Parks and Recreation Leslie Knope's Wedding Dress Costume Tutorial! - Blog Hop

Welcome to the Parks and Recreation EPIC Blog Hop! Eight wonderful bloggers have joined together to create and share crafts inspired by the NBC show, Parks and Recreation, starring Amy Poehler. This fall the show enters it's 7th and final season! We'll miss Parks and Rec but the show will live on in "craft"!
 
Did someone ask if we can do an Epic Blog Hop about Parks and rec final season, Season 7, on NBC??? Well we did it and here it is!!! In the words of Leslie Knope:

"Knope we Can!" or "Yes, we can't not."

LOVE ME? PIN ME, SHARE ME!

Inspired by the wedding dress alteration designed by the character of Ann Perkins. It is a compilation of all of Leslie Knope's adventures with the Parks Department of Pawnee. 

My project I will be sharing with you today is one near and dear to my heart as crafty couture is one of my favorite things to design. The LESLIE KNOPE WEDDING DRESS I crafted is bound to inspire any Knope fan to create this dress for the up coming holiday, Halloween.  
Supply List:

• 2" packing tape
• scissors
• hot glue
• hole punch
• ruler (24" quilting ruler works but is not necessary)
• 6" wide white tulle (about 40 yards of it on the roll)
• 1/2" white ribbon (enough to go around your waist 4 times)
• white 8 1/2 x 11 printing paper
• printer and computer to pint the images from
• thrift shop dress 
• 2" black ribbon
• A flower for the waistband (or you can make one from the Pawnee Government seal like they did for the show.)

Before we get started here is a fun video of the creation of this project. 

Now let's get started!

Step 1 - Print out as many Leslie Knope memorabilia images you can find online. News paper articles from the Pawnee Sun or the Pawnee Journal, flyers and posters from her City Council Campaign, photos of her heroines; Madeleine Albright, Hillary Clinton, and Michelle Obama and Sandra Day O'Connor etc...

Step 2 - Run a piece of 2" clear packing tape along the top back of the page, 1/2" from the top. 

Step 3 - Fold pages in an accordion fold style.

Step 4 - Strongly crease the folds by rubbing it along the table edge. Punch a hole through all the folds of your page about 1"-1 1/4" from the top of the page. 

Step 5 - Use your tape to create an "aglet" on the end of your ribbon. This will help you thread the ribbon through the holes in the pages. (Did you learn something new here today? OR Did you already know what an aglet was?)

Step 6 - Take your ribbon and wrap it around your waist twice to measure it and cut. Match it up and cut a second piece of ribbon to measure and cut. You may trim it up later after your done. Step 7 - Layout your papers in order of how they will be threaded on the ribbon. Remember you will have two rows of pages. Step 8 - Thread your ribbon through the holes of each of your pages from one side to the other for both rows, use one of your cut ribbons for each row.

Step 9 - Spread out the accordion folds. And put your row of pages face down. Step 10 - Cut your tulle in 48" strips. You will need one piece of tulle for each valley fold of your papers in your top row.

Step 11 - Fold your tulle in half and follow these images to complete the knot on the top row of pages.

Take the looped end and pull it under the ribbon on the back side of the paper.

Take the two open ends and pull them through the loop

Begin to tighten by pulling the open ends more and working the tulle in place

Once it is tight make sure it lays down this way, that is the way it will hang. The top of the paper is on the right.

Step 12 - Take your top row of pages and tulle, lay them face down on your work surface and then flip the tulle over to expose the back side of the pages.

Step 13 - Line up your second (bottom) row of pages about 1 1/2" over lapping the bottom of the top row.

Step 14 - Find your center of your rows and , valley of the accordion fold. Repeat for all pieces of tulle checking your overlap frequently and work from the center out. This will hold the second row in place, hanging it from the first row.

Take the two tulle tails from the top row and feed one of them under the ribbon on the bottom row's center.

Take the second tulle tail and tie it in a knot with the first tail just under the ribbon.

Step 15 - Try on your skirt!!!! Woo Hoo!!! Check it out! If you have gaps where you see the tulle between the pages that is okay. Take extra pages that are accordion folded and glue them to the back sides of the pages you have been working with in the rows. This will cover the tulle and add more memorabilia of Leslie's adventures!

Now flaunt your stuff at the next Halloween party as the beautiful yet quirky Leslie Knope!

 

Now, head on over to the other 10 blogs in the hop to see what Parks & Rec inspired crafts they have created!

Jennifer Priest- Free Advice Signs and Lil' Sebastian Memorial Necklace
Lorine Mason - Team Anne vs. Team April Tote
Katie Priest - Ron Swason Oven Mitts
L. Grace Lauer - Leslie Knope's Wedding Dress ( YOU ARE HERE)
Tatiana Allen - Ron Swanson Inspired Notebook Cover
Rina Gonzalez - Friendship Card and Waffle Bar
Jessica Wilson - Ron Swanson Wine Bottle Tag
Scrappin Madge- Treat Yo Self Bracelet

BONUS Projects! These bloggers aren’t on the hop but they made some awesome projects,using Tombow adhesives:

Marie Browning - Leslie Knope Clipboard
Jennie Garcia - Ron and April Inspired Greeting Cards
 

Official Parks & Recreation Website: http://www.nbc.com/parks-and-recreation

 For more Parks and Rec inspiration, follow our Pinterest board.

