Busy Hands are Happy Hands

If you think that your life is going by at a leisurely pace, get yourself a teenager with after-school activities... next thing you know you're living off the snack basket kept in the car and a magical place called Costco...
In our case my Firstborn has become involved in the Drama department at his High School - we're now approaching show musical #3 and our house or life has never been the same.  Don't get me wrong - it's a lot of fun but so much work. I have been a busy Drama Mama sewing costumes and building accessories, upholstering set pieces; and helping to keep over 100 teenagers and tired parents fed.
I wanted to brag and post some of the projects I made for the last show - they put on Disney's "Beauty and the Beast" - a cast of 80 (including both of mine) - over 200 costumes sewn from scratch or rebuilt from existing ones - 3 months of very little sleep and a new look for our house - I call it "Early Hoarders - The Before Picture"! It was breathtaking to see the looks on the little girls' faces that came to see the show dressed up in princess costumes; we had set up an area to have pictures taken with Belle and the Prince after the show.

Here are just some of the things I made - mostly from leftover bits and pieces of fabric, trim, broken jewelry and my fave - cardboard TP rolls, plastic food containers etc. 

Some of the 25 custom hats I made for the finale:

I liked the idea of fashioning them in the style of other princesses:

Jasmine

 Mulan

Rapunzel

Cinderella

There were custom necklaces/chokers to go with each hat as well:

I will show some photos of the costumes soon. There are so many to go through...

There were also corsages for Prom to make; I made 2 for my boy's girlfriend and her friend, they came out really well (she's not the traditional floral girl).

Not to be outdone by Big Brother, my little one landed a big part in her school play and needed a costume as one of the Ugly Stepsisters.

Now that we're home for the summer I am hoping to work my way through the sadly neglected stash of projects before we start production work on the fall show...  I am already putting ideas together and have collected materials to build some prototypes... I really need to find a hobby on of these days!!!

Until next time.  C.

Huh? I have a blog???

Holy Smokes! Bring on the Ginko Biloba! I thought that I had a few more years before my memory was moving into the fuzzy stage...

We've been pretty dang busy around here - working (almost) full-time, taking care of hubby/offspring/home/pets/backyard(ahem...) and attempting to squeeze in some continuing education hasn't really left me with any energy. Add to the mix that Firstborn is now a Thespian (translate that to: "Mom, can you come and get me and bring _____" - insert whatever item he happened to forget that day). Being a chronic volunteer I signed my remaining free time over to help in the costuming department; I met some great ladies and made new friends, but seem to be suffering from PTSD whenever I see rick-rack... we must have gone through dozens of packs of that stuff! And the fun has just begun - new auditions are coming early next week! I've been a Shopping Maniac in the attempt to procure enough snack food to keep the basket of goodies I keep in the MomVan well stocked - I am in awe of how much a couple of teenagers can eat!

Christmas was a quiet affair; lots of pajama time spent on the couch with the kids - hubby sadly had to work. I'm guessing I ate close to my bodyweight in treats and have taken more naps than in the last few years put together... now I'm ready to get back to real life.

On the crafty front things have been somewhat quieter than normal. My first craft fair participation was less than successful, but thanks to word of mouth I am starting to get folks interested in my work.

Working in my field specific clothing items become necessary; right now for me it's all about infinity scarves/cowls to protect my neck/skin as well as long-sleeved shirts and gloves. I've been pretty busy making a number of things from my scrap stash; my work clothes while practical and comfy are anything but sassy.

Here are some photos from these past months:

We had a Ghoulish Bride scare us on Halloween... Boo!

There were blossoms galore in a freezing cold elementary school gym for the craft fair...

We've learned that Mommy should really measure...

There was some monkey business happening in our Christmas tree (monkey business, really? Wow, what a groaner....)

Girl Scout Powder Puff Derby Time! Plants vs. Zombies!

My dining room table right now... the T-Shirt carnage continues!

I hope that this new year will bring everyone peace, health, laughter and God's blessings.

Love,

Tina