Halloween Recap!

Yes, I know... this post is a few days late, but I hope everyone had a fantastically fun filled Halloween out there. Despite the evening getting off on the wrong foot ( E didn't want to wear his costume! ) we got to enjoy a night filled with tricks or treats...well, really just the treats.

I spent the Thursday before baking lots of candy corn cupcakes, making chocolate covered pretzels, and filling treat bags with all kinds of goodies for Eamon's annual school party and putting the finishing touches on his costume. With a child who hates wearing anything on his head, I needed to make a few adjustments to what was to be the chain mail ( I think it is called a coif )and crown in order for it to fit just right. Come Friday morning, however, we chose not to send him to school in his "special" costume for fear of it getting ruined. Instead, he simply revisited his Doctor Who hat an scarf for the day, which was fine because it is still absolutely adorable.



Although he was totally into wearing his hat and scarf all weekend, come Halloween night it took lots of coercing to get Eamon into becoming a knight. After promises that he would be seeing his friends trick or treating and mommy putting together a last minutes costume for herself (I was an old-time bandit like the ones Ralphie shoots in the Christmas story with his Red Rider BB gun - which is probably Eamon's favorite movie) he finally set up in his costume and we headed out for tricks or treats and a few visits to see friends and neighbors. We covered about seven or eight city blocks before his little feet tired out and he was tired of wearing his outfit. Even though the only candy he eats are plain chocolate bars (he has never actually cared for anything sweet), he was excited to dump his pumpkin of candy onto the floor and show off his treats.


 I was pleased at how the costume came out over all. The crocheted coif was a bit difficult to eyeball without a pattern, but when you're trying to save money for more important things, spending $30 on etsy for a similar hat just wasn't warranted since I could easily make it myself. The crown was actually made from the leftover fabric from the curtains I made for Eamon's room a little while back, so I lucked out having to but any more material.

The next few hours were sparingly filled with kids looking for something sweet. I made close to 200 treat bags and since Halloween was on a Saturday I though we would get swarmed with kids all evening. It was quite the opposite. Before sunset most of the young kids came out and by about seven o'clock the trick or treating was pretty much over (except for the ignorant teenagers demanding candy without costume). I was really disappointed in the lack of children and their obvious lack of enthusiasm in the whole holiday. Few kids really seemed "into it" and even fewer parents showed any effort. Lots of last minutes Spidermans and Batmans with very little in between. I feel really sad about this. Maybe it's living in the city that has turned kids away from the uniqueness and individuality of the holiday; maybe its lazy parents; maybe its a generation of entitlists being raised to expect heaping rewards with little to no work involved; either way, I hope that the rest of the world's Halloween doesn't become like this. You see lots of  creativity in online posts and blogs, but sadly the reality of the holiday feels like quite the opposite. But enough of feeling like a Negative Nelly...it's time to start brainstorming for next year's costumes!

Halloween Costume - Part II - Handmade Narnia Themed Knight's Shield

It has been a grueling past two weeks, full of household remodeling, hours at work, and me trying my best to get back into my gym & running routine. And despite the lack of sleep from the anxiety and clutter that are part of "construction," I am slowly getting things done. This includes adding more to E's Halloween costume. The stores are busy with candy and costumes and we have already gone through The Great Pumpkin movie at least a hundred times, so I know I only have a little time to get my act together.

I have been working on the chain mail hat/crown piece slowly but surely. With a little one who despises having anything on his head, that part will definitely be taking up more time that it should. Thus, I turned to something more simple: the shield. This piece was probably the easiest to put together; actually, there was little effort at all. Just a steady hand and a place to paint.

Inspiration:

Just like part one of this three-part Halloween Costume series, I took my inspiration from this lovely (and I mean lovely) blog from At The Picket Fence. This AMAZING mom threw an AMAZING Narnia party that would make any kid jealous, so definitely check her page out.

Supplies:

• wood display base
• spray paint in desired color ( I used acrylic silver )
• stencil
• red acrylic paint ( or other desired color )
• fine paintbrush
• polyurethane
• construction staples or small tack nails
• scrap cloth thick enough to make a handle
• sewing machine & thread (or needle to hand sew)  

The Project: 


Using one of those "wood block things" from the craft store that are typically used for displaying purposes (I always image taxidermy when I see them), I crafted a shield small enough for a toddler of the tiny-variety. Some silver spray paint, the same stencil from the smock, a paintbrush, some red acrylic, a piece of leftover fabric, and some small tack nails were what I used for this project.

After two generous coats of silver paint (wood is porous and this piece was not primed), I allowed the shield to dry overnight outside (where it was cooler and kept the fumes from the house). I applied the stencil and traced with a pencil to outline. Some bold, red acrylic paint worked wonderfully to bring out the piece's authenticity. I was pleased, also, at the steadiness of my hand, since I had not done any "fine" painting in quite some time. (Walls and ceilings don't count as art!)



After the paint dried entirely, I applied a thin coat of I folded over some blue scrap fabric to construct a handle. After a little measuring and a top stitch with a complimenting thread, I used some small tack nails to secure the handle into place. I made sure to use something small enough but would also keep the handle in place after some play. You can also opt for construction staples, however, be sure to check the depth of your wood before to make sure nothing "pokes through" that can cut your little one.




