Cheap and Easy Birthday Party Decorations

  So this is an idea I came up with for a birthday party decoration.  They are super cute and can most likely be made (at least partly) by left over paper scraps from child friendly craft projects. Easy and short!  Have fun! 

Items needed are:

Colored paper (multiple colors, your choice)

Glue Stick

Scissors

Computer printer is nice but if you don't have one you can put your lovely handwriting skills to the test.

Decoratve hole punches are nice too but not needed


So all your are going to do is make some cards to place around the house on tables, counters, whatever.

The theme I used was Winnie The Pooh.  I just cut some construction paper in half and folded that in half as well.  Then on the computer I printed out some pictures of Pooh and friends and I also printed out some quotes from the Winnie the Pooh Series.  Then I just cut the pictures and words out and glued them with a glue stick to the construction paper.  Then I used left over scraps of construction paper to make small flowers and other doo-dads.  You can use decorative hole punchers for this or if you don't have that you cant just cut out various sizes of simple shapes (circles & squares). Glue the shapes on the construction paper as well, in a design that is pleasing to the eye.  You can make various versions for the party and then after the party is done you can use each one as a thank you card to send to the party guests!  If you don't have a printer you could try tracing your character of choice onto the card from some other type of item such as sticker, toy package, invitation, etc.

Buy This Not That: Repo The Genetic Opera Amber Sweet Edition

Here I will just be providing some links to pieces from the zydrate anatomy Amber Sweet costume.  Some of what I found is more budget friendly than the real thing, but actually looks great when put together.

The first piece is the wasit cincher.  I believe the one closest to the one in the movie (may be the actual one used) is available here http://www.trashy.com/Masochist-Reform-School-Waist-Trainer.14791-product.htm for $250.

The budget friendly one is available here http://www.yandy.com/Honeycomb-Buckle-Midriff-Corset.php for $37.95.

The next piece is the lace shrug.  In the movie the shrug was handmade by the costume designer.  I found a cheap one that I didn't have to sew at http://www3.jcpenney.com/jcp/X6.aspx?GrpTyp=PRD&ItemID=19b5cad&Nao=0&hdnOnGo=true&Ne=840+4+877+878+5+961+6+29+3+598+11+15+12+506+10+23+585+596+1031+8+18+904+903+969+949+833&Ntt=lace+shrug&SearchString=lace+shrug&N=4294959029&SO=0&PSO=0&CmCatId=searchresults
It's on sale for half price right now so go get one!  They are $14.99

Next are the boy shorts.  I read that the ones in the movie were sequins.  You could just wear a regular pair but i did find a sequin pair for around $12.00 at http://www.yandy.com/Sequin-Boyshort-9288.php

The boots are probably the pricest part.  I found them at http://www.funkypair.com/sideslitstretchthighbootswribbonlacesz6-14.aspx for around $60.00.  Might be able to find some on Ebay or some other site cheaper but new I couldn't find anything for less.

Last piece is the choker.  I found mine on clearance at hot topic for $5.00.  They are sold out of the exact one I bought but collars are not too hard to find.  They have a few other versions on clearance now at http://www.hottopic.com/hottopic/Clearance/Accessories/Black-Spike-Choker-205777.jsp
http://www.hottopic.com/hottopic/Clearance/Accessories/Black-Spike-Choker-245589.jsp
http://www.hottopic.com/hottopic/Clearance/Accessories/Black-Rhinestone-Choker-245519.jsp

I hope this helps everyone who is trying to put this costume together!

Repo: The Genetic Opera Amber Sweet Zydrate anatomy Cage Skirt Tutorial

Repo: The Genetic Opera Amber Sweet Zydrate anatomy Cage Skirt Tutorial

This tutorial is going to be one of a series that focus on the making of the costume for the character Amber Sweet from the movie Repo: The Genetic opera.  We are also only focusing on the outfit worn during zydrate anatomy.  There are a lot of pieces for the entire costume and in the next tutorials I will discuss what items are easily bought and where you might find them, as well as how to make several of the pieces at a cheaper price than buying them. 

This is guide to how to make the cage skirt that Amber wears in the movie

What you will need:

Metal D-rings.  I used seven two inch D-rings for the entire skirt. Price: 0.23 each

Metal D-Rings

Black elastic of varying widths. I used 2 inch, 1.5 inch, and 1 inch. I will explain later how to get the correct measurements for these three different widths. Price varies: under $1.00 per foot.

Elastic straps

Black thread.  I used Coats and Clarks Dual Duty XP Heavy thread. Price: $1.14 

Chenille hand needle: I used DMC brand chenille needles. Price: $1.29

Fabric Glue. I used Beacon Adhesives Fabric Tac. Price: $8.36 for 4 oz bottle.

