Minion Costume

This past year, Isaac has loved watching Despicable Me and we decided it would be perfect that he be a minion for Halloween.  (By the time Halloween rolled around, we wished I had made the purple minion.  He is wanting to be more and more independent and do what he wants.  Ha ha!) 

My original idea was to buy a pair of overalls and a yellow shirt and call it good. My husband came up with the idea of making it big and poofy.  I loved the idea and made it up as I went.  It took a while to make, but I am so happy with the end result, and Isaac loves it too!  His little sister also likes it!

This is his minion face.  It cracks me up.   Boys are so funny!  

The costume is made of felt, and old pair of jeans, and some buttons.  So, it is pretty simple and very affordable.  I spent around $15 for everything.  Here are a couple more shots of my cute little silly minion!  

I first thought that it would be easier to get Isaac into the back, so I made an opening with buttons, but it turned out to be easiest to slip it on.  (The original plan was to sew leg holes, but it was easier to keep the bottom open.)  If I made it again, I would not make an opening in the back, and have it as a slip-on.

Happy Halloween!

Hope everyone has fun plans for today!  We went trunk-or-treating on Saturday and the little man loved it!  He said "trick-or-treat" and "thank you" so it was lots of fun!

This is not how I always look.  The face is supposed to be scary dinosaur.  It looks scary. I know.  Just maybe not dinosaur scary.  Maybe just weird person scary. :)

I finished my costume on Friday, and it is amazingly comfortable.  The tail feels a little weird though.  When I took it off after wearing it for a while, I still felt like I was wearing a tail!  

Here's some more pic's of my cool costume:

I whipped up this little treat bag that was inspired by one over at Homemade By Jill.

Here we are trunk-or-treating!  It was so much fun.  I like getting the trick-or-treating done in about 10 minutes!   Hope everyone has a great Halloween!

I might link up here and here.

Pumpkin Ombre Window

I have been loving all of the ombre decor.  I decided to dress up this window for Halloween.

 All I did was cut out pumpkins with my Silhouette and taped them on.  I think it would look awesome if they were attached with some foam tape, but I didn't have any.  I am trying to use what I have since I have such a large supply of crafts. (Thus the Stache Party)

I am linking up here and here.

Fall Doorknob Decor

I am going to show you how to make this super easy and cute fall door decor today.

 These are the supplies you will need. I had everything I needed on hand, but if you need any of the supplies, they are very inexpensive.

 You will also need some cardstock and letter stickers.  As you can tell, these are scraps and leftovers. :)  Thank goodness I could spell out the word "fall," since they are almost gone!  If you don't have stickers, you could cut out letters or even draw them on.

 The first thing you'll need to do is cut a piece out of the hanger that is approximately 12" long.  You will be bending it into the shape of a pumpkin.

 I started bending at the stem.  I used pliers at first, but then discovered it was easier to do the bending with my hands.

 Next, I took some floral wire and began wrapping it around one of the raw edges of the stem section.

 I wrapped the wire around a whole bunch of times and connected the two raw edges to make one continuous line.  It doesn't have to be pretty, because this will be covered up in the end anyway.  Just make sure the two ends are held together well.

 Put a dab of hot glue on the wire and start wrapping your jute twine.  I found it easier to cut a big piece of twine, instead of trying to fit the whole spool through the opening.

 Just keep wrapping, wrapping, wrapping (I may have seen Nemo too many times...Isaac loves it).  I hot glued every 1/2" OR when the twine started to slide.  I also wrapped the twine loosely but pushed it close together so it was fatter to add some volume.

 Next I cut out some pennants (can be done with Cricut, Silhouette, or by hand) and stuck my "fall" letters to them.  I decided to make the black a little bit bigger to create a nice border.

 I tied a bow and then glued in on to the bottom right corner to balance things out and add some more color.

 I decided to use a piece of twine to hang this on the door knob.  Just take a long piece and loop it through the stem of the pumpkin.  It is better to make it too long than too short - you can always trim!

Tie the twine in a bow around the top of the doorknob.

Isn't it pretty?  I think it adds such a fun touch.  It is so simple and so easy!

