The Lady Beekeeper

Friends!  I am posting one day late because…  Halloween was yesterday!  We had a fabulous time trick or treating at my parents’ neighborhood.  Patricia walked almost the entire thing which was a big feat.  She’s gotten very independent and her vocabulary is incredible!  My favorite thing she says right now is “it’s too picy”.  That’s her excuse for avoiding anything she doesn’t want to eat, spicy or not.  We made roasted pumpkin seeds the other day that Julius, Will and I loved and she declared them “too picy” to eat.  Her loss I suppose!

She really leaned in to her Meowth costume too (or as she called it “meow” costume).  Virtually no one had any idea what she was except like 2 people we saw while trick or treating.  Hopefully that’s a reflection on the popularity of pokemon rather than my costume making skills.  Patricia’s costume was composed of a new 2T onesie and fabrics/items I had around the house, plus a brown fleece blanket I bought at the thrift store (I didn’t have any brown fleece).  If you’re interested I have a tutorial below.

World’s cutest Meowth!

Meowth costume

What you’ll need:

• a white onesie
• brown fleece/flannel
• white fleece/flannel
• pink fleece/flannel
• black fleece/flannel
• peltex 70 interfacing
• stuffing
• scrap cardboard
• gold leaf and leaf adhesive
• meowth_costume pattern

1. Cut out pattern pieces as indicated.
2. Stitch the white fabric portion of the tail to the spiral brown fabric portion of the tail on both pieces.
3. Stitch both sides of tail together, (with the white/brown seam right side in) leaving the bottom portion of the white part opened.
4. Turn right side out and stuff.
5. Hand stitch the curled portion together so it stays curled together, then stitch the base of the tail to the seat of the pants of the onesie using a ladder stitch.  Stitch the curly part of the tail to the top back of the onesie so the tail stays “upright”.
6. To sew the ears together, place two ears of pink fabric on top of one piece of black fabric.  Stitch around the curved top portion of the ears, leaving the bottom opened.
7. Turn right side out, (between pink and black layers) and stitch 1″ in from the edge of the ears to shape them slightly.
8. Using a ladder stitch again, attach the ears to the hood of the onesie, curving the ears (pink side in) so they stand upwards on their own.
9. To create Meowth’s gold coin, take two sheets of cardboard and cut them into a rectangle with rounded edges roughly 5.25″x3.5″.  Cut a third sheet of cardboard into rectangle with rounded edges 5″x3.5″.
10. Cut the 5″x3.5″ sheet into 5 equal 1″ wide segments.  Hot glue the two sheets of cardboard together and then glue the cut up sheet on top of them, evenly distributing the segments so small gaps sit between them.
11. Using the foil adhesive, gild the coin with gold leaf.  Let dry and apply a protective coat of varnish.
12. Create the platform/wedge for the gold coin using a 10″x3″ strip of white fabric, and 2 small right triangles that will fit over the ends.  Stitch the strip to form a big loop of fabric, then pin the open ends into triangles with the triangular pieces of fabric remaining, and sew, leaving one end of one of the triangles opened.
13. Turn out the wedge, and stuff, then ladder stitch the end closed.
14. Hand stitch the wedge to the top of the hood slightly in front of and between the two ears.
15. Hot glue the gold coin to the wedge.
16. Roll each whisker triangle of peltex into a cone and hot glue.
17. Fold and stitch each fabric whisker triangle to form a cone. Turn right side out and insert Peltex cone.
18. Hand stitch whiskers to the sides and top of the hood, next to the coin.
19. Finally, using the footie of the onesie as a guide cut shapes from brown fabric to cover from the toes to the ankle.  Hand stitch to the feet.
20. Voila, you have Meowth, that’s right!
    

    back view

    

You made it this far?! You’re right I almost forgot to announce the winner’s of the contest!  Matt Safran with his adorable love story about cheese is the winner!  Matt I’ll get your soap in the mail soon!!

We spent the last four days in Colorado celebrating my sister and new sister in law Mandy and Bailey for their wedding!  They had beautiful weather, spectacular fall foliage and so many fun surprises including a choreographed first dance.  When we weren’t celebrating with them we were hanging around our fabulous airbnb, playing board games and entertaining my kids and niece and nephew.  It was just a great weekend!

