Halloween Costumes on a Dime--Capes

Halloween is like project HEAVEN. I have 2 kids old enough to enjoy costumes and pick who or what they want to be. This year we will have Darth Vader (super excited about that one) And Bat Girl!

Normally I like to rotate the types of projects I do, but since I'm doing costumes I'll have a lot of sewing posts coming up.

I don't use patterns, so I'm talking a lot of pictures to help you understand how to do it, and tailor it to what you want. Today I'll show you how to make a cape, a full wrap around cloak type cape.

These take a LOT of fabric, so I like to visit the thrift store and buy sheets. I can get a sheet for $3 or $4. Last year I got 2 black sheets. I have used them for several things  (including an indoor chalk board superhero back drop scene), Now that I have cut them up I will be keeping my eye out for more black sheets. They are GREAT. 

I forgot to take pictures of cutting the capes, so I'll show you how to do it using a different sheet

First measure from the shoulder down to the ground so you know how long to make the cape

Then lay out your fabric

 We are going to fold it down to a triangle so you only have to make one small cut for the entire circle.

 Now fold it in half so that you see the short edges, and the long excess of the sheet is on the inside of the fold. 

 Measure from the tip down the triangle and mark with pins in several places the length. in this case I marked 30 inches

 For the Vader cape, I cut along the red line, but for the bat girl cape, she wanted the pointed edges, so I cut along the blue line that is drawn. 

Then for the neck, cut a straight line up to the center and cut a small hole for the neck. Since this was an old fitted sheet, I cut off all the elastic, and used a piece of it at the top of the cape to easily slip it on and take it off. 

I just zig-zag stitched around the edges and the cape is ready to use. Nothing fancy, but a TON of fun. 

This is the bat girl cape, again, I just zig-zaged the edges

And I did a loop and button instead of elastic. 

 Two awesome capes cost $0. (or if you had to buy the two sheets cost would have been $8)

Convert a stuffed animal into a puppet!

I LOVE puppets. I always have. But if you want to get a COOL puppet, you have to spend $30-$40. Me? Well I'm the queen of cheap. I can't spend $40 on a toy for me, cause I kind of like it. So I had an idea. How about I convert a stuffed animal into a puppet! And guess what, I just so happen to HAVE a stuffed animal up in my Mom's attic that would work PERFECTLY. Nice dangley arms that I could attach a rod to. 

So First acquire a stuffed animal with good puppet qualities. Size matters. My frogs mouth is not very deep, so it's not as easy for an adult to move the mouth. So anyway, here's my frog:

Cute huh. Get your seam ripper, and rip out the mouth seam

 Now pull out some of the stuffing. Enough to you can see the full shape of the inside of the mouth.

 Make a pattern of the mouth piece by tracing the upper and lower lip on a piece of paper

 I folded the paper in half...

 So when I was done I had a nice little pattern piece like this:

 Now take your seam ripper to the bottom seem. I forgot to take a pic of this step, but I was lucky, the frog had a seam going right up the middle. Made it easy.  Now take out enough stuffing to put your hand through.

Next step is to make the sleeve that will go up inside as well as the mouth, so measure the length you will need to go up the center, curve over your hand and attach to the mouth. I needed about 17 inches.

 I had to go an complicate things, cause sometimes I forget I can make things simple. I didn't want the fabric to get all bunched up under my hand, so I made the top long enough to cover, and the bottom shorter. But It would work just as well to make a simple tube. Also cut out the mouth piece (don't forget the seam allowance)
Curve the top of the sleeve to fit the mouth piece.

 *NOTE* This is the part where you will need to cut of the plastic for the mouth and sew it in. I didn't think about it till later and had to MaGuyver it till it worked. Cut out 2 mouth pieces, and get a plastic container like ice cream bucket, or cool whip container and cut out a top mouth piece and a bottom piece. tack it down and sew the two piece of fabric around it to enclose the plastic. (You will see what I mean with the plastic later...and if not, leave me a comment and I can help you with it)

Next pin and sew.

 I have the top pinned and the sides

 Now I have the bottom of the mouth as well

 this is the excess fabric on the top, remember mine is longer. Well I made this little pleat thing right at the top. it will end up being the back of the mouth.

 Now it is all sewn up. nothing special, just sew where you pinned.

 See, the bare sleeve. Now you stuff it through the animal.

 Center it and pin the mouth. JUST the mouth right now.

 This required some hand sewing...

 Now I realized that the mouth wont keep shape on it's own and figured out the plastic thing. I cut the shapes and shoved them up and got them in place one at a time and hand to tack them in with a needle and thread. ...that was tricky.

Now that you have the mouth  in place you might have to take out some more stuffing to get it right. Once you get it how you like it sew up the bottom the same way you did the mouth. 

 And there you have it. A home-converted PUPPET! The kids LOVE him! AND he is still fluffy enough to work as a stuffed animal.

 Frog-$0
Fabric-$3 (found a ton of black fleece at the thrift store, and the sleeve only took a scrap of that)
ENDLESS FUN!

