DIY Costumes I spotted at our Mall-O-Ween...

Junebug and I visited a local "Mall-o-Ween" this week and I couldn't help myself from taking pictures of some of the more creative/homemade costumes.  I am a crafter, after all...

Wanna see 'em?  Well, of course I'll share!

This little cupcake was amazing!  Her mom made the costume with a lampshade turned upside down at the bottom and used buffalo snow on top for the frosting.  The sprinkles looked like colorful foam sticky sheets cut into small pieces and stuck on.  I forgot to ask about that, though--I just assumed.

The little gal was adorable and at one point fell over and couldn't get up by herself.  She wasn't hurt so it was pretty hilarious.

 

It's always nice to have Ghostbusters out and about on Halloween where ghosts are so prevalent.  This little guy's momma made his ghost-busting accessories out of upcycled items and duct tape--so cool!  She also made his trick-or-treat bag out of duct tape.  The momma said she loves to create with duct tape--it made me want to go get some!

 

I'm not sure if this little owl's momma used a pattern or not, but it's a pretty impressive costume either way.  By looking at it, you can figure out the basic method.  Aren't the colors precious together?  So girly and sweet.  I actually created an owl costume for an infant a few weeks ago--just haven't gotten around to sharing it yet--but keep your peepers out for that if you give a hoot.  Ahh, owl humor.

 

At the mall, we ran into Junebug's friend Kylie who was dressed up as Medusa.  Y'all, she has had her heart set on being Medusa since Halloween of last year--how cool is that??  Kylie's momma found a cool headpiece online, but my favorite part was Kylie's make-up.  Her mom put a fishnet stocking over her head and dabbed on green eye shadow to create cool-looking scales.

 

Lemme just say that if you're looking to win costume contests, dress your little gal up as Medusa.  The adults were crazy about this costume and kept commenting on it.   It was seriously awesome.  And yeah, this cute little Medusa (has that phrase ever been said before?) won the costume contest!

 

Here's my little shark protecting her personal space while taking a picture with her friend.  She's so much like her mother.  Good grief.

Halloween luminaries for (practically) free

All over Pinterest I have seen numerous versions of cute little Halloween luminaries made from jars.  In a stroke of complete non-genius and unoriginality, I made some, too. 

 

They're upcycled jars of various shapes and sizes, painted a solid color on the inside with details painted onto the outside.  Easy peasy, right?  And you most likely don't have to buy anything to make some of these.  In fact, your kiddos could do it.

 

I used a fine point sharpie for the finer details.  

 

My favorite happens to be this young Frankenstein.  He's kinda cute.

Why not polish off that jar of green olives and make some cute luminaries, too?  Mmmm.  Or perhaps some delicious bread and butter pickles. 

I'm feeling more luminaries coming on before the big day!

The Blue Shark!

If you read my often long-winded stories, then you'll probably remember the conversation I had with Junebug about her Halloween costume selection.

If you didn't read it, the conclusion was that my wee two year old had her heart set on being a blue shark for Halloween.  Why?   I'm still not really sure.  Kids sure are crazy amazing.  Seriously though, a blue shark?!

So, here's what I came up with.  I know it looks like a total goofy shark, but playful and silly is what I was going for.  I mean, it is a blue shark after all.  When's the last time you saw a scary blue shark during Shark Week?  Any shark attacks from blue sharks?  I think not.  Goofy was clearly the way to go.

I had no pattern--just a few ideas stored in my mind grapes (ahh, 30 Rock, please come back soon!).  Surprisingly, the costume came out just as I had envisioned it.  That almost never happens!

So, what did the shark's momma decide to dress up as?  Here's a small hint...

 

And another hint...

The only word to describe my costume is "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious".

simple spooky spiderwebs

 

Sometimes the best crafts are the simplest.  Sometimes the simplest crafts are the best.  I love crafts that anyone can do--limited budget, limited time, limited craft supplies... if you fit into any of those categories, this one's for you.

All you need to make some simple spooky spiderwebs is black cardstock or any thick black paper, a white crayon and an exacto knife.  

I'll let the pictures do the explaining...

Sure does beat buying those fake cobwebs to hang up in your house, right?  (Ok, ok, so I bought some of those, too.)  I feel satisfied when I can add holiday flair to my home and a.) spend little to no money and b.) not have to store stuff 11 months out of the year.  Seriously, I'll just toss these and make a few more next year.  If you're one of those super-organized types that I envy, I'll bet you have a file folder you can tuck these away in for safe keeping until next year.  Good for you. 

These webs required no effort other than to stick them in the thin space between the frames and glass of various pictures I have around the house.  No tape required, which is great since I can never seem to find my tape.

A penny for your thoughts?

My gal pal Suzanne is expecting and I'm excited to be planning a baby shower for her.  Due to the large number of guests and the size and layout of my home, we're opting for a "come-and-go" shower.

I realize that some people view "come-and-go" showers as tacky and unrefined (hmm... seems like I've heard that phrase before), but that's not the question I'm asking today. 

My question is:

Does this invite get the point across that it's a come-and-go shower?  If you read it without the preface I gave, would you "get it"?  (The black bars cover personal info; those will NOT be on the actual invite.)

The shower theme is clouds and raindrops (if you follow me on Pinterest then you've probably seen quite a bit of my inspiration).

