The Knight Circus - costume hire

My sister Frith has just recently started up a costume hire business which I have been meaning to introduce to you.(She's always been in to dressing up!).



I think the idea came about after her 30th birthday when she organised an alice in wonderland fancy dress party. Everyone had so much fun designing costumes and dressing up, and Frith did such an amazing job with all the decorations that somebody suggested she should organise themed parties for a job - and behold The Knight Circus was born!



She's got a cool little shed out the back that is so much fun to explore when we go visit!



I've conducted a little interview so you can learn more about Frith and The Knight Circus.



So was I right with how the business came about?



Yip, that's right. I had so much fun organising my 30th that I was a little sad to pack it all away! Then I thought, hey I could turn this into a business, something I can do from home with the kids around and also giving me a creative outlet - so The Knight Circus was born!



Why did you decide to call it The Knight Circus?



I have this nostalgic image of early circus's, the costumes, the performers and the atmosphere.  I wanted a name that when you heard it, it made you dream a little....and Knight is my last name so it fitted together well with a little twist.



What is your favourite costume?



That's a hard one.  Wonder woman would be up there and my husband looks great in Batman.  Although I have a gorgeous turquoise satin and lace ballgown which I would wear to the supermarket if I could!



Where do you get your costumes from?



The majority of them came from a company based in America. It was really hard to pick which ones would look good in person and which would be popular. I have most of the licenced ones - superheros etc, 1950's, renaissance, Micheal Jackson, pirates.......And then there are pieces that I have picked up at 2nd hand stores or from my own wardrobe. So far I have only made a few but this is something I would like to do more of.



If I was after a particular costume could you help me out?



Yes of course, I would love to help you out. If I had enough time I would try and source something for you or make it myself. I had an order for 10 elf costumes for the Whangarei Christmas Festival late last year, they were fun to make, thanks to Hanna too for helping me out with the hats!!



When are you open and how do I contact you about viewing costumes?



Basically I'm open when I'm home. You can contact me on Facebook and we can arrange a time for you to come round. I have lots of photos of my costumes on my Facebook page and I'm in the process of setting up a blog where I'll be able to give more details and measurements of my costumes so people out of town can have the opportunity to hire them also.



What other ideas do you have about branching out your business?



More making costumes from scratch or restyling clothing into costumes. I'd also like to get into making props or decorations for weddings and parties, like favours, confetti, buntings etc. Also hiring out complete sets for high tea parties, including tablecloths, cups and saucers, teapots, cake stands and other tea party necessities. I'd love to have a corner in my shop that sold handmade wares too.

Gingerbread houses and Pepperkake

Well we're nearly there, it's nearly Christmas! The kids are getting so excited, opening their advent calendar first thing each morning to see what little picture is behind the door.  All my Christmas shopping is done, bought the last present today. So I've got some wrapping to do tonight, and also some more sanding and painting - I'm making the kids little wooden trees and houses to go with their train set, I didn't plan on being all crafty and making them myself, but I had something particular in mind and just couldn't find anything I liked.  I wish I had started earlier as the project is kind of dragging on seeing as the only time I can do them is in evening when they are both (eventually grrr)tucked up in bed.



We've been eating our pepperkake and trying to resist cutting into the Christmas cake, I'd like to save it till Christmas day. I popped out today to get ingredients to make some fruit mince tarts which will hopefully fulfill the craving for something spiced and fruity and keep the Christmas cake safe for a few more days. The kids made gingerbread houses at our homeschool playgroup, so much fun! And just as much fun to eat, but hmm, too many lollies for my liking, I stretched the eating of it over as many days as I could.  I would have liked to have made another bigger one but I don't think we will have time now - and use more dried fruit and nuts for decoration and less lollies. My sister is making one so I'm looking forward to seeing what hers looks like.  I found this amazing one which I've saved for inspiration for next year.







Here is the Pepperkake recipe if anyone wants to make it. You can see the original recipe here on Tiny Happy, (I've basically just changed the type of flour/sugar and how I form the biscuits).

:: Pepperkake ::

- 1 cup wholemeal spelt flour
- 1 cup white spelt flour
- 1 cup barley flour
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp finely ground pepper
- 1 1/2 tsps baking powder
- 3/4 tsp baking soda
- 1 Tbsp ground ginger
- 1 Tbsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
- 1/2 tsp grated nutmeg
- 90 grams softened butter
- 3/4 cup rapadura sugar
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup molasses
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- Grated rind of one lemon
- Icing sugar and lemon juice for decoration.

