth that just about busts out of my head, so it can be difficult at times. And candy corn- oh momma. Yes, these can make your teeth hurt if you eat more than five or six. There are very few things that I can't somehow manage to jam into a food group in order to justify eating it but candy corn is one of those things. Having a bag of candy corn in the house is like having a sleeping bear in my bed- if I open that bag, there's a good chance the candy corn will come out of hibernation and devour me.That's what it looks like anyway when my entire head is in the bag.

So I refrain. Until I see this---

Food Network- click this link for their recipe.

Isn't it pretty? So I made a couple versions of my own. That's right, two, not one.

The bottom yellow layer of the dessert on the left is lemon jello with pineapple. I really don't care for canned pineapple, which you have to use when adding to jello, so it's probably way better to use fresh pineapple and nix the jello. The bottom layer of the dessert on the right is lemon pudding, a fast and easy stand in to lemon curd. Be sure to use good quality mandarin oranges from a jar as the canned ones taste, well... canned. The recipe from Food Network calls for briefly marinating the oranges in orange liqueur, which I'm sure is yummy, but I wanted to be able to offer this to my kid when I was done. And please pardon the droopy whipped topping- it was close to 95 degrees in my kitchen the day I took these pictures.

So, if you make this with fruit, candy corn is good for you. Eureka!!

Senor Poquito- A Good Buddy

We got Senor Poquito ("Mr. Little Bit") in March of 1998. We were told he was three weeks old and the mother had died three hours after delivering Pokey and two other pups. The owner was desperate to find homes for them. His eyes were open when we brought him home but if he was three weeks old it was just barely. We always thought something was a bit fishy about his story but there he was- cute as a button and in need of a good home.

We were told he was a Chihuahua and in fact the other pups in the litter definitely were Chihuahuas but Pokey was always just a bit different. He topped out at 16 lbs and his coloring matched the Belgian horses exactly. In fact, even though they weighed almost infinitely more than he did, Pokey used to regularly chase and terrorize the horses. He also enjoyed stalking and fighting ground hogs, not your usual Chihuahua behavior. We began to call him a Belgian Chihuahua Hound. Very rare breed indeed.

A lucky boy to have found us, he began to grow and meld into our little household.

When our kid came along, Pokey knew that his spot as Number One had been taken from him and yet he never held it against our girl. He not only took it upon himself to keep the cat away from our daughter, he first began to give hell to anyone who came knocking on the door, especially that suspicious UPS guy. The protector in him emerged.

And with time he found a place in his furry little heart for the kid. Of average doggie intelligence, a person could not ask for a more loyal and trust-worthy doggie. Not once- not once- did he ever snarl, growl, or snap at our daughter. If she was getting on his nerves he would just get up and walk away.

Pokey grew into a handsome dog and was a good sport about all the fun we had at his expense. But like I said, he was loyal and loving.

Pokey worked things out to his advantage in his own way.

He even came to mostly tolerate the annual spring hair cut, though he never was one to hold back sharing his thoughts about the whole hair cutting situation.

A couple summers ago he had a tangle with a racoon. Boy, do I hate those things. We didn't realize Pokey had gotten a nip until the next day when he yipped about being petted (at the time, it was highly unusual for him to complain about being petted). By the next day my husband had to make an emergency run to the vet, dear Dr. S, for a lancing, some stitches, and a round of antibiotics. Did I mention I can't stand those dirty racoons?

 

 

There he is, photo after photo, year after year, hanging out with us, managing to get some lap time and plenty of lovin'. In return he gave us lap time and plenty of lovin' and remained fiercely loyal and protective.

Then came Remy the Rat Terrier. Wanting nothing to do with him at first, Pokey came to eventually tolerate even Remy.

They are both Snuggle Machines so they worked it out. But Pokey never let Remy forget who the Alpha Dog was at our house.

It's Smudgie, the cat. But that's another story.

With many good years of hard playing under his collar, Pokey began to slow down last year. Twelve years old this spring, he began to spend an increasing amount of time in the Utility Room re-arranging the laundry to meet his soft-napping-place specifications. He withdrew from everyone in the house but me. Eventually, even I slipped to the very edge of the list as his health issues progressed and he spent the majority of his days sleeping. I cherished the few minutes each day that he felt well enough to be with me.

The past couple months have been difficult at our house as Pokey slipped further away from the dog he had been. You know where this goes. If you're not a dog lover I guess it's hard to fully understand how much a person can love their dogs. We aren't those nutsy folks who treat their pets like children. They eat pet food from the pet bowl  on the floor and they don't wear clothes (for the most part). We love them much and treat them well. We cherish every bit of companionship and loyalty and realize that it would be just about impossible to repay that unquestioning affection in kind.

The last few days have been odd at our home. I get up from what I'm doing to go check on him before I remember that he's not there. I come in the back door and look over at his spot, without thinking, to see how he is. In my heart I think that I feel his absence the most of anyone because I always considered him to be my dog, not the family dog. Maybe my husband, big teddy bear that he is, feels the same way.

