Green Project: Prince Charming Costume

Still recapping the summer here but this costume post comes just in time for Halloween.

Fiona's BFF turned 5 in June and after his Mama blew my mind with some beautiful handmade doll bedding {I'll have to share that soon} for Feefs' birthday I knew I also wanted to get crafty for his gift.

Dress up is big in our house {and occasionally out of the house, like the grocery store, park, walk, etc.} and though Charlie has been a great sport dressing up in some pretty feminine frocks, I wanted to expand his options.

Presenting: Prince {Charl}ing.

I had in my mind something similar to Prince William's wedding wear.

I considered starting from scratch but that's not really my style.

I decided instead to source out an outfit I could repurpose.

A trip to Value Village delivered this lovely ensemble for the bargain price of $6.98.

 Another $12 spent on the trimmings at Fabricland and I was all set.

 I started by turning the blazer inside out and ripping the side, shoulder and sleeve seams.

I used a jacket that I knew would fit Charlie and measured the width from collar to shoulder seam then marked that with a pin {remember to add 1.5cm for a seam allowance to each marking} on the blazer.

I then marked the midline and measuring the width of the torso on my model jacket to mark the side seam.

After cutting off all the extra by following the above pins on one side...

...I just folded the jacket in half on the midline that was already marked above and cut the second side to match.

To finish the torso I just sewed the side seams back together.

Now it was time to fit the sleeves.

Again, I grabbed the model jacket and measured the width of the sleeve at the top and bottom and pinned {with seam allowance} as well as the length.

After sewing the length of the sleeve and turning it right side out I fit it into the arm hole {you may have to work on this for a few minutes} and sew this seam.

A simple hem on the ends of the sleeves finishes them off.

I left the length as is since I wanted it a little long for the look but also so it would fit for a while.

I also left some extra length on the sleeves for the same reason.

The collar was an easy fix since lifting it up then folding it in on itself once made it quite princely.

I pinned some gold trim around the neck line before sewing the collar down to finish it off.

I started on the side with the buttons so that I could continue all the way down the front just inside the button holes.

After this I also replaced the buttons with some flashy gold ones.

The last detail on the jacket was to create some epaulettes. 

Some simple fringe folded in half and sewn down the middle did the trick.

Before I fastened one shoulder's epaulette I wanted to attach a sash, this is where the bright red blouse came in.

I was lucky to find one with a little embellishment but one without could also work.

I cut the button down part from top to bottom, sewed the bottoms together then used the top button to secure the bottom of the sash after putting it on.

I slipped the whole thing under one epaulette then sewed it in place since we all know accessories tend to go missing on kid costumes if they're not attached.

 And what kind of prince would he be without a crown right?

I actually don't know if I've ever seen Prince William sporting a crown but it still felt necessary.

I took a piece of gold lamé measured and cut to the diameter of Charlie's head {with an extra 3cm for seam allowance} then folded it in half and pinned it approximately every 3 inches.

 I used the pins to guide the points of my cut but otherwise just winged it.  

The crown could be made any shape or height here but I liked this simple look best.

Cedric was so excited about the crown {depicted below} that I was glad when my first attempt ended up a little small and could be kept for him.

 To give the crown some standing power I cut some fusible batting the same size as my folded lamé then ironed it on.

I stitched along the top {with the batting facing out}, cut the edge a couple mm from the stitch {an important step otherwise you won't get a nice shape at the top} then turned it right side out.

Once you turn it you need to work the points out which I usually do by hooking a straight pin into the fabric and pulling from the outside.

 To finish it off simply fold the ends of one side in, insert the other end into it and stitch on the outside {see below}.

 I also bought some black pants and used the extra fabric from the blazer to sew a tuxedo stripe down the side but this is purely optional since plain black pants look just great.

 Now we have a legitimate prince costume to match the many princess dresses.

 Not to say this guy doesn't still rock the feminine garbs from time to time.

Cloffice Part 1: DIY Moroccan Stencil

I have been meaning to share my "cloffice" for a while now.

I actually credit this little nook with my starting a blog.

Years ago I googled turning+a+small+space+into+an+office+nook and came across this new fangled site called Pinterest.  

Yep, that's how old this project is.

I wasn't sure what this Pinterest was but still put my application in to be accepted to this super exclusive site.

During those initial hours upon hours upon hours of perusing I kept stumbling on lifestyle bloggers and started following a few.

I was immediately hooked and was envious of how these women were chronicling theirs and their families lives so decided to do the same for us.

You Auto Know Blog was born.

Back to the cloffice.

This space was a little doorless closet right in the middle of the house nowhere near any of the entrances.

Practical right? 

It was screaming for a repurpose.

It's now starting to look a little worse for wear but has held it's function really well.

The best parts of getting the computer to the main floor are that a) we now have access to our music in our main living space and b) we all end up spending our time together on the main floor even if we're each doing our own thing.

The project basically consisted of 1) tearing out the closet rod and shelf 2) patching and painting  3) installing shelves and 4) moving in.

I just wanted to share the painting part today.

I was way too cheap to pay for a stencil so decided to make my own.

I made it fairly large because I knew this space would get cluttered enough without a busy pattern.

There are a bunch of free printables out there but I wanted it bigger than I have the capability to print.

After much trial and error this was by far the easiest {for me} and most precise without spending a lot of time.

