DIY Union Jack Hoodie

I'm continuing my quest to prepare the kids for England.  Being a little more reserved than his big sister, I decided to make a more subdued version of the Union Jack for the boy child.  Something with a lot less color.  Since he is a big fan of hoodies, it seemed like the ideal vehicle.  Conveniently, he already had the perfect one for this project: a favorite (which means it will actually get worn), pre-washed, and black. 

I grabbed it out of his closet and told him the plan.  He was more excited that I was making him something than that we were going to paint on his favorite hoodie.  But he got more and more sold on the idea as we started taping.

Taping up this design made my brain hurt a bit.  I kept on having to consult a diagram to get my bearings. 

I always love involving the kids in projects.  Especially if it is something I am making for them.

I wanted the lines to look painted on and worn off.

We decided to add a bit of silver metallic paint to the grey acrylic.

He doesn't always wear the hood up, but I wanted to show the pattern on the back.

With the Union Jack Jeans, I wrapped the flag design around the front of the pants.  This time, the front of the hoodie was being left plain.  I didn't want the design to stop abruptly at the seams so I faded it at random lengths around the sides. 

Looks like I should have taken a lint roller to him after he decided to wrestle with the dog.

Subtle in a "there is a giant Union Jack painted on the back of your hoodie" way.

DIY Union Jack Jeans

This project was such fun!  I'm trying to keep the kids excited about moving again and leaving all their friends behind again while doing what I can to help them embrace the idea of England.  This project is my latest attempt.

I believe I first spotted these jeans by Religion on asos.  I immediately thought they would be a super fun project to make with my daughter.  She loved the idea.  Even if they hadn't been sold out, the length was far too long from my 11 year old.

asos.com

We hit the mall, searched the stores and tried on lots of white jeans.  She didn't want cropped or distressed or jeggings so we looked and looked and looked.  Her favorite fit ended up being a pair of inexpensive jeans from Target.  They were even on sale.  They are actually intended to be a bit cropped but we rolled them down and they are perfect.

I already had acrylic paint at home but had never intentionally painted clothes.  After a quick bit of internet research I learned that adding a fabric medium is needed to make fabric hold the color and make the paint more flexible.  So for $2.50 each, we picked up a couple of bottles and headed home.

After washing, drying, taping off, painting and drying we weren't quite done but were so excited we had to try them on! 

We left some places intentionally imperfect.

After waiting for the paint to completely dry, I heat set the paint with an iron, washed and dried them and off to school she went.

I have something in the works for the boy child as well.  Equally as cool but not quite as colorful.

Let the Sorting Now Begin

Yes, another Harry Potter reference in honor of our move.  The time has come for us to evaluate everything we own and try to decide what to do with it.  And I do mean everything.  Each item will got into either Category A: Things That Do Not Move With Us  or Category B: Things That Move With Us. 

Let's break this down!


Category A: Things That Do Not Move

This stuff gets divided up into 4 piles  -  some piles are more like lists at this point

1.  Long Term Storage 
This is stuff that I don't plan on needing for at least 3 years.  It will go into a storage facility for the duration of our time overseas.  Our long term storage will be Non Temporary Storage (NTS) provided by the military.  This list includes appliances with 110v that are fairly inexpensive and easy to replace and/or won't function properly or aren't worth running through a transformer.  Also store things you can't bear to get rid of but don't really need, like the stuff that has been sitting in the attic untouched for years.  Don't forget to consider that extra large American furniture might not fit into a smaller house.

• saved baby clothes 

• a library of books

• alarm clocks:  won't keep correct time

• standing fans:  inexpensive and easy to find

• curling irons/hair dryers:  leave them behind if they are 110V but double check to be sure, they may be dual voltage.

2.  Sell
Anything you are ready to get rid of that you can make money from.  If you are torn between putting it into Long Term Storage or selling it, sell it now unless you think the value with appreciate while sitting in a storage facility.  Make a bit of moving $ from garage sales, neighborhood websites, Craigslist, eBay, etc.

3:  Donate/Give Away
Anything that is difficult to sell but not garbage worthy

• Everything left over from your attempts to sell 

• Hazardous materials: gasoline, open cans of paint, propane tanks

• Houseplants

• Shhhh, we haven't told the fish yet.

4:  Garbage/Recycling
Because if you don't throw out your garbage, the movers will pack it for you.  They are very accommodating that way.  This is funny but no joke.  Whether it is coffee grounds that you left in the machine or an unemptied bathroom garbage pail, you will find yourself unpacking it on the other side of your move.


Next time I'll sort through Category B: Things That Move With Us.

Keep Calm And Carry On

It is time to steel myself for several months of unexpected surprises but I truly feel that it is soooo worth it in the end.

There are so many details to get right when planning any move.  A move overseas has added checklists.  A move with the military seems to have so many extra hoops to jump through and forms to fill out and briefings to attend.  Things that are set in stone seem to change overnight.  Everybody is telling you something different but they all emphasize that it must be done correctly.  When we moved to Italy, I held my breath and didn't believe that it was actually happening until our plane finally touched down on Italian soil.  If, at any point of that flight, the plane had turned around and taken us back to the US, I don't know that I would have been surprised.  What I would have been is utterly disappointed.

Not everybody wants to relocate thousands and thousands of miles from their family.  To a country where people might speak a foreign language.  To somewhere with different customs and strange food.  Personally, I think it is an amazing opportunity!  I love the idea of living in a country where the language is foreign.  I love learning about the different customs.  Trying strange food.

So, I shall adopt the recently popular but historically obscure slogan from the British Ministry of Magic Information during the time of Second World War:

                                                           

Perhaps even more appropriate is the slogan from the first issued poster:

 

Chin up!  This will happen!  I feel a bit like Dory, "Just keep swimming.  Just keep swimming."

Destination Known!

Life is about to go from a relative calm to frenzied.  And I'm doing a happy dance!!

Just moved to the top of my to-do list:  Prepare to Move Overseas 

(Short pause for another Happy Dance!)

"Moving abroad" is a term that sounds pretentious to me.  Anyway, it is more than just "abroad" (into another country), we are going over seas to another continent.  And, if you type abroad too many time it just starts to look weird:  abroad abroad abroad a-bro-ad...

(Happy Dance moment!)

Even more accurately, I am preparing to PCS OCONUS.  There's a collection of incomprehensible jumbled capital letters for ya.  The phrase "moving overseas" sounds like it consists of much less paperwork and red tape than a military move.

(Still Happy Dancing!  Reams of paperwork, you can not get me down!) 

A few other things on the To-Do List, which at this point should really just be called my List of Lists:

Official Paperwork:
Passports
Powers of Attorney
Medical and dental records
Forwarding address

The House:
Get an inspection
Hire a realtor
Put the house on the market
SELL HOUSE!!! 

The Cars:
Arrange for shipment of car
Sell second car

Pets:
Give away fish (That doesn't mean flush.  Honest!)
Vet appointments for dogs/shots/paperwork
Travel arrangements for dogs

The Stuff:
Sort All Belongings.  ALL belongings.  Everything!

Misc stuff:
Find a new place to live
Schools for the kids
Study for the driving test
International Drivers Permit so I can get lots of use out of this:

(Happy Dance!  Happy Dance!  Happy Dance!)