Afternoon Autumn Light: Part 3 Midwest iphone

weathervane © kristin chapman

This is the last post in the series. The images in this post were all taken with an iphone 4 and processed in various apps i.e. hipstamatic, pixels, instagram. K

untitled © kristin chapmanuntitled © kristin chapmanchicago © kristin chapmantwins © kristin chapmanlines © kristin chapman

Afternoon Autumn Light: Part 2 Park View

morton arboretum © kristin chapman

grant park © kristin chapman

grant park © kristin chapman

Afternoon Autumn Light: Part 1 Midwestern Harvest

Last month I took a personal trip back east. The landscape was beautiful with the warm sunlight and fall colors. It is true what they say, seasons on the west coast just don't happen. My trip there took me into the city, the burbs and rural America. Although my camera time was relatively short, I still managed to click a few hundred shots between my iphone and dslr. I will start with these, taken with my Nikon D90 on a windy afternoon in rural Illinois. Enjoy! -k

autumn wind © kristin chapman

machine © kristin chapmanuntitled © kristin chapmanbeneath the wagon © kristin chapman

DIY Halloween: Easy Sailor Getup

Sailor Getup Back © creativebleed

Happy Halloween! Thought I’d share this cute little homemade costume post. It’s inexpensive to make, materials can be found easily second hand and it is perfect for Halloween or dress-up play for children.

Need:

Navy blue or white shirt. Long sleeved or polo shirts work the best.
Navy blue or white cloth placemat, pillowcase, felt or fabric.
White or navy blue ribbonWhite, navy blue, gold or red stars.
Bottoms: Navy blue or white pants, skirt, shorts or  tights.
Scissors
Fabric Pencil
Fabric Glue

Note: This post is to serve as inspiration using thrift store finds to make a costume. Depending on what you find and who the costume is for will alter how the costume is made and it’s outcome.

Girls Sailor Dress © creativebleed
For My daughter I found a girls navy blue Polo shirt at Goodwill. Its a few sizes to big but it will work as a dress with leggings for bottoms. A fitting polo shirt will work too with pants or a skirt. Since school uniforms are so popular navy blue and white polo shirts should be easy to find second hand for kids. For the jumper flap or collar I used a navy blue cloth placemat. I think a pillow case, runner, scarf or towel would also work. If nothing else you can make the jumper flap from felt or cloth.

sailor getup materials © creativebleed

1.) Gather your materials.

2.) Launder your items before starting and iron if needed.

Cut a neck hole in flap or cut the ends to make into a scarf © creativebleed
3.) Start with the jumper flap by cutting a neck hole or making it into a scarf to tie in the front.

Embellish Jumper Flap © creativebleed
4.) Embellish the jumper flap
a.) Glue white ribbon around the edges of the flap.
Three stripes each no less then an 1/8 “ apart.
b.) Add a star in each inside corner.
I used a star applique, but a star shaped button would work too or felt.

Embellish shirt © creativebleed
5.) (Optional)Embellish the shirt. I glued white ribbon along the bottom of the shirt, making three stripes. If you have long sleeves glue 3 stripes on the bottom of the sleeves.

Sailor Getup Front © creativebleed
6.) Attach flap to shirt. I made my jumper flap like a scarf and secured it with an anchor brooch. A rubber band, clasp or ribbon would work too. You could also keep the ends intact and slip it over the head like picture above step 3.

Homemade Sailor Getup © creativebleed

7.) Don't forget a sailor hat!

Enjoy! K

Fun With Owls Part 2: An Illustrated Owl

Invitations © creativebleedThe day may have ended with the owl felt toy favors but they began with this little invite to set the tone of the party. The invites were designed in Illustrator and printed out as a 5x7 photograph (jpeg). I use this method often for personal invitations/greetings because it is an easy way to get great color on a short run quickly for a good price. The owl was illustrated by hand first and then brought into illustrator. I added the lines for texture and to mimic a wood grain. I carried the lines over the photograph to blend the image with the content.

Paper Owls © creativebleedI used the illustrated owl in the invite and made color pages for the kiddos to color at the party. You can download the owl color page here.

Owl Party Banner © creativebleedUsing brown card stock and the owl from the color pages as a template I cut out owl shapes and strung them on twine for a banner. I embellished them by gluing old font catalogs, scrapbook paper and paper bags to make the owl’s feature. I used a circle punch for the eyes as well as googly eyes for the little owls...what can I say I happen to have a bag of them! k