The Turnip Girl's newest costume

So The Amazing Turnip Girl has been working for weeks on a new costume. Now, if you've been following The Adventures of a Turnip Girl , you know that all her costumes are what's called "closet cosplay". It's an inexpensive form of cosplay that uses things that are easily available in creative ways. She's not casting rubber, or spending hours drafting patterns to sew. She starts with an idea, and heads to thrift stores and garage sales to pick up the pieces she needs. It takes a fair amount of creativity, and involves sees possibilities in the shapes of things. For this particular costume, the only brand new items in it are the buttons, spray paint, glue and a zipper.

The shirt is a lightweight sweater, that was modified heavily. she removed one arm to make room for the armor, and created tac style pockets for it and added a full length zipper. All hand stitched in. The knee pads were a huge find. She got those at a local garage sale- 50 cents for the full set of pads. The others are set aside for other costumes. The armor on her arm is made using paper mache, so is the knife and gun.

The glove was a good find too. She found that actually alone in my things and asked if I was going to do anything with it. Um.. not so much. A pair of gloves, I might crochet an edging for, but a lone glove? She happily took it.

All those straps? She bought a lot of belts. One was the wrong color, but a quick coat of paint fixed that! She used fabric to make a harness back piece for some of the belts. The holster and sheath are hand stitched from black vinyl.

She's getting really good at paper mache isn't she? 

The mask is paper mache glued to fabric. The star was stenciled on, using Frog Tape to get a really clean edge.

So in the process of working on this costume, we found out that part of Barnes and Noble's Pop Culture Nights was a Marvel night! She was excited, no waiting to wear her costume, she even had to hurry to finish it! There were a LOT of Captain Americas, it was hero night at B&N.

The Winter Soldier won, and people stopped and complimented her costume.

Heart Swirl Mandala

Still playing with CorelDrawX6! Ultimately, what I want to do is make laser cut pendants based on my mandalas using Ponoko, and possibly some hair forks as well. Right now it's just getting used to the program.

I hope you enjoy this mandala using the heart posted the other day. Click on the images for larger versions.
Small JPG version:

Large PNG version:

This morning we went to Value Village for their 50% off sale. TG was thrilled to find a nice big piece of black vinyl, and I picked up a lot of cross stitch fabric. We also found two short sleeved shirts in my husband's size since his current job allows more casual dress. I'm eager to see what TG makes with the vinyl. 

In the near future if you read and get updates from feed or email subscription, you'll see a sponsored post giveaway, which I'm mentioning because there are actually two photos of me in that post! Since generally I'm extremely camera shy, my husband was thrilled that I let him take my picture. I hope you all really enjoyed the weekend!

Snail boxes and another coloring page

More snails! (I told you it was going on a box!) I hope you enjoy this printable gift box with a snail on it. There is also one that can be colored. Click on the images for larger versions to print. Cut/score/fold/glue or Color/cut/score/fold/glue.

And a coloring page!

Yesterday we went thrifting. It was really good. I got some lanyards to take apart for hardware, a big pack of scrapbook paper (12x12) and to my absolute joy, a bunch of little mending kits. Why mending kits? Because the little ones that you get as a courtesy at some hotels and such are wonderful to make cases for as gifts for friends. Little favors and such. These have thread, 2 needles and 2 buttons in a little pillow box.
I also got some new vintage cookbooks. *happiness* What really excited me the most is a vintage Alaska cookbook about using game meat. It was compiled of recipes submitted by game hunters and their wives in the 70s and has such oddities as Pan-Fried Beaver, Jellied Moose Nose and Porcupine Fricassee. It also has some more usable recipes in it as well, including several for local wild plant edibles. Yay!

Current reviews and thrift stores

Currently newish reviews
Fiction- not my strong point in reviewing.
Blood of the Demon by Diana Rowland, it's a sequel and I do recommend the series so far. You can read my whole review on the link.
Silver Bourne by Patricia Briggs.

Craft and Bead Books
Beaded Allure by Kelly Wiese- also posted at Beadwork at BellaOnline. Totally recommend it. It's a lovely book.

Non-Book
Mark-It Fine Point Permanent Markers
Divine Milk Chocolate Bars
Farberware 10 Inch Open Skillet
Verbatim 320 gb portable HD
Whirley-Pop popcorn maker
Chinet Paper Plates

If any of the reviews are helpful, please vote helpful on the review!