Start by taping 2 8x10 sheets of paper together.

Using a kids plate {a side plate could work as long as it's not more that 6" wide} trace two circles touching one end of the paper and each other.

Make two folds, one on the other end of the circles and one on the top of them.

I like folding before cutting to get that perfectly straight line at right angles to the page.

Next cut both sides off so you're left with just the two circles in a rectangle.

Make sure to cut the side piece off first and keep the top strip {which should be the length of your main sheet} you will need this later.

Fold the above piece so each circle is folded exactly in half. {I used a dark pen so I could see that the circle halves matching up.}

Cut out the spaces between the circles. {Nicely, you will need these.}

Tape the two straight edges left of your rectangle together.

Fold then cut that top strip that you saved in half and arrange it above and below the main sheet then arrange the circle cut out pieces above and below that.

Tape it all together and voila.

With the stencil I simply started in the bottom, placed and traced on my wall {that I had already painted in my base colour} with pencil.

Once the pattern was traced over the whole  wall I used a small paintbrush {doesn't have to be fancy, I just used one of my kid's} to retrace in white.

Simple and easy but it ended up being the exact look I wanted.

DIY Stickygrams

I'm sure it will come as no surprise to you, if you've read my blog before, that money's tight.

We are still in the phase where most of our money is invested in making our business work.

That's not what this is about though.

We needed a Christmas gift idea for those we love and on the cheap.

I wanted something personal but subtle enough to fall into day to day life.

Then I started seeing Stickygrams all over the web.

I loved them but couldn't afford to order them for all the family and close friends I had on my list.

So, I went to Staples and found printable magnet sheets.

Perfect.

I then chose my favourite Instagrams from my own account or pinched the giftee's if they were signed up.

{You can save them to your computer if you sign up for Webstagram.}

I'm sure there are much fancier ways to create your file but I just saved them to Word, adjusted the size to what I wanted and printed them side by side.

Make sure to do a tester on plain paper so you know you'll make the most of your magnet sheet.

My sheet ended up like this.

Lastly I just cut them all up by hand.

Of course, once they were done, I couldn't help myself from holding onto a few.

Pinterest: Keep It and Kill It: Beauty Edition

Pinterest is full of DIY beauty product ideas.

I {as always} have pinned a bunch of them but usually don't get around to trying them out.

Here are a couple of exceptions.

Keep it:

Hand scrub.

Or, if you're me, body scrub.

I didn't find this one, it was actually my friend Kim who pinned it and gifted me a batch.
I used it on my hands, fantastic.
So I used in on my feet, really fantastic.
I then proceeded to scrub my entire body with the stuff.
I may have gone a little overboard but us Albertans will do anything in these dry winters to soothe our skin, am I right?

It is beyond simple to make and works beautifully.

Source: onegoodthingbyjillee.com via Kim on Pinterest

Kill it:

Hair treatment.

The picture makes it look like a miracle but it did not turn out to be one for me.

I was feeling the need for a postpartum hair rejuvenation.

{You get used to that thick healthy pregnancy hair then bam...gone.}

The one thing I can say for it was that my hair was moisturized.

Like, greasy-for-5-washes-looks-like-it's-been-5-weeks-since-I-washed-my-hair moisturized.

Part of the problem may have been that I bathe, not shower, so my whole body felt greasy.

Regardless, definitely not doing this again.

Source: repinly.com via Cheryl on Pinterest

Mason Jar Coffee

That's right, mason jar.

A couple of days ago my french press shattered.

I was devastated.

I have come to love my french press.

I've done drip, espresso and even had a short stint with instant.

{In my first trimester with Cedric I couldn't stand the smell of brewing coffee.}

I have found that the press produces the smoothest cup.

{I'm sure the half and half doesn't hurt.}

Just go buy another right?

I probably would have if the kids weren't in bed already.

Ok then just take out one of the other methods.

I almost did.

But I had just had a bunch of beans ground for the french press.

Besides I just didn't want to go back to these other methods.

I thought "I'm sure I can simulate a french press."

And so was born my version of Mason Jar Coffee.

{Patent pending, not really.}

1. Boil water.

{I know the visual is really helpful right?}

 2. Get your supplies.

Mason Jar

Coffee (course grind)

4"x 4" piece of porous fabric

{I used tulle since I had a bunch leftover from some projects a couple months ago.}

Chopstick

Cloth of some sort

 3. Put coffee in jar.

I usually do a heaping tbsp for each cup (250ml) but that may be a little weak for you.

Many websites say 2 tbsp for each 250ml in a french press.

 4. Pour in boiling water.

This is getting complicated, I know.

 5.  Put the lid on {not the ring} and let steep for about 5 mins.

You should have that nice bloom on top.

 6. Give it a quick stir {I just used a chopstick} and the grounds will sink a bit.

 7. Place the fabric in top.

 8. Screw the ring over the fabric.

9. Pour! 

This is a 2 hand job so I have no pic but I think it's pretty self explanatory.

The jar does get hot hence the washcloth or something to hold it with.

That's it.

I even tested this method out on my former-barista sister yesterday and she gave it a thumbs up.

I love the fact that I didn't spend any money on this or add more gadgets to the house.

{I am a little anti-gadget for those who don't already know this about me.}

It's a keeper.