Babywearing Sewing

I started making baby carriers after Korben was born because, frankly, carriers are really expensive!  I didn't understand why until I started making my own.  A lot of time and effort goes into making something safe to carry your most precious cargo.  It really isn't complicated or intricate sewing, its precision.  Everything has to be secure and well-made.  I started with mei tais because I just liked the look of them and I found a free pattern.  My first carrier was a robot print mei tai that has now been loved by many families, and has been passed on.

I really wish I had taken a full picture of it

The Fuller Day hood to headrest mei tai tutorial

I made quite a few mei tais with different variations of design.  For ComicCon 2013 I made a mei tai with a contoured, padded waist, foam in the straps, rainbow legs-out padding, and appliqued space invaders.  I LOVE the rainbow of space invaders, and this happens to be one of the most comfortable carriers I've ever made.

I made quite a few ring slings which are very useful and functional, but kind of unremarkable.  I tried the SBP pleated shoulder and it wasn't for me.  Jan's standard gathered shoulder is what I prefer and I've slingified wraps, table cloths, and just plain muslin with sling rings and a plain old gathered shoulder.

Then Sew Toot came on the scene and I gave the Little Pick Me Up a try.  I made a preschool size for Korben because he was still asking to go up and I didn't think I really had anything strong enough to carry a viking-sized 3 year old.  So, I let him choose his fabrics and I placed an order with strapworks.com

Its amazingly comfortable!  And the construction was not difficult at all.  Like with mei tais, SSC's require precision and very strict attention to detail, but the actual sewing is not difficult.  So I cut right into my Mexican cambaya fabric I had been saving and made a baby size LPMU for Maya.  The cambaya rainbow fabric really looks like legit wrap fabric and everyone at the Paxbaby Birthday party thought it was a wrap conversion.  But it's actually really thin acrylic that I bought for $2/yd.  I interfaced it with a sturdy cotton and it has a heavy cotton duck inner layer.  So the cambaya is just for looks, but it's a show-stopper for sure!

I actually ended up selling my Tula because we like this better and use it everyday, usually a couple times a day.

I did try my hand with an onbuhimo.  Many years ago I found the Baby-roo huckepack and I wanted one SO bad.  I loved that there was no waistband and that it had what looked like fluffy, padded straps.  Everything about it looked so cool and comfy for back carries.  But, they were practically impossible to get in the US.  So I looked into making my own onbu.  I found a free pattern for a ring onbu and my first one left quite a bit to be desired for.

Then, last year Sew Toot came out with the Barefoot Bucklebu pattern and I bought it right away.  I literally whipped up my first one in about 2 hours and I LOVED it as much as I though I would love the Baby-roo huckepack.  So, I purchased a Boba kanga print stuff sack and took it all apart and made my bucklebu boba hack.  I tried to frame it just like the Boba SSC's, because I've always liked that look and I was sad when Tula stopped doing it.  I left out the chest strap and its ok, but it would have been even better with one. This is the only way I do back carries now.  It so easy to pop her up on my back, and I don't have to make Korben wait too long while I do a double hammock or some other very involved back carry. 

I even took the kids on the their first hike with Mimi in our buckle bu!

I have so many more carriers either swirling around in my head as design ideas or already cut out and waiting construction.  But I can see our baby wearing days are winding down, and I have mixed feelings about it.  I love to see my two little people grow up and become independent out in the world.  But I'll always love to have them close to me.

My April Babies

Both babies happened to be born in April.  Maya's due date was actually May 15, 2014, but she had other plans, and made her great debut on April 22.  So with Korben's birthday on April 5, we end up having 2 birthday parties pretty close together in April.

Lots of people ask why I don't combine their parties since most of the same people are invited.  Well, it won't always be that way.  Very soon they will each have their own set of friends and they'll have completely different people attending their parties.

Korben has had a super hero party, a Mickey Mouse party, and last year he had a pirate party.  He loves spaceships and anything to do with rockets, so this year we're going that direction.  

Last year Maya had a butterfly 1st birthday party.  Currently she's in love with Anna and all things Frozen.  But since she has a springtime birthday, I didn't really want to have a wintery birthday party.  So, she'll have a Frozen Fever party.

Both parties have to to be planned on a VERY tight budget, so I have to choose decor, invites, food and sewing projects thoughtfully.  

Korben's pinterest board for his 4th birthday:

               Follow Shannon's board Korben's Fourth Birthday on Pinterest.   

