The Last Minute Dragon

 Hello Readers. How are you doing? I am late, behind schedule and just all over the place in general. My mom had a stroke. She is recovering well but there has been a lot of back and forth so my schedule is a little off. I am happy and relieved my mom is doing better and everything else will work itself out too. But there is a little guy who wants to be a dragon. I am the sewing mom and I needed to get something together. 

I started with a red sweatshirt that was a hand-me-down and some red sweatpants. These are easy to find basics.

 I had to paint over the logo on the sweatshirt. I used a little acrylic paint to hide the white printing. 

The red paint will help hide that logo and so will the yellow chest I stitched on the front of the shirt.

The dragon from a favorite book, "There's No Such Thing As Dragons",  also has a yellow chest/belly so that is my inspiration. 

I added a couple horns to the hood of the sweatshirt. I cut out 4 horn shapes. I sewed 2 pieces together and added it to one side of the hood and then I did the same on the other side. 

I also made a little mask to attach to the front of the hood with Velcro. Do dragons have teeth? I assume yes.

You can see the Velcro on each side of the hood. There are pieces of Velcro on the back of the mask. The Velcro will let him take the mask on and off.

Now we get to the part where I cheated a little. We already had this dragon tail blanket/sleeping bag thing. This was ready to go and saved a lot of time. You can find them on Amazon. 

I filled it with balloons to fill out the tail and attached it to the sweatshirt. It has wings and spikes down the back. 

 It has wings and spikes down the back.

 

He said I sewed it very nicely and he just wanted some candy. I did give him some M&M's for taking these pictures.

I was happy I got it done before the weekend. I hope you are all well and I hope you get a lot of candy. 

***Chickie's Year End Review-He got candy and got to be a dragon. Win-Win!

Yee Haw! I'm a Cowboy

Hello Readers. You may already know this but tomorrow is October 31st. In most of the US kids will be going door-to-door to ask for candy. They say Trick-or-Treat to the person who answers the door and they are given candy. It is a great day to be a kid.. You get a lot of free candy. A lot of free candy. The only thing the kids have to do is wear a costume. What a great deal!

Some adults like to dress up for fun too. If you need to put together a last minute costume, here is one idea, become a cowboy. 

 

 

 

I found this leather jacket at a clothes swap a while ago. I have been saving it because I thought I could use the leather to make something. I never got around to that so, I had a western style jacket with giant shoulder pads waiting to be worn. It was in great shape but the shoulder pads and all the fringe just weren't my everyday style.

 

 

I knew the leather wouldn't fray so I started to cut it up. I basically removed everything I didn't like. The arms, the shoulder pads, the front collar, and the lining too. Once I started cutting it, the lining was fraying so I just took it all out.

 

 

I kept trimming until it was fitting well and the edges were all flat and smooth. The accessories are all gathered from around the house. I had the boots, the belt and the bandana. The hat is from the kids dress-up clothes.

 

 

Whatever you are doing tonight, I hope you have fun.

And thanks for reading.

 

Cow Appreciation Day

Hello Readers. How are you? Today is a fun day at my house. It's Cow Appreciation Day. It is not a big deal to everyone but it is to me. One day a year ChickFilA gives away free food to anyone who shows up in a cow costume. I have been doing this for many years, ever since my older kids were little. They liked dressing up as a cow when they were kids, and they liked going out to eat, and they liked waffle fries.

(ChickFilA didn't pay me for this post. They don't even know me. I just like chicken.)

I had a cow costume so, I was ready. My little guy needs something to wear. My daughter gave me this commemorative shirt for this years Cow Appreciation Day. I decided to use it for my little guys costume.

I tried to trace his body onto the shirt. I bribed him with M&Ms to get him to hold still. This plan backfired, the candy made him silly and full of manic energy. He was unable to hold still.

I tried a second idea. I used some clothes as a pattern. This is a costume to wear for fun so I am not worried about a perfect fit. I just need a basic costume for a 2 year old.

Here is his suit. It looks a lot like pajamas. That is OK, he is 2. As long as he gets to eat french fries, he will be happy. I stitched this suit together on my machine. It was very simple and quick. Now that I sewed it closed, how am I going to get him in and out of it? I had an idea for that.

I cut a 5 inch slit down the back of the suit. It made the head hole open up so I can get my toddler in his suit. I turned the edges under and that pulled the sides closer when I buttoned it. Pulling the sides together made the top a little smaller and helped the fit.

Here is the finished suit. It is perfect for the occasion. You are wondering why I didn't show it on my son right?

Well, here is a quick view of my attempt at a photo shoot with my active 2 year old son. He just wasn't having it. It didn't seem worth fighting about.

My costume is made of cotton sweat pants and a hooded sweatshirt. I cut up a men's undershirt for the white spots. I used pink felt for the udders. 

Thanks for reading, now go make something fun for yourself.