this is halloween

My kids get reallllllly into their Halloween costumes. 

I found that out last year when I took some creepily haunting photos of them in a cemetary. 

I had no plans of a photo session this year.....but when I finally got their costumes done (you know, the day before Halloween) they put them on and asked for some "scary pictures". 

ok.

My little vampire bat. 

Just a few pictures of her swooping around looking for her next victim (she has already "sucked the blood" out of most of her stuffed animals, and our poor cat.)

And I must say, this boy makes the cutest Harry Potter. 

He is in the middle of book 5 right now and has been sooooooooo excited to actually BE Harry Potter. 

He plays the part well, don't you think?

This was the easiest year ever for costumes.....here is what you need:

Vampire Bat:

black shirt

black leggings

black shoes

black fabric to make "wings" and sew to sleeves

black felt and elastic for a simple mask

vampire teeth

red lipstick

Harry Potter:

robe: after a bit of research I actually found it was cheaper to buy a robe online than to make it (plus my [lack of] sewing skills would never hold up to this kid running around for the next few months casting spells)

harry potter glasses- found online for $3

-he had a white collard shirt and red tie in his closet. we added some yellow tape to the tie

-wand-it's a stick!

-scar--it's eyeliner!

Happy Halloweening!

things that go bump in the night.....

a little back story: 

our family loves to visit the Salt Lake Cemetery.....is that weird? We end up there a few times a year and just like to wander--we even like to take out of town guests to visit. It is filled with so much important history-- like pioneers that crossed the the plains to settle here in the valley. Birth dates back to the 1700s! If you are a little bit of a history nerd, I highly recommend it. 

I finished the kids' costumes today, and as soon as they were home from school they were anxious to try them on. And then we figured....since they had them on.....let's do a test run on the makeup too. And then I joked that we should take their pictures in the cemetery.....

.....totally joking.....

....and then they said....

YESSSSS!!!!!

hahaha.....haha...ha. 

But I was kidding. 

But then I decided.....why not?

And we had the BEST time. 

Ever. 

They were so......IN to it. 

It was a little bit creepy. 

So I decided that THIS was how kids were meant to be photographed--wearing what they want, acting exactly how they want to act. 

Cemetery optional.....because that's a little weird. 

Little Werewolf

basically all you need for this is some fur fabric, fake teeth, and face paint. 

I made the fastest skirt ever with some sale fabric and made it tattered at the bottom. 

Hot glued some fur on to some old leggings with holes in the knees. 

Took the sleeves off an old tiny jacket. 

Glued some fur on to her gloves. 

Made a fur tail, stuffed it with batting and sewed it to her shirt. 

Made some furry little ears and glued them to a headband. 

The rest is just personality....and she's got it.

Dracula

black pants (we already had them)

white shirt (one of his church shirts)

black vest and necklace that I've worn for a pirate before

a small piece of red faux satin for a fancy scarf

black faux satin for a cape. 

for the collar I cut out a "collar shape" from some card stock, and then glued it between two pieces of black felt so it was stiff and able to stand up. I then sewed it to the top of the cape.

Add face paint, some black hair spray, fake teeth, and a creepy little gaze. 

Happy Weekend!

all dressed up

When I was little, our Halloween costumes were always handmade--my favorites were the time I was a tiger, and the time I was Jem. We have continued the tradition of homemade costumes around here--and luckily my kids haven't requested anything too crazy yet. It's fun to do, much cheaper to make your own, and it's pretty much guaranteed that your kids won't show up to the party in the same costume as someone else.  If you and your kiddos are still looking for THE perfect costume for Halloween (how did it sneak up on us so fast?), here are some of ours from the past couple of years, with basic instructions (very basic--I am no seamstress--believe me) and some links to instructions. 

It's pretty fun what you can do with a little hot glue and felt. 

