Let's Dress Up - Halloween Costumes 2017

2017 has literally flown by. Here it is, the end of October and I have not even caught up on my posts from September! One of my favorite things about fall, besides the cooler, weather, changing colors, crunching leaves . . . .  Okay, let’s be real. I love almost everything about fall! But, one of the most fun things I do is to create Halloween costumes for each of our grandkids.  And this year is no exception.

We now have six grandchildren, ranging in ages from 11 years to 16 months.  For the first time since I’ve known him, Michael picked out a store-bought “morph suit” costume and I can’t wait to see him all dressed up.  But, each of the others had special requests that I was happy to comply with. First up was Adellelyn. I received this picture in a text and knew I needed to follow up with a Facetime consultation to be sure I could capture her vision.

Adellelyn had very specific instructions for her Blue Maccaw (from RIO) costume:

·      Feathers under her arms to be her wings using the boa below

·      Light aqua blue color

·      Tulle is too scratchy

·      Soft full skirt for tail feathers 

For some reason, I can't find any photos of the outfit while working on it--I could have sworn I took some.  :-(  While she added different pants for a book character day costume, you can get a glimpse of what I created in this picture:

Archer loves dinosaurs! Last year I made a fun triceratops costume from a pattern I found online, but this year he wanted to be a T Rex.  There aren’t lots of great tutorials or patterns for a T Rex, so with old episodes of “Project Runway” playing, I channeled my inner Tim Gunn and “made it work”.  I pretty much love the way it all turned out!

Toddler D has been talking about his costume for months: a pumpkin! He went to the fabric store with me and also requested that it be very soft, so soft he gets!

For comparison's sake, here is a picture of his daddy at about the same age.  :-)

His other request was that his baby brother be his pumpkin seed. Instead, I was able to negotiate with him to carry seeds and let BabyD2 have a different costume. I made a treat bag with felt seeds on the front, but he really wanted to carry real seeds, so I added a clear plastic pocket to the front to hold his real pumpkin seeds.

Silas didn’t quite understand what picking out a costume meant, so his parents and I decided to go with one of his favorite books:  Dragons Love Tacos.  Silas will be the dragon, Jana the taco and Rob will be the jar of spicy salsa.

One of my favorite features of Silas's dragon costume is the fact that I made slits on the inside for his hands, so that when he raises his hands, his wings soar a bit.  :-)

Of course, he discovered that they still don't let him actually fly, but I think he's okay with that. 

Last, but not least, is our tiniest grandson, BabyD2. He loves dogs and cats, so a black cat seemed like the natural choice for him.

Well, Halloween is just hours (or days) away, so I'd better hit the Publish button and move on. I can't wait to see all of our little goblins decked out for the holiday!

Felt Campfire Set

We have a family birthday to celebrate very soon and I have been busily working on some homemade goodness to celebrate the birthday boy. Even though I've been a bit under the weather lately, I've had time to do some sewing and now have everything ready for this special 3-year-old.

Using felt, I constructed a toy campfire, complete with logs, flames and marshmallows to roast. I didn't take a lot of photos during the process, but I am working on a pattern and complete tutorial.  In the meantime, I will give you a brief description of how I did the logs and flames.

Log Supplies:
Dark Brown Felt (1 piece per log)
Tan Felt (1 piece is enough for 4-5 logs)
Tan Embroidery Thread
Scissors
Sewing Thread & Needle
Fiberfill Stuffing

Log Directions:
1. Fold the brown felt in half lengthwise and trim off about 1 to 1-1/2" from the open edge, allowing for a small "branch".
2. Cut out circles for the ends of the logs from the tan felt (2 per log). My circles were about 3 to 3-1/2" in diameter.
3. Using the Tan Embroidery Thread, I used a running stitch to create wood-like motifs on the flat piece of dark brown felt.  I didn't draw these out beforehand, I just made it up as I went, trying to keep the grain somewhat straight and making a couple of swirls for knots in the tree.

4. Make circles of running stitches on the tan felt circles.

5. With the felt folded in half lengthwise, sew that seam on the sewing machine, going around the branch.
6. While the log is still inside out, sew a tan circle to one end of the log. (This is not an exact thing--sometimes my circles fit better than other times, but they all ended up looking just fine.  Just go slowly and turn as you go.
7. Turn right side out and use a knitting needle or other stick to turn the corners of the branch.
8. Stuff with fiberfill. I used the knitting needle to be sure the fiberfill got into the small branch area.
9. Stitch the other end closed with a tan circle.  I put right sides together and stitched halfway around the circle before turning it and hand-stitching it closed.

Now, every campfire needs some fire, right?!?  These flames were super easy!

Flame Supplies:
Red Felt (1 piece per flame part)
Orange felt (1 piece per flame part)
Yellow felt (1 piece per flame part)
Matching Embroidery Thread
Scissors
Sewing Thread and Needle
Fiberfill

Flame Directions:
1. Fold the red felt in half and cut out a flame shape. (You will have 2 pieces now)
2. Layer the orange felt on top and repeat the process,  cutting these pieces about an inch smaller all around. (you will have 2 orange pieces)
3. Lastly, do the same with the yellow pieces. I just free-hand cut these and didn't worry if they didn't fit exactly.
4. Use the embroidery thread to stitch the orange and yellow flames in place over the red piece.  Remember that this is a flame, so it should be irregular.
5. Repeat with the other side (be sure that you are doing it on the correct side of the flame)
6. With right side together, stitch around the outside of the flame, leaving the bottom free for stuffing.
7. Turn right sides out, using a knitting needle or other stick to get into the points.
8. Stuff with fiberfill.
9. Stitch the bottom closed.

Given our birthday boy's fondness for s'mores, I stitched up some felt marshmallows and even a couple of hot dogs that would fit on the ends of "roasting sticks".  The process for these was a bit complicated to describe, so you'll have to wait until I can take more pictures and develop a step-by-step guide. (The hot dogs are a little bit wonky, but I think they will still be fun!)

Using an embroidery design that I purchased from NNKidsEmbroidery, I stitched some crackers, chocolate and melted marshmallows so that the pretend play can be complete. The design was quick and easy and stitched up really nicely.

Using some leftover canvas I had on hand, I made a simple drawstring backpack to carry all the pieces and we are including a pair of real binoculars and  this amazing lantern. Not only does it serve as a real lantern, but it also displays stars on the ceiling.  How fun is that!

Now, let the pretending begin!