I will be linking up here and here.

Our Rainy Day Halloween Decor

Last week the weather was rainy and cloudy and one of those days weeks where you would rather be curled up on the couch in your pajamas.  Something about rain I guess.  Then, later in the week, it actually snowed!  I had to go outside and rescue my pumpkins (I grew some in my garden this year and they actually grew!  I got two about the size of a kid's basketball...yay!)

I have been seeing all kinds of cute Halloween decor around blogland and realized that I don't have very much!  One of our rainy days was perfect for making some simple Halloween decor for Isaac's room.  He helped me too, which made it extra fun.

 I had a leftover block from a previous project, and I decided to make it into a pumpkin.  I cut orange paper out and glued it to each side.  Isaac loved helping me glue!  The little man LOVES pom poms, so that is what we used for the smile and eyes.  (Isaac has loved them forever!  In fact, my mom gave him a whole tin full of them!  I used to take them to church in a mini m&m container and he would dump them out and then put them all back in...it worked awesome!)

 My mom also gave us some foam letters and googly eyes.  Isaac loved gluing them on.  We had puddles of Elmer's school glue all over the table.  I am probably going to make a frame for this and hang it in his room, but for now it's on the fridge.

 More pom pom love.  I made some garland by stringing pom poms onto thread.  They stayed in place really well so I didn't have to glue them or anything.  Then I taped it around his window.  I love easy projects like this!

I was inspired to make this spider from a tutorial over at Homemade By Jill.  She has some really fun ideas, and a few of my projects are inspired by hers.

I will be linking this up to parties listed on my party page as well as here.

DIY Candy Corn Halloween Shirt

I went out to lunch with my family this past Monday (they are out of school this week...yay!)  We went to Cafe Rio  (my fav. food is mexican).  Afterwards, my mom was trying to find a Halloween shirt for my little bro and they only had really weird ones at Walmart.  I told her I could make one and had this one done in an hour.  He loves it.  Isn't he so cute too?

The eyes are attached with velcro, so you can take them off to wash the shirt.

I am linking up here and here.

Guest Post: Christina Johnson

Today is a bit busy, because I am guesting over at DIY Kinda Girl (come see how to make this cute skirt) AND I have a guest poster on my blog today!  ALSO, come back FRIDAY to see the other cute little things I made to go along with this skirt!  So fun!

Today we get to hear from Christina Johnson.  She has written an article on tasteful Halloween Decor.  I found it to be very helpful and I figured all of my readers would too!   And, if you haven't already, go ahead and follow me on Facebook and/or Twitter to get the latest updates and join in some conversations! 

 Here's Christina:

Don't Scare the Trick or Treaters Away?

By: Christina Johnson

With fall just around the corner, so is sweet fun of Halloween. Just as everyone likes to dress up for the holiday, feel free to dress up your house too! Halloween decorations don't have to be all orange, black and covered in cotton spider webs—with a little thought and creativity, you can transform your home or Manhattan rental into a festive and tasteful Halloween-ready home.

Follow these simple tips to avoid your house looking frightful for all the wrong reasons:

Simplify: While it might be tempting to stroll down the Halloween aisles and pick up anything with an orange or black color, show some restraint. Focus on a few, key pieces within a theme for a classic, lasting look.

Don't Be Too Scary: Halloween is about monsters and costumes yes, but you don't have to have every square inch of your yard covered in Halloween paraphilia; fake cemetery, plastic spiders, ubiquitous cobwebs, and inflatables. Try not to be that house. Instead, go for a few items that will make a big impact. A big fall wreath on the door will last through to Thanksgiving. A hay bale and a couple of well-placed jack-o-lanterns will jazz up any entryway. Lanterns up the steps provide much-needed lighting for little trick-or-treaters, and look festive, as well.

Themes: Focus in on one major look, and do it well. Think about a timeless black and white theme; black and white Halloween dishes, black cauldrons filled with Spanish moss and white-painted pumpkins. Take a white plate and add black Halloween decals, then add it to a collection of black and white patterned dishes for a classy look. A fall cornucopia theme is another option. Place colorful gourds of varying sizes in a glass urn for a fabulous centerpiece. For a little Halloween bling, paint pumpkins, leaves, and sticks gold. A benefit of this look is that it will last all autumn long.

