Looney Luna

Like many many others, we went to the midnite (well, 12:09, to be precise) showing of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. In years past when there was a midnite movie or book release party, we'd put some time and effort into costuming. Not as much time and effort as SOME folks put into it, but, you know, some.

Some years ago, my mom made cloaks for the girls. They were fully lined and lovely. These cloaks were worn for Halloween once or twice as well as for every movie and book release. Plus a little bit of general dress up. They were well worn and well loved.

Last night we're pretty sure Liv got the last use out of hers. It was a little tight and a little short, but it still worked, we thought.

Liv decided she wanted to be Luna Lovegood. A lovely choice. Everything other than the cloak was her own doing. First of all, she figured the best way to conjure Luna (AND give her something to do during the long wait before the movie) was to make herself a copy of The Quibbler. Which she proceeded to read upside down.

She found a template online and copied it, then glued it to construction paper. Initially she tried gluing that to an actual magazine, but she ran into some logistical problems she hadn't expected. Ever resourceful, she used the three hole punch to piece her covers together with a few pages from another magazine. (Once at the theater, she definitely wished she'd thought to add more content)

Quibbler good to go, robe on, hair curled (not in these pictures - Mom wasn't too quick with the camera), wand at the ready, a couple hours till showtime.

What to do? What to do?

What anyone would do, of course. She crocheted a holster for her wand in Ravenclaw colors. She had some problems with the tip of the wand poking through the loosely crocheted fabric, so she lined it. I was so proud of her ingenuity I could hardly see straight.

Yep, there's no way I can deny this one. I'm pretty sure she's mine.

We Heart Art!

Three Bay B Chicks, Domestically Challenged and I'm Living Proof that God has a Sense of Humor have been sponsoring "We Heart Art" week all week. For more details on this event, scoot on over here.

Personally, I have never had much luck with paper arts. Or clay arts. Or performing arts. But I took to yarn and needles like a duck to water. I was crocheting clothing items for myself when I was in fifth grade. (Of course I was in fifth grade in the era of crochet's hey day - potholder vests, crocheted suits and dresses, floppy hats. Yeah, I'm old. Whatever.)

I put crochet hooks and knitting needles in my kids' hands as soon as they had the fine motor skills to handle them. Both of them tried several times (with long lapses in between) before it really clicked for them. When crocheting clicked for Liv, it was like an artist's dream come true. You see, Miss Liv refuses to consult a pattern. She knows what she wants things to look like and she knows what she can do and she does her best to reconcile those two notions.

Here's a little showcase of a few of the things she's designed recently:

The drum kit was from a - well - a kit, but she did put it together. The doll is all her, baby. She crocheted the doll and then set to work creating a wardrobe. The above picture depicts her in her goth fairy ensemble. Dig the red wings!

This is the same ensemble, but with an added cape. (and an added proud artist)

This doll has several other outfits - fancy dresses, more capes, she's got a bangin' wardrobe!

Often Liv will become inspired by something I'm working on. That happened with my mushrooms. I found these awesome little felted mushroom patterns online and I knit one in every design. Super cute, right? Well, Liv thought that the little red and white toadstool looked like a good home for a fairy. I told her to knock herself out. Soon we had this little fairy taking up residence.


Isn't it awesome when you can make your own magic?


Not wanting her fairy to be lonesome, she quickly concocted a gloomy little friend for her to hang out with. There was a green-skinned Elphaba at one point, too, but a friend loved her so much that Liv gifted her with it.

Knitting and crocheting and other needlecrafts have brought me so much peace and joy; I am so thrilled to have passed that down to my girls.

And I am REALLY psyched to see where Liv's talents with the needle might take her.