Mandy and Bailey did tons of planning for this event and I feel like I let them down with the little I helped with!  One of the few things Mandy requested from me was to figure out something to do with Grandma’s wedding dress (which was also my mom’s wedding dress).  Mandy tried the dress on, and it was a bit of a fright.  The entire dress, despite being “preserved” was very yellowed, and its buttons had rusted.  We went back and forth on what to do with the lace and finally found a company that sold necklaces made from wedding gowns.  I ended up using that idea to make a charm for Mandy’s bouquet.

The first step of this process was to see if the lace would survive some brightening.  I’d read chlorine bleach was a bad idea for brittle items, and I’ve started using an oxygen based bleach lately instead.  Unfortunately they said oxygen bleach tends to make rust stains worse…  This meant I couldn’t risk bleaching the entire dress.  Instead I took a strategic swatch of fabric from the lace of the dress and placed it in a jar of water mixed with oxygen bleach powder.   I let it sit for 2 days, shaking and stirring occasionally.

After 2 days the lace looked considerably whiter!  The next step was to get the satin a darker color to use as the background.  There were no tags indicating what the satin material was made of, but I assumed it was at least partially silk.  Assuming this I dyed it using fiber reactive dyes (my favorite) to spectacularly bad results.  After this I tried the “burn test” and it really didn’t look to ball up quite like polyester usually does, so maybe it was a blend. In the interest of time I bought some RIT synthetic dye and a pan from the thrift store (that still works on the induction cooktop – I brought a magnet with me to the store and tested all of them!) After 30 minutes of boiling, and the normal rinse, wash procedure I ended up with a fairly green that wasn’t quite the forest Mandy requested but still provided a nice contrast with the white lace.  After this you can follow my steps below to see how I did the rest!

Lace Wedding Dress Pendant

What you’ll need:

• lace from dress (brightened if desired, see above)
• satin from dress (dyed if desired, see above)
• scrap fleece
• scrap cardboard
• Cabuchon setting tray 5/8″ wide or 1″ wide (I bought these)
• E5000 glue
• gloves
• clamps

1. Cut out a cardboard circle that is 1/8″ narrower in diameter than the cabuchon tray you chose.  (either 1/2″ for the 5/8″ or 7/8″ for the 1″)
2. Using the cardboard circle as a template, cut out a circle of lace and circle of satin that is approximately 1/4″ wider than the template all around.  (Ultimately this will make  circles 1″ diameter for the 5/8″ holder or 1 3/8″ diameter for the 1″ holder.)
3. Cut a piece of scrap fleece 1/8″ smaller than the template. (Either 3/8″ diameter for the 5/8″ or 3/4″ diameter for the 1″)
4. Stack the satin circle on top of the fleece circle on top of the cardboard circle.
5. Using gloves, add E6000 along the back edges of the cardboard, and then gently pull the satin to overlap and stick into the glue.  Make sure to pull taunt and keep the fabric siting flat.  Place this in the middle of a book (between sheets of waxed paper so it won’t get glued together.  Clamp and let dry overnight.
6. Remove the satin pendant from the clamps and then place E6000 on the back of the pendant again and then repeat step 5 for the lace.
7. Remove the satin and lace pendant from the book, place E6000 into the base of the cabuchon tray and then place the pendant into the tray. I had to use my nails to sort of tuck it into the tray, it was a very snug fit.  After you get it in the tray, clamp one more time and let dry another 24 hours.
8. At this point you are ready to wear! You might want to “fluff” the pendant up a bit since it has been clamped so many times at this point!

Complete side note – Patricia has gotten really good at actually counting objects and singing the abcs.  She counts 1-11 and then 18,19,20.  We’ll have to work on that.  She right now is singing the “a-b-c” song behind me over and over again and for the ending she keeps saying “now I know my H, I, J’s” and it is hilarious.

First off – you may have noticed I forgot to post last week.  And yesterday.  I didn’t forget I just was working too late.  I will try my best not to let you down again!!  Secondly, you still have a couple weeks to enter my latest contest!  To enter you just need to tell me a love story!

