Halloween 2012: Rapunzel and Flynn from Disney's Tangled

In August, my mom offered to take myself, my husband, and my sister along with her to Disney World (she had a conference there) in October. We decided we'd go to the Halloween party, so OF COURSE I had to make costumes for everybody. Brian's Flynn Rider costume is probably one of my very favorite pieces, I put over 200 hours into it.

The vest is made up of about 117 strips of interfacing-backed flannel, which I basically quilted together.

I made the vest, the shirt, and even the little pouch from scratch! The rest of the items were found/bought.

My Rapunzel costume was fun too, especially as I made the skirt with no pattern and combined two patterns for the top. Some of the fabric was reclaimed from an old kimono I made back in college.

I spent a lot of time studying the movie to get the design on the skirt correct, and painted it on with fabric paint.

The best part was meeting the actors who played Rapunzel and Flynn at Disney World. Rapunzel was ecstatic to see us, and gushed over my costume and (real) hair. Flynn spent the entire time staring at Brian's costume with obvious jealousy. It's one of those moments when you walk away and think "Oh man, I'm not sure I'll ever do anything that cool again."

I also made my sister a Belle costume, which she asked to be altered from the original in specific ways. I like her idea better, it's much more flattering. Here she is with her trick-or-treat bag, with Brian, Master of the Photobomb behind her.

All in all, it was probably my favorite Halloween ever.

Coming Soon: Blog overhaul

So after abandoning this blog for a good year and a half, I've decided to re-purpose it for my budding costume/art business. This will now be "The Happy Medium: Costumes, Corsets, and Art." Expect to see some posts here and there as I figure out how I want to structure it. I still have a few people watching this blog, so if you are reading this and you don't want to see all of that stuff, it won't hurt my feelings if you unfollow me.

That's it for now!

Blog Name Explanation

Here's a little comic explaining the origin of this blog's name:

I drew this ages ago when the idea of running my own webcomic occurred to me. It's a true story. I actually had to clean part of my studio to find it, so now I feel nice and productive. I drew it much too small (at print size) much too quickly, and was trying to imitate Jennie Breeden's style (of Devil's Panties fame). Never try to imitate another artist's style except as an exercise. Unless you understand the methods that got them there, it's always going to be a pale imitation. Also, my handwriting is not appropriate for things where people will actually need to read.

Welcome to The Happy Medium

As you may have noticed, this is a blog. There was a time when I thought blogs were the height of stupidity, nothing more than a public diary. The vanity of it! But then I read some really good blogs, like Gurney Journey, and some really funny blogs, like Hyperbole and a Half, and I changed my mind. But I still didn't think I would write my own blog, after all, what would I have to say that anyone else would be interested in reading?

The answer to that question probably still hasn't changed: nothing. But I do find myself wanting to write a lot of things. I wanted to keep a variety of journals, one about the things I cook, another for the things I draw, still more for my adventures in gardening, bread baking, and tea drinking. There are a number of spiritual and supernatural subjects my friends and family have often requested I write down at some point. I have also long wanted to start a webcomic, which is where the title The Happy Medium comes from, but I felt I didn't have enough material or the conviction to follow a regular update schedule (which is vital to the survival of a webcomic).

Of course, I could just post all of this stuff on Facebook, but that didn't seem cohesive enough. These are things I want to refer to later, or perhaps share with others. Also, some are on topics which Facebook may not be the appropriate forum to air them. So, what to do?

Then my mom made a blog. My mom! She wanted a place whre she could discuss her politics with others without the rediculously rude attitude that seems to possess us all whenever we log on to Facebook. Posting a politically themed status update on Facebook is just asking to start an unpleasant argument, especially since our family includes radical members of both the far left and the far right. You simply can't make everyone happy. However, if one is going to take the time to actually visit her blog, then you enter a sort of unspoken social contract: we are here to discuss things in a polite, adult way. Sure, there will be people who ignore the unspoken rule, but at least no one can make the excuse that they simply reacted to what they saw in their news feed.

This, I thought, is the sort of environment in which I want to present my ideas. So a blog it is. If no one reads it, I don't suppose I shall be very put out. I also refuse to make any promises as to how often I will update it. The last thing I need right now is another Thing To Do, this needs to be something I do because I want to and enjoy it.

So welcome to The Happy Medium, I hope you enjoy perusing my random rantings. I certainly enjoy writing them.