Showing posts with label 3 Blind Mice. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 3 Blind Mice. Show all posts

Saturday, September 28, 2024

Halloween Groupies

 Welcome!

Kaleidoscope by inkspired

It’s that time of year again where the nights get colder, the leaves put on their Fall fancery and all the little goblins dream of a new costume to wear.

coolest-homemade-costumes.com

Perhaps you are part of a group - 

An office department,

A team of teachers,

A class of students…

You need to coordinate!

I am here to help!

Bored Panda
A group of Japanese art students came up with this clever idea!

Bored Panda


From the labor intense to the last minute quickie, I have all levels of costumes to share with you.

Here is perhaps the easiest:

MaridFashion


Basic black is usually in everyone’s wardrobe. If not you can find black sweats just about anywhere.

This is a great starting point for those who just do not have a lot of time to devote to making costumes.

The Pac Man game characters above started with basic black. Then all you need is some rope/twine and poster board. Black and white paint for the eyes, a pair of scissors and you are done.

This next one is almost as easy.

Grab some white duct tape and a pair of scissors.

Judy Saxton Rader


I think the domino earrings are a nice touch!

Next up -

I cannot say enough good things about these young kids. Clever! Creative! Caring!

This could also work with adults.

BuzzFeed 

This next one will take a bit more work, but not much. It is limited to 3 however!

You will need 2 poster boards, one black trash bag, small amount of gray paint and assorted colored construction paper. A yard stick and permanent pens, some twine/ribbon to hang the items from and you are pretty much done.

Mary Davisson


I saw several variations of this set. I liked how these girls made headbands to match. Certainly not necessary. To coordinate even further they could have worn matching base colors such as the all-purpose black.

I love this next group, perfect for a family of varying heights:

Becky Hullett

Matryoshka nesting dolls!

I saw several variations of color schemes but with this group you get a good idea of what to put together. Use an extended apron pattern and iron on fusible web to make the base costumes quick and easy. Squares of matching scarves and bright round pink cheeks complete them. Everyone wears a long sleeve white top and matching color bottoms.

Matryoshka dolls, posted by Gillian Peat on Pinterest

Here’s another great idea for a family of different heights and shapes:

Brittany Jepson

You can certainly use sweats for this one, provided you can get the colors you want. The crayon hat is simply made from construction paper with matching ribbon to tie under the chin. If you want, poster board or heavy card stock will hold up longer. The black anklets are a nice touch.

Large group? How about 101?

Pocket of Preschool
Black bottoms, white t-shirts and black construction paper completes the Dalmatians. You could also use iron on fusible web and black cloth circles, or black duct tape.

These girls added white netting tutus. Headbands with felt ears glued on are a cute plus.
And oh, Cruella!

Have fun with her black & white costume. Don’t forget the red lipstick and long cigarette holder.

This next one really needs no explanation. It’s been around several years, but I still find it adorable for a threesome!

Vanessa Cellotto


Back to larger groups with this one:

9Gagger


Now go back and look at that photo again! Those are fake legs!

I see cardboard boxes cut up, foam pool noodles and stuffed pants. Fun! That one took a lot of planning and work.


Not so much this one:

Rhondagannon


Yay basic black! A hobby store will probably have the yellow t-shirts, or order them online. Still can’t find them? Buy a bunch of white ones and dye them. It’s not as scary as you think.

I would use fabric paints for the emoticons. They are quick and easy to use. Cut some simple stencils if you want from heavy plastic. Or sketch out your designs with a fabric pencil (these can be erased with water usually).

Another clever group costume idea limited only by what colors you can think of:

tinybeans

Use yellow poster board for the base. If you have a Cricut or other brand cutting machine, make your Play-Doh symbol and just cut as many as you need. If not sketch out the symbol and enlist family members to copy and cut out.

The ‘lids’ appear to be a knit cap (lots of patterns out there for these) with a disk attached to the top. Paint the lid the same color as the t-shirt and the cap. I am not sure what was used. You could make one with a strip of poster board and a circle. Perhaps a pizza round cardboard insert? Or a large plastic lid?

Give me your ideas on this one!


Another simple costume idea that turns out very cute:

Hikendip 

Small touches like the matching color socks and the leafy headbands are what will pull this one off from amateur to great!


This next one needs a good artist or crafter to make those t-shirts look great.

Sandy Crow
 

I saw several different variations on a theme with the candy bars. So pick your favorites and get out those fabric paints!