Speaking of love stories, I just LOVE fall.  It is my absolute favorite season, just everything about it!  I’m working on Halloween costumes for the kids (and adults) right now, which hopefully I will have time to finish with all this work!  I tried to get Will to dress up as Rhysand from ACOTR but alas he declined!  (Sidenote:  Will I’m going to remember that next time you suggest going as the Hulk and She Hulk…)  We are going with a backup family costume that we thought was going to be everyone but Julius (he was dead set on being a ghost for Halloween everytime I asked the last several months) but we told him what we’d decided on and he immediately said he wanted to be involved.  So get ready for that.

You know what I’m not ready for?  My babies growing up!  Patricia is speaking in full sentences.  It’s crazy listening to her!  And she’s so smiley and silly.  The cutest/strangest thing she does is comes up to you, looks you right in the eyes, smiles a huge smile and says “hi!’ and then squishes your cheeks like some ancient caricature of a spinster aunt from a movie.

Julius is doing great at reading – he just requires a bit of motivation to get started.  And he’s still an artist, though he’s toned down his crafting lately (sadly)  The other day he made up a song about apples.  Sang it all the way to school.  Patricia started singing along (Julius was a bit annoyed).  It was adorable.

Look at this dapper young sir.

We are going to have a painting commissioned of this little guy in Julius’s new renaissance outfit.  The story with the outfit is the day before the renaissance fair I went to whip up an outfit for Julius.  I had gotten a pattern from a thrift store with what looked like all the pattern enclosed.  What I didn’t realize is that it had included both men’s and boy’s sizes but the men’s size was the only one that was left in the envelope.  I cut out all the pattern pieces and then realize they were HUMONGOUS.  At this point I decided to draft my own pattern (luckily I’d taken Julius’ measurements before bed).  (Yes, this means it’s past 8pm at this point.)  I used some elements that I loved from Will’s knight costume and skimped out and omitted the lining completely (which would have taken me twice as long).  And because I was fretting so much that it wouldn’t fit him I didn’t take a single photo of the process!  Of course it came out exactly like I envisioned (that never happens!), so I regret my lack of photos!  I have my steps and pattern below though and I’d be happy to take or sketch photos if you need an example!

4-5T Toddler Jerkin

What you’ll need:

• 1 yard of upholstery material (mine’s from the thrift shop)
• 1.5 yards of trim
• 18 metal eyelets
• cording
• pattern here

1. Cut out pattern pieces
2. Fold and stitch darts in front fabric pieces and back fabric pieces.
3. Pin top front pieces to top back piece at sides. stitch and serge together.
4. Stitch and serge shoulder seams.
5. Stitch and serge bottom side panels to bottom back panel.
6. stitch bottom panels to top portion of jerkin.
7. Serge unfinished edges of armscye, unfinished edges along the front, top and bottom of the jerkin.
8. Fold armscye under 1/2″ and stitch.
9. Fold serged edges under 1/2″ along the front, top and bottom of the jerkin, stitch.
10. Stitch 2 pieces of shoulder pads, right side together along the curved edge.
11. Turn right side out and serge along the unfinished edges.
12. Place pads underneath the shoulder seam, poking out beyond the vest.
13. Apply trim along edges of the vest and the center seam between the bottom panels and the top of the vest.
14. Mark location of eyelets using template, then apply using package directions.

Well I finished the trilogy I was reading and now I’m sad!  Do you ever feel remorse after finishing a book series?  Like you never wanted it to end, but couldn’t help but race to the ending?  So bittersweet.  I asked Will when I finished my book if there was a mental condition for wanting to live in a fantasy world.  If so I definitely have that.

Probably to humor me, Will said “let’s do it” when I nonchalantly suggested on Friday that we go to King Richard’s Faire the next day.  Well, we had a great time!  The kids both seemed to really enjoy it, and I got my dose of fantasy.  Plus as the icing on the cake, the whole family even wore costumes without question.  Maybe I’ll have to get into LARPing next…  (I know, I know, go ahead and laugh!  You know I’d love it.)

