Bantha Plush and Tusken Raider 'Ugly Doll'

Here is my Bantha plush (how-to available at http://www.starwars.com/kids/do/crafts/f20081124.html) and a Tusken Raider 'ugly doll', which I designed myself!

Instructions for the Tusken Raider 'Ugly Doll' are kind of difficult to explain since I designed it as I sewed. However, I'm going to attempt to explain as well as I can.

1. For the form, I used light brown fleece which I free handed on doubled fleece which I just stitched together, flipped inside out then stuffed.
2. For the tunic I used tan fleece. I made the tunic by tracing the form and cutting it out slightly larger, so it would fit over the form; I just stitched it and flipped it right side out.
3. For the robe and head wrap, I used tea dyed gauze. The robe was difficult and it's the most difficult to give instructions for. I made 4 rectangles of overladen gauze, two small rectangles for the arms and two large for the robe sides. I did this by folding gauze over and over on itself and stitching it with a zig-zag stitch with light tan thread. I then stitched the two large pieces together, made tubes for the sleeves and attached the sleeves to make a complete robe. I think that's the best I can explain the jacket.
For the head wrap I wrapped and sewed as I went to get good coverage and to get it wrapped how I wanted it to look.
4. Now for the details. For the sash I just used a strip of brown material. The mouth mask was made with a remnant of tan fleece and black embroidery thread. And for the face, I used two sizes of bolts for the eyes and face tubes which I stitched on with clear thread.
 

:) ENJOY!!!

Here's a picture of a Bantha and a Tusken Raider from the films: 

Here is my Bantha from different angles:

Here is my Tusken Raider front and back! I made mine much cutesier than the 'real' Tusken Raider. I stylized it like those Ugly Dolls!

Superhero Time

I saw this project last week on Filth Wizardry and I had to make one for my own daughter. She likes Batman so I constructed her a Batman Poncho-Cape and she LOVES it! I got the instructions from http://www.filthwizardry.com/2010/01/home-made-superhero-fleece-poncho-cape.html.

1 UP Burgers

I was having so much fun remaking Mario, I decided to incorporate him into our food by making 1UP burgers! Thanks to http://www.instructables.com/id/1UP-Mushroom-Mushroom-Burger/ for the help in constructing the burger :)

Mama Odie's Muffuletta Sandwich

Mine definitely did not come out as nice as the book pictured, but it still came out OK. This sandwich was very messy and hard to eat because of the height, but it was still delicious! This sandwich contained ham, salami, provolone cheese, and swiss cheese on a round Italian loaf spread with olive oil and muffuletta spread. 

Muffuletta Spread Recipe

5 ounces of green olives with pimientos, drained and sliced

1 tomato, chopped and seeded

1 garlic clove, minced

1 teaspoon dried oregano

2 tablespoons of olive oil

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1/2 teaspoon of both salt and pepper

-from Disney's The Princess and the Frog Tiana's Cookbook Recipes for Kids/ Copyright 2009 Disney Enterprises Inc. Published by Disney Press, an imprint of Disney Book Group. 

Banana French Toast

The Banana French Toast was absolutely delicious! I haven't made French toast in awhile and this version was wonderful. It was a bit hard to cook because it was so tall, next time I will cut the bread thinner so its easier to cook.

Ingredients:

Loaf bread (French or Italian) cut into thick slices, about 2 inches

1-2 bananas sliced

3 eggs

1/2 cup milk

1 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)

1-2 tablespoons butter

1-2 tablespoons vegetable oil

butter and maple syrup (for topping)

Cut a slit through the middle of the bread crust about 1/2 way through the slice. Stuff the pocket with 3-4 slices of banana. In a shallow dish, wish the eggs, milk, and cinnamon together. Heat the butter and oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Coat both sides of the bread in the milk-egg mixture and place in the skillet. Cook the bread on each side for 2-3 minutes, or until golden brown. Serve with butter and maple syrup.

