Mad Alice is in the House....

The Teen and I attended our local Comiccon  and I decided to attend as Mad Alice. The Teen introduced me to American McGee's Alice and Madness Returns a couple of years ago. I have always loved Alice in Wonderland and have to admit I was mildly disturbed when he first showed me the game shots online. 

I did discover there was something about the game that I loved. Maybe that it contained a darker element to it. It wasn't a typical flowery version of Alice. It was darker and more intense and I was drawn to that. So when tossing out ideas for costumes I fell on Mad Alice. 

This is my first foray into the world of cosplay, not counting Halloween. I wanted to make as much of the costume as possible. I am funny like that. So I started collecting pieces over the last few months, some of which I have posted already as teasers. I have been very fortunate to find awesome deals on things. I scoured the net looking for things to bring this costume together. Buying what I wasn't able to, or didn't have time to make myself. 

I made the dress myself, not using a pattern because I am risky like that. I had purchased a pattern for an Alice in Wonderland costume but I didn't have the time or patience to sit there and work out math to enlarge the pattern. So I decided to wing it using my sewing know-how and muddling through. I have always been told I tend to do things the hard way and this probably is a good example of this. 

It was an interesting experience, to say the least. My sewing machine died a couple of weeks before the con so I thankfully was able to borrow a machine from my co-worker. 

I basically traced a tank top I had (of course not calculating that the tank top was jersey, which stretches, and my dress material was not) and then made a full circle skirt from what I have learned making a 50s dress years ago. The sleeves I did use a pattern for since no alterations were required for those. The apron I pretty much whipped up. 

I had made stencils for the pocket symbols and used fabric medium with black acrylic paint to apply to the pockets. Sewed them on, reaching back to high school sewing class in pocket making, I might add. 

I had a bunch of fun splattering the red paint all over the pristine, white apron in my living room. Normally I cringe at messy clothing but how can you have a Mad Alice without a little blood splatter. So I laid out a drop cloth and got to work splashing droplets of red paint all over. By the end I was giggling like a little girl. It was fun to get messy. I had lost touch with that childlike wonder many moons ago. It was good to get back in touch. 

I also got back in touch with my childlike state of playing with clay. A statement piece of Alice's dress has to be her skull bow in the back. She also wears an Omega necklace around her neck. I knew I could make both so I set to work. It was good working with my hands and shaping things. 

The Teen would regularly check in on my progress and nod his approval. He seemed impressed and I got a few "that will work" as I went along. 

All in all it was an amazing experience. There was some blood, sweat and tears along the way but totally worth it and I am looking forward to next year and seeing what I can come up with. I do think I might give the steampunk outfit a stab *pun totally intended* 

I will be posting about the actual con in a day or two. Until then, Hugs and Smoochies from Mad Alice in the Madhouse 

<3 Arawynn <3

Inspirational Stones....

 May the Luck o' the Irish be with you today and always. 

I have seen stones in stores for decoration purposes with a variety of words on them. I decided I wanted to have some of these stones at home, in a place where I could see them, or pick them up and meditate on the word written. 

They looked simple enough to make and indeed they are. 

All you need is some River Rocks (preferably ones that have smooth surfaces) and a metallic permanent marker in Silver. I washed the stones prior to marking on them so I had a clean surface in which to write upon. 

I set all my materials out in front of me. I picked up a stone and wrote whatever word came to my mind as I picked it up. While writing the word I visualized the meaning of the word or something the represented the meaning to me. I then set them aside to dry, so I didn't smudge the writing. 

I didn't seal the writing with varnish or anything. I prefer to have the stones natural. Feel free to use a sealer if you wish. 

Now I have inspirational stones in which to visualize with and decorate with as well. I am all about the multiple use thing lately. I just need to find the right container in which to place the stones so they are easily accessible. 

You can give this a try and randomly pick up a stone. Close your eyes, if you wish. Think upon the word written upon the stone you chose and visualize it. You may be surprised at the reaction you have. 

