Original Game Boy Clothing

So my brother and sister-in-law were expecting their second baby and asked if I could help them out with their first child because she's only 4 and not quite understanding everything going on. So out to the DC area to spend time with them when the new baby is born! Shortly before flying out to them, I found this awesome pin. I was not about to spend that kind of money on something that would cost me less then that to make myself! Heck, it would even give me something to do and post about while on "vacation"! I showed it to my brother and sister-in-law and they both loved it and loved the idea of me doing it. Seeing as the original post is for someone selling it on esty... there were no directions on how to do or pattern for the sizes things should be. I still will not provide the pattern only because this will then give you a little more freedom on what you end up putting it on :). 

You first start with getting your materials. I started looking at Wal-Mart and didn't really find everything I was looking for. You can still look here to see if you can find the colors you want but I'm not sure you will find them. I did find the gray, green, and glue at Michael's though. And it is the PERFECT green as it matches REALLY well to what the original game boy's looked like. I'm not too young not to remember. In fact, I got the hand-me-down game boy(s) and games from my older brother and sister. That is why it was just as awesome to me. I also remember them getting them.

I was sitting at home with my niece tonight waiting for the National Fireworks program to start on TV and decided that I would sit down and work on it. By the time that the actual fireworks started, I was nearly done and that was including the time of taking photos (some multiple times). So total, I don't think it should take more then 45 minutes to an hour to do. Most photos were taken against their carpet because I still needed to keep an eye on my niece but you should see most of everything. If not, please feel free to ask me questions and I'll be sure to help or take new pictures to post.

So materials! 1 piece each of grey, green, black, and red felt (easily under 30 cents each no matter where you go), fabric glue/sewing machine and transparent thread, onesies/shirts, tape measure/ruler, and of course scissors. You will of course have to start by buying/collecting all these items.

The next thing that you are going to want to do is measure the width between sleeves of the onesie or shirt. The shirt I am using is a Gerber 0- 3 months shirt. The measuring is as easy as it sounds... put the measuring tape or ruler down and get a good idea of the width. This one was about 6 and a half inches.

The next thing you are going to want to do is decided how much of the shirt you are going to want the screen to take up. I spaced out 3 inches first on the tape and placed it down and then decided that I could probably go to 3 and a half inces. After that I measured it out on the GREY piece of felt first. After measuring it out I cut it out and PLACED it on the shirt. DO NOT GLUE ANYTHING YET! It should look like this:

Next, you are going to want to decide how big you are going to want the pixel part of the screen. I took an inch off of the grey for this. So my GREEN piece was about 2 and a half inches. Again, I measured and cut it out. Placed it on top of the grey and still DID NOT GLUE it down. It should now look like this:

The next 3 steps will be the hardest. I believe this next one is what took me the longest to complete. It was the black four-way control button. I attempted this several times before I finally got it the way I wanted. The smarter way to do it did not occur to me until AFTER I was done with everything. Always happens right? We think of an easier way to do something after the fact? What I did was cut a small black square probably about an inch by inch piece like this:

Then I placed it on the shirt and drew on it with a white dry erase crayon that my brother and sister-in-law had from my niece and drew the shape on it. Then tried to cut it. Part of the problem I was having could have been how old the scissors I was using were so they were not the greatest at the ends like I needed but a few times I messed up. I got it just about right on one and parts of the cross buttons were a little too short. So I cut another square and placed the pretty good one on top and used that as a stencil to get the final product of:

The easier way to complete this step would have been to draw it out on a piece of paper, pin it to the felt, then cut. However, I was not that smart before starting like I said. So I struggled through. I then again placed it on the shirt and DID NOT GLUE IT. So that now my shirt looked like this:

After this it got easy again. I cut a small rectangle of red felt for the A and B buttons. I literally just cut small circles right now of it. I wasn't going to bother trying to draw these out. However, if you want to you can. Mine, however, I felt turned out really well. Here is the rectangle with the circles cut out.

Again, placed them on the shirt and they are not glued down. The shirt should now be looking like that original game boy a great deal. We're still missing two small pieces but again those are easy.

I was now beginning to notice that the grey piece was a little bigger then I really wanted. So I trimmed it down both on length and width so that it was still looking like a square. Using these small pieces I was able to create the 'Start' and 'Select' buttons. I started with those new scraps that looked like this:

I cut it in half just to get the desired thickness. The scrap now looked something like this:

From here I cut that small, thin piece into small rectangles that were about the size I wanted for the buttons. I then rounded the corners out so that it then looked like the buttons did. They turned out like this:

As you guess, I placed them on the shirt and didn't glue them! The final product without any glue should look like the following:

You may have asked by now why I didn't glue anything. Well, that's because I like to be able to move things around or correct if I need to. Which I did with the screen by the end of the project. As of right now, the only thing that is actually glued is the green felt to the grey felt. This is because I did not have anything to put between the front and back of the shirt so that the glue didn't glue the shirt together. I will look tomorrow for something to put in between and finish the glueing. I may also add the actual lettering for 'A', 'B', 'Start', and 'Select' with some fabric paint pens I bought for my niece to be able to decorate her own shirt for her baby brother.

