halloween 2011

This is what my kids looked like when they left the house this morning. Great costumes, right? Kidding. The kids aren't allowed to wear Halloween costumes to school. It is disruptive to learning, apparently. Actually, I am sure it is disruptive to learning but, come on, it's only one day! They have still had lots of Halloween fun though. We went to the 'Trunk or Treat' at Church on Saturday and this afternoon we will be going to Michael's office for trick or treating and we'll make the rounds around the neighborhood tonight too.

Here they all are in their costumes at the Trunk or Treat:

Liam is a magician. I bought the hat at Party City. I made the cape and the bow tie and painted a wooden dowel for a wand.

Sutton is a fairy. Costume purchased at Costco. This is Sutton's first time wearing make-up. She looks way too grown up!

Ez as a fireman. Costume purchased at a second hand store for a few bucks.

Gemma is a cute little cow! Another Costco costume!

I kind of loved not sewing all the costumes myself this year. It was so easy and relaxed and everybody was happy!


Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween!

I love Halloween! I don't like the creepy, scary horror movie type Halloween and I don't particularly love trick or treating but I do love dressing up and having fun! I love that I don't have to worry about the over commercialization of Halloween or if my kids understand the "true meaning" of Halloween because there isn't one! Halloween is just for fun. I love letting my kids decide what they want to be and then creating it for them.

This year we dressed up as: A sumo wrestler, a mime, a lion, Strawberry Shortcake, and Nacho Libre.

Michael's Nacho Libre costume was made from ladies pants and jacket from Goodwill, a flesh colored t-shirt from Walmart, an old (but never even worn) swimsuit, a wig and a moustache. The knee pads and the boots were made from parts of the jacket.

Liam chose to be a mime and he took it seriously. He watched 'how to mime' instructional videos on youtube so he could play the part right. The hat, gloves and t-shirt were purchased at wal-mart, pants at Goodwill. I made the suspenders and the scarf.

Sutton loves Strawberry Shortcake and decided weeks ago to be her for Halloween. I was glad because I knew it would be a really easy costume to make. I bought the tights and made the skirt and hat. I appliqued the strawberry and diamonds onto a white-shirt she already had. Sutton's costume was the most expensive because of the tights and the fabric. I justified it though because it looked perfect and now that Halloween is over the skirt can be part of her regular wardrobe.

Ezra was a little lion. Liam and Sutton both wore this costume when they were little. I love it!

I decided to take advantage of my rotund figure and be a sumo wrestler. The shirt and the old lady stretchy pants came from walmart ($3/each on clearance!). I made the mawashi (diaper-y thing) from felt.

And because I have no pride... here is a shot of the back view:

To help you get that image our of your head here is another cute one of the kids:

I hope you all had a fun and safe Halloween!!

the cat in the hat

Last week at school all the first graders took part in a "Book Parade" where they made a poster and got to dress as favorite book character. Liam chose the cat from The Cat in the Hat. He had never mentioned that the Cat was his favorite character but I was on board because I figured that it was an easy costume to make.

It was Liam's idea (and he did it all himself) to add the curly-cue's to the letters.

The hat and bow-tie were made with felt. I copied Dana and added a pipe cleaner frame inside the hat. Although I should have added more pipe cleaners as the hat was still a little floppy.

Do you like the blue sharpie? It was near dinner time and in my rush I lost all attention to detail. Oh well.

The whiskers are my favorite part of the costume. I think it really makes the costume. Made with pipe cleaners sandwiched between two felt circles with elastic cord.

He loved his costume. Can you tell? And how cute is Thing One next to him?

halloween

I was so entertained by my kids while we were trick or treating that I forgot to take pictures! Bad mom! There were a couple of houses that went all out and were pretty creepy. Only I didn't realize they were that creepy until we were already close the the houses (our neighborhood has long semi-steep driveways). Liam would pull his hat low so he couldn't see the scary stuff. His plan back fired a little because he couldn't see to walk either! Sutton forced me to carry her. I was laughing so hard at the two of them. See? Laughing at my kids fear? I am a bad mom!

Anyhow these poorly lit and staged photos are all I have. Oh well!

Gandolf and Belle (notice the bottom of Sutton's dress? It's totally wet. Trick or Treating in the rain? Not so fun!)

Gandolf

The up-do (thanks Lindsay!) looked much prettier before the rain!

My beautiful Belle.

happy halloween!

Have a happy and safe Halloween dear friends!!

the beard

Liam's Gandolf costume is done. You guys had such fantastic ideas for the beard. I would have put your ideas to use except I had already purchased the materials for making this beard. I am mostly happy with how it turned out. The length and shape (especially the crookedness of it) I think are perfect. The color is off though. I couldn't find and gray or white trim, only brown. Maybe Liam can be a young Gandolf?

All is not lost though... the beard has already seen a lot of use. Liam wore it constantly for two days after I made it. And it even looks good on me:


Maybe next Halloween I will be the bearded lady. Totally hot, right? RIGHT?

I'll be posting more pictures of the kids in their costumes soon.

one down one to go

For the last 8 months or so Sutton has insisted she will be Belle for Halloween. Last week, without a pattern, I turned an old sheet and 8 yards of tulle into the awesomest Belle ever (pardon my pride, I am REALLY happy with how this turned out). I probably spent at least five hours on the costume. Two days ago Sutton announced that she wanted to be a ballerina. I was not happy to hear that and happily I was able to convince her to where the Belle dress. She was pleased with it once she was dressed. I curled her hair and even put a touch of make-up on her.


Liam just recently made his final choice for his costume. He started describing it for me as he sketched "a wizard with no wand but a long staff. a pointy hat and a long beard. a belt and a money pouch."

Once I saw his sketch I said "you want to be Gandolf". Liam has no idea who Gandolf is. He has never seen Lord of the Rings (he is only 6) but somehow that is exactly what he was describing:

Creating a beard will be the most challenging part of this costume. I think I will use Merrilee's beard idea. The rest will be cake. I bought a braided belt at Salvation Army for $1.50 and I think I have enough fabric in my stash for the tunic, cape and hat. The staff will be found in the back yard.

I have no idea what Ezra will be. A friend of mine made the coolest Where the Wild Things Are costume for her baby. A brilliant idea but I don't want to copy her. I am running out of time...