If you've read the "Expecting Butterflies" page of this blog, you know that The Butterfly Jungle is all about celebrating the moments of joy and fun that surprise us in life, the "Oh look, a butterfly!" moments. One day, we exclaimed, "Oh look, a Poquito!" and it's been great. Senor Poquito- Mr Little Bit- gave us more than just a little bit of joy. He was a quirky dog but we were so lucky to have found him.

I'll miss my good buddy.

Paper Quilts

Whether you like cooler weather or not, fall coming around the corner means one snuggly thing for certain- quilt season.

I have been fortunate to receive a few old quilts, mostly made by my husband's grandmother, and love love love them. The quilts I really like are the ones that have been used and worn.

Those frayed edges and pulled seams speak of years of warmth and comfort. I can just imagine my husband as a little kid being tucked in by his mom for the night, maybe his tummy already warmed by some of Granny's fabulous soup for a cold and fever. Or maybe he played outside in the snow all day, building snow forts, hurling snow bombs at his brothers, chasing dogs and cows through the drifts. There's no better way to end a day like that than to have a warm bath and fall exhausted into bed under a pile a quilts.

Maybe these quilts have been on hundreds of picnics, providing a soft and colorful place to spread out the bounty and chow down. Then you spread yourself out on the quilt, arms behind your head, and doze off- tummy full, heart happy- after gazing at the clouds or talking about nothing much with someone dear to you.

Though I love to sew, I've never made a quilt. The time and where-with-all have always eluded me. But some day ....

In the mean time, I play with paper and scissors. Until that happy day when I can snuggle under a handmade quilt of my own, I'll be content with ...

Paper Quilts. Ok, not as warm or snuggly but still full of color, pattern, and endless possibilities. Let's get started.

The quilt squares I have been making are 12 inch square, mainly because that size fits nicely into an LP Album frame, which is 12.5 inches square.


For this size project, you'll need:

Background paper to serve as the "base". I used posterboard.

Scrapbook paper
Glue stick

ruler

pencil

This particular block for today's project is an easy block for beginners called Ohio Star.

I picked this size and pattern to use with my patients as it gives nice big squares to handle, cuts easily and quickly, and makes good use of the scrapbook paper with little waste.

An even easier block for beginners is Shoo Fly, shown to the left.

Both are what's called nine patch quilt blocks because they consist of three rows of three blocks.

Beautifully, the variations and possibilities are endless even if you use the same colors for every variation.

Cut a 12.5 inche piece of poster board so it will ift nicely into your frame.

 

Then draw a 12 inch square onto the posterboard, leaving a 1/4 inch edge in each side.

 

Divide the 12 inch square into a nine patch of 4 inch squares.

 

 

About selecting your papers---

I'm no quilting expert but just a couple of comments:

A nice bold pattern with a solid works well ...

 
... as does a nice bold pattern with a smaller coordinating pattern.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 
Patterns that are each busy, even though on different scales, can be tricky and my approach is just to experiment and see what jumps out at me. Isn't that half the fun?





 

Patterns that are too similar in scale, busyness, and color might not work. But hey- you're the artist, go with what you like.

Some papers have a coordinating color or pattern on the back, which is nice if you lock up and can't make a decision. I've been there.

My last comment is that the gorgeous piece of paper you totally love ...

... might not work well when cut down to a 4 inch square or 2 inch triangle. But again, it depends on the look you want and maybe the color and suggestion of the pattern are perfect for you.

 

For the Ohio Star, you need 3 four inch squares of color A, in this case pink,

and 6 four inch squares of color B, in this case green.

Use a paper cutter or a rolling cutter to cut your pieces, unless you are gifted with a really steady hand.

Be sure to cut your triangles straight from corner to corner. Just like with sewing and so many other projects, the initial cutting is so important to do well.

Cut 2 of the color A (pink) squares into 4 trianlges each and

cut 2 of the color B (green) squares into 4 triangles each.

Making sure that your grid and the paper pieces are square, start gluing your quilt together, beginning in the center of your block.

A good coat of glue is important but it is very important to get that glue all the way out to the edges so that your quilt doesn't start to peel. I know, old frayed quilts are comfy and homespun but for paper quilts, well, I suppose there's something there that could be done.

Keep your block pattern handy and work your way out from the center until you're done.

Let your block dry completely before you slip it into the frame.

West Virginny Moonshine, an original block by Marcia Hohn.

Friendship Block

I've been saving the 40% and 50% off coupons from Michaels each week and buying album frames (yes, one each week) for a project that involves paper quilt blocks and a large wall in my foyer. Hmmmm, what could it be?

Of course I'm thinking just now about how one of these would look decoupaged to the top of a little square end table. Or maybe a bunch of smaller ones on a dresser top, hall table, changing table.... 

I did this project a couple of years ago with some patients and we ended up with a really nice paper quilt for our wall. Some of these folks were pretty good.

We used stickers as appliques. Pretty slick trick.

Here's a quick list of links for quilt blocks and related information:

Quilter's Cache- this is Marcia Hohn's site and she must not do any housework because there are a cagillion blocks here.

World Wide Quilting Page- again, people with a maid.

The Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative-

A national, grassroots charity whose mission is to raise awareness of  and fund research for Alzheimer's.

So give this fun project a try and I would love to see how it comes out!