Please see more of our costumes in the following links:

Angel Warrior with Articulated Wings
Jack Skellington  - Disney's Nightmare Before Christmas Puppet Costume

Parks and Recreation's Leslie Knope Wedding Gown Tutorial

Moon/Lunar Fairy - with articulated wings

Tron Lightcycle
Peacock Princess with articulated tail
Iron Man - 3D
3D Paper Doll Ballerina
Literary Work of Art

Whew, now that was a long post! Thank you all for hopping along with us!

Party Coordinator at Party Time Tuesdays

Darkside Henna - Darth Vader Style

I had a fantastic customer. She was a sweet little girl with a love for Starwars, specifically Darth Vader. This project was so much fun to do, outside of my normal henna "box" of designs. The design of the iconic Imperial Forces leader was created on her forearm as if he was using the force reaching out with his hands.

 She choose a design from a deviant artist that goes by: PhillieCheesie

 Stain Progression:

(Client photos)

24 hrs after application

48 hrs after application

 

I love it when the client walks away so happy the smile won't leave there face. This was a great day for henna and my heart.

Remember: 

"Come to the Darkside... we have cookies!"

 For more of my Starwars creations please see these posts below:

INVITATIONS: To see the fantastically fun birthday light saber invitations. Check out my post "May the force be with you"
BIRTHDAY PARTY: Lego Starwars Birthday Party



DT Coordinator at Party Time Tuesday

Sunrise is a magical time for Mother & Daughter bonding

This summer so far we have been lucky to have two trips to two different major bodies of water. We just moved to the southern east coast and we got to spend a weekend at the Atlantic Ocean as well as the Gulf of Mexico visiting family. My daughter and I took one morning rising before the sun and headed out to the beach to see the sunrise on the water. We have spent her whole life on the west coast so we have only seen sunsets.

Our first morning was at Myrtle Beach. We were blessed that morning to have some fantastic moments together as we walked along the water watching the majestic sunrise. We were honored along the way to be part of an amazing set of events.

I was approached by the first couple to take their photos with the sunrise... he then, out of no where he took a knee and purposed to the love of his life while was taking them. A moment my daughter and I got to witness first hand one a lonely beach the morning that changed their lives as a couple.

The second couple a bit later approached me to take their photos with the sunrise... she was about 8-9 months pregnant. As I took their photos they posed holding hands then he knelt to his knee also and kissed her belly and you could just see the love.

As we walked and talked about the beautiful things we were seeing and the honor it was to be a part of their special moments... we saw a family playing in the waves... and older couple walking holding hands... and we came upon a small sand shark that had died and washed ashore.

That morning we sat there after all we had seen, after the sun rise was done and the day had begun, we talked and shared what it was about life that was so precious. Not the things we have or own, not where we live but who and how we love.

I have never experienced such chronologically laid out moment in time where things just fell into place. Maybe, since we are not normally early risers, we were more open to seeing these moments in the quite and calm of the morning sunrise on the beach. It taught me to always take a moment and breathe, look, listen, feel and embrace it all.

That morning I will never forget. It began a tradition for my daughter and I... the next trip we took one morning to do the same thing, rose up before the sun and headed off to the beach. Our morning was much less eventful that day but we connected a little more, having time to talk, reflect, dream together.

Now there is no vacation/place (we move a lot due to being a military family) that we will go without a morning walk to witness God's blessings of a new day with my precious daughter. 

May your day be blesses in all the right ways.

Henna Foot and Knee/Leg designs flowers and flourishes L. Grace Lauer

Hello my wonderful readers,

I have been working on my henna skills and having fun doing it. A couple of new patterns and designs are found below. I am hennaing just about everything to practice... even junk mail sheets.

Henna Leg Design for Summer Fun

It was inspired by a hand design from this page though it doesn't say who the artist was. I would love to know if anyone recognizes.

Henna Sunrise Foot Design

 This design was inspired by a henna hand by Fatima Zohra

 I hope you all have a wonderful day.


Party Time Tuesdays Coordinator

Henna Hands - working my mehndi/mehendi skills and techniques

Hello readers.

I would love to share with you all my latest henna hand designs. I have been working and practicing on my lines. Thicker and thinner, details and bold. These are the latest works for hands and palms. Please leave a comment below with your thoughts.

Lotus Palm

 

Back of Lotus Palm

  

Playing around with More of an abstract henna

 Henna Cuff and Paisley Design

Thank you for viewing. Please leave a comment with your thoughts below. I love to know what I can do to get better at my craft as well as if I am creating a style people like.

Some of my other Henna:
Henna Hands - lotus, paisley, fun
Hand and Matching Foot
Henna for Homecoming
Henna Belly Blessing (baby shower)
Special Occasion Henna and Gilding
Classic Car Henna


PS: All my henna is made by hand in my own home.  I use all natural ingredients and essential oils. No PPD is used here and none of my henna is black henna or dangerous. I worn all my customers about PPD henna aka: Black Henna, be an informed consumer and be safe!

Blessings!

Party Time Tuesday Coordinator