The (Un)Toy Story!

I know this is not a mommy blog but I have a bad mom confession to make any way: I hate toys, all toys! They either have millions of pieces, are ginormous, expensive, or kids are only interest in them for about five seconds {this may be an exageration, but you get the idea}. I also live in a 1000sq foot row home, which gets cluttered very easily. Add to this the fact that I tend to get stir crazy staying in one place all day,and you can see why I need to find some alternatives! So instead of buying Maya lots of stuff, I take her out of the house to encourage creative play :) We go to different local jaunts like the Philadelphia Zoo, our local branch of the Philly Library, or other kid friendly places. Sometimes we just stay home and she writes on my couch with a black gel pen, true story.{Don’t get me wrong Maya does have some toys, but I try to get her classics or very well made stuff that will stand the test of time}. 

 

"High Horse" get it? ;)

 So anyway let me get off my high horse... This week as part of her Christmas gift, Maya and I went to the Please Touch Museum for the first time ever, and Maya loved it! I think we will be treating ourselves to a membership! Last year we were diehards and braved the elements to play outside. This year mama is a wimp and we need places where we can stay warm and dry. 

   So here are some pics. And here's another confession: though I do care about conservation and conscientious consumption, I also wanted you guys to see my cutie's outfit ;)After all, this is technically a fashion blog, right?!

                                                                                                   *  Kia 

Homemade Couture for your Christmas Giraffe!

Mr. Gerald Giraffe looking swanky in his upcycled duds!

Back in 2010 when I found out one of my closest girlfriends, Sarah, was pregnant, I was thrilled for her and her husband Joe! They are such kind and also funny people (the two characteristics I value most ;) and I knew any baby of theirs would be equally awesome. Shortly after I heard the news I was in my favorite Fair Trade shop, Ten Thousand Villages, when I saw an adorable giraffe doll I thought would be perfect for the soon to be born baby {unfortunately, they no longer make this Giraffe, but they still have other great toys}. Sarah and Joe decided to wait until the birth to find out the sex of the baby, but I had this feeling the little one was a girl. This being the case, I purchased the giraffe in a dress. But it became apparent I chose incorrectly! Little baby boy Christian was born in January, and when it came time to give him his Christmas gift I wanted to make this Geraldine Giraffe into a Gerald, I it occurred to me this transformation would be a good submission for the DIY round up from the Ethical Fashion Bloggers!

Overalls back view

I tend to keep scraps of fabric I like from old clothes or projects I done {my sister calls it hoarding, I prefer to think of it as being prepared}. I pulled out the legs from some stretchy jeans I made into shorts last summer and the top of an old shirt of mine I had cut, and I set to work creating the adorable little ensemble you see before you! Now, for doll clothes you can buy patterns, and I certainly recommend them for complicated work. However, I’m adventurous, so I lay the giraffe over my fabric, left myself room for the seam, and cut from there. To get the crotch of the pants correctly cut (you have to curve them) I grabbed a pair of my own and looked at it as a guide for the shape.



My very old Kenmore sewing machine!


When making clothes for a stuffed animal, I recommend using stretchy fabric as these little guys tent to have more than their share of curves. For instance, Gerald Giraffe is extremely curvy about the hips, but a well-tailored pair of overalls hides that quite nicely! Sewing human sized clothes in stretchy fabric with a typical sewing machine is not ideal, as the stitches here can rip from human movement. You’ll want a serger machine for that, but for a stuffed animal whom we don’t expect to be independently mobile, using your normal sewing machine and a zigzag stitch is more than fine. To hold up Gerald’s cute little overalls I used part of a brown ribbon, which was wrapped around box of chocolates.


Look at those chubby cheaks!!!


I was very lucky to be able to visit Sarah, Joe, and Christian this past weekend, and I’m very happy to report he is very fond of his new Giraffe! Go Auntie Marcie!


Christian, a beautiful and bright baby boy!



Halloween Costumes: Not just what you know but who you know!

Charlotte and Ella, sailing the high seas of fashion! 

