So, I got creative with Halloween costumes this year!

I was really busy the whole month of October trying to keep up with all the orders I had. First up, my Sister in Law Anna was 7 months pregnant, and wanted a cool Halloween costume to incorporate her belly. Of course, she had thought of me, with my love of skeletons. "What do you think about doing a skeleton shirt showing the baby?" She inquired one day. I paused... "...that's THE coolest idea I've EVER heard of! I can TOTALLY to do an x-ray shirt!" And that was it!

I immediately took to the internet to look up how-to's and found the best one out there! (Plus, a great idea for a matching husband-HA!)

I finally discovered the wonderful things you can do with freezer paper!

The freezer paper has a matte side where you draw your design, and cut it out, and a shiny side that you iron down to create a perfect stencil! However, you cannot reuse the paper--you have to tear it off once the paint is dry.

She was a big hit at her daytime job--working as a preschool teacher. I wish I could have heard all the funny questions the kids would be asking her about the shirt!

Yes, this shirt shows the baby at actual size--he was a very big boy!

 And it turns out it was so simple and fun, I also did another one for an admiring friend! (Though, this friend was not pregnant...)

I didn't remember to take after pictures, but I did take good ones of the before!

This is what the negatives looked like ready to be painted. Quite the trompe loeil!

I was also commissioned to make a sailor girl costume for a coworker of mine, and although I don't have any modeling photos, my mannequin was a perfect fit for her!

She had an already existing white sleeveless shirt she wanted to use, so I added sleeves, and the small details.

I added the navy blue striping to the whole outfit.

She was very specific in the style she wanted the skirt to be, and I created it from scratch!

I hand tacked each of the pleats so that they would all lay flat.

I searched high and low for just the right golden buttons!

It wasn't an accurate portrayal of a real sailor's uniform, but if it were, what would be the point of Halloween? Ultimately, it was a complete success, and she still tells me how she loved it.

And just in case you were wondering, I did do a little something for myself--I just had to idolize an original great--Bride of Frankenstein. Again, not an accurate portrayal, but putting my own spin on things as I tend to do, I was able to focus all my attention to the wig, and adopted a "Betty Boop from Jersey" accent to explain all night to people "How wonderful my Frankie ["Fwankie"] is to me, he bought all this beautiful jewelry and told me to go have a night on the town!"

It was definitely a great Halloween season!

Well, until next time.....

So, it's been a minute...

And apparently I can't post pictures directly from my phone. Oh well, those space phones are crazy anyhow. If I am particularly struck by something radical I need to put into words immediately, I will indeed use it, but we'll see how that goes.

Anyway, I promised you pumpkins, yes?

Both mine and my boyfriend's birthdays are in Autumn, so it only makes sense that it would be our favorite season! And of course, when Fall starts, everything starts to pick up and slide with the holidays...I've finally caught up with my crafting and commissions, and finally relaxed from all the hustle and bustle from the holidays through to Valentine's--which was crazy!!! I have really been trying to take a little time for myself. I like it, but I can definitely feel the urge to keep up with my crafting, since so much has happened! Let me try in a few entries to catch you up on the awesomeness!

We also roasted the seeds, too!

Okay, we'll start where I had left off--Halloween!!! It's MY personal favorite holiday as my birthday is only a few days before--I love all things harvest, Autumn and spooky! We started with the pumpkins! My boyfriend and I scouted out a wonderful tiny church to check out the pumpkin patch to scope out the perfect pumpkin to carve. I saw so many fantastic ones, but ended up settling on this wonderfully beautiful white pumpkin!

My Dia de Los Muertos Jack o' Lantern,
 before he went outstide, hanging out with  Mini Lanky.

The best part is always after Halloween--the first
really cold night, we take all of our lanterns out to destroy with bats! Even though it's a little sad to demolish this beauty, it's entirely too much fun to not enjoy yourself. And this year, we had a samuri sword to assist!!! I can't tell you how much fun we were having...and is also why I don't have any pictures...I wanted to get in on the fun, and didn't trust myself to not get hurt getting pictures, nor did I trust the boys to let me have a turn! There's something refreshing to reduce your work to smithereens after it's been loved, I must admit. Thankfully, I took pictures, first!

So, until next time, when I'll show you the awesome commissions I did for Fall, be awesome to each other!

<3 Danielle

Oh hey there, awesome art blog o' mine!

Loooong time no see. Sorry about that. Got very busy there as everyone does at some point or another, BUT!!! I'm back to bring more pics of awesome art stuff. I've just joined the land of the smartphone and finally found this app. Really hoping this will allow me to take pictures and directly share them here with you, all on my phone! Yes!!!

For now, I'm test driving, so enjoy this wonderful pumpkin from our pumpkin patch search last October. C: