DIY Cat or Bat Mask

    My youngest loves Batman, and now that she has been watching the Batman animated series she has now discovered Cat Woman. So now interchangeably  she will call herself Batman or Cat Woman. 

    I made her a paper mask which can either be a Batman or Cat Woman mask. Hey! It looks like both. And now I am sharing the mask design with you as a DIY.

Materials

• Black paper or card
• Thin elastic

Steps

1. Print the below provided pattern. It will fit on an A4 page.
2. Cut out the pattern along the unbroken lines.
3. Place pattern over black paper and trace an outline of the mask.
4. Cut out the outline of the mask.
5. Fold along the dotted line location [as seen on the pattern].
6. Using a stiletto [or needle or pen head] punch a thin hole into the sides of the mask where the dots are [as seen on the pattern].
7. Measure the elastic to fit around back of child's head.
8. Feed the elastic through the holes in mask and tie two knots. And you're done, just in time for Halloween.

Cat Woman/Batman mask pattern

Lost, Found, Made

    It has been yet another week of making things and tiny, significant discoveries. Let me start by saying someone must have cast a Lost and Found spell, because on monday two things, which I had given up on ever finding, came back into my life. The cat had lost her collar months ago, which resulted in having to order a new tag and collar for that fluff ball. My eldest lost her jacket at school almost a year ago, and after daily checks in lost property it never appeared. I gave up on it by the time summer rolled around. Then this monday gone, my neighbour finds the cat collar in their garage, and one of my daughter's classmates tips me off about the jacket now being in the lost property cupboard. After those two discoveries I waited and wondered what else just might turn up.


    I receive rather frequent requests from my daughters to make stuff for them. Some days I can do it, other times I have to shake my head [I honestly don't think I have it in me to make a Stitch doll. Not even on a good day]. But this was a good week as I was able to fulfil my obligations as a creative parent.

    My eldest asked for a dream catcher. I made it using sculpey [to make the ring], yarn, feathers, a bit of glue and glitter, plus a little bottle [for catching bad spirits]. The next day my daughter said she didn't have any bad dreams because of the dream catcher. I am glad it gave her some comfort.

    My other creation this week was a Batman/girl costume for my youngest. This was an economical construction. I picked up cheap black shorts and an oversized black shirt at Big W; Yellow and black fabric from a fabric shop. I created a template to make the yellow logo, and I sewed it to the front of the shirt and the back of the black fabric [which would become the cape]. A little cutting, shaping and sewing later, the cape was attached to the shirt and a yellow sash had been made. The sash made the long shirt look like a dress, which is just what my youngest wanted.

    What will the girls have me doing next week, I wonder.

I'm the Bat

    One of my kids loves, loves, loves superheroes, and none more so than Batman. She will sometimes walk about calling herself The Bat [need I say more].

    For her birthday she was given Batman Lego which she has been playing with everyday.

    And because she loves her denim jacket and Batman so much I brought the two together. Tonight I stitched a handcrafted Batman logo onto the back of the denim jacket. The Bat was ever so polite and thankful.