As for what glue to use, that is up to you. My sister-in-law and I decided on the one shown below because it seemed like it would work the best. It was able to be washed in the washer, it dried in about 48 hours, and would hold. You may want to look at whatever store you go to and decide on your own or ask questions of someone to see what they may recommend. I believe we made our final decision based upon price because there were two types that were very similar and didn't have too much difference in care and use instructions.

Enjoy making your Game Boy throw back! I had fun and even have someone question if I made it when I showed them. If I had more time for things, I would have sewed things using the transparent thread either with or instead of the glue just to make sure. However, sometimes we all feel lazy and this was one of them. I knew the glue would probably work and so we went just with that. If you feel so inclined to sew go for it! My next one might be sewn but I'm not sure yet and when that will be.

I do have another project planned while I'm here with my niece which will be posted as well! 

Being your own cheerleader

You may not think this at first but I do actually have an idea in this post. Please bare with me as I get to it though. There is a reason for the idea but to understand the idea, you must also know why the idea was thought of and to maybe begin to understand the need for the idea.

I had a rough 24 hours not too long ago. I had someone post something about their other half being gone for the summer on my Facebook last night. Summer is what 2-3 months? You can still pick up the phone and call them easily right? He might even be able to take some time to come visit you or you visit him right? Okay well then stop the complaining. Because that is so much better then what a Military Significant Other goes through.
If you are not a Military SO, I apologize now if I end up offending you. But take it from one. You go a few days, a few weeks, even maybe a few months without seeing your other half. But that is NOTHING compared to what a Military wife or girlfriend goes through. To give you a slight idea because it will be very hard to understand without fully going through it... we get very little to no communication, we cannot just pick up the phone randomly during down time to say hi, we do not have physical contact while they are gone which if it's a deployment is 6 or more months, when we need support for something difficult from our loved one we don't get it. We have to relay on the phone calls that only come every so often, emails, Skype, other Military SO's, and memories of their touch to get us through the deployment.

If we are having something done that we need our main supporter we can't just say "Hey, Babe, can you take a few days off and come home and take care of me after it all?" Why? Because they work 7 days a week 12+ hours a day. They don't get vacations, days off, nothing. They can't ask for the days off.

Not to mention, they are fighting for our freedoms and a lot of times, that means going into a hazardous area and hoping they don't get killed.

With that being said, I posted a status myself about if you aren't a Military SO, you don't really have a place to complain especially if you know one. I didn't say it in those words but something similar. I have deleted it since then and don't remember but it was something like that just said we have it worse then you really think. I had a "friend" one who I thought should be the most empathic to my situation because she knows my husband and I and see what I go through say some very mean things to this. It of course upset me. Again, she knows us and sees how I am doing. I put on a brave front even in front of her... she must believe it.

Now, I understand every one can miss their other half and you have every right to do so but if you know a Military SO... you may not want to post it in a public place for them to see. Because in comparison you have it easy.

For the main reason of this post and idea. I was talking about it all with my mother and telling her how I don't typically post things about missing my husband or it being hard because I don't want the criticism that I got and end up getting. I just need someone to say supportive things and be a cheerleader and reinforce that brave face I put on, on a daily basis. Because believe it or not... it is hard. She told me to put up notes around the apartment and be my own cheerleader. I shouldn't have to relay on others to get it.

As she said this I remembered I had "Window Crayons" found here and I could do just that. I may not be able to do it everywhere. But I could do it in certain locations. Like on mirrors. So, in our bathroom I have generic sayings such as "You're awesome!" One other place I did it was high on the tile in our shower. This way I have him around. I will probably add some more in the bedroom on our mirrored closest doors but for now I have what made me happy.

This one is the one that I have high on the shower tile.

For those of you who read this, that are Military SO's, I hope this helps and gets you through those hard times or the times when you need that support but no one is really understanding. Become your own cheerleader! We all have those great days when we know we are being strong and awesome and through this idea I'm hoping to remember those and not feel so alone in this deployment.

Getting the Ironing Board Out of the Way!

