Sharing some FO's

It's been a long while again... Moving really takes a toll on your time, eh? Well, that, and lack of internet at home for the first couple months...

I don't have a lot of time for explanation, but here are some FO's for you to love. Most of these are cel phone pictures, since we moved & I still haven't found my digicam...

Remember my batwing tuorial? http://craftyconcoction.blogspot.ca/2011/09/basic-childrens-bat-wing-tutorial.html

Well, we painted those wings, and I made a gargoyle costume for DS for halloween!

It was a huge success!! The belt & axe were purchased; the tail was made by me, detachable, the horns were made from air dry modeling clay (the really lightweight kids stuff) & the gray jumpsuit was made by using a shirt & pants of his to make a pattern, then stitched together. It has a couple buttons in the back.

A couch-arm organizer for my step-dad who lost both of his legs to diabetes & vascular disease. He is getting around in his wheelchair better now, but he was confined to a hospital bed in the living room for quite some time, and this made it much easier for him to keep his remote, the phone, a drink, his meds, etc close at hand. Both sides have two large pockets (big enough for magazines) and three smaller, elasticated pockets for phones, remotes, drinks, etc. It is backed in fleece, which creates a nice no-slip effect on my mom's couch fabric.

These shirts were made for a friend's daughters, who are 5 & 6. I have one that I made for the onesie swap, which Shaun now wears. The girls loved them, and refused to take them off for about 4 days, until their Mom said they had to take them off to wash them!

Hubby & I got a puppy, then another puppy about a month after. The first puppy is huge & fluffy, the second not so much. She was forever cold, so I used an old hoodie that I no longer wear & made her a sweater. Sadly, she was not a good fit for our family (she was biting DS & jumping) so a friend of ours is raising her in a child-free home, but she still has her sweater!

I have an adjustable dress form, whom I have named Dolly. I scored an awesome deal on her ($2 at a garage sale!) She is a little smaller than me maxed out (about 2" smaller in the waist, and we won't mention the bust difference) but I make do with a layer of padding and a bra. Well, a friend of mine is downsizing and getting ready to spend some time finding herself (maybe travelling?)

She was selling her dressform, which is the old cage style that is fully adjustable to ANY size!

I snapped that up! When I brought it home, I named her Jane, and then got DS to climb inside the cage, and made it to his size. Jane is usually to mid-hip on most women, but that was enough to make some legs...

Here she is as a creepy replica of my son with a foam head & some of his clothes:

Now Jane has a different outfit on - she is wearing DS's birthday suit for this weekend!

And last, but not least; DS turns 4 this weekend! He wanted a "Superhero" party, where all of his friends dress up as their favorit superheroes. For nearly 2 months he has requested to be Spiderman. Last Thursday I told him I didn't have time to make a Spiderman costume, and couldn't find one for sale anywhere. I asked him to wear his Spiderman jammies instead.

Well, he assured me that he never wanted to be Spiderman, and wanted to be Batman instead. Same dillema....

Until! I found a plastic batman mask for $5. I then re-used the jumper from his gargoyle costume that I made for halloween. I sewed & topstitched a quick belt out of an old t-shirt, and made a felt & jersey pin-on batman logo. A quick black jersey no-sew cape, and I have a cery happy little birthday boy! He was skeptical of everything I did, but loved the outcome of the old-school batman costume :)

Now, I have so much more to accomplish for his party this weekend, as I have tried to DIY a LOT of it. Plus, two swaps on the go over on Craftster, which I need to focus on. And studying for my MCQ in two weeks? Ugh!

HESTA Tie Up Espadrille Sandal Knockoff from the Dollar Store?

With Craftster's "I <3 the Dollar Store" swap that I am angeling for, I have to work with supplies from the dollar store, which can present a bit of a challenge when you are trying to make something chic & trendy.

I scoured through all the posts the Leeska has on Craftster as well as stalking her wists. I came up with so many ideas, and had to then narrow it down to what I could make in a short amount of time that looks like a million while only costing a couple bucks.

Well, one thing she had on her wist were these amazing HESTA tie up espadrille sandals that retail for $50US at TopShop. 

Gorgeous, no? I knew I had to at least try it. I figured that I would use cheap sandals and some ribbon and go from there.

