Last Minute Halloween

Are you in search for a Halloween candy bucket for your kids. . .

If you order a kids meal at McDonald's, the kids get there meal in that bucket!!  They are super cute and the perfect size for getting candy!  Plus they get to decorate it with potato head stickers! If you don't need one for Halloween, kids still love buckets. . .right??

Spooky Lanterns

So every year our church does a Trunk-or-Treat. And we needed a few things to spice up our trunk. I thought it would be cute to make some spooky latern.  They would look better with some light in them, but we did not have any tea lights. Some creepy music and some fake spider webs and we are set. Oh, and don't forget the jack-o-laterns that we will be carving on Friday.

Goodie-Goodie-Gumdrops

My second youngest is going to be Jolly for Halloween.

I used the same pant pattern as I did for Mr. Mint and just cut it shorter and added some elastic to the bottom of the legs.  I ironed on pink spot using heat and bond.   For the collar, I used a really long and skinny piece of white fabric.  I added pink to the edge, and then down the middle used elastic to gather the fabric, by zig-zagging over the elastic (which makes a casing of thread)-be careful not to catch the elastic, or it won't scrunch or stretch right for you.

For Halloween I will probably color his hair purple, and color his nose purple, and I think get some purple tights.  I still have to figure out what to do for his shoes. . .

Again my husband thinks he looks like a girl, but this is probably the last Halloween that my kids are going to let me dress them up, so I'm having fun with it :)

Continuation of Candyland

My second oldest is a boy and he is going to be Mr. Mint for Halloween.

This is so so easy and it turned out really cute. . .but I'm a little bias :)

For the pants (which i think I need to make a little shorter, or gather them) I just used an easy pant pattern, and then added strips for fabric for the straps. 

I made the "socks" by just using leftovers from the hat and sewing it together to form a tube.  I spray painted some old shoes red.

I made cute little buttons to cover up the seams and to add a little bit of fun to it.  My husband thinks I am dressing my boys up like girls . . .but it's candyland and I think he looks handsome :)

The hat is my favorite part, but was by accident it turned out this way.  I first made a tube type hat, and when I was done I thought it looked to much like Cat-in-the-Hat so I pulled the top together to get a little pom-pom effect.  The kids are so excited for Halloween, come back later this week to see what my two youngest are going to be!! :)

Halloween Bouquet

These fun things are actually made out of my kids hand prints.  So this would be a fun Halloween gift along with a treat for Grandparents.  My kids helped me with this project, and for age, I would say this would be best for 4 and up.  My three year old LOVED it, but I had to help him with every step.  My 4 year old was able to trace and cut his own hand out.  Anyway if you really wanted to get fancy you could use dowels for the stems, to make them a little more sturdy to use year after year.

First you trace and cut out a hand. 

 Then using a pencil curl the fingers.

 The you will want to roll the hand up so the fingers are curled outward, and stick a pipe cleaner through the hole at the bottom of the rolled up hand.  I just used what I had around, but it would be fun to use black.

 Use a stapler to hold it together down at the bottom.

We added eyes at the bottom to hold them in and some glow-in-the-dark paint to the leaves to make them look really eerie :)-

Princess/Queen Crown and Wand

My children this year are going to be characters from the board game Candyland.  My oldest is a girl and she is going to be Queen Frostine.

For her dress I used an old bridesmaids dress and cut it shorter and added some white fluff.  Nothing to extreme, but I ended up making her wand and crown, so I thought I would share how to make an easy crown and wand, for any kind of princess.

I lost my camera so the pictures of the steps are also lost, so I am going to do my best to explain without them. 

For the crown, I took a plastic headband that I had and formed out of wire the shape of the crown.  I glued the crown form to the headband.  I cut strips of the same white fluffy fabric I used on the dress, and wrapped the fabric around the wire and headband.  Every so often I would secure the fabric with a little thread.  After I wrapped the fabric, I wrapped some beads I had leftover from another project.

For the wand I also formed the design out of wire, and wrapped it the same way as I did the crown, but for the handle I used a dowel so it would be a little more sturdy. My Queen Frostine loved how it turned out!

This would even be fun to make for birthday or Christmas gift for any girl who loves to play dress up!

Spooky Boxes

Okay so here is a cheap cute idea. The box is forever old, but here is a new spin and a new design. These boxes are super easy to make. I decided to make mine out of double sided Halloween paper!

Stables add a fun element and help keep the box together. Plus it is super fast. If you fold it the oppisite way you get the short fat box. I put some candy and ripped up paper to fill the box.

I also have a template for a box with a lid! Add a cute little ribbon, and you have a fun little gift box you can make for your kids friends, or it is so easy they can do it!

First you cut out the template.

Then you fold each side toward the center. You do this on all four sides.

Then you put the sids of the box together so that the triangle is on the outside of the box.

You press it over, and you can tape, glue or stable it.

Here is the PDF of the file of the boxes. You can make them for any occation. They also make great party favor boxes!