Well, I’m overdue on giveaways!  I had such a streak going… and then I fell off the wagon!  But I’ve got a fun one this time!  I’ve been getting more and more into the Blueland products.  It all started with their soap, and now I have tried pretty much all of their offerings.  I love that the cleaning products are all plastic free, and allow you to reuse the plastic/glass bottles you already have.  I reused all my existing foaming hand soap containers from Bath and Body Works for Blueland soap and it works great.  I just fill my bottle with very hot water to just below where the threaded cap starts, drop in a tablet, and wait until it fully dissolves (this part is super important and sometimes takes a couple of hours).  Then you can screw the cap on and start pumping foaming soap!

Win this set!!

Recently I jazzed up a couple dispensers with some patterns I drew.  (These ones are inspired by ACOTR.)  I love how they came out.  If you like them too you can enter my contest to win this one with a couple tablets of Blueland hand soap for you to try out!  All you need to do is tell me a love story.  (Real, fake, serious, silly, whatever!)  Post it in the comments (or even email me.)  You have until my favorite holiday (Halloween) to enter.  Can’t wait to hear what you come up with.

For those who want to upcycle their own version with a bottle from home, the instructions are below:

Upcycled Foiled Soap Dispenser

What you’ll need:

• Foaming Bath and Body Works Hand Soap Dispenser (pattern is made to match this size of bottle)
• Cricut Adhesive Foil (I used copper)
• Transfer tape.
• Cricut project here

1. Remove all labels from the soap dispenser, using rubbing alcohol to remove sticker residue if necessary.  Dry thoroughly.
2. Mount an 11×5″ piece of adhesive foil on the top left of a 12″x12″ lightweight mat.
3. Load cricut project, selecting adhesive foil as material, then follow instructions on the cricut to insert proper cutting tool and insert mat into cricut.
4. Press go, and wait for cut to complete.
5. Remove foil and backing from mat.  Weed the unwanted area around the cut.
6. Remove the long thin strip of foil, and position it along the base of the nozzle, about 2mm from the bottom of the screw cap.  Overlap start and end points to form a continuous circle.
7. Cut other 4 panes into individual rectangles.
8. Place transfer tape on top of one of the panes and slowly peel back the paper so the foil sticks to the transfer tape.
9. Center the transfer tape over one side of the soap dispenser (double heart goes on the narrower side, single heart goes on the larger side).
10. Press firmly and gently remove the transfer tape.
11. Repeat for the other 3 sides.

So it is sheer luck that I am writing this blog post instead of devouring another book of the “Court of Thorns and Roses” series.  You see, I finished book 2 this morning before work, and spent the rest of day trying to do work and not daydream about the characters.  I was about to download the third one but Will reminded me today was blog night.  I might have a problem.

This weekend I was sitting on the couch and Patricia came up to me and said “byebye”  I asked where she was going and she said “I’m going shopping”.  I nearly died laughing.  She was holding a pretend cell phone and bag.  Where did she even get that from!?  I hardly ever leave the house these days!

Dada is Patricia’s favorite.  He is always her first pick to put her to bed.  The other day though we asked Patricia who should take her to bed and she said Julius.  So Julius left what he was doing and with a very solemn face took her hand and lead her upstairs.  I was curious to see where the rest went but I intervened shortly afterwards.  Patricia did request to sit on Julius’ lap and read books though.  (I tried desperately to get a picture but failed.)

Julius keeps talking about how he is going to live on Block Island when he grows up!  That would certainly be interesting.  I guess it’s safe to say that he liked the trip!  I kept some of the quahog shells that we caught because they were beautiful.  While I was listening to my latest series I painted one of them to use as a Christmas ornament.  What do you think?

Quahog Ornament

What you’ll need:

• 1 Quahog shell
• paint
• gold leaf paint
• gloss mod podge
• a dremel with tiny boring bit, fine sanding bit and polishing cloth
• 1 flat head pin (jewelry supply)
• a small bit of ribbon

1. I first sanded off any rough bits from where the shell had been cleaved in two.
2. Then I throughly washed and dried the shell and polished the shell with my dremel.
3. Then I drilled a hole through the top of the shell using a tiny boring bit.  This is where the hanger would go.  (Okay I did this step next to last but I recommend doing them in this order.)
4. Using the gold leaf paint a fine layer of gold along the edge of the quahog all the way around. 
5. Next I painted a picture on the inside surface.
6. I then painted a coat of mod podge on the inside of the shell.
7. On the back of the shell I painted the words “Block Island” and the date.
8. Finally I threaded the flat head pin through the hole I’d drilled in the shell, and using a pair of pliers and turned the top of the pin into a round circle to hold a hook.
9. I then threaded a piece of ribbon through the hook and knotted it.