Also, you may be thinking, daaaang, Tristin is way on top of things because it's October and she's planning a January shower.  Well, folks, I am SO not on top of things.  It's merely out of self-preservation that I'm already working on this shower.  You see, right after Christmas I'm helping with a New Year's wedding in Tampa, and then hosting this shower the following weekend.  It's all stuff I love, so I'm super-happy to do it, but because of the busy-ness of the season, I know I have to be ready early so I don't have a mental breakdown later.

So, does the invitation get the point across? 

And do you like the theme and style of the invitation?
 
And just for grins, what are your thoughts on come-and-go showers (if you hate 'em, you're welcome to say it but please do so nicely!)?

P.S.  I designed this invitation using the free features offered by Picnik.

The Raven Wreath

Let's start with a quick excerpt from Edgar Allan Poe's well-known poem, The Raven:

"Take thy beak from out my heart, and take thy form from off my door!'
Quoth the raven, `Nevermore.'"

In direct opposition to Poe's request to take the raven off of the door, I'm going to share with you the Raven-inspired wreath I made this year (which is proudly displayed on my front door--sorry Edgar!)

I used plain black cardstock for this wreath, but also threw in a sheet of starry scrapbook paper just for fun.  My goal was to create the look of feathers or scales (depending on your imagination).  I snagged this raven at my favorite thrift shop for a buck--but they're available at most craft stores for about the same price.

To make the scales/feathers, I used a heart-shaped punch and then cut each heart in half.  Obviously you don't have to use a punch--you can use scissors and this would be the perfect time to do free-hand cuts.  No need for perfection on what is meant to be a creepy wreath!

Hot glue is the perfect medium for affixing the paper to the wreath, and if you stagger the paper just right you'll cover the wreath without showing the ragged straw form below.

I left the hot glue strands because they kind of look like spider webs.  It had nothing to do with laziness and the fact that didn't want to spend an extra 5 minutes picking them off.  Yeah, right.

Stick your bird on the wreath, and there you have it!

P.S. A few days after I completed this wreath, Dana from made pinned this wreath on Pinterest. 

Very similar, huh?  Made with felt cut into oval shapes.  I almost decided not to share the project I had created after seeing this similar wreath, but then I got over it!  With so many blogs out there, it's tough to be original even when you think you're being original.  In the end, great minds think alike.

Real candy corn is terrible. Crocheted candy corn is awesome!

My love of amigurumi is in opposition to my very nature.  I don't like stuffed animals, I'm somewhat morally opposed to even the cutest of tchotchke and I really don't like tedious crafts.  But I LOVE amigurumi.  Ahh.  Amigurumi.

For no particular good reason, I made some amigurumi candy corn.  I really don't like candy corn, but it just seemed like the right thing to do.  (How many more things can I list in this post that I don't like?  Mayonnaise, Starbucks, bullies, seams in socks, artificial sweeteners, science fiction... yeah, I could keep going.)

But as much as amigurumi defies my nature and as much as I dislike candy corn--aren't these little guys so cute?

They were made using this free pattern from Lion Brand Yarn.

Junebug has been stuffing them into her pockets and you should hear how cute it sounds when she says "candy corn".

I'm thinking that we're going to pass these little candies out to the babies at church.  Junebug is going through the "mine!" phase of toddlerhood and so in the spirit of breaking that disgusting "MINE!" habit (yeah, it seriously makes me crazy) I think it will be quite nice to have her assist in giving a few small toys to others.  Maybe it'll go well, maybe it won't.  We'll see.  Either way, we're going to give a few things to others and see what we accomplish.

P.S.  If you can crochet but have never tried amigurumi, this candy corn pattern is a great one to start with.

P.P.S.  THANKS for voting for my cowl @ the Maybe Matilda crochet along.  I came in third place and won some fabulous crochet patterns!  (Read about the winners here.)

I need your help!

Hello pals--here goes some shameless self-promotion...

As I mentioned before, I joined in on the Crochet Along over at Maybe Matilda--and now it's time to VOTE!  There are tons of participants and lots of awesome-looking cowls.


Check out the participants and if you'd like to vote you can do so by clicking below ONE of the cowls! (They allow only one vote.)

I'm entry #2 if you want to vote for me which I would LOVE!  But if you like another, well, so be it.  ; ) Nevermind.  Just vote for mine.

If you must know, I voted for #5.  ; )

Also, if you must know, I currently have NO votes.  Here's to hoping you make my day (but not in the Clint Eastwood way).

Last year's costume

Recently I asked what your kiddos are being for Halloween this year.  Well, today I am going to share a conversation I had with my two year old that reveals her Halloween costume this year.

Me: "Elliott, would you like to be Mary Poppins for Halloween this year?"
Please, please, please child, just be agreeable for once in your life.

Junebug: "No, Mom.  Shark."
At this point, I'm not totally surprised about the "no" but where did shark come from??

Me: "Shark??"
Seriously kid, shark?!

Junebug: "Yes, mom.  Blue shark."
Man, I love her confidence.

Me: "Umm, ok."
Seriously??  Nuts.  That's gonna be a lot harder than Mary Poppins.


I totally thought she'd forget about this whole "blue shark" thing, but any time she's asked what she'll be for Halloween, Junebug answers "blue shark".


So, I bought some blue felt.  We'll see what we can come up with.


Last year, Junebug was a Ladybug for Halloween.  Kind of.  Read on if you want to see how I went about making last year's costume.

Please excuse the worse than usual photos and the poor formatting.  It's from last year... I guess that's my excuse.

Click below to read on...