 Maya's pinterest board for her 2nd birthday:

         Follow Shannon's board Maya's Second Birthday on Pinterest.    

Lets Catch Up

Well, the biggest thing that has happened since my last post is Maya!  Korben gave her the nickname Mimi and boy has it stuck.  She is a fiercely intelligent little red-headed spitfire.  And her brightness and love fill our house and our hearts!

She'll be 2 in April and Korben will be 4!  It's just amazing how time flies!  He is such a loving big brother and they have lots of fun together.  Mimi is talking up a storm and starting to show interest in the potty and Korben is making big progress on being totally pull-up/diaper free.  I'm so proud of these two little people.

In October of 2014 we had Michael's dad move in with us.  That has been a huge shock to our family dynamic, but we're hanging in there and have found ways to cope.  Michael and I refer to him as the hobo and we've found the comedy in all of it.

I've lost my sewing room to the hobo, but not my mojo.  I've made time and a little space to sew when I can.  Maya got an adorable vintage sun suit for her first birthday pics:

She wore a Wonder Woman bonnet in her Wonder Woman onbu for her first Comic Con:

I've sewn for the boy too.  Although, I do feel bad that there just aren't as many projects for him.  But he got a pirate for Christmas.  The pirate is now infamous in our house because of the "butt in the front" song that Dad sings about him:

And Halloween 2014 he was Evel Knievel:

But mostly, this picture is what life is all about.  These two melt my heart!

2014 San Diego Film Awards

Much to our surprise PREY was nominated for a San Diego Film Award for best costume and makeup!  We had no idea the film was submitted or that these awards were even happening.  It turns out this is the first year that the San Diego Film Consortium hosted an awards event.  Eric Fox the owner of MorbX and I were nominated together for both makeup and costume/wardrobe.  Eric is probably best known for his work on season 4 of the Syfy series Face Off.  And he'll be staring in a new show premiering March 18 called Foxy & Co.  Eric did Candy's head wound, all the blood effects and the amazing throat rip on Mark.

The awards were given to short films shot in San Diego over that last couple years.  Most shorts are shot on a very limited budget so things like costumes and makeup are usually handled by one person.  Michael always talks about film being a visual media and how important the look and art style are to making a production top quality.  That being said, he always has a complete and definite design for both wardrobe and any makeup effects that might be needed.  He had detailed concepts for wardrobe on each character in the film, so I was able to put costumes together based on his art.  Mark's was a custom tailored western-style shirt that I made from vintage 1956 McCall's 2118.

Michael knew the exact look he wanted and I tailored the shirt for a custom fit on Mark Benjamin.  The shirt looked great on camera; especially covered in blood!

The rest of the wardrobe was purchased at thrift shops and discount stores.  Shopping for the ladies was really fun.  We went to the $10 Mall and stocked up on the trashiest stuff we could find.  Lylah's character, Desire came together really easily.  We found everything we needed in her size, in fact the gold, chain mail, backless top was actually in the kid's section!  But Michael wasn't happy with anything we were finding for Lauren's character, Candy.  So we came home with a full length skirt in a disgusting gun-metal pleather with an awful lace hem.  And a big fluttery Mom shirt in a zebra print.  So, I took in the skirt and shortened it and took in the top (a lot) and made it a spaghetti-strap tank.  Accessorized with lots of cheap jewelry and fish nets; the girls looked authentic!

The award went to another film and the film maker very graciously acknowledged us in his acceptance speech which was really cool of him.  But the greatest part of the whole evening was to see the clip of PREY on the big screen and listen to the audience reaction.  There is no better award than to hear people cheer for your work!

And finally... The red carpet experience.  I couldn't very well show up to an awards event nominated for costuming in a store-bought dress.  So I had to come up with a black-tie worthy maternity dress that I could stand to wear at 8 months pregnant!  I took the day off work and channeled the energies of The Great Seth Aaron. I purchased fabric that morning and knocked out a dress in about 4 hours!  I just had time to figure out something with my hair and throw on too much makeup before we walked out the door.

Thomas, Rhoads and the infamous Cornbread joined us for the evening and we had a great time!

And here is my favorite pic of the night.  Michael Bacon cleans up real nice!  I'm forever grateful to him for sharing his life and talents with me.  It's so much fun to get to create with your spouse.  Especially if you have one as talented as mine!  Thanks for letting me be a part of your kick-ass film, honey!

  

    

The Geeky Sweetheart Babywearing Bag

The day that I wore Korben to the Zoo and pushed the stroller solely to carry the diaper bag, I knew I needed to get myself a babywearing bag.