I’m so sad vacation is over.  It’s back to the grind tomorrow and I am dreading it!  It feels like so long since I’ve taken a real vacation.  Now that the kids are fully vaccinated (finally!) we were less cautious with masks which made things seem a bit more normal too.  The kids were very good kiddos on vacation (as usual).  We had fun kayaking, clamming, “marsh mucking” and lounging at the beach. Overall it was very relaxing!

We biked everywhere a ton (with both kids in the updated carrier).  With 2 kids in the carrier we don’t have room for all the accessories we need.  So instead of saddling Will with a backpack, I made some quick saddle bags the night before our trip.  I think they worked pretty great! Before I show you how I made those though, I promised you my favorite recent Patricia story.

Patricia has started saying “yeah!” to everything.  With the emphasis on the “eah”.  It’s funny I think Julius went through the opposite – he said yes to everything first and then when he got older everything was no.  The other day Julius and Patricia were playing in the deck box we have on the screened porch to hold our patio furniture cushions.  The box is currently empty so they like to hide in it and jump out.  (Honestly, I’m happy when they play in the giant box because if they’re in a box they can’t be getting into too much trouble.) On this particular occasion Julius opened the box cover and stood up so we can see him and complained “Patricia is hitting and kicking me”.  We couldn’t see Patricia so I asked, “Patricia is this true?”  Up Patricia pops from the box with a huge grin on her face and shouts “YEAH!”  Will and I could not help but crack up even when we were reprimanding her.

So on to these saddlebags.  These were pretty simple to make.  Mine are waterproof because I used some material I saved from an old pop up tent that got destroyed.  They have the advantage of being carried over your shoulder using the center strap that holds them to the rack.  And I left a 2″ gap where they attach, so you can mount a cooler (or something else) on top of the bike rack.  (The Yeti hopper flip 12 fits pretty perfectly.)  The one thing I would change if I were to make another set is I would make the seam on the side a zipper.  This would make it easier to get things deep inside the bag out.  I actually planned to do this, but was working on these bags so late at night that I forgot to add the zipper until I was past the point of no return.  Oh well. Without further ado…

Roll Top Bike Saddlebags

What you’ll need:

• 1.5 yards of heavy duty canvas fabric (I reused mine from the tent)
• 1 yard of 1/2″ bias tape (I reused mine from the tent)
• 1.5 yards of 1″ ribbon or webbing (mine was reused)
• 4 1″ D-rings (mine were reused from the tent)
• 60″ long 1″ strap with buckle (I bought these new because I couldn’t find the ones I had cut off something else)

1. Cut two 32″x25″ pieces of fabric for the bags.  Cut two 11×4.5″ wide pieces for the bag bottoms.  Cut 2 10.5″x5 5/8″ pieces for central placket.
2. Form a rolled seam on one 32″ side of bag fabric.
3. Fold fabric for bag in half (right sides together) to form a 16″x25″ rectangle.  Pin and then sew down the 25″ open end.
   

   Fabric folded in half, with seam on top.

4. Fold the unfinished edge of the seam you just sewed under and stitch again to reinforce the seam.
   

   Folding under the seam you just stitched to reinforce it.

5. Pin the bottom of the bag to the top of the bag you just created (right sides together), making sure to put one of the corners on the seam you just created.
6. Stitch bottom of bag, roll seams as in step 4 and stitch to reinforce.  Turn bag right side out.
7. Take 2 D-rings and thread a 3″ piece of ribbon or webbing through them.  Place both ends of the ribbon/webbing together, then tuck under the unfinished seams.   Lie bag flat and pin the ribbon holding the d-rings to the front of the bag, 11″ from the bottom, centered.  Stitch.
8. Repeat steps 2-7 for second bag.
9. Stitch two pieces of placket together along edges.
10. Attach bias tape around the edges of the placket.
11. Pin placket to back side of one of the bags, 11″ from the bottom, by sandwiching the placket between a fold in the side of the bag.
    