Sometimes for truly awesome Halloween costumes a mix and match of old, new, store bought, hand-me-down, and home-made is the best approach! As evidence of this, I turn to my friend, Jena, and her two little girls. This Halloween Jena went on a veritable treasure hunt to find just the right pieces so Charlotte and Ella could fly the skull and cross bones with pride. Here's Jena's map to pure Halloween gold! Many thanks to Jena and the girls! 
                         *Marcie 
Jena: 
Looking for the ocean! My sweet girls love to Reuse and Recycle, and that's why we love Halloween! There are so many ways to creatively use things you already have. The octopus is an amazing hand me down from a cousin, which I've been holding onto ever since Charlotte was a baby. And it was the perfect fit for Ella when Charlotte decided to forgo the princess route and become a tough pirate! Her pirate costume is a compilation of scraps that my Aunt and Grandmother had laying with the sewing. I also found an old jacket pattern from Easters past! With five dollars for the jacket fabric and one dollar for the hat at the dollar store, we say Jack Sparrow, eat your heart out!!!!

Halloween is a time to shine for moms with BA's in ART!

Charlie as Boba Fett and Lucy as an Elmo Princess, 2011

Kristen, Charlie, and Lucy 2010

Halloween is over, but I still want to showcase some of my favorite costumes from this year {I've tucked away a few for next years entries, too}. So, you don't need an art degree to create costumes like this, but it helps! Once you take a look at the adorable costumes made by my friend Kristen, I think you'll agree! Back in College Kristen and I took a wearable art class, where the human body became the "canvas" and fabric, the "paint." 

Charlie, as Thomas the Tank Engine, 2008

When I saw the quality and variety of the costumes Kristen made for her children, Charlie and Lucy, my mind went back to our times scouring the campus for unusual materials and bursts of inspiration {of course, back then our projects were more avant garde}. Take a look at these outfits, all, save for Batman, made by Kristen. Let them help inspire you for next year! Thank you, Kristen, and enjoy!

Charlie as the family dog,  Breezer, 2007

Lucy as a cupcake, 2010


                                                                                         *Marcie

No Toddlers in Tiaras here! A Sweet Dorothy Costume!

Photography by Caitlin Domanico, LLC

"There's no place..." you can turn without hearing or seeing discussions about how inappropriately sexy or violent children's costumes are becoming.  With the help of trusted adults children have to learn to find a safe and secure place for themselves in a society that often exploits. However, I think many of us inadvertently push children into this world, which is way more grown up than they can handle, because we think they look "cute" or "funny" posing as "sexy" or "macho" little adults. 

    That's one of the reasons I really like my friend Caitlin's "Dorothy" costume her lovely and spunky daughter, Ava. Little Ava looks sweet, adorable, and not too dolled up or grown up :) She's comfortable, classic, and herself. In being Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz, Ava is embodying a young girl who had an amazing adventure; who was brave, strong, intelligent, and caring. If your interested in seeing more costumes based on extraordinary women in literature, art, history, and science, check out the website Take Back Halloween. You'll see great costumes and learn about incredible women! 

Also, you still have a few hours to enter Caitlin's Halloween costume contest!  Caitlin Domanico was recently voted Philly's best children's photographer. Check out www.caitlindomanico.com and enter this contest ASAP!!!!!!  

                            *Marcie 

Second-Hand Costumes for Kids, Lookin' Anything But Shabby!

Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, and the Bee, too(!)  having fun at the "Pooh Tree" of Peace Valley Park 

As I’ve said, I’m very proud to have such a multitude of creative friends. For this post I give my thanks to one of my best high school girlfriends, Mary. She's allowed me to showcase her talent for saving the big bucks as she turns her kids into big bears {and bees, and tigers!}

       Mary is a true thrift store maven.  When her gang of little men decided they wanted to be characters from Winnie the Pooh this Halloween, she packed the kids in the car in search of great deals to make her guys fit for Hundred Acre Woods. Her oldest found an adorable Pooh costume, complete with a big ole honey belly, at the Salvation Army for a very agreeable $13. Her youngest also scored big with a bumblebee costume for $8 dollars. I like how Mary felt free to branch out from the original Pooh characters, but still found a costume that was related to the Pooh theme!

Her biggest Halloween score came from the Care and Share Thrift Shop in Souderton Pa. Now this particular thrift shop was an absolute favorite of my group of girlfriends, Mary, Bethany, Hannah, and my sister, Tegan.  With five shops in one complex, this thrift-store has tons of choices and excellent prices, and all the proceeds to help fund the very worthy projects of the Mennonite Central Committee!  For one dollar Mary’s middlest little man got himself a totally awesome tiger costume. Together, Mary's band of merry men make the cutest Pooh Bear, Tigger, and Honey Bee I’ve ever seen! 