I'm not sure how many people still actually iron or not but my husband is ironing weekly when he's home. I do not know if it's just his base or what but every Monday he is supposed to wear his dress blues. When we first moved into our apartment, he set it up and we've left it there. I was pretty much okay with it. Throughout the week we would put things on it and on Monday he would clear it. Even now that he's gone, it has still been a catch all for things. After reading a book called Spaces and Places by Debbie Diller which is about organizing a classroom I realized there were a few places in my apartment that are becoming catch-alls for my stuff.

Well as I was cleaning things today getting ready to go on vacation. Random thought: Don't you hate how we spend hours cleaning our homes before going on vacation? I understand why we do it but it's just so ugh! Especially me because it's been awhile since I've done it because of my very busy schedule.

Anyway, back to what I was saying... I was cleaning off the ironing board to put all the stuff away. While doing that I was thinking about getting it out of the way. I looked over to one of our walls and saw a space that I could place the ironing board. Then I looked over to the french doors to our bedroom (one of which we keep closed) and remembered a pin that I had repinned recently having to do with the ironing board. They had taken two individual coat hangers mounted onto a piece of decorative board. The board was then mounted to the wall and there hung to ironing board. It looked very pretty and out of the way.

Well, again, I modified this idea to what I needed out of it. I thought about using an over the door coat hanger that you can get at Target to do the same thing. So off to target.com I went to see what I could find. I hate going to the store to find things and not really know what my options are. Also, I wanted to ask the husband for his opinion to see what he thought about it all. I originally was looking for a hanger with just two hooks. Almost right away I found something to modify the idea to what I really was looking to do. I wanted to store the iron some place as well. This is what I found. Asked the hubby and he agreed. So the next chance I got which was when I was done cleaning the living room I went to the local target to find it.

The following is what the packaging looks like and how it looks when it all is put away :). For this particular coat hanger, you will probably actually want to look in the same asile as where the 3M Command Strips are located.

The iron does not fit the exact what I wanted it too but it still works out nicely. The four hooks are actually better because all are supporting the board now instead of just having two try and support it. The two hook ones have the two hooks so close that it might have been supported as well.

I'm extremely happy that these are now up and out of the way and not going to be a catch-all for our stuff. We also don't really have a real laundry room so that makes storing it a bit harder as well. And again, he was using it so often it makes sense for us to have it in an area that can be accessed easily. Now, they are still in the same area to where they were set up but no longer in the way or anything. My dining room and walking area are free of clutter now!

Baked goods and packages

Now that my husband is actually deployed, I am always looking for things to send him and things to make for him to send him. When I first got onto Pinterst, I found a recipe that sounded different and interesting. It was for Mountain Dew cupcakes. I was looking forward to eventually trying it. When I found it, I was wanting to do it before he left. However, that didn't work out all that well. So now, I'm on summer break, wanting to bake, his craving Mountain Dew like none other. Prefect time to try them! I found that recipe from the website All Things Cupcakes. One thing that I would add to her recipe is that you should bake them at 350 degrees.

I baked them yesterday and made the frosting as well. What I must say about the frosting is keep mixing until it actually looks like frosting. At first I just mixed until things were blended but it didn't look right. I thought it wasn't enough powered sugar so I added a little more and mixed and mixed and mixed. It will take several minutes of mixing and you might even want to do it on high for awhile. After that it looked much better.

After the baking cooling, and making of the frosting now comes the task of shipping the cupcakes to him at his current duty station while deployed. Well, Pinterest to the rescue again! While just looking on there several times, I saw how someone was packaging cupcakes for easy grab and go for parties. But why not modify it (I'm such a Special Ed teacher) to make it fit for what I needed? The original idea can be found here. However, my modifications are to not put the frosting on and using Glad Press and Seal instead of the celo wrap and ribbon.

First get the cups. They are those clear 9oz short plastic cups. The smallest pack I found was 40 cups. I already had the press and seal because I like to use that more then the regular stuff. I feel it's a little easier to manage when it comes off the roll as well.

Next, place the cupcake into the cup.

Third, you will need a piece about this width. Approx. 4-6 inches I would say.

Another reason I love the Press and Seal is it's easy to "cut" in half. I would press a corner onto the counter then start a small tare about half way. Then I wold pick it up and finish the tare to get a piece that looked about like a square.

Then stretched the piece over the cup.

 Followed by pressing the sides down around the cup.

There you go! You now have a cupcake that is ready to ship in a care package or to someone else and you don't have to worry about them getting destroyed!

On the off change that you are sending homemade frosting as well like I did, you may want to use containers like those pictured below. I knew that I would be doing this soon, so I actually just bought that Hillshire Farms deli meat that comes in the re-usable containers. I unexpectedly found something else that I would be sending and bought the store brand of the twisting locking containers for that. Either would probably work.

I also put them in a zip lock bag then into one or two plastic grocery bags. However, before putting them into any type of bag, I used some fun duck tape that I bought the hubby to make sure the Hillshire Farm container stayed closed. You can use whatever you have around the house though.