Recipe adapted from the book: Disney's The Princess and the Frog Tiana's Cookbook Recipes for Kids. Copyright © 2009 Disney Enterprises, Inc. Published by Disney Press, an Imprint of Disney Book Group.

Too much fun with perler beads!!!

This week, Lexi, my husband, and I have been having too much fun with perler beads! I saw them on some craft websites which reminded me how much fun I used to have with them as a child. My creations as of yet are now much more detailed recreations of favorite characters.

Can you tell we like Mario and friends? :)

Fun with shirts

Over the summer I had a blast stenciling shirts! Here are some of the shirts I made. I had so much fun I plan to make more in the near future...

Duke's Macaroni and Cheese

This recipe was both simple and delicious! It was VERY cheesy! The only issue was that the top got very dry and the noodles on top were hard. I'm going to try to hunt down how to fix this issue for the next time I make it. In all, I think it was delicious and a good first attempt at homemade baked mac and cheese! :)

Ingredients:

1 pound cooked elbow or shell macaroni

Butter or Crisco for greasing the pan

3 cups half and half or whole milk (skim milk would work too)

12 - 18 slices cheddar or American cheese

Topping:

12 buttery crackers

2 teaspoons paprika

salt and pepper, to taste

Heat oven to 350°F. Grease a 13x9 baking pan or casserole dish. Spoon in 1/3 the cooked macaroni and one cup of milk then top with 4 to 6 slices of cheese. Repeat this two more times. 

For the topping, place the crackers in a bag and crush them with your hands or with a rolling pin. Mix in the salt, pepper, and paprika. Sprinkle mixture on top of the macaroni and cheese. Bake until bubbly, or about 35 to 45 minutes.

Recipe adapted from the book: Disney's The Princess and the Frog Tiana's Cookbook Recipes for Kids. Copyright © 2009 Disney Enterprises, Inc. Published by Disney Press, an Imprint of Disney Book Group.

Tiana's Famous Beignets

Tiana's Famous Beignets were delicious!!! Light, fluffy, square doughnuts, what's not to love? They are my favorite breakfast food! My daughter helped mix the ingredients and pat the dough down, I did everything else. They are not perfect but they were delicious! 

We fried them in our deep fryer but they didn't puff how I wanted them to and ended up being a bit lopsided. I think if the dough was thicker it would have been easier to fry them and they may have looked more square. I'll have to try adding some more flour next time.

Here's the recipe we used:

Ingredients:

• 2 3/4 cups flour (and additional for dusting)
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 cup buttermilk* 
• 1/3 cup water
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Vegetable oil, for frying
• Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting (optional)
• Honey (optional)

Directions:

In a medium bowl, combine 2 3/4 cups of the flour with the sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and nutmeg. Whisk everything together. In a large bowl, whisk together the buttermilk*, water, egg, and vanilla extract. Then mix in the flour mixture. Dust your work surface with some flour and place the dough on it. Pat or roll the dough into a large 1/2 -inch-thick square, you can dust with more flour if it gets sticky. Next, slice the dough into 2 1/2 -inch squares.


To fry the beignets, you can either use a deep fryer or 2 inches of vegetable oil in a heavy saucepan. If you use a saucepan, heat the oil until it reaches 325°F on a deep-fat thermometer and keep an eye on the temperature while cooking and adjust the heat accordingly. Then, carefully drop 2-3 dough squares at a time into the hot oil. Fry them for about 2-3 minutes, turn flip and continue frying for 2-3 more minutes. Using a metal or silicone slotted spoon (plastic could get damaged), transfer the beignets to a wire rack set atop paper towels to drain (if you don't have a wire rack a plate with paper towels on it works). Dust the beignets with confectioners’ sugar or drizzle with honey (or both) and enjoy!

*you can substitute with lemon juice or vinegar and milk. Put 1 tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice in a measuring cup and fill the rest of the cup to the one cup mark with milk.