              *Marcie 

HaLLoOWeEN!!!! WhAt HavE YOu WOrn?!

Hillary{the watermelon}, Jessica {the fortune teller}, and Andrea and Kelly {the scarecrows}

  Well my friends, Halloween is closing in on us faster than the headless horseman upon the Sleepy Hallow Bridge {be warned, this is not the first cheesy or cliche reference in this post}. Fear not, at least aspect of this season of spooky merriment doesn't have to have you shaking in your boots ~ figuring out your costumes! This should be fun and easy breezy, people! Alas, like so many things in today's society Halloween costume choosing and execution can be extremely competitive, stressful, or even worse, just plain boring.
   But, it doesn't have to be that way! There are so many great options, from classic costumes to eccentric ensembles! Young and old can find great get-ups from thrift stores and vintage shops, from friends, and from your own imagination! The next few weeks Kia and I will be posting pics of awesome Halloween costumes from Halloweens past and present, and we're asking you to send in pictures of your best costumes! I'm proud to post the first submitted picture!
   This family is made-up of four exuberant and creative gals, Hillary, Jessica, Andrea, and Kelly {as pictured above}, and is headed by an awesome Ma and Pa. Ma, Diana, loves Halloween, and loved putting together costumes when her girls were little! "That was a banner Halloween year! The scarecrow outfits and the watermelon slice were homemade costumes that were given to me by friends. Jessica was a 'gypsy' or to be more PC, a 'fortune teller'...she was wearing my skirt, a blouse she had, I bought a length of lace fabric that was on clearance for her shawl, and a scarf for her head. The makeup was bought from McCrory's {a five and dime}. We never bought a costume, we always made our costumes or got costumes passed on to us. It was fun making costumes out of seemingly nothing!!!" So get inspired my friends, and show us what you got!

                        *Marcie 

What Wee Wore: Zoe and Ashley

One of the recurring categories of posts we will be sharing is children and the fashions they love, under the title of "What Wee Wore."(If you would like to highlight your child and her/his fashion choices, please let us know). My lovely nieces, Zoe and Ashley, and gracious sister-in-law, Kelly, teamed up to bring us our first installment. For this post I emailed questions to Zoe, who is practising her awesome writing and emailing skills, and asked clothing questions of her and Ashley. She delighted me with her answers, which appear below. I asked Kelly, of www.TheSpunkyCoconut.com, to also include a photo of the girls in their favorite outfits, and here it  is! Adorable, I know!(notice the high resolution? Kia, we need better cameras ASAP!!!) Keeping with our interest in sustainable and affordable fashions, Kelly also took it upon herself to expand the post and include a write up of the origins of the girls clothes. Thank you, and enjoy!!!!

Zoe and Ashley's Fashion Fun, typed by Zoe


Zoe's Style:
1. What is your favorite color to wear? Why? 
yellow (it's my favorite color!)

2. What is your favorite outfit? Can you describe it to me? What about it do you like?

I love my yellow sun dress with flowers on it and my yellow high sweater I like it because it reminds me about summer (my birthday!)

3. Do you dress like your friends? If you do, do you guys wear?

some times and when I do it's hip hop

4. What is your favorite dress up outfit? Why??? What do you play in it?

my cinderella dress, because that is my favorite movie and I play Queen of the Brozyna kingdom
5. Do you wear jewelry? Can you tell me what is your favorite piece to wear?
yes! I like necklaces my favorite one is glow in the dark hearts and stars

6. How do you pick what outfit you're going to wear for your day?

well it depends on the weather or  if  I don't  know  the  weather I just wear a t-shirt and pants.

Ashley's Style:

1. What is your favorite color?
pink

2. Do you like dresses or pants?

pants

3. What is your favorite outfit? 

a bathing suit 

4. What are your favorite shoes?

flip flops

Commentary by Their Mom, Kelly: 

Zoe (8 years old) and Ashley (6 years old) are proud to wear clothes given to them by their best friend, Abi. Abi is two years older than Zoe, and her mom, Tori is also a friend of mine. Tori has been donating Abi's old clothes to Zoe and Ashley for two years now. It's like Christmas when Abi and Tori bring over a bag of clothes—so fun! In this photo Zoe is wearing a skirt from Abi, and Ashley is wearing jeans from Abi. Zoe's pink glitter purse is also from Abi. Love, Kelly


Thank you to Ashley, Zoe, and Kelly for a wonderful "What Wee Wore"!       *Marcie*