Currently Obsessed With: Skyfall

So is anyone else as obsessed with Skyfall as I am? Well there must be because it is the #1 movie in the world...but I can't even express how much I loved this movie!

James Bond has always been a favorite and when Daniel Craig took over the iconic role I could not have been happier. By the way, how are his eyes so blue? I digress. Casino Royale was a fun movie that stepped up the James Bond game and got it away from some of the sillyness that it was becoming. I sort of feel like it was the 'Batman Begins' equivalent of the Bond franchise. Then came Quantum of Solace and I was again very excited...and then quickly dissapointed. It is just not that good of a movie. The nod to Goldfinger was excellent and a couple of M's quips were of course spot on but other than that the movie seemed to lack clear direction.

Now onto Skyfall. Firstly- the trailers were excellent. From the first teaser you wanted to see this film and you wanted it to be so good. The movie delivered! I will admit the first 20 minutes or so I was a little worried and then things took a turn. Javier Bardem makes one of the best villians in modern cinema. The clear 'bad guy wants revenge plot' was so much more refreshing than the mysterious world of secret society terrorists in the last two films. The background on Bond was great as well and the connections to the past movies was fun and tied the 50 year history of this brand together in a clever little package. It is so nice to see a well made action movie! There were scenes towards the end that were so beautifully shot  you forgot you were watching a 'Bond movie'.

Also I have to give a shout out to the new young 'Q'. Not many men could distract from the swoon-worthy-ness of Mr. Craig but Q, played by Ben Winshaw, managed to steal some of the attention that is usually heaped upon Bond (at least in my friend group!).

Something about the combination of accent+great hair+sweaters+nerd glasses really made this Q work for me! Nerds: you are having a moment of awesome right now!

I will try to catch Skyfall again while it is still in theaters. Until then I will just listen to Adele's Skyfall on repeat like I have been doing for the last week.

I am trying to think of some fun James Bond craft projects. Anyone have any ideas?

Baking season

Working at a bakery sometimes the LAST thing I want to do when I get home is bake, but I love it so I have been forcing myself to make stuff! A couple of weeks ago the Derby team got together for a potluck- and I brought the skate cake! I bought the pan at the local Hobby Lobby with a coupon. I really shouldn't collect this kind of bakeware because I don't have the room...but oh do I love it!

And cupcakes are always a favorite! I made these easy peasy egg cupcakes for my friend's birthday Brinner (breakfast for dinner).

These are so easy they are criminal! I loaded up a pastry bag with white frosting and put an irregular dollop on each mini cupcake. Then I separated out some plain yellow m&ms and made sure I put the 'm' side down. Ta da! These are nice because they don't have an obscene amount of frosting on them. Another cute idea is to use green m&ms for a green eggs and ham/ Dr. Seuss party.

Now it is all about the turkeys and fall leaves and getting ready for winter.

Is it over?!

Not only is October (and Halloween) over we already solidly in November! Where has the time gone? I am going to say that I have been having so much fun that the time has just flown by...Mostly true! I did get a few Halloween projects done this year, including two costumes.

One was for my sister. She wanted a pikachu costume. I forbade her from buying one!

We headed to the thrift store and found an adorable yellow dress. I made a tail and some stripes and a set of ears.

 For the ears I covered a headband and stuffed the ears with polyfil and some lightweight wire to give them a bit of bend.

The tail is a styrofoam base covered in fabric (all sewing- no glue!) The base of the tail is sewn to the dress and then a small loop of string was attached to the top of the tail and then looped onto the button at the top back of the dress to make the tail stand up.

The stripes are dark brown felt sewn to the dress. The upper stripe covered some of the zipper so it is only half sewn on and the other half I attached 3 velcro bits so you can still unzip the dress.

Some major blush on the cheeks and she was the cutest pokemon at the party. (Ok she was the ONLY pokemon at the party...but still!)


I also made a squirrel costume for my girl Squirrely Q. I had her buy a hoodie that she liked and I added ears and a tail. She loves it so much she still wears it around. I didn't get a picture of it but I also bought a small glitter acorn from the craft store and added a loop of fabric to it so she could wear it around her wrist or safety pin it to herself so she wouldn't lose it!

Hope everyone had a safe and happy Halloween and now onto the holiday season! WOOO HOOOO!

Halloween Roller Derby

Halloween AND Roller Derby? Be still my heart! Two of my favorite things in one. Our team is headed to their very FIRST away bout and we are getting pretty excited!  If you are going to be in the area check it out. H

Happy Haunting! And Rolling...

I Heart: Pattern Sales!!!!

Another pattern sale! How can I resist? Patterns that are $17.95 on sale for 99 cents!!!! Be still my heart. Now though I really do need to get a box for all of my patterns because I am beginning to forget which ones I already have. I think that means I need to start sewing! This time it was all costume patterns. They are my favorites and I was shopping with other people who didn't want to spend another hour at the store as I pour over the pattern books!

And yes- that pattern on top is CLEARLY a 'Snow White and the Huntsman' pattern. That is a movie I did not like AT ALL which was disappointing because I love Snow White stories. Anyways the outfit is so darn cute that I couldn't resist getting the pattern. I also just sort of love the patterns that come out for the movies that were released this year. Maybe I can use it for the Oscar party next year.

Now for the good part: Drumroll Please!!!!!

Cost: $102.70
On sale for:  $6.38!!!!!
Savings of: $96.32

Boom. Happy Haunting! (And sewing!)

Harvest Moon Festival: Fall Floral Crown DIY

I helped out at the History Center's Harvest Moon Festival this weekend and we were encouraged to dress up so of course I jumped on it! I originally wanted to be sort of a fall/fairy queen type but I started to run out of time to get together an elaborate costume. This is a lesson that I have learned over and over and I really need to take it to heart: USE WHAT YOU HAVE. Sometimes I get so obsessesed with creating a new costume that I forget that I already probably have stuff in my closet and craft room that would work.  I did really want to make a fall floral crown  after being inspired by all the tutorials and things I have recently seen.




A trip to Michaels provided some lovely fake fall items on sale I got this whole bunch for less than $5! My job at the festival was helping out at the pumpking painting station so I wanted to make sure I had at least one pumpkin involved.

 

First: I simply unwrapped the small circle of leaves and beads. I was hoping to use this as a base. Lo and Behold! It was a perfect shape and size. I would probably wear this by itself it is so pretty.

2nd: I just started pulling apart elements from my other 'sprigs' and winding and twisting them into the base crown. In a couple spots I used brown twist ties to secure the items together. The whole project took less than 10 minutes! And since there was no glue involved I can take this apart to either source for other craft projects or to mix up this look. Win! Mine sat on my head just like a head band but if you added ribbon to each end you could tie it and adjust the side a bit for the kids in your life! (Just make sure they are old enough not to try and eat it- there are some small bits!)

The rest of my costume ended up being a combination of a few different costumes I had and some regular clothes. It was supposed to be a bit like a victorian looking witch. One girl described me as a 'Fall queen' and said that I was 'very pretty and you have the perfect color hair." She might have been my favorite! It was a little chilly and of course I forgot my camera but here are the little pumpkins I painted!

Happy Haunting!!!

Slowly but surely...

Slowly, steadily things are becoming Halloweeny. Fall colors are already at their peak here and the weather has gotten rather brisk. Today I need to face the chilly to get some outdoor decorating done. One of my favorite things to do for Halloween? Use the pumpkin leaf bags. We always used these when I was a kid so it brings me back and it is both fun and functional!

Happy Haunting!