2009. Black Widow and Police Man. 

Black Widow: 

-black onesie (super cheap at walmart)

-black tights (already owned)

-black shoes (already owned)

-black fabric for legs

-red felt

-batting to stuff legs

-tulle

-elastic

hot glue a red hourglass shape onto the onesie. 

sew four long black tubes and stuff with batting. sew onto onesie. (you could also use black stuffed pantyhose for this. 

I made a very basic tulle skirt by cutting long strips of tulle and tying them onto the elastic 

easy.

Police Man:

blue pants and shirt (both thrifted)

felt for a "tie" and police badge and stripes (hot glued on)

I found the police hat online for a couple dollars (sorry but I cannot make hats), and a little police kit with walkie talkie, whistle, and cuffs for super cheap. Easiest costume ever.

2010. Frankenstein and Skunk 

easy how to on this post HERE

2011 Luke Skywakler 

5 minute robe tutorial on this post HERE

2011 Piggy

How to on this post HERE

Some of you know that for Robby's family reunion each year we all dress up for our theme night. 

Here are my two favorite years

2008 Pirates. 

Pirate costumes are so easy to throw together. Robby and I literally got our stuff the day OF the party at the thrift store. Cut off some old pants, add ruffly shirts, vests, belts, jewels, add a bandanna, an eye patch, and maybe a few whiskers with eyeliner. done.

2010 Cavemen. 

Animal print fabric sewn in a tube with some arm holes cut out.....that's basically all you need. A wig unless you already have caveman hair (uh, I do).

Check out THIS POST for how to make clubs and bones and the kids costumes. 

I'm currently working on a little boy vampire costume and a little girl werewolf costume.....I'll post those sometime soon. 

What are you dressing up as this year? 

a pig and her pumpkins

I decided to post a super special weekend post juuuuussssttt in case you woke up this morning in a cold sweaty panic because "tomorrow is Halloween and I don't have a costume for __________"

This costume is about as simple as they come, and could work for any man/woman/child. 

In fact, I dare a grown man to wear this costume--that would  be pretty awesome.

What you need:

-long sleeve pink shirt (this turtleneck was at Walmart for $3.88!)

-old t-shirt or tank top 

-pink pants/socks/shoes (we had all of these)

-pink felt

-batting
-hair clips
-hot glue

-heavy gage floral wire

-pink blush/lip gloss

-needle and thread

-masking tape

-Take the old tank top/t-shirt and sew it to the inside of the long sleeve pink top
(turn both shirts inside out to do so). It's like you are making a pillow

Just connect the two bottom hems, and then right at the top of the sleeves so it stays in place.
 This is so you can stuff the shirt and make your little piggy fat, and the stuffing won't actually touch their skin.
The stuffing goes between the two layers.
This is a picture taken AFTER it's all done, but it should give you the idea.

I used a sewing machine to do the job--and it was super quick (and I really, really do not sew) but you could also do it by hand.

-Stuff the batting between the two layers (don't connect the top all the way--you need holes to stuff through)

-Cut ears out of felt and attach to hair clips with hot glue.
-wrap floral wire with felt, twist, and glue to secure. Stitch by hand onto back of shirt.

-Cut a pig shaped snout out of felt and stick it to your little piggy's nose with masking tape.
yep. masking tape. It removes and re-sticks easily and she didn't mind it at all.

Dress head to toe in pink, finish with some rosy pink cheeks and lips and you are officially a pig.

OINK.

and now....a little peek at our halloweeny weekend.

happy haunting!

Luke......I am your.....mother.

I present to you:

Luke Skywalker

via Hanes Her Way

in 5 minutes. 

REALLY! 

Easiest costume ever, and quite possibly the happiest moment of my little Jedi's life was the moment he slipped it on and transformed into character.

And BONUS: No sewing needed. 

I mean....I guess you could hem it if you really wanted to. 

But I am lazy time efficient in a rush, and the boy didn't care.

Cut a small v-neck into the shirt. 

Continue one of the cuts across the shirt (about 2/3 of the way) to start the tunic shape.