I then put everything and a few other things into the large flat rate boxes and shipped it all off!

Just as a side note: the cupcakes and frosting do taste really yummy. I'm not sure how much like Mountain Dew they really taste but they do taste pretty amazing!

Note as of 6/28/12: Hubby received his package last night and all but one cupcake survived. He believes the one is still able to be eaten though. Also, he said that the cupcakes were very good :). 

Survival Kits

I recently married one of my best friends. He is the reason I have come as far as I have in the last 2 years. Before our wedding I joined Pinterest (www.pinterest.com) and found a few survival kits that I wanted to recreate. Unfortunately, due to the quickness of our engagement, my work schedule, and the work that I still needed to complete on my Masters degree I was unable to actual create them. However, some of our closest friends decided to get married in even shorter amount of time then us. Mainly because our friend wanted my husband to be the Best Man and my husband was getting ready to deploy for 6 months. One weekend while I was with the bride she mentioned Survival Kits. I jumped right in and said that I would make them with the help of her maid of honor because I wanted to do it anyway along with I needed something to distract me at the time. The following is what we created.

A great pinterest find was the "Groom's Day- Of Survival Kit". I modified our's because well we live in the desert and you can't take men anywhere.

The paper says:
Groom's Day of Survival Kit

Socks...
... to keep the cold feet away

Lifesavers...
... to keep you from drowning in emotions

Small bottle of alcohol...
... to calm the nerves

Mints...
... to ensure a fresh kiss

& Ring pops...
... in case you forget the essentials

<3 your bride So in the actual kit includes each of those. I really wanted to find the roll of lifesavers but I'm not sure where I can find those anymore so there is a handful of the single lifesavers. Then I added a few other things.

The addition items are a travel lint roller, travel deodorant, and a mini Tide to go. These were done because again we live in the desert and can never be without the deodorant. You never know when you will need a lint roller especially when you are wearing a shirt that you wore a little over a month and a half ago. The mini Tide to go is because you can't take men anywhere and you never know when you might need that.

Now, for the Bridesmaids and Bride's Survival Kits they are very similar. There were a few things that we decided we only needed to buy one of to save on cost or we could only find one of. The night before the maid of honor and I went shopping, I did some research (I was not tired and needed something to do) on pinterest and the internet to find what was commonly in the kits.

The list included:
-brush with mirror (Wal-Mart)
-hair spray (Wal-Mart)
-tissues
-safety pins
-mending kit (Jo-ann's)
-super glue (Jo-ann's)
-static remover (Wal-Mart)
-pain reliever (Wal-Mart)
-breath fresher (Wal-Mart)
-stain remover (Wal-Mart)
-lint roller (Wal-Mart)
-Pocket Bac (1oz anti-bacterial) (can be found at Bath and Body Words)
-Band aids
-Q-tips
-mini nail file (Wal-Mart)
-bobby pins
-clear nail polish (Wal-Mart)
-wisps (one time use tooth brushing tool) (Wal-Mart)
-mini lotions (anywhere but I was thinking about going to Bath and Body Works)
-clear elastics (Wal-Mart)
-nail polish remover (I saw and then found little clothes) (Wal-Mart)
-double sided tape (Jo-ann's- it was temp hemming tape)
-deodorant (Wal-Mart)
-lighter (We had these already)
-antacid (Wal-Mart)
-lip glass (anywhere- this bride's favorite is found at Bath and Body Works)

Most of these I was able to find at Wal- Mart in their travel size aisle. There were things that I already had and did not need to buy and somethings I still have not bought and at this point probably won't because of lack of room. Here are a few pictures of what we put in the kits.

I decided to put everything in one of those snap tight boxes so that the box would be useful after the wedding day. The bride and groom have an infant and there is a 5 year old from a previous relationship so I thought these would be a little more useful. You can choose whatever you want and what you feel you will need or what you feel everything will fit into.

To make the full thing, I used red tissue paper at the bottom and then neatly put everything in. I tried as best as I could to make sure that all the items could be seen in some form or another. Then when I had everything put in I put red tissue paper on top. To tell the difference between all 3 kits I put things on top.

For the items that I already had like the Q-tips and bobby pins I did them up a little. I took a handful of Q-tips and tied a ribbon that I had from something around them. I have a lot of scrapbooking things and found the ribbon there. Then I was able to find a piece of card stock in there colors of red and black and placed the bobby pins on that (an idea from another pinterest users).

From what the bride has seen she loves them already. I can't wait to give them to the 3 people. As I mentioned before I wanted to do one for my now husband but ran out of time. However, better late then never and he will be getting something as well that is modified for his life :). More to come on that later.