    Placket sandwiched between folds of one of the bags.

12. Mark a 2″ gap in the center of where the placket is pinned to the bag.
13. Stitch between all layers of fabric (bag, placket, bag) 1/2″ from the edge of the placket.  Make sure to leave a 2″ gap in your stitching where you sewed.  Stitch a second time, 1/4″ from the edge of the placket.
14. Feed ribbon through the 2″ gap in stitching, and sew to the bag.
15. Repeat step 11-14 with second bag on other side of the placket.
16. Cut 4″ of strap from the  female buckle end of the buckle strap.  Melt the unfinished ends of the strap to prevent them from unraveling.  Stitch the unfinished end of the female bucket end of the strap to the underside of the placket on one of the shorter ends of the placket.
17. Stitch the portion of the strap holding the male end of the buckle to the opposite end of the placket, on the underside of the placket.  Make sure that if you were to strap the buckles under the placket that the extra strap to be pulled is free. (So you can easily tighten the strap when on the bike.)
18. To use, place the placket on top of your bike rack, clip the straps under the bike rack and tighten to secure.  Tie the excess straps out of the way of the bike wheels. Fill bags with whatever you desire, then roll the top of the bags, insert ribbon through both d-rings, then push the ribbon up through the top d-ring again to secure. (I like to make this a loop so it is easy to open them again later – see my picture below.)
    

    Bags strapped to bike, and second strap fed through the gap left between the bags to hold a cooler (or something else) on top.

Here’s an example of how I push the ribbon back up through the first loop, but I don’t pull it all the way through. To open the bag, simply pull the bottom tail of ribbon.

Bags at full capacity.

Bags full to the brim and cooler on top.

Here I have the central strap pulled out long to wear as a shoulder bag. This came in handy several times during our trip.

Bags at half capacity.

Peyto Lake

Well I completely forgot to update the blog this past week.  You see, we were on VACATION!  We went with Will’s family to Banff in Canada and had a week of beautiful views, fun hiking trails and great company.  I can confirm that it is just as magnificent and beautiful as all the pictures.  My favorite view was an overlook above Moraine Lake, which was a magnificent deep turquoise color.  They say the lake changes colors in different seasons and time of day, but when we saw it the color was a fabulous pure turquoise.

Moraine Lake

Patricia and Julius were good nuggets for the trip, as expected.  Julius earned a junior ranger necklace for completing a bunch of fun activities.  Patricia got to hang out in the hiking backpack for several nice hikes.  We even saw a black bear enjoying some berries on the way up to Moraine Lake which the kids (and I) found very exciting.

You know what else is exciting?  This little pod holder!  I saw a similar one online and had to try my hand at making one.  I think I have to make a few more because I’ve found several uses for it.  Originally I had it hanging next to my sewing desk to catch lose threads and fabric scraps.  Then I moved it to the closet to hold sunglasses, and now I’ve completely usurped it’s usage for holding sun tan lotion!  I need to make a couple more to fulfill the other purposes! The other cool thing?  It’s made of recycled jeans and this awesome batik I found (I love batiks!)

Hanging Pod Holder

What you’ll need:

• 1/2 yard of inner lining fabric
• a leg of a pair of jeans
• 1/2 yard of batting
• 1 yard of bias tape (I made my own from the tie dye fabric)
• snaps
• pattern here

1. Cut out fabric pieces as indicated in pattern.
2. Layer jeans, on top of batting, on top of lining fabric for body pieces and pin together.
3. Using a walking foot (or not) stitch down the fabric in wavy lines.
4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 for the base.
5. In the body piece, fold darts so the darts are not visible on the jean side.  Stitch darts.
6. Pin and stitch body piece together along straight edges, with the unfinished seam showing on the inside lining fabric side.
7. Use the bias tape to finish the unfinished seam.
8. Pin and stitch circular base to body pieces, jeans sides together.
9. Use the bias tape to finish the unfinished seam where the circular base attaches to body
10. Use the bias tape to finish the unfinished seam along the top of the hanging pod.
11. Take an extra piece of bias tape and, fully folded, stitch along open side.
12. Stitch one end to outside of tall back of pod for hanging.
13. Add snaps on either end of the hanger.