Cut the sleeves. I kept them longish-I liked how they looked rolled.

Cut straight down and out the bottom.

Wrap your "tunic" around your jedi and belt it. 

I put a safety pin in it, because I know he will be light-sabering everything in sight. 

The boy already had white baseball pants, which made it extra easy-but I'm sure you can find white sweats just about anywhere.

I got the belt at a thrift store for $1 and trimmed it up/made a new hole so it would fit.

Made a small envelope style pouch with felt, hot glue, and a metal button.

Borrowed sister's boots.

And if your little guy is asking to be Luke Skywalker for Halloween.....chances are he already has his very own light saber. 

VWALLA!!!! 

Luke Skywalker.

The girl is dressing up as a pig (still working on it), but it is also suuuuuuper easy. 

Pink clothing + a stuffed shirt + felt.

See last year's Frankenstein and Skunk here.

Happy Halloweening!

happy halloween

...it's like I have a full on Sears backdrop in my  house....

frankenstein: green face paint + eyeliner + bronzer + hairspray + his own plaid shirt + old pants cut off + a 5 minute burlap vest + batting stuffed in his shirt + cut off gloves.

the stinky skunk: a $4 black shirt + a felt tummy + a stuffed felt tail + fur trim + felt ears hot glued to clips.

easy peasy.

so......we like to dress up

If you happened to stumble upon our end-of-summer (Robby's side) family get together....you might just think we are crazy. And maybe we are. But let me tell you....crazy is fun! So WHAT if we're having a full-on themed costume party in September while we all stay on the beach....that's how we like it!

With Halloween coming up right around the corner, I thought I'd share the last few years of our family's costumes.....because, not to toot our own horns.....but TOOT TOOT!

I think we are pretty good.

I have no idea how the whole dressing up thing started really. We used to thrown on a lei or a cowboy hat and call it good. But then a few years ago, our theme night was "Pirates" and we all got a little bit out of control.

note: we never ever ever know what each other are wearing. It's always a surprise, and always so fun to see how well we coordinate!)

Pirates.

the ladies. yes. that first one is a lady. one of my very favorites too.

What you need to be a pirate:

(all these items were thrifted.....some the day of the party!)

-women's blouses. gah. I hate the word blouse. But in this case, the blousier, the better.

-women's vests.

-cut offs.

-gaudy jewelry and accessories, or a TON of your own jewelry layerd

-anything striped

-bandanas

-my little family's eyepatches and clip on earrings were the only things we bought new.

-eyeliner of course! perfect for hairy eyebrows, whiskers, moles, blacked out teeth, and Jack Sparrow's famous guyliner look.

next up: Super Heros!!

more special than super.

What you need to be a superhero:

-Anything shiny!

-emergency blankets!

-shiny fabric from Walmart

-my shiny leotard was thrifted

-belts, thrifted

-sparkle tights on clearance

-shiny oxfords for $3 at Forever 21

-I made the girl's skirt super fast with some tulle

And this year.....

Cavemen!!

(ha! the best part about this photo is that kyle and ryan s. are so hairy you can't even see them!)

We have never looked lovelier.

What you need to be a caveman:

-animal print--I swear the cheap stuff is always on sale at Joann's. I made all of our costumes with 3 yds. I do NOT sew--these were basically just tubes with arm and head holes.

-"bones" for our hair made from tinfoil wrapped in masking tape and then burnt on the stove

-clubs made from tin foil, butcher paper, and masking tape burnt on the stove

-the boy's tooth necklace is masking tape

-Robby's necklace is an actuall skeleton he found on the beach. gross.

-heavy on the bronzer, and eyeliner for facial hair, awesome teeth, moles, and smudges

-You really do need my hair on this one

and that is us in a nutshell.

The funny thing is, it has never occurred to me to maybe take a photo of the eight of us kids (Robby's, two bros, one sis, and spouses) all NOT dressed up.

We really are semi normal looking people in real life, I swear.