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Undercover Photo-stylist
When we were camping at the end of summer I got this crazy idea that I wanted to take pictures of my Aunt’s old granny square afghan down at the dock near the lake. I brought the afghan with us in the first place because it looked like a cabin blanket to me. It’s old, it’s a little worn, it’s sort of campy in coloring… it just fit.
When we got to the cabin, my old tattered blanket fit even better than I imagined. Since the cabin is just an old broken-down mobile home that is going to be moved off the property someday and replaced with a real wood-sided cabin, everything in it is broken down too. The couches and chairs are cast-offs from the family just used as a stop-gap to make things comfortable until the real cabin is built. No use hauling nice furniture up there if it’s just going to have to get moved etc.. etc..
Anyway the big blue couch in the living room area was pretty ugly… it sort of reminded me of an old college apartment where guys sit around drinking beer and playing video games…which isn’t far from what it is used for at the cabin. But once I spread my old granny square blanket over the top it sort of felt like home. A little.
All week long I looked at that afghan and day dreamed up a photo-shoot I could do with it. Maybe I look at too many Anthropologie catalogues but something about the lake and the rustic coloring of the old blanket inspired me.
On the last day I told Toby about my day dream and how I was really bummed that all week I had not taken a single photo of my old blanket down at the lake. You know what I love about Toby? He totally got it.
He didn’t make fun of me wanting to do something for the photos alone. He didn’t make fun of me taking pictures of myself (which frankly is only because I didn’t have a willing model other than myself). He didn’t volunteer to go with me and take photos of me modeling the blanket (bahumbug) but he did watch Bug so I could. And I’m glad I did. I guess it’s silly just to go stage pictures of yourself… but it was fun. It was like playing for me.
You do what you love, right? There’s always time to do what you love. Maybe someday I’ll get a decent camera (not a point-and-shoot underwater camera that I stash in my purse) and be a photo stylist with real models who don’t have to get their heads chopped off because they have weird profiles and/or double chins.
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Last minute Ninja costume!
I’m blogging this because I searched the internet high and low for a how-to-make a ninja mask tutorial and there wasn’t one out there. At least I didn’t find one. So here is how you can make a ninja mask the night before Halloween. It’s pretty simple. It took me about half an hour to whip up.
First you’ll need some black fleece, some velcro and black thread. Fleece is great because it doesn’t require hemming. Just cut and you’re done. I wish I could give you advice on how to acquire some black fleece and velcro at the last minute. The fabric stores are a nightmare right now so I’m hoping you have some on hand or you aren’t really making this at the last minute.
Next you’ll need to trace your kid’s head on piece of paper to make a pattern. This can be a bit challenging if you have a wiggly kid like I do. Bribe them with candy. They are going to be ingesting large amounts of sugar Halloween night anyway, it’s not like one more piece is going to make a difference. When you’re tracing, allow a good 1-2 inch seam allowance. You don’t want your mask to be so tight they won’t wear it.
After you’ve made your pattern, cut out two pieces of black fleece using that pattern. Then sew it up on all sides except the bottom. Then turn it right side out (seams inside).
Next you’ll need to cut the eye hole. I recommend just eyeballing it because trying it on your kid’s head and then poking with them with a pin could cause panic. Not that I tried that or anything, ahem.
After you have a good sized eye hole (I recommend making it big enough for their mouth too…kids need to talk and eat candy), then cut your mouth-cover piece out of the remaining fleece. I do not have a pattern for you for this piece but I made mine a sort of half circle boat shape that was big enough to cover 3/4 of the eye hole. It’s not that hard, just wing it.
Then sew on some velcro squares on each side and attach piece right below eyes. Add black pants, a black shirt and some black boots (or shoes) and KOWABUNGA!, instant Ninja costume! After that I say, watch your back!
Beware of the Micro Ninja!!!!
The rest of you are probably wondering why Bug wanted to be a Ninja for Halloween. She did want to be a green witch but then one night when we were bored up at the cabin (you can only roast so many marshmallows), we let her watch the pilot episode of Chuck. I know… not the best material for kids to be watching but it’s mostly tame and well, we were bored. Don’t worry too much, we had a big post-viewing discussion afterwards to handle all her questions, of which there were many.
Anyway! All it took was for Bug to see Sarah whip off her black ninja mask and shake out her golden blonde hair and Bug’s mind was made up. From then on she has wanted to be Sarah the Ninja and has not wavered. What can I say. I like ninjas better than witches anyway.
P.S. Bug is totally over her flu. Phew!