Cost: 
Although the project wasn't difficult I am really happy with how it came out.  The colors are so vibrant and the sizing was just right for my little guy. I splurged a little for the spray paint and bout one that is about $8 a can (but I used my 40% off AC Moore coupon), but the wood block was only $1.99. The acrylic paint and fabric and tacks were all things I had on hand, so this piece cost me about $5 - $6 to make, but it matches the costume so perfectly and this is something my little guy can continue to play for a long time if he chooses.

Halloween Costumes - Part I - Handmade Narnia Themed Knight

Pintrest, Pinterest, Pinterest! What did we ever do without Pintrest?!

I love searching Pinterest for ideas for almost everything, so when I needed to find some costume ideas for E I got the browsing. I found this blog post online for a Narnia inspired birthday accompanied by an adorable knight costume. The next day I hit the fabric store and grabbed some velvety-maroon fabric, some grey yarn, and felt (along with some other things for myself) and crossed my fingers.  I couldn't wait to have a go. Although Eamon has never actually seen Narnia, both of his parents are big fans.

Here it goes!

The construction of the vest was quite easy to make but still took some time since little one would not allow me to measure him properly! After some squirming I decided it was much easier to simply grab one of his shirts and measure from there. I began with half a yard of fabric which I ironed some straight seams for the sides and applied fray block (don't worry, it does not stain, despite what the photo may look like). Although this wasn't a necessary step, I noticed that the fabric ends frayed easily so I found no harm in it. Next, I applied some black fusible interfacing (found HERE, however I purchased on fabric row here in Philly) to the back of the "smock" to eliminate having to sew a backing on it, especially since the fabric was already thick enough. The color of the interface makes it look clean and polished without adding any extra sewing steps.

For the neck I used a t-shirt to draw out a circle from the center, making sure it was large enough to pull over. After, I sewed on some matching bias tape (aka the devil!) to the collar and sides, but chose some gold fringe for the bottom just like the blog showed. I applied the bottom with fabric glue and allowed to dry overnight before I ironed the piece to get it ready for the applique. A piece of gold felt and a lion stencil (found HERE ON PINTEREST) finished up the vest. I applied this with a little tacky glue as well. Not exactly the cheapest costume, but nonetheless adorable, and I was able to buy a lot of the pieces from local shops.




Eamon didn't quite understand the vest but did like the fact that it had a gold lion, or as he called it, the Lion of Sodor (he is a huge Thomas the Tank Engine fan). Since he wasn't familiar with Narnia yet we keep telling him he is going to be a Knight of Sodor for Halloween. 

Supplies & Cost:

Here's a quick recap on what was used...

- 1/2 yard poly/velvet blend fabric: $7.49
- black fusible interfacing: no cost, part of my stash!
- gold felt: $.49
- 1 pack maroon bias tape: $2.49
- fringe: $3.95
- thread: on hand

Although the original post uses a ribbon tie to secure the piece, I used some glue-on velcro since E is so small and I didn't want the tie to cover up the design on the front.

Check back to see the progress on the rest of the costume along with some tutorial and how-to guides.

Tutorial Tuesday: Burlap Wreath

It's (finally) fall! ...and with fall comes all of the beautiful colors of the leaves, cool and crisp weather, and lots of home remodeling for me! Some people Spring Clean, well I prefer the fall to complete all of my remodeling projects and spruce ups.

I love getting back into decorating around this time of year, especially because I get to utilize earth tones and textures for the season. I love browns and yellows and oranges all mixed together, so last year I decided to make a burlap wreath for my front door. I coveted the ones on ETSY but knew that I could make something comparable for half of the cost (Thank you AC Moore Coupons!). Although the burlap was about $5 a roll at regular price (and the rolls were on the small size), I simply made a couple of trips for all of my supplies and had the hubby buy some with his own coupon code at the store. In addition to the ring and burlap, I found some adorable little ornaments on clearance for between $.50 to $1 each at the time. In all, I think I spent under $20 for what sells for over $40 (+shipping) online.

I had never made a wreath before, but took the blogosphere for help. I found an easy tutorial at Little Lovely Leaders that had lot of photos to guide me through the process. In all I am proud of how it came out and it held up really well so far (as it was sitting in storage since last year).



To change it up a bit during the fall I buy small wood signs with things like "Happy Fall," "Happy Halloween," and "Give Thanks" (for Thanksgiving)at the craft store and hang them in the center. This way I am able to keep it up the entire season and still add a little more decoration to the door for the holidays.

What I Made - Squids!

This week has been super busy for me (as they usually...eh, always are). A long series of unfortunate circumstances has been forcing me to remodel/refurbish the upstairs bedrooms for the past few weeks and I have been putting in long hours at the office as well with some serious cases. This leaves little time for other things let alone craft work.

I had been working on this long-term project for a friend who became obsessed with a squid scarf she saw online somewhere and wanted to know if I could make it. "Sure!" I said and sent her out to get the yarn in the color she wanted. I didn't know what I was getting into!



The scarf construction was a piece of cake: I used the same method I would use to make shoe bottoms to make it one continuous piece that wasn't square like a regular scarf would be. But...ALL THE DAMN SUCKERS! Yup, some 40 suckers and lots of hours later (it was a stop and go project with hard to work with yarn) I was finished. YAY! But wait, there's more. Not only was there a scarf involved, but the leftover yarn turned into talks of a hat. Oy! I didn't know what a squid hat would look like but I gave it a try. Apparently I did ok because she was quite happy with the finished product.


The finished products
I'm pleased to say that I have quite a group of eccentric friends...many of whom now want to be little squids for the winter.