Recipe adapted from the book: Disney's The Princess and the Frog Tiana's Cookbook Recipes for Kids. Copyright © 2009 Disney Enterprises, Inc. Published by Disney Press, an Imprint of Disney Book Group. 

Dollar Store Crafts - Bob the Tomato

I saw this craft on Dollar Store Crafts and I had to make one for my daughter, Katelynn, who is currently in love with VeggieTales! The craft can be found at at http://dollarstorecrafts.com/2009/12/bob-the-tomato-toy/! It only cost $2 and I was able to make one for each my girls, one big and one small.

Dollar Store Crafts - Wish Sign

 Wish Sign


$1 Wish sign
$1 Butterflies (3 pack)
paint - on hand
hot glue - on hand

I found this at the dollar store and I have seen wooden signs everywhere nowadays and I thought I'd make my own. I considered painting it a solid color like black, since most I've seen were black or white, but I preferred the brighter colors! I think the butterflies make it a little bit more whimsical. :)

I don't think instructions are needed... Paint and add butterflies... simple enough huh? :)

Dollar Store Crafts - Trinket Boxes

Trinket Boxes

$1 for boxes
$1 for the wood cutouts (only 2 of 4)
Paint - on hand

My eldest and I made these for her and her sister's room, she made her own and I made Katelynn's.

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Alice in Wonderland Dress: COMPLETE!

Here's my daughter Lexi in her completer Alice Costume!

Vampire Tutu

For Halloween, my eldest was Alice, of course, and my youngest was a vampire. I made her a simple red and black tulle skirt for her to wear over solid black clothes with a Billy Bob Vampire pacifier. Comfort for her was key. I wanted a full skirt but in the end I think I made it too full... but it looked darling!

For the skirt, I used one of those thick headbands with the holes. I strips of red tulle to the bottom layer then made a second layer of black tulle on top. It was very simple to do. I do recommend wrapping the headband around a box like you see in the picture, it made tying the tulle much easier!

Here are pictures of her in her costume. Not the best quality but she would not stop moving :)

  

Alice in Wonderland Dress: The Details

Working on the last details of the Alice costume. I am working on the hand embroidery, quite time consuming. I haven't embroidered in a while so I'm rusty. Even if its not perfect I think it will still look cute :)






I think the finished product is pretty cute. The embroidery took a couple weeks to finish, working a couple hours a day on it. I also made gloves out of ribbon and left over sheer material.

 

Thanks to alice_kingsley for the embroidery pattern at: http://alice-kingsley.livejournal.com/1295.html

Alice in Wonderland Dress: The Beginning

The first sewing project I am going to discuss in the dress I am sewing for my daughter Lexi. We watched 'Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland' and she has become obsessed and wanted an Alice dress (pictured) so I am making her one. Since there is not a pattern for the new Alice dress or one similar enough for a child yet, I used a pattern for a Cinderella dress and modified it for my needs. So far I have completed sewing the skirt and I have the bodice completed minus the puff sleeves and details. I will add pictures soon of what has been completed.

Here is another picture of the dress I am making.

Here is my daughter's Alice thus far. I have the completed bodice, minus the puff sleeves, and skirt minus the hemming. I plan on adding the sleeves,  sewing the dress together, and hemming tomorrow. Then on to the details. On the bodice, I am adding the buttons, black cording through the lace which will also help the lace lay flat, and I am placing small cording in place of the seams that were too complicated for a child's bodice, since it needs to lay flat and not curved.  The skirt has the most difficult details, the black embroidery on the skirt's edge.

Underneath the skirt in the film was a black and white petticoat what seemed like too much weighty material for a child's costume, so I decided to make a blue tulle skirt instead. I liked that the tulle shirt could be used later to dress up like a fairy or a ballerina, I liked its multi functionality. With the elastic waist, I could even wear the skirt and could match my daughters, who both have tulle skirts since Lexi loves to dress up. 

When I'm done with this dress, I will be sick of this color blue!