Renaissance Faire 2013!

    So I did not get all the costumes completed that I wanted to this year but I did manage to make the two kids their costumes and they seemed happy with them. I messed up and forgot the camera and didn't remember to take any group photos. I kept making fun of Hubby when he was trying to take pictures and then regretted that we didn't have more. The costumes are barely visible but they were perfect for the day and cost me nothing (well, they did at some point, I suppose) since I had all the material. We spent the day with one of my good friends, her sister and her mother, all of who I have known since she and I were in fifth grade together. Her sister used to babysit my brother and I and her mother was my Odyssey of the Mind coach of my first team. Steven's godmother also met us there and spent some time watching "Julius Caesar: Undressed," which was a riot, if you enjoy overt sexual innuendos in Shakespearean English.
     The entire Faire is very child friendly with a Robin Hood story line that you can follow all day, as well as tea time with the Queen, Maypole dances, live full person Chess Match, Fairy Quest, a children's Knighting ceremony and a Royal Joust to end the day with. All of the people that work the Faire are the absolute nicest people at any entertainment venue that we have been to with or without the kids. They will engage you to the perfect amount without making you uncomfortable to just watch or to be involved. There is absolutely no pressure to dress up in costume, but it is lovely if you do, the actors all will interact with you depending on how you are dressed, especially with children. My only complaint at all (and only a medium sized complaint since the quality is good) is the cost of food. While we did have a large group of people, we did spent well over $100 on food alone. So I would recommend eating a large breakfast, focusing on one food that you really want (turkey legs and mead are the focal points of the Faire, but we made room for Cheesecake on a Stick too) and then having a nice dinner at home. We ended up having peanut butter and jelly sandwiches when we got home, but we were all so tired that it was plenty since we fell asleep shortly after. I would also recommend dressing in layers since it was chilly when we first arrived but soon warmed up. We all even got a little colouring from the sun. All in all, I would give it a score of 9/10, missing that last point for food. At the end of the day we were all tired and had tons of fun.

E during the Maypole dance with her RenFaire maiden partner.
I love that they involve kids so much, it make the day perfect.
You can follow the story line if you want and never be bored. 

My mother, best friend, her sister and I (in the ridiculous pose and purple hair)
waiting for the Maypole dance to start

E spending time with the Fairies. She wanted to be a peacock fairy because
of these wonderful girls that we met last year.
 The Faire added an entire Fairy Story line to follow this year. 

E and G enjoying a little rock climbing
 before the Joust started

Hubby playing with the colour filter on his phone. I forgot my camera and
didn't take a single picture with my phone. I was too distracted by all the fun I was having!
Thankfully, I had him to document the day.

G playing with some of the toys that the Faire has, vendors offer them for sale, but you can play with them too which makes it way more fun. I love how there are no electronics there (except the credit card machines, for sure!)

Lovely Steven who spent the entire day in the arms of someone. With momma, dadda, grandma, godmother and three aunties (family friends) he was hardly ever put down except to take naps in his stroller. Do you see his Doctor Who onesie peaking out from his blanket!?

Renaissance Faire 2013: Peacock Fairy Fantasy Costume

     So after worrying for the past three weeks about what we are going to do for Renfaire costumes considering my limited amount of time, the kids not being here all the time for me to sew around them and a complete lack of idea on a nursing appropriate costume for me, I finally sat down to start sewing this weekend. The week before we are planning on leaving. Six days before I had to have them done. All five costume. One week.

some inspiration pictures were
found on Pinterest and Google

    After the mental freak out on how I was just starting the costumes now, I was able to finish almost all of E's costume, a peacock fairy, with the exception of sparkling up a pair of sandals to match. 

    We were going for a combination fairy and peacock, mostly since I already had peacock butterfly wings from Halloween clearance last year. I am trying to make a point of not needed to go out and buy anything for costumes this year, my stash is a bit unmanageable at the moment so things need to be used. For the top, since I don't particularly like putting in zippers or buttons, I just reconfigured on of her tshirts, making it into a slight peasant blouse with cap sleeves.

before, just a plain tshirt
(not the one that I actually changed,
I forgot to take before pictures)

gathering that I put in the back to
give the shirt a bit of form

front of blouse, with peasant gathered neckline, cap sleeves and flower embellishment

     The skirt was a bit easier, we were going to do a full tutu, and I am still debating just using up all of the tulle that I have to make the skirt more full. Right now, it is a simple circle skirt with three inch black waistband elastic with a tulle bustle sewn onto the back. We added some ribbon and peacock feathers for embellishment and pre-made fabric flowers that I had for embellishment. On this part, depending on what time I have left, I might make some felt peacock feathers for more oomph, but I do worry about putting so much time into costumes that they only wear once or twice. 

fabric flower embellishment on bottom of skirt

tulle bustle with peacock flowers sewn onto ribbon

     While I want them to look adorable and amaze my husband with my crafty wiles, I have to remind myself that as long as we have fun, it will not matter what they wore. The first five times I went to Renfaire, I went in civilian clothes. Once I found petticoats though, it was on. When all was said and done the costume was pretty cute, Hubby liked it, E liked it and it only took me an afternoon. It was definitely a "while the kids are napping" project (by that I mean, the infant was napping while the other children and Hubby were playing video games). It was nice to get behind the machine again, considering that I haven't done any sewing since before Steven was born. I can still see the pile of un-sewn burpclothes sitting on my dining room hutch, staring at me angrily and stressing me.  

     A full picture of the costume on will come on Saturday with a lovely family shot (hopefully) and my family outing score for the New York Renaissance Faire.