Last, but not least, is from a photo taken on a bus. These young men came up with a great costume idea that can be expanded on as often as you have people to costume.


They used pink long balloons but I would suggest to use shades of blue and green to mimic seaweed.

They found Nemo hats, and they look super. Why not go further and add fishy stuffed animals to the top of a baseball cap? A few stitches will keep them in place, and make them removable later. This opens up the ocean to you! Octopus, blowfish, crab, Beta - you can find them all in stuffed animals. I would suggest you check out your local thrift store first.

The balloons appear to be held in place with packing tape. Again, use your basic black or go with blues and greens for your sweats base costume.

🎵 Under the sea! 🎶

I have had a great time finding group costumes for you. I would love to see your ideas, and your photos!

‘Til next time,

inkspired

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Nursery Rhyme Time with 3 Blind Mice

nyeinjanyei
or

Nrim-khyam-ye

'Peace' in the *Burmese language

*also known as Myanmar

'Burma's Defenders'
3 Burmese monks praying
www.hrw.org by Platon for Human Rights Watch

Welcome to my new Burmese readers!
For those of you who don't know,
Burma is the correct name of the country
that the news insists on calling 'Myanmar'.
It isn't.
It is Burma.
Myanmar is the name that guerrillas have called the country
that they have violently overthrown the government.
The UN recognizes the country of 'Burma'.
It does not recognize any country named 'Myanmar'.
The people call themselves 'Burmese'.

For more information,
google 'Aung San Suu Kyi'

Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi

Oh, and just a quick comment here -
We should ask ourselves why the news media
newspaper, TV, radio, etc.
have been calling a country with such a rich, long history
by a name that violent guerrillas have given it,
instead of what the country is actually named.

It would be like calling Egypt
Rome-42
instead of 'Egypt'.

or should we say
'the country formerly known as Holland'
instead of
The Netherlands?

In case you haven't noticed,
an impartial news coverage is currently non-existent.
News publications and live 'news' have an agenda.
Just make sure it is your agenda, before you believe
everything you see written
or
everything you hear on the 'news'.

clip from toonpool.com


Okay, okay, I'm off my give-a-speech pedestal!!!
:0)

On to Three Blind Mice!!





This is usually the first song students learn to play
on new musical instruments in the United States!

a limited edition print www.zuill.us

So, what does the simple rhyme mean, if anything?
I mean, blinded mice...
mice chasing a woman...
a woman chopping off mouse tails...
WHAT????!!??

an 1889 illustration of the nursery rhyme

Gathered from




and


here's what I found:

The 'wife' in the verse may be Mary I, the daughter of King Henry VIII of England
and  Catherine of Aragon, his first wife.

Queen Mary I of England

Mary had a hard life, what with her father King Henry VIII naming her the successor to the throne, then declaring her illegitimate, then putting her back in the succession,
refusing to let her see her mother the last 5 years of Catherine's life,
being a devout Catholic in a country that was 'Church of England' territory...
and many, many unnamed injustices and slights she had to endure.

This led to her being, shall we say, grouchy?


Mary I's nickname was 'Bloody Mary'.
She was very determined to bring England back to being
a Catholic country.
That meant being a Protestant, including Church of England,
was a big no-no.
So big in fact that if you were found to be Protestant
it was 'off-with-your-head' time.

an ebay listing by 77maddog   www.ebay.com

It is also considered a clue that Mary I and her husband King Philip II of Spain
owned large estates - thus she was a 'farmer's wife'.

From a 1911 'Our Old Nursery Rhymes' book;
illustration by H. Willebeck LeMair, arranged by Alfred Moffat.

The 'Three Blind Mice' in the rhyme may refer to
Bishop Hugh Latimer
Bishop Nicholas Ridley
and
Archbishop of Cantebury Thomas Cranmer.

Three Blind Mice ACEO Mouse Art by www.SteviT.etsy.com

All three of these reforming churchmen were Anglicans
and preached Protestant theology -
which is in direct contrast to many Catholic tenets.

Bishop Hugh Latimer found at www.clarealumni.com

Bishop Nicholas Ridley found at www.en.wikipedia.org

The three churchmen were convicted of plotting against the Queen.
Keep in mind Mary I was Catholic
and Latimer, Ridley and Cranmer were Protestant.

found on www.flickr.com - cindy4752 photostream


Bishop Latimer and Bishop Ridley were burned at the stake,
with Archbishop Cranmer forced to watch.
Cranmer was kept alive for other purposes....

