Spooking about the town

November 2, 2016November 2, 2016 | poppypeach

The inspiration for my Halloween costume came late one evening as I was trying on the costumes in my collection to find nothing that I felt like being or wearing for Halloween. It is nice to have a lot of ideas like a Hawaiian tourist, disco ball, square dancer but I really wanted a dance inspired costume so off to my fabric stash I went.I found this black and white fabric at an estate sale and it was just perfect for a swinging 1960s theme dress. This was a lot of fun to dance in as the primary reason for my costumes are wearing them to my aerobic dance class!

The makeup I worked with on Friday night was for Trunk or Treat with the kids and I used a black eyeliner underneath my lipstick for some Halloween depth. Monday when I went to class it was a lot of fun with a similar hairdo but not as dark on the makeup. Each year we do a group photograph to inspire us for Halloween next year. Our teacher Joan, is Carmen Miranda in the front row.

In amongst all the Halloween activities this weekend we went to the SFMOMA to meet friends from Oakland and check out the new exhibits. It was a beautiful rainy morning so after wandering a couple of galleries we had a break with some Dick Taylor Hot Chocolate crafted in Eureka – it was divine! Oh, and I have an inside hint for coat check – there is one on the 2nd Floor where you get your tickets and that is where you find the red bathroom (see the pic above) – the line is not as long when you want to take off!

For lunch in San Francisco, we went to Lemonade and my vegetarian friend and I enjoyed a yummy artichoke and provolone toasted sandwich and I shared a grasshopper pie (mint with chocolate cookie crumbs) with Mr. Ash for dessert. It is lovely to check out the area of SOMA and Lemonade was the perfect place for a family friendly meal. Everyone was happy and it has a seasonal menu as well – now that is the business.

Man, look who hijacked my camera when I was not looking – Mack and Ash!

For Halloween day after school, we went to the farm to do the weekly chicken chores as we were in the car a lot and listening to my favorite radio station KDFC – the classical music station of the Bay Area was playing Halloween themed music all day, check out the playlist here. It got us into the mood for a very long evening ahead of us for the start of the week – whew!

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Trick or Treating after the chicken chores we met with Missy’s school friends in the Bubb neighborhood and wandered a street or two there before heading over to see another friend in the Sylvan Park neighborhood and checked out their dragon sculpture – the kids had a super time but after their sugar high were very tired by the time they went to bed.

When I was shopping in the morning I loved the makeup of one of the Whole Foods employees who I regularly chat with. She is from Mexico and we were talking about Day of the Dead which is on November 1st. I loved her makeup and I was getting some hints on how to achieve this stunning design which took her 3 hours. Halloween and its festivities are one of my favorite times of the year and I will have to start thinking of my costume for next year – maybe a crazy cat lady!

A piece a Week – Halloween Treat Bags at the library workshop and Halloween Fun!

November 3, 2015May 28, 2016 | poppypeach

The lead up to Halloween was busy with preparing costumes and also a workshop at the Mountain View Public Library. I volunteer at the library presenting workshops to future sewers 🙂 It is part of a collaboration with FabMo who provide some of the materials and Friends of the Library and in this workshop we made Halloween Goodie Bags using sewing machines. Everyone was very excited about the class and below is one of my favorites with a cat on it!

Sew Sew with FabMo at the library – once a month!

Cat treat bag nearly finished!

On Tuesday I presented the workshop to adults and on Thursday I was presenting our first week of Arts Focus at our school to the kids. I had a class 26 kids from Kinder to 5th Grade who were eager to start on their first project – a pin cushion for their sewing tool kit. After morning recess the kids who finished their first project were all set for making a Fleece Hat, Robin Hood style to applique and embellish to their hearts content.

A little friend sewing away before he cut all his threads away – yikes!

Then come Friday it was costume time on the dance floor for my aerobic dance class. We have such a good time together it is hard to believe we are exercising! So every Halloween we wear a costume that we can dance in! I found this beautiful vintage green dress from the 1960s so I could be a Go Go Dancer – the dress had a lovely little train on the back that flounced out for dancing so it was perfect. The dress was a bit too tight for dancing in the tummy so I added panels to the side which made it way more comfortable. The wig I bought online from Manic Panic – the place where I find my hair dye favorite – Vampire Red.

Enjoying a cuddle from my favorite little kitten Bella

Don’t touch that hose in the garden – we are in a drought!

Friday night and the festivities began with Trunk or Treat for the kiddos at school with friends. Families would decorate their trunk to hand out candy to the kids and they can hang with their buddies and have a good time. My little trick or treaters were Garfield and a lady from the Renaissance – the olden days.

Garfield stripes – I cannot see the tail pinned to his pants, when you are 10 you make your own costume!

Halloween was on Saturday so it was a perfect day for a party! Friends of ours had a Dungeons and Dragons game with the boys and then dinner and after a quick dinner the kids were so excited about Trick or Treating! There were a gang of over 10 kids in our group which was a lot of fun and the houses they went to enjoyed giving out treats to a group. It was a very hot day which is why I did not wear the wig and decided to change into a costume inspired by Effie from the Hunger Games. Maybe next year I will try and track down that amazing hair of hers!!

The gang all ready to party – Missy hiding behind Dad!

Here is our gang of kids and parents including a wizard, a zombie, Indiana Jones, a Knight, Maleficient, a Fairy Godmother, a Vampire, Garfield, a Gangster, superhero, A dude from Steampunk, a Grim Reaper, a Cowgirl – also we had in the house a Badminton player and his shuttlecock!

Everyone before they departed

Cannot wait to go Trick or Treating!

The fun part of trick or treating is what you can score in the treats and Missy was very excited about her vampire fangs that someone handed out to her in a handful of treats! Boo!! Halloween is my favorite time of the year!

Check out my fangs!

A piece a Week – The Renaissance Fair experience

October 21, 2015May 28, 2016 | poppypeach

This was the first year we ventured out to the Renaissance Fair and it was a last minute decision to go so my outfit was not as fun as I would have liked it to be. The theme for last weekend was Fantasy so there were lots of elves and butterfly costumes around – which we all love! When we arrived we encountered ladies dressed up in costume with fine feathered friends with them. The highlight of the birds was a friend from Australia who did make his laughing sound when you rolled your tongue – it was a Kookaburra who grew up in Sacramento. How the heck a Kookaburra got to the United States in the first place is a bit nuts but there are many an Australian creature I see on my travels even just in my neighborhood – one day a guy had a teeny tiny sugar glider in his pocket as his pet, now that was strange!

I had no idea what to expect at the Renaissance Fair – I knew lots of costumes but they were way more elaborate than I expected and what fabric, the place was full of inspiration! I loved how everyone was in character even the vendors and the ongoing entertainment everywhere you went was so much fun – the kids are even looking forward to next year now!

A Great Horned Owl

An American Kestrel – what beautiful feathers!

My old mate the Kookaburra – so good to see a familiar face!

A falcon looking for its next meal

There were many costumes were for sale at the event and this is a coat that looked beautiful – this lovely lady spun around showing us the fabric in action.

Spinnng around!

Getting ready for a huge costume next Renaissance Fair!!

As part of my collection for the FabMo Textile Art Boutique I created these circle skirts with the fabric I found at FabMo – I did an applique using fabric samples and used bias binding (inspired by the Renaissance Fair big skirts) on the hem. I love how these skirts came out.