You could always use smaller stones and carry them around in your purse or pocket and whenever you feel the stone, hold it in your hands and visualize what it represents. For example: if you are in need of confidence, carry the confidence stone around with you and whenever you find you need a little boost. Just hold the stone and visualize situations involving confidence. Visualize yourself as more confident and you may be surprised at the outcome. 

I had a crafty weekend. I made up this set of Inspiration stones and I whipped up a St. Paddy's Day hat for a co-worker. She loved it and wore it well. We Irish Lassies had to stick together on this fine day :) 

Here is the hat I made for her this past weekend. I have to say I am really loving the look of felt and want to make more in different colours. I would wear a mini-top hat every day. 

In honour or St. Patrick's Day I am leaving you all with the following. 

Hugs and Smoochies from the Madhouse

<3 Arawynn <3

Doctor Who Hair Sticks...

I have been bitten by the crafting bug lately and most of my ideas seem to be revolving around Doctor Who. I love Doctor Who. I remember being spooked by the Classic Doctor Who music when I was really young. I did watch the 8th Doctor in reruns when I was pregnant for my son and home alone all day. 

I really got into the series with it's reboot ( I know, I know there are many that don't view it as a reboot but as a continuation) and I have seen every episode several times since. I loved 10 and Rose and then Rory and Amy and The Doctor and River Song. I am so looking forward to the 50th Anniversary episode and seeing both Matt Smith and David Tennant  together in one episode. It should be epic. 

To get in the spirit and show my Whovian Pride. I decided to make something that I can wear. Nothing to drastic since I don't want to scare my co-workers more than I already have with my decorations. I decided to make some hair sticks to stick in my hair, when I am wearing it up. Best part is they can double as weapons if someone attacks. I am all for multi-purposed items. ^.~ 

I have already posted a somewhat how-to over on Cut Out & Keep. Feel free to head over and check it out, Here

Action Shot

View from the front

Up close and personal

Bow ties and Fezes are cool :) 

I am pretty proud of them. I hand painted both while I watched a Harry Potter marathon with "the teen" a couple of weekends ago. I am bad at actually getting things up and posted in a quick time frame. Usually because something in the madhouse distracts me. Like the sudden urge to paint chopsticks up so I can wear them in my hair :P  

My next plan is to make TARDIS curtains for "the teen's" room. They replaced our windows so I had to take down his old curtains and decided they needed to be updated. 

Other Doctor Who projects I have made are "the teen's" birthday cake last year. As shown here. Not my finest work, but still pretty cool. 

There will be more geekery crafts to come. Please check back often :) 

For now I must go do domestic things. Still wishing for my fairy godmother to come and take care of all the chores so I can go to the fancy dress ball. Someday....until then...

Hugs and Smoochies 

<3 Arawynn <3

Spring or not to Spring....

Things have been pretty hectic in the Madhouse, as of late. 

I regret to say that some of the seeds I started have since passed. Not sure what the issue is exactly. I would have to say Lavender is not a friend to me. I might have to just bit the bullet and purchase dried lavender instead of growing it myself. Going to attempt another round soon, hopefully these will work out better. I have also picked up some hot peppers, cherry tomatoes, green and yellow beans. I managed to find a wooden crate at work that was going to be tossed in the recycle bin and it would be perfect to use as a planter in my backyard for some veggies. I have also planted some bell peppers. 

The weather here has been all over the place. Spring just can't seem to make up it's mind if it wants to arrive or not. It would be nice for it to arrive so I can start planting stuff outside, but looks like I have to wait just a little while longer. I have been keeping busy though. 

Finally managed to upload a couple of my recent projects to Cutoutandkeep.com, one of my favourite sites for crafty things. If you want to check them out click the links below and head on over for tutorials. Both were pretty easy and fun to make. I am itching to make more. Possibly for gifts or to sell. I have a dream to one day get organized enough to open an Etsy Shop of my very own. At the moment though it has to wait. 