Keep it in the Group: Within the chosen theme, group items together. Place a group of ceramic jack-o-lanterns together on the fireplace. Fill a unique grouping of different sized glass containers with candy corn, caramel popcorn, and licorice. With the black and white theme, use black and white candies. Stack apple crates filled with pumpkins for a holiday display where some height is needed.

Tasteful Halloween decor makes a house inviting to guests, looks festive and avoids the cheap or kitschy look that sometimes goes with the holiday.

Thanks so much, Christina!  Doesn't she have such great tips!


Linking this up here and here.

It Roaaaarr's! {Two}

Remember my previous post of this little cutie?  This is the dinosaur costume I made for Isaac last year.  I made it with ultra cuddle fleece, so it is so soft, snuggly, and warm (perfect for Halloween).  He looked so adorable in it and I was surprised at how much he wanted to wear it (at least once a week).  Well, it turns out, he's not the only one that thinks a cozy dino costume is the cat's meow.

 Enter Dino Man.  Yep.  Isn't he handsome?  I think so.  The most handsome Dino Man I've ever seen.  My husband came up with this great idea that we should all be dinosaurs for Halloween this year.  He has been saying this since last Halloween.  I thought he was joking, but nope, he was serious. This was great for two reasons: 1.I got to go to the craft store. 2. I got to spend money there. :)  (Not that I don't get to do that anyway, but here's another excuse to go).

To make it, I used McCall's #8953 pattern. (Which consists of a lion, cat, bunny, etc.)  I knew I wasn't going to find a pattern of what I wanted exactly, so I looked for something that had a full body suit.  All I used from the pattern was the front piece, back piece, and sleeve pieces.  The other things I had to come up with on my own.  So, I designed the hood, spikes, belly, tail, and slippers.  It was quite the adventure, but it was well worth it.  I learned a lot, which will benefit me on future sewing endeavors.  My husband loves it and is currently wearing it.  It feels great that he loves it so much!  

 Let me show you the details. Besides being super comfortable and warm, this costume has many other great features:

 A cute blue belly, complete with zipper.  (I even got the zipper right the first time, which doesn't happen regularly).

 Check out these cute slippers.  They have blue lining inside and they are padded as well.  The bottom has the no-slip fabric on them (I am just realizing I forgot a picture of that...Sorry!).

 There are these two-toned spikes down the whole back.

 And check out this tail!  It wiggles when you walk, which makes it all the more fun!  Here's one last peek of the costume:

I am planning on making myself one of these dino costumes too.  The fabric is on its way and should be here soon, hopefully!  Any guesses as to the colors of mine?

I am linking up here and here.

Fun Fall Finds

I created my first boards on Pinterest today.  What a fun place to hang out!  I found a lot of great inspiring Fall Decor items, which I will be making and sharing very soon!  I am going to share a few of my favorites:

I love 2X4 projects.  They are so inexpensive and so cute!  I love the worn look.

Isn't this wreath gorgeous!  It is found here.

Wouldn't it be fun to have a paper wedding bouquet?  It would last forever!

I am thinking of all the fun things I could do with a DIY pumpkin garland!

It Roaaaarr's!

Meet the dinosaur.  The dino is my cute son.  He was a dinosaur for Halloween last year.  I love it!  His little tail bounces up and down when he runs.  Last year, after Halloween, he wore it at least once a week because it was so soft and comfy.  To make it, I used a toddler pajama pattern.  I was really happy to find a pattern with both a hood and feet on it. (Kwik Sew 2919 (baby))  I went to Joann's to find some fabric, and the little guy grabbed the ultra cuddle fleece as we were walking by, and he fell in love.  I bought some dark blue and some teal.  I also found some grip-tight that I used for the soles to help prevent slipping.

 

What little boy doesn't love dirt?

Here is a view of the front belly!

He loved the fabric so much, I made him a little blankie with the scraps.  It is still his favorite!