Mix the first group of dry ingredients. In another bowl, beat together the butter, sugar and egg until smooth. Then add the molasses, vanilla and lemon rind and beat well. Gradually mix in the dry ingredients. Divide the dough in half and put each half on a large piece of baking paper or glad wrap. Form a log with each piece using the paper to stop getting your hands all sticky. Fold the paper right over the dough and roll it into smooth log. Chill for at least 2 hours. Take the logs out and slice them up so that you have circles of about 1/2 cm thick.  The circles will get slightly flattened as you cut them so just reshape them slightly and put onto a greased baking sheet.
Bake at 180 degrees Celcius for about 10 minutes, or until nicely browned.
To make the white icing for decorating, mix some icing sugar with some lemon juice to make a smooth paste. Pipe decorations onto the biscuits once they are cooled.

I'm a guest today

over at Smallwoods Studios.
I feel quite flattered! Tamara asked me to compile a list of some of my favourite things, it was quite a nice thing to sit down and think about :)
Pop on over and visit Tamara and say hi from me!

(And because I didn't want to do a post with no photos, here are some photos of silly children.)

Matching necklaces

While we're on the subject of necklaces purchased from the wonderful world of Etsy...
You might remember the pretty necklace I bought a while back from nz green buttons.



Well I also bought one for my sister Adde, for Christmas last year, and meant to show you and didn't get around to it, and then my other sister Frith has just recently purchased one also. So now all three sisters have matching necklaces.



Adde's is the top one (they come in pretty little bags too!) and Frith's is the bottom one.

I highly reccommend you go and visit nz green button's etsy shop, as she has some other lovely things for sale. I especially have my eye on that crochet floor rug!


Blue hooked bowl.

Vintage Orchid upcycled cards.

Pair of little zip purses.

Treat for the feet.

Spring-time floral cards.

Winter wool coat

The majority of the sewing I seem to do these days is kind of rushed and simple - a quick pair of pants for the kids or a shirt for one of them made out of an old shirt of mine. So it was quite nice for a change to slow down a bit and do something 'properly' following a pattern and all that jazz. Basting and pressing and clipping and topstitching, and all that jazz.



This coat was made for someone else, little Campbel from Lil Knight Lights. Stacey was after a nice warm winter coat for Cam and couldn't find one that she liked so asked if I would sew one up for her.

I was pleased with how it all came together, and that curved yoke wasn't as tricky as I thought it might have been, I will definately be making one for Isla for next year. The pattern goes up to size 6, so I may just be making a few.





I used this pattern purchased from Etsy. I changed it a bit by adding a hood, changing how the buttons fastened, and adding extra length to the arms as Stacey wanted rolled up cuffs.



I also added a little pocket to the inside for holding treasures.



The apple picking fabric is a vintage cotton that I have had for ages, I love it so much, it has been used for many projects, there's only a few scraps left now.



As you can see it fitted Isla perfectly! Kind of tempting to keep it :)
But no, it has been sent on it's merry way, and Stacey, you must send me a picture of Cam wearing it :)

Christmas Eve

Oh there's been a lot of counting down the sleeps around these parts. It's getting all rather exciting really, I'll be surprised if they settle well to sleep tonight! We're heading off on Christmas morning to spend time with family out of town, we'll be away a few days, and yes, it's all very exciting. Liam talks about it, oh, about one hundred times a day.



The advent calendar has really helped both kids get a feel for the passing of time and the counting down to this special day. They love taking turns opening the little window and discovering what's hiding behind.



We've also been celebrating advent by lighting candles every night at dinner time. One the first week, two the second week, and so on. The kids have enjoyed it so much. The first night while the candle was lit I sang them 'Away in a manger', as this was the first Christmas carol that came to mind. We have sung it every night since and the children are starting to know the words, it is hilarious, they take it very seriousy, we have taken a video of it which will be so fun to look back on in a few years time.



On Christmas morning we will light the orange candle also, to remind us of the birth of Jesus, the Light of the World.



And here is the nativity set that I mentioned I'd bought and have been meaning to show you, isn't it just so cute! I bought it off Felt, it is made by this clever lady. The manger is empty at the moment but on Christmas morning baby Jesus will be found asleep in the hay.



And the Christmas tree we made after seeing them here, there is a tutorial if you feel like doing some last minute crafting :)



I hope your Christmas preparations are going well and you have a lovely day tomorrow.
Merry Christmas all!
xx
Hanna

Lovely parcels in the mail

We recieved a very fun parcel in the mail today, all the way from Japan!
Diane from Monkey Magic sent us some wonderful goodies. We decided to do a little swapsie, just for fun. We're still collecting up a few more bits and pieces and then we'll be sending off our parcel, on a little trip to Japan. Such fun, I do love sending and receiving mail. Not including bills of course :)




The kids enjoyed the sweet treats, thankyou Keita :)





And look at the rest of the goodies! Eeeee, love the fabrics!



Nursery rhyme/fairy tale calendar - so CUTE. And sweet little wooden gift tags.



And Japanese craft books! I'd love to visit Japan one day, but I'd have to take a whole extra suitcase with me for the all craft books I'd want to take home.



Ahhh, I just want to start sewing, right now!






Thankyou so much Diane for your sweetness and kindness xx