Black Zipper. I used Clarks and Coats 9 inch invisible zipper. Price: $1.51

Let’s Begin…

The first thing is to measure your waist to try and calculate how much elastic will be needed. Also measure from waist down leg to figure out how long the skirt will be, depending how tall or short one is the skirt will look better at different lengths.  There are going to be three rows of elastic that go horizontally.  I used the 1.5-inch elastic for these strips.  Just take your waist measurement and multiply by 3 to figure out how much elastic is needed.  I used 2-inch width elastic for the wide vertical straps and 1 inch elastic for the thin vertical straps.  Cut the 1.5-inch elastic into three equal lengths (waist length measurement).  Cut the 2-inch elastic into equal length strips (Skirt length measurement). Cut the 1-inch elastic into the same length (skirt length measurement).  The measurements are probably the hardest part of the skirt.  If you have graph paper it can help to draw a sketch of the skirt with the dimensions labeled.  You will have to figure out, based on the waist measurement how much space you are going to leave between straps and how many straps you will need.  If you figure you need 6 straps for the skirt, then multiply the length of the skirt by 6 to get how much elastic of that size you need.  Do this for the 1-inch and 2 inch elastic.  I laid out the three horizontal strips on the floor and then over top I laid alternating thick and thin vertical straps.  I spaced them so they looked even, but they don’t have to be perfect.  After I had everything laid out and spaced the way I liked it I used the fabric tac to glue the straps together where they overlapped.  The fabric glue is just to hold everything in place for a while, but the thread and chenille needles will be needed to stitch the pieces together later if you don’t want the skirt to fall apart.  For the D-rings I just folded over some of the elastic and glued them in place before stitching them together as well.  The stitching can be hard because the elastic is thick, which is why I choose chenille needles (they are for thicker fabrics).  After everything was stitched into place on top of the fabric glue, I glued the zipper to the last strap on the skirt, stitched that in place, then glued to the first strap to the zipper and stitched that as well.  My stitches were not perfect but it really doesn’t show up on the black elastic with black thread so don’t feel like they all have to be even, because honestly no one should be looking that closely at your skirt.  This part of the costume is the most time consuming but the finished product looks almost exactly like the skirt in the movie.  The skirt used in the movie was a Catherine Coatney cage skirt, but I could not find one anywhere online or otherwise.  Plus the homemade version is probably cheaper.  The next tutorial I post will be about the remaining pieces of the costume and where you may find them, or at least a good representation of them at a cheaper price. Enjoy your cage skirts girls and boys!   

Repo: The Genetic Opera Amber Sweet Zydrate Anatomy Rhinestone Bra Tutorial

Repo: The Genetic Opera Amber Sweet Zydrate anatomy Rhinestone Bra Tutorial

This tutorial is going to be one of a series that focus on the making of the costume for the character Amber Sweet from the movie Repo: The Genetic opera.  We are also only focusing on the outfit worn during zydrate anatomy.  There are a lot of pieces for the entire costume and in the next tutorials I will discuss what items are easily bought and where you might find them, as well as how to make several of the pieces at a cheaper price than buying them. 

This is a quick and easy way to make the Rhinestone bra that Amber is wearing. 

What you will need:

One black bra (I used a Gillian and O’malley push up bra from Target.com for $12.99)

Hot fix

Hot Fix Rhinestone Setter hot fix setter Price: 13.60

Hot Fix Rhinestones size ss16 or 4mm Hot Fix Rhinestones Price: $6:00

Paper plate

Tweezers

So the first part is just to get a black bra.  The one I used was a satin type material, which held up well. I have heard stories of people melting their bras with the hot fix rhinestones but I didn’t have that problem at all.  The hot fix setter needs to be plugged into the wall and turned on.  It says on the package that it will be heated up and ready to use in two minutes.  When I got to the two-minute mark I found I was having trouble picking up the rhinestones with the setter.  After about three minutes it was hot enough for the rhinestones to stay when I tried to pick them up.  If you find that you can’t pick the rhinestones up at first, wait for the setter to heat a little longer.  Just a warning the setter gets very hot so do not touch it or attempt to place the stones in with your fingers.  The stones are also hot after being placed on the fabric so after you place one, use the pair of tweezers to push it down harder so you don’t burn your fingers.  With my version of the bra I didn’t use any method for spacing where I wanted the stone before hand I just started at the top edge and began placing them from the outside edge inward.  I followed the natural curve of the bra and did this on each cup for several rows.  The corset that goes with this costume covers some of the bra when everything is together so I didn’t feel I needed to cover the entire bra.  I ordered probably 10 gross of rhinestones and I probably only used maybe a third of them if that.  10 gross are equal to about 1400 stones.  You could probably just get 5 gross and be fine.  The amount needed will depend on bra size and spacing of stones so try to get a little more than you think you might need to be safe.  After you pick up the stones you will see the glue on the back begin to bubble from the heat, this is the time to place the stone where you want it.  After you are sparkly enough for your taste you are done.  The reason I mentioned a paper plate as one of the items you may need is because that is what I used to lay out the stones face down before I picked them up with the setter.  It worked well for me.  Thanks for viewing!

More pieces from this costume to come…   

Fun and easy to make decorative mirrors!

This is a tutorial for some fun and funky mirrors.  I will show you the basic steps but use your own creativity and change up anything that you want.  These are very unique and fun to make as well.  You will get many compliments.

What you will need:

Mirror or unfinished wooden picture frame
Fine paintbrush
Medium to large paintbrush
Small stencil brush
Acrylic paint (Your choice of color)
Brush on Glitter paint (Your choice of color)
Texture paint (Your choice of color)
Stencil (your choice)

I started with an unfinished wooden frame square mirror that I got at a craft store.  The first step is just to paint the frame a solid color.  I painted two frames one with folkart acrylic paint color: 2248 turner pink and one with the same paint but in the color: 2225 Ocean Cruise.  After the frames are dry the next step is to use a stencil that you have found with a pattern you like.  I love the patterns with the swirls so that is what I went with. Lay out the stencil where you want it on the frame and use the texture paint to go over the stencil.  For the pink frame I used folkart texture paint color: 2864 red and for the blue frame I used the same brand color:2868 Black.  After the texture paint is dry I used folkart gems glitter paint color:14k gold.  I used my fine paintbrush to add decorative sparkles to the textured areas of the frame.  When the glitter dries you probably want to spray the frames with a type of finish spray.  I used plastercraft acrylic gloss finish spray.  When it's all dry you can hang these up and you're all done!  You can choose which colors you want to use on your frames or you can use the examples I gave you.  If you get several small frames you can paint them in multiple colors and then hang them together.  They are very eye catching!  I hope you enjoyed Cutorials first tutorial!