Canning Chicken

First off, I recently learned from my Grandma that you need to get your pressure cooker checked about every year to make sure all the valves and gauges are in working order. Not sure where to do that, my first place to ask will be my Grandma. For those of you who do not share my awesome grandma, I would start with Sears...or a google search :)

Canning chicken in the pressure cooker is a sinch, it saves a ton of space in your freezer, it's got a shelf life of 3-5 years, AND it makes dinner easier than...well something very easy. So, this is how I do it:

The night before I set out my frozen boneless skinless chicken breasts in the sink to thaw. My cooker holds 9 pint jars (it can do quart jars too, I just prefer the pints, cause we wont use a full quart at a time)

You can fit about 15-18 lbs of chicken in 9 qt jars

By morning the chicken is thawed but still cold, a few ice chunks even, but pliable enough to fill the jars. I can get about 3 or 4 chicken breasts in each jar.

Then I like to add a little seasoning, it just cuts one step out when you are ready to use it. I put a little salt in each jar. In  2 I also have garlic and onion powder, 2 have taco seasoning, 2 bbq sauce (havent tried that one yet) every batch is a little different.

 and the 3 in the front just have the salt

Now the hardest part is over :)

Yes I KNOW it looks gross

Now wipe the rims clean so you get a good seal, then put the lids and rings on tight

 Put the jars in the cooker. My instruction book says add 2 qts of water, that amount may vary depending on the manufacturer 

 See, WATER

Put the lid on, turn it on high, but leave the weight off for now. 

When the steam starts escaping set the timer for 10 mins...I don't think you can see the steam in the picture very well...but trust me, it's there. 

After 10 mins, put the weight on and let it get up to pressure

Meat needs 10 lbs of pressure. There are different kinds of gauges, I like the needles, takes all the guess work out of it. There is also one that the weight is also the gauge, and you have to listen for how often it jiggles. Don't let that scare you, I have used them too, and never had a bad batch.

Now just maintain the correct pressure by adjusting the heat. slowly turning it down till the gauge reads correctly. For pint jars cook at pressure for 75 mins, for quart jars 90 minuets. 

There chicken is done. DO NOT take the lid OR THE WEIGHT right off, the jars are under pressure and if you release the pressure your jars will break...trust me, I've done it before. Take the cooker off the heat and ignore it for an hour, then pull out your jars. They will still be boiling. They will for a while. 

I like to place mine on a towel so they aren't on the cool counter top.

Don't forget to date and label. After the jars cool, you can take the rings off

You know you did it right when you hear them *pop* Kinda sounds like you are clicking your tong. If for some reason a jar or two doesn't seal (which happens occasionally) just put it in your fridge. It's still good, just not shelf safe.

Try it, I know it looks nasty in the jars, but once you use it, you will LOVE it. each jar is full of ready to eat chicken and delicious chicken broth. Fajitas, or chicken tacos ready in less than 10 mins. Open a can and throw some on your quesadillas, so yummy. Have a casserole in the oven before you can say supercalafragilesticexpealladocious! Want some chicken fetachini alfreado, or a quick chicken salad for lunch, soup? ...well you get my picture. 

*NOTE: The chicken does not cube well, but it shreds like a dream. I have cut up onions and peppers to put in there, makes the house smell so delicious. Also, you cook pork and beef exactly the same way. BBQ pulled pork sandwiches are to die for. 

Wood See-Saw Swing

I looked for instructions on how to build a see saw swing out of wood. Couldn't find any. BUT lucky for me my neighbor had a swing so I had a reference for measurements. 

You need:

3  8ft treated 2x2's ( had one 10 ft 2x4, and I ripped it on my table saw)

scraps of ply wood, or planks for the seats

4 5 1/2 inch bolts (I used 6 inch)

1 1/2 inch (ish) screws

3 inch screws

Cut 2x2's:

2 7ft long (swinging bars)

2 1 ft long (foot rests)

2 3 ft long (seat supports)

2 14 in long (swing supports)

Then cut the seats

They are about 10 inches front to back, and 10 inches at the widest point. I used 3/4 in ply wood, just scraps I had.

Drill your holes in the seat supports at the 12 inch mark and the 24 inch mark for the bolts. I used 3/8 in bolts. Place one of the foot rests between the seat supports before screwing the seats down. This will help you get your spacing right so the swinging bars can fit . 4 1 1/2 in screws on each seat.

Back View

Now drill your bolt holes on the swinging bars. 1 1/2 in from the top

And 12 in from the bottom

Now drill the holes in your top supports 1 inch in on each side. They should be 12 inches apart, just like the holes on the seat supports.

Turn the swinging bars on their side so the holes are on the right and left, not the top and bottom, and screw the foot rests on the bottom with 3 inch screws. 2 or 3 screws on each.

Bolt the swinging bars to the seat supports.

Screw the supports to the top of the swing set with 3 in screws. Use a scrap 2x2 to place between them while you screw it down to keep the spacing right,

Then bolt the swing to the top supports and she is ready to go!

I think I might cut some dowel rods, drill another hole on each bar about 1 ft up from the seats and slide the dowels through. One screw in the center should hold them, then the kids would have some handle bars.

Seriously, they LOVE it. (it's bigger then the ones you can buy, so it swings higher)