First I found the Onbag tutorial.  It looked good and I'm so appreciative that it's available but, all those rolled hems seemed daunting.  After some more searching, I found the Geeky Sweetheart Wrap Strap Bag tutorial.  I initially liked that the straps were turned and topstitched, but as I started making the bag I realized how much thought had gone into it's design.  I love the big pockets with darts that are stitched into the lining (my giant wallet fits right into them), I love the bottom corners of the bag, and I really like how the zipper is installed.

I mostly wanted the bag, so that I could wear it with Korben on my back.

But it also converts to a back pack for when you're carrying baby in the front.  Even though he's 24 lbs now, I still do carry him in the front every once in a while, so this comes in handy.

This past weekend I wore him and the bag for a couple hours and I love it!  The bag weighs nothing!  I put all the same stuff that goes in the traditional diaper bag inside it, and I was amazed at how light it is.  I'm guessing it's the wide straps.  Thanks so much Geeky Sweetheart!

Let's get back to some sewing talk...

It's very difficult to find gifts for Michael Bacon.  If he wants/needs something, he gets it.  And he has very specific tastes.  So, when Christmas and his Birthday come up, I work hard to come up with things that are very special and unique for him.  I had small pieces of some cool fabrics that I wanted to give him, so I figured someone out there on the web would have a tutorial for guitar straps.  And I found an excellent one over at One Shabby Chick.  Her tutorial includes lots of pretty construction pictures, along with very detailed and easy to follow instructions for the whole process.

I had a little bit of guitar camo that was leftover from a blanket my Mom made for Korben, and I found The Avengers fabric at WalMart.  The tutorial suggests using inexpensive Ernie Ball straps to pirate hardware from.  But, I was doing this last second right before Christmas and I didn't think I had time to wait for them to ship.  So I went to Music Power, a guitar store near work, and picked up some Planet Waves straps for $5 each.  Then I happened to find out that Michael has used the Planet Waves straps before, so I think it worked out for the best.  

When he opened them he gave me one of the greatest compliments I have ever received.  He didn't think I made them, he thought I bought them.  He told me that they looked too professional to be homemade.  I take that as a huge compliment!  I'm secretly hoping that he like these and asks for more of them.  It's such a gratifying project to make.  I love being able to sew for my man.

And this was our 2012 Christmas tree with lights before decorations.

Halloween Around the House

I actually have 2 different sets of Halloween decorations.  I have all the crazy Halloween party decorations and they fill up a whole shed full of plastic storage bins.  And then, I have the regular house decorations that take up two small, black and orange storage bins.  These are all the fragile, sentimental and cutesy decorations that don't usually go up for the party.

And now, my Halloween putz village is part of those decorations.

We have 2 fireplaces in our new house!  I always told Michael that I want to have a mantel someday, so we have a place to hang stockings.  And we ended up with 2 of them!

The one in the family room has the tv directly over it, so I really can't put much on it.  But the one in the living room is what you see right when you walk in the front door, so I cluttered it all up!  I have my putz village on it, which now includes the two little ceramic houses I found at Walmart about 5 years ago.  Down on the hearth, I put the smashed witch feet and legs and our 3 pumpkins that we'll carve on trick-or-treat night.  Also the two jack-o-lantern stands that Michael got for us this year with electric, blow mold jack-o-lanterns.  I love them!

I almost forgot about our American Gothic candle holder!  The tops of their heads hold candles, but I like them just as a figurine.  They're ceramic and all the black parts are flocked with a velvet-like substance.

I got these goofy little guys at the 96 cent store.  I saw them last year, but couldn't bring myself to pay a whole 96 cents for them.  So, I got them for 48 cents this year!  Lol!  Isn't that ridiculous?  When I got home and was telling Michael the story, I realized how dumb it sounded.  And they came in a pack of 2.  Geez, I should go back and get the weird-looking ghosts too...

I love this trio.  They're on the mantel in the family room.  The skeleton nutcracker was sent to us last year from Michael's Mom.  The black cat is from when my Mom use to do piece work craft painting for a place called Robin's Nest back in the late 80's.  And the skeleton push puppet I found at Cost Plus about 11 years ago when I bought my condo.

It was so much fun to open up these storage bins and see these decorations!  They've been in storage for nearly 4 years, and I missed them all.  I'm very sentimental about holiday decorations and I can't wait to share them all with Korben.

He's already getting into it.  He loves the stuffed black kitty that I had in with everything else!