Alpha Bandits by A Jennuine Life

First up, to start the Sew Ready to Play series off is my new blogging pal, Jenn from A Jennuine Life! You might remember her from her amazing Project Run and Play (which is kicking off again, too!) outfits! You’ll notice a theme this season… I got the group back together for this series, so you know it will be awesome! If you don’t know Jenn, you’ll have to check out her blog and her beautiful new pattern line, Jennuine Design!

Welcome, Jenn!

 

Hey there, I’m Feelin’ Crafty readers! I’m Jenn and I share my sewing and other adventures at A Jennuine Life. Today I’m bringing you a quick project and an amazing new game – Alpha Bandits!

I’ve got a little secret – I haven’t actually played this game. But I know it’s going to be amazing because it was created by my brother in law and his game company, Wiggity Bang Games! They recently held a successful Kickstarter campaign and are in the process of producing the game.

As written in a review on Board Game Geek, “Alpha Bandits is a fast-paced word-building game featuring double-sided letter tiles. Players race to score the most points by building words of three or more letters. Each letter tile has a blue side and a red side. Players can mix and match colors when forming their words to receive different types of score bonuses. The game is played in rounds, with scores being based on the letters played at the end of each round. This sounds simple, but beware of the Alpha Bandits! These sneaky tiles allow players to block, swap, flip, grab, or even end the round early for the win! Each game also contains a few rare “Gemstone” tiles that are worth extra points and may be used as any letter in the alphabet, making them very valuable indeed!”

It’s for ages 12 and up, but I know my nephew Jack who is in third grade plays, so I’m planning to begin playing with Arden as soon as our copy arrives!

 

My interpretation of the game was to make a hoodie with the bandit eyes applique’d onto the hood. I’d love to tell you that I made the hoodie – and had planned to, but we’re in the process of moving and I’m flying solo at home right now and had to get realistic about the time I had available.

 

I have a quick tute to show how I did the easy applique for the eyes:

 

1. Gather supplies – hoodie, materials for applique, and double-sided fusible webbing; I used Heat n’ Bond.
2. Trace the shapes onto the paper side of the fusible webbing. If your design is not symmetrical, be sure to trace it in reverse as this will become the backside of your applique.
3. Cut out the shapes.
4. Peel the backing off the shapes and fuse them to the garment following the instructions on the fusible webbing. With matching thread, sew around the edge of the shape. I used a straight stitch for the whites of the eyes.
5. Repeat Step 4 for the second shape. I used a narrow zig-zag for the pupils.
6. Step back and admire your fun embellished hoodie!

 

My five year old daughter Arden took a little time warming up to the photo shoot, but once she got into character as a bandit she really pulled out all the stops!

 

If you think your family would like to check out Alpha Bandits, you can pre-order a copy at Wiggity Bang Games. Games are expected to delivery November 2014, so in plenty of time for the holidays!