Mini Top Hat

DIY Rune Stones

Here is a pic of me wearing my mini top hat before heading out to the birthday/St. Patrick's Day party. I am pretty happy with how it turned out. I will definitely change some things with the next one I make. Possibly making it out of fabric instead of foam. The possibilities with these little darlings, are endless. I did win a sash and button for my outfit which made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. 

I will be adding some more things soon, endlessly trying to get organized and get things done. Sometimes I think it would be awesome to have a fairy godmother to take care of things for me. Or a Mad Hatter. Oooo I think that might be my next hat. Maybe to wear to a tea party, perhaps? 

Hope you all had a wonderful Easter weekend. Still hoping for Spring to arrive. 

Hugs and Smoochies 

<3 Arawynn <3 

Spring is on it's way...

...in the Madhouse at least. 

Last year I started my seeds way too late and I didn't get the most out of them so this year I decided to start them early. I have read that planting seeds during the New Moon is beneficial, being it is a new beginning of the moon's cycle and all. So I gathered all my supplies and a playing in the soil-less medium, I went a sowing. 

I decided to give herbs a try. I have been studying home remedies and wanted to try growing what I needed myself instead of buying it from a store. What can I say, I like inexpensive and diying my way through life. 

I have planted Catnip, Rosemary, Sage, Sweet Basil, Peppermint, Lavender, Chamomile, Apples, Bell Peppers, and Cat Grass and I have signs of life. It is amazing you can plant something so small and it grows into something so beautiful with just a little water, sun and love. 

With the snow we have been getting here, as of late, it is nice to look at my windowsill and see signs of greenery budding through the soil showing that Spring is on it's way.

So far pretty much all my seeds have started to show. I find my Chamomile and Sage have been doing the best, so far and I get so excited to see them grow. "The teen" thinks I have lost my mind, and maybe I have but I am mothering over these little seedlings and looking for ways to protect them when I transplant some of them outside. 

I have purchased some chicken wire from the dollar store as well as some gutter mesh in the hopes to rig up some sort of protection cage that won't keep light from getting to the plants but will protect them from the multitude of squirrels and rabbits I have roaming my backyard through out the year. Many a seedling have been lost to these little creatures much to my frustration. I will post pictures of that project when it comes time to actually construct it. For now I will post a few photos I have snapped of my little darlings. 

Chamomile

Peppermint

Sweet Basil

Chamomile (different angle)

Lavender 

Cat Grass

Lavender (different angle) 

Sage and Lavender

Garlic. 

As you can see I use egg cartons to start my seeds in. I really love how it doesn't cost anything and you can plant them straight into the ground if you wish. I look to reuse a lot of different containers for planting to save money and reuse. As my little darlings grow I will share more photos of the stages until they are outside. I am planning on keeping some in containers in the house just in case the squirrels manage to get their little claws into the ones I plant outside. 

Before anyone freaks out I know Chamomile is dangerous for Cats so those will be moved into "the teen's" bedroom so they are not available for my little furbaby to munch on (since he keeps his door shut at all times to lessen the cat hair exposure to his room), until I can transfer it outside. For the most part she doesn't touch any of my plants. She doesn't even seem interested in the cat grass I planted specifically for her. 

Hugs and Smoochies and Happy Planting 

<3 Arawynn <3

Heart Hair Pin

In honor of the month of love which will be upon us soon enough, I made a cute little heart hairpin. I made it out of things I had around the house so it didn’t cost me a thing.
I whipped this little cutie up the other night while I was watching tv.  I have a tonne of red felt from left over from a bunch of felt tree skirts I bought on clearance a while back for about a quarter each. So I cut our two heart shapes, sewed them together and stuffed the heart with some fiber fill. The white daisy is from vintage dress trim my mother had given me. I cut off one of the flowers and sewed it to the heart. Then I hit up my button horde stash and found two buttons that I liked and sewed them in the middle of the daisy.  Then I finished it off by sewing it to a hair clip I had kicking around.
I think it is so adorable and can’t wait to wear it in my hair. Would be perfect as a pin as well.
Hugs and Kisses from the Madhouse