We just got back from Michaels because they had a 30% off total regular price purchases coupon in their email this week. Astoundingly, I spent less than 21 dollars. I got some more yarn to make potholders and such and some more Glossy Accents for bottle cap necklaces.Michaels was clearing out book shaped wooden boxes for 29 cents each so I bought what the had left. The Turnip will probably decorate them. After that, I told Mike I wanted to stop by Value Village.
I prefer a lot of the local thrift stores most of the time, but what Value Village has that the rest don't consistently is big bags of fabric remnants for 4.99. The Turnip didn't know we were going specifically to get more fabric for her. She was thrilled. She looked for a minute or two, but my daughter has a definite taste for shiny fabrics and one of the bags had blue satin in it.I got a second bag that had some pieces I could use. I went through my bag, pulled out the pieces I wanted, and gave the rest to her, it included a large piece of a silky synthetic I think will wind up being draped on things and played with more than sewn with. So the house is silent as she's in her room sewing happily.I was happy. I found a Sunset book on making children's play spaces that looks very good. I spent a lot less than I thought I would. Less than 20 at the thrift store.

Vintage Craft Books

Saturday, my beloved husband took me to Bishop's Attic. Bishop's Attic is a local thrift store that's just the absolute definition of thrift store to my mind. They will sell almost anything they are donated. There are half tubes of paint, fabric, books all over the place and my favorite is their 3/1.00 "work clothes" rack. Jeans, button down shirts, teeshirts, all sorts of things that are a little too worn or a little too stained for most places to sell, but they do sell them. 34 cent jeans are great for upcycling!

I spent 20 dollars and walked out with 8 books including 2 new old craft books for my collection and a few cookbooks, a bunch of fabric for The Turnip including a scrap of a loteria print which I might steal a piece of for a pin, a skirt each for The Turnip and I. Mine is a plain black skirt, hers is a wild diagonal pink stripe she loves and wore with complete disregard for fashion with a red blouse and a blue diagonally striped tie, and a nice bunch of dpns. Some incomplete sets but incomplete sets make nice hair sticks.

One of the craft books was Better Homes and Garden's Treasures from Throwaways published in 1976. Some of the ideas in it are brilliant. Closer to Christmas I'll post scans of my 2 favorite Christmas ideas. I really loved this idea for a stool to sit on.

 

Pretty sure I can get a couple old tire rims if I ask around. The cushions are sewn to fit. I imagine you could use the depression on the insides of the rims for some storage as well, or strip the hardware off an old door and make a coffee table using the same idea.

The real treasure was this.

  

Nifty enough. I love old cake decorating book, but what made it just wonderful was the inside cover.

  

I think the person who owned it originally did wedding cakes and took pictures of them. Aren't those brides lovely? The lines of their dresses are so gorgeous.

  

  

I do so hope they had their happily ever afters. 

Thrift store happiness

I love thrift stores, vintage craft books and other things. One bags up fabric remnants and sells them for 4.99 which is very handy when you have a daughter who can spend hours hand sewing little dolls and other things.

I found the above amazing sheet of sweetness Saturday after we got the car back. My darling husband actually flinched when he saw it.

I've been debating what to do with it, I think I'll make grocery bags, but on Facebook, my good friend Rebecca suggested I hit it with glitter and turn it into my battle flag. My Naet refined the idea further with this suggestion "Haha, I love that idea ... glitter the fluck out of it and add a pink skull & crossbones. A sparkly rainbow unicorn jolly roger flag :)"

I love that idea too. But it will probably wind up being very cute grocery bags.

My daughter, The Turnip, makes handmade dolls. She's too impatient mostly for careful tiny backstitching, and doesn't follow or make patterns despite my pleading for patterns I could post here of her amazing creations. She embroiders eyes on them or she uses permanent markers to draw them on, occasionally she uses buttons. Most of them are fan based somehow, but some are just creations. For Christmas, she made all of us except Dad, dolls. She made Mike one based on one of his favorite comics, she made me a green witch, and she made William one based on a video game he likes. For Dad, she made him a cell phone case designed after the uniforms worn in ST:TNG. She loves to sew. She loves thrift stores for sweaters to make things with, her own wardrobe (she's fond of suits, ties and button down oxford shirts) and fabric for her dolls.

This is the doll she made me for Christmas.

I love it so much.