Archbishop Thomas Cranmer, artist may be Holbein.

3 blind mice figurines - www.happywadeing.com

...that would be the
 'let's torture him until he confesses to something we want him to confess to'.
A popular theme in Middle Ages history.

1917 illustration by Margaret Evans Price

Later (think torture), after watching his colleagues burn at the stake,
Archbishop Cranmer recanted
and repudiated (that means 'I didn't mean what I said')
Protestant theology. He rejoined the Catholic faith.
hmmm...
Still, Queen Mary I refused to release him from the death penalty.

On the day he was to be burned at the stake,
he made a dramatic announcement before the crowds -
who had gathered for the 'fun' of watching him burn -

He withdrew his recantation!
That means, he said 'I didn't really mean it when I said
I gave up the Protestant beliefs,
and became a Catholic.'
BIG doggy doo-doo on the face of the Catholic accusers.

Also a strong testament to the fact
that torture can make someone say anything.
Take note, US military creeps, that think torture
is an okay thing to do to prisoners.
Think Guantanamo Bay. Think Iraq.
A disgrace and a slap in the face to all true Americans.
oops, stepped onto my soapbox again!

illustration by Charles Folkard

So, let's recap:
The three blind mice were 3 Protestant churchmen (Latimer, Ridley & Cranmer).
Blind because they were not Catholic.

They ran after the farmer's wife, (Queen Mary I of England) -
'a plot to kill the queen' is the reason given.

The farmer's wife (the Queen) chops off their tails.
Or in the matter of history, burns them to death.

Such a gruesome little nursery rhyme!!

a closeup of James Christensen's Three Blind Mice

But then, Grimm's Fairy Tales were really gruesome!
I am currently re-reading them, in the original form.
Verrrry interesting!
Definitely not the Disney style of fairy tales!

We do tend to make things like nursery rhymes and fairy tales cute -
and how cute are 3 Blind Mice!

costumes for toddlers www.squidoo.com

That has to be one of my favorites!!
:0)

Here is a grown-up version:


and that is my second favorit-est!
I just love it when people get creative with their costumes.
No pre-made Wonder Woman costume for me, no sir!
But then, of course, I'm not really Wonder Woman size either.
No amount of costume cleverness could disguise that...


Here is a fun scherensnitte pattern from an out of print BackStreet Design:

and here is my cutting:

cutting by inkspired, background by Dover books

Let's make some Chocolate 'Church' Mice!!
This recipe/directions are from FamilyFunMagazine, inkspired version:


You're going to need:

>1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
>1 Tablespoon vegetable shortening
>48 dried apricots
>wooden skewers
>48 M&M Minis
>Black shoestring licorice
>24 dry-roasted peanut halves

How to:
1.  Place chocolate chips and shortening in a microwave-safe bowl.
        Microwave on high for 1 minute.
2.  Stir, and microwave for 1 minute more.
3.  Stir again, until smooth.
 For each mouse:
Press together 2 dried apricots and squish to make a small point
for the mouse's nose.
Thread them onto wooden skewers.

Dip them into the melted chocolate/shortening,
and place on a waxed-paper lined baking sheet.

Use a second skewer to push the mouse off the first skewer.
Use your fingertip to smoosh the chocolate to cover the hole left by the skewer.

Add M&M minis for eyes,
shoestring licorice for tails
and broken peanut halfs or quarters for ears.

Refrigerate until hardened.
Makes 24

Now is that cute or what??!!

If you don't know, Family Fun Magazine sends out e-mails with lots of super fun activities for all age groups. I don't currently have any small children
but I still find fun things to do and make there.

Did you know?
The Three Stooges used '3 Blind Mice' as one of 'their' songs?


stained glass at www.pdqpatterns.com

Did you know?
Jazz Artist Art Blakey has an album by the name '3 Blind Mice'?


Did you know?
There is a movie named 'Three Blind Mice' that starred
Loretta Young and Joel McCrea,
along with many other stars like David Niven and Jane Darwell?


So, after all,
3 blind mice can be pretty entertaining!


I wish I knew where to give credit for this charming sketch.
It appears to be a 'rough' for a cartoon.
If you know who to credit, please let me know!

Well, I hear laundry calling,
and the dirty kitchen floor crunching,
and Tanner is chasing me out of the office with
incredible
stinky
gas.
Time to close!
See you soon,
inkspired

Big Dog Tanner, trying to fit in a little space...
Note the HUGE bottom with HUGE capacities for gas...