Alternative to Carving Pumpkins

I know carving Pumpkins is the tradition, but pumpkins just keep getting more and more expensive, and this might be a fun way to keep your pumpkins year after year or maybe just a fun craft to do with the kids. First find the size of terra cotta pots that you would like to use.  I just used what I had around so mine are little.  This is a great time of year to do a project like this because all the garden stuff is going on sale.

Next give them a few coats of orange paint.

I used felt to make my eyes and mouth, but you could also use paint.  Add a stem and some leaves.

Ours are out front and have become the welcoming committee!

Note:  I took the picture before the glue dried.  So that white stuff on top will eventually become clear

Easy Trick-or-Treat Bag....

Okay so here is a tutorial on a very easy Trick or Treat bag that will last forever! Your kids will be using this bag until they don't Trick-or-Treat! Oh, and did I mention that it is super cheap!

So first pick two fabrics that you like together... I chose a purple to go with my candycanes, because there is a purple dot and this is for my daughter. I made one for my son last year! Decide what size you want. For example if you want a bag that is 10x12 then you need to cut it 101/2x 16 1/2. You need to add 4 inches to the length because of how we are going to do the bottom.

After you have cut your fabric to size then you sew one of the end together and then press the fabric so at the bottom it makes a "W". The point of the W should be going in toward the right side of your fabric. Do that with both colors.

Then sew the sides together... If you want any embellishment on the front like I did, then I would do that before you sew the sides to gether. Once you have both colors with three sides sewn. Then you will do the straps. Cut then to the width you want and add your seam allowance. Turn them, and then sew down each side. Attach to the right side of your bag with pins.

Now it is time to sew your bag together. Turn the linning so that it is facing the right side of the front of the bag. then sew the top. Be sure to leave about 2 inches to flip the bag. Once you have sewn around it and flip it stuff the linning in the bag. and sew around the top. About a quarter of and inch from the top. And you bag is done! Now you have an awesome Halloween bag for about 2 dollars. You can make one of these bags depending on you demensions out of two fat quarters. 2 bags out of a half of a yard of two fabrics.

Shooo Fly Don't Bother Me

So I thought that it would be a fun idea to dress my children up so that they go together. I was going to do Peter Pan, but I thought that my in-laws were going to dress up in Peter Pan characters. So I thought what could I do so that I can make my daughter (Princess P) a tutu. So I came up with a very girly fly... and my son is going to be an exterminator. I thought that this was a pretty good idea. I made the wings with a wire hanger, cheap tights, and glitter. The total cost fo the wings were 3.50. What you do is shape your hangers then tie the ends together with yarn, leave a string out so that you can tie them together. Tie them together and then you take cheap tights... you know the ones that come in the gum ball containers. You can buy them for fifty cents. Knee highs work great! You cover your forms then you sew the ends shut. Glue where you want glitter, and add the gitter. You then could add elastic for arm holes, or I did ribbon so the front of her costume had a little more to it.

The bug eyes are so easy. You take a foam ball the size you want and cut it in half then you add the sequence of your choice. I chose ones with pink to match the glitter I needed some girl colors.

Then I attatched the eyes to another knee high that I had sewn together. For the headband you cut each end off and then sew it together so that it makes a circle. I like to sew it so it is squished, and you get some bunching... that is so cute. The eyes cost me about 4 dollars.

 The tutu is just an elastic that is cut to her size and sewn together. Then I took two yards of tulle and cut it into 2 to 2 1/2 inch strips then I cut those strips into four sections. I tied two strips together on the elastic band. I did that all the way around that is how you get the full look. The total cost of the tutu was about 4 dollars.

So the total cost of this adorable fly costume is 11.50!

And the black tutu is totally reusable!

Halloween gifts...

Cake stands can be used for a lot of things. And normally cake stands can be a little expensive here is a cake stand idea that you could make for around 2 dollars. You can go to any store and find a plate and bowl that look good together. I like to look at clearance items. Normally you can find a plate and bowl for a dollar each. Or you can head down to a thrift store.

 So you find a bowl and a plate that match.

I love the look of this plate it looks so antique.

I bought all-porpose cement glue for a dollar and placed a generous amount of glue on the bottom rim of the bowl.

Make sure you get it all the way around.

Then place it in the center of the bottom of your plate. I place two heavy books on it, so that it would adhere completly. Let it set for 24 hours.

All finished. Now you have some time to make some delicous Halloween cookies to put on them.

This makes a great gift for about 5 dollars.

And it looks yummy. And beautiful. You can let them keep the cake stand because it was nice and cheap, and they will think you spent some good money on it.

I love my Mummy

I went to a friends house today and she had some amazing decorations up for Halloween.  I am not big into doing a lot of decorations, but I thought I needed to do a little something, and this was so much fun, there might be more to come!

First I took a Pringles can and cut it so one side was taller than the other.

 Next I took some white fabric I had and tore it into strips.

 Then I tied the strips together, so it was one long strip of fabric.

 I started to wrap the fabric around the can, but then I noticed that the can's colors were coming through, so I took some other white (i think it was a piece of batting by the yard I had left over) and wrapped it around the can.

 Then I continued to wrap the white tied fabric around it.  Added some eyes and they look so cute on my counter.

This would be really cute to do in orange for pumpkins, or black for bats or even a witch!