A Christmas in OZ

Behold our wonderful family in Oz for our 2019 holiday card!!

My inspiration for the cover was from the 1939 movie poster,

This year marked the 80th anniversary of this iconic film and I felt it was the perfect time to pay tribute!

Also, any theme with a bomb pair of shoes or two always has my vote. We did a tri-fold card again this year and the "poster" was the front and this group shot was the interior image.

I will be writing about my process with costumes, set, props and makeup in the coming days.

The inside was an OZsome inset of image inside golden circles against a beautiful Wizard of Oz background. The graphics were done by Michela Plescia who also did the graphic design work on last years Grinchmas card.

We once again used Kori Savoie to shoot our magical memories!

"Wishing you all an Ozsome holiday season! Enjoy the detours that 2020 will bring and face them with courage and heart. Know you have friends who are there to support your life's adventures. Believe in your dreams as you have had the power to make them come true all along. No matter where those adventures may lead you, remember there is no place like home!"

Love, 

Lisa, David, Kaleigh, Blake, Dylan, Danica and Leo

Click HERE to see our past holiday cards

Meet The Cast: The Grinch

Image by: Kori Savoie

Graphics: Michela Cagliero

The star of our holiday Christmas card: My Husband David, The Grinch!

COSTUME:

The Grinch's look from the film is a very recognizable one. After producing the shoot and creating/curating all the costumes for 6 characters plus the set I could not imagine covering my husbands body in Grinchy green hair. I decided to do my own look, swapping the Santa top for pants from a Santa suit borrowed from my friend Roman at Castaways thrift store in Morro Bay, CA and replacing the top with the "Whobilation" sweater. I reused a Santa hat we had from Christmases past.

Jim's costume for the film. 

This white knit sweater with red stripes was something I could not track down to be able to build the other details. I decided to DIY my own using a plain white sweatshirt.

What I used:

Red/Yellow/Green Felt: Michaels

Silver Metallic Puff Paint: Amazon

Small Jingle Bells: Michaels

Red Grosgrain Ribbon: Michaels

Yellow Jewels: Amazon

Tacky Glue: Amazon

*Scissors

*Hot Glue

*Black Sharpie

 I measured by wrapping the ribbon around the sleeve by eye and placed each one approx 1.5" apart.

I used hot glue to affix the jungle bells on, top and bottom of each ribbon.

 I drew a Whoville tree freehand on the green felt and placed it onto the red so I could use it as a stencil.

I cut the star for the tree as well as the letters for the Christmas tree the same way by drawing freehand on the felt with the sharpie.

I used the silver paint to dot the exterior of the star, hearts and inside the letters to simulate the lights on the original costume sweater.

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I used the last of the red felt to cut out the HO HO HO's for the trim.

I even decked out the back a little, similar to the back of the original costume.

I purchased Grinch Gloves with the extended fingers. I added the hair to each fingertip with fabric glue.

MAKEUP:

David spent just over two hours in the makeup chair to apply his Grinch prosthetic appliance , hair , lashes and Grinch rot teeth. Hanna Fisher did an excellent job transforming David.

Meet The Cast: Martha May Whovier

Image: Kori Savoie

MUA: Hanna Fisher

Annually I have the privilege of creating a fantasy world for myself and my family to disappear into for an afternoon. This year I chose an iconic holiday film to celebrate in our holiday card.

Martha May Whovier was my character because she is in love with the Grinch, who my husband David graciously stepped into the character of. Martha is the glamour girl of Whoville so I naturally welcomed the opportunity to pay homage to her in the card.

I created her wig and curated her wardrobe so it had the air of Martha May with my own personal spin and details.

WIG: 

Sadly I have constraints for my budget (Imagine the production if I didn't? ) So I inexpensively purchased the base wig from Amazon, HERE. 

I used synthetic hair that I had on hand from one of Kaleigh's past Halloween Costumes  and I purchased Miniature Assorted Holographic Foil Gift Boxes from the Dollar Store and used the Gold and Red packages. I wrapped the other packages with Christmas paper and then with the hair. Hot glue required and some patients. I finished it off by tying off the packages with red ribbon. 

 I glued the finished packages together and started to stack and pile them. I also used bobby pins to secure them. I knew I was doing a second look with the wig down so I didn't want to glue the hair wrapped packages to the base wig.

 She also has a waved bang so I set a foam roller and dampened the wig and sprayed it in advance.

I also had Strep throat (as did my kids) during the wig process which made for an interesting project! For extra holiday drama I left the ribbons long and let them hang down along with some tendrils. 

COSTUME(s)

The character of Martha May Whovier had a total of 6 costumes in the film. I chose to have 2 looks for the shoot. The first being the iconic red and green look.

She wore it with and without her bolero jacket.

My look is a two piece to give the feel of a gown. For the bodice I used a corset (order here ) It comes in literally all sizes. Ignore the "size" and order by measurements. Martha's bodice is trimmed in green tulle and to save trimming my skirt hem (which was the perfect length) I used an old holiday themed tea towel I had on hand. It was the perfect color and texture for the trim. No room in the house if off limits when I am creating! 

I used fabric glue to affix the piece to the top of the bodice.

The Bolero was sourced from the 55,000 Dress Collection and from my own closet. 

Skirt: Comes in all sizes and has an elastic waist!

Shoes: SJP Collection "Gelsey" flat in red metallic "poison" color. The silhouette can be found on Amazon but not the color. Contact the SJP Store for more info.

Jewelry: It was a costume jewelry set with matching bracelet, earrings and necklace. Similar in shape to Martha's

I did a costume change for the end of the shoot. I sourced a gorgeous baby blue chiffon, feather and sequin gown from the 55,000 Dresses Collection. The choice was inspired by the two baby blue looks Martha May wore in the last scenes of the film.

MAKEUP:

Prosthetic FX Nose made of foam latex: SHOP

Large Front Teeth: SHOP

Hanna at work ...

Hanna Fisher did an amazing job on the Martha Makeup! She painted the prosthetic appliance to get it as close to my skin tone as possible, lashed me up with a full gorgeous set and even make a gorgeous Martha Mouth drawn onto the bottom of the prosthetic.

MERRY GRINCHMAS and HAPPY WHO YEAR