But, I couldn't find any nice ribbon in a large enough quantity at Dollarama to make it cost-effective. I decided to cheat a little bit, and head to Fabricland and see what I could find there. Of course, I checked the remnant bins first, but they are having a sale, so I managed to snag some really nice knit for 50% off. Half a meter only cost me $3.50!!

So, I managed to muddle through it today, and took tons of pictures along the way in the hopes that I could throw a tutorial up if they worked out :)

Without further ado, the HESTA knock-off tutorial:

First, gather your supplies:

• cheap flip flops ($2 at Dollarama)
• .5m fabric, 45"width ($3.50 at Fabricland), ribbon, etc
• rubber cement ($1 at Dollarama) [other adhesives might look tempting, but rubber cement is the best choice here other than actual cobbler's glue, as it is flexible when it dries]
• scissors
• high-tech prying device (aka butter knife)

**Make sure your sandals are of the variety that have a separate sole & upper with the thong wedged between. If they aren't thong, that's ok, just one more step later.

Next, start making your awesome new sandals:

Insert your knife between the two layers. Usually there is a bit of a gap where the thong is inserted, which is a good spot to stick it in. 

Gently & carefully start prying the layers apart, working your way around the entire sandal. Have some patience & take your time, or you could rip some of the foam or fabric. 

You can see my first sandal ripped apart here, and notice that it is made of cheap foam for the sole & rubberized foam fabric wrapped around cardboard for the upper. The thong was faux-leather.

Repeat with the other sandal: 

If your sandals are of the thong variety (like mine), continue to the next step. If your sandals don't have the space between the toe, like this, then you will need to place your foot on the upper & mark the space between your big toe & first toe, then carefully cut a slit there on each upper where you marked. Then, move along with the rest of us... 

You are going to cut your fabric into 3 strips lengthwise in whatever width you desire. I made mine a little under 2 inches wide. Cut one of the 3 strips in half, so you have 2x45" lengths & 2x22.5" lengths.

And this is where it gets a little more complicated. Find the center of one of the short lengths & place it over the center of the top of the upper where your arch would be. I found it helpful to do this with my foot in place.

Wrap around & criss-cross under the upper, bringing the ends up and between your big toe & second toe. Insert both ends into the thong hole of the upper & pull as snug as you desire. I made mine snug for the thong portion, and looser on the arch portion.

If you are working with knits, keep in mind that the fabric has a good bit of stretch.

If you are working with ribbons, keep in mind that it likely does not have any stretch.

Trim the excess fabric underneath leaving about an inch:

Take the long length of fabric and find the center. Place this underneath where your heel would be on the botttom of the upper. You can practice wrapping & tying if you like, just to get a feel for how this will sit & make any adjustments you feel necessary. 

 Now, get your rubber cement & tack in place the two ends under the thong, as well as the criss-crossed fabric under your arch & the center of the long piece under your heel. You could, of course, use hot glue or something, but I just stuck to one adhesive. Plus, I didn't want to risk stiffness & cracking from other adhesives.

Once this has sat for a bit, place the rubber cement around the edges of the upper & a line up the middle for extra hold. Repeat this pattern with the sole. Wait 10 minutes, then stick together. [make sure you follow the directions on your package; mine said 10 minutes, then at least 30 minutes drying time]

 Firmly & carefully clamp the pieces together for at least 30 minutes:

Hey, the thousands spent on 2 years of education & all those text books have to be good for something, right? Plus, Leeska's geeky, so I'm sure she can appreciate that anatomy, physiology, neurology, kinesiology, pathology, hydrotherapy, treatments, etc were used on her shoes :P

Repeat the fabric placing with the other flip flop, glue, clamp, dry, etc... Don't forget to clean up any rubber cement that might have leaked out the side (like mine did)

And VOILA! $50 HESTAs for a mere $6.50!!

*I know these are a little small, but Leeska wears a 7/8, and I wear a 9/10.

Let me know what you all think! And if you decide to give it a shot, please do share pictures!! 

Think of the variations of colour, tying, knotting, embellishment - oh my! And, you could buy heels or wedges...maybe even several pairs of cheap foam flip flops to build your own wedges or platforms?