Costume Collection Part 2: Halloween Costumes For My Kids

My last post was Part 1 of Halloween Costumes for my kids, part of my October series Costume Collection.  Here is Part 2.  

This was actually my real-life dress from my 8th grade prom!  And it is one of my first memories of the realization that my mother was so super-skilled and could alter clothing:  It was a strapless dress.  She added the straps and the lacy sleeves.  She was amazing!  I gained my love of creating and sewing from her no doubt!  And then my daughter wears the dress and some 80s accessories with a Prom crown!

 

I had inherited a Karate costume (it was white) from someone.  My kids wear it all the time for dress-up but we wanted to go a little more exciting for Halloween for my boys.  So I took a pattern from it.  I had this really cool fabric with symbols all-over it and through the magic of the creative process, this Karate Kid outfit was born!  

And his brother got a matching smaller version, but sleeveless.

Then of course, the Ninja!  (That goes with Karate Kid right?)  This one was very cool but difficult to make.  I wanted it to have no visible opening but still be one-piece!  So it unzips at the back of the neck, down to the waist.  Tricky, but worth it!

This one was very original indeed.  But my favorite touch was the mustache - his idea!

M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E!  

He loves Mickey Mouse like nothing I have ever seen!  So of course he loved to BE Mickey!  

At our church Halloween party, he found Minnie Mouse (she was a little older, but she could not resist him)!  And there is Minnie's Prom Queen friend...

 

We attended several parties that year and switched out costumes for some older stand-bys...Winnie The Pooh and a Superhero/ Scooby Doo...?

Halloween is so much fun ~ what costumes do your kids love the most?

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Costume Collection Part 1: Halloween Costumes for My Kids

I was going through pictures of all the Halloween costumes from years past and I decided I would share them with you!  Most of them I have made.  It is actually one of my favorite times of the year - not all the spooky haunted-ness part of Halloween - I just put up with that BUT I love doing costumes for anyone who asks me).

So - I am going to do a series of Costume Collections - some with themes and others just random collections by year or family or whatever...  so stay tuned during October for Halloween Costumes!!!!

The first one is of my kids' Halloween in 2009.  Each kid wanted to do their own thing that year...

He wanted to be a bum.  A hobo.  

Hopefully he got this out of his system.

She and I love the"Anne of Green Gables" series and she was the perfect age to play the Anne from the beginning of the story.  We even made the carpet bag she arrived with, the one with the loose fastener.  It doubled as the trick-or-treat bag.  She's the perfect Anne, personality and everything!

He really wanted to be a vampire.  Actually this kid was fascinated with magic and had asked me for a magician cape, so I made it for him.  Then he used it at Halloween to be Dracula.  It was perfect!  I made this from two flat twin-size bedsheets - black and red - so that it was lined and could be worn with either side showing.

Cute little vampire isn't he?

He wore what his brother had me make the year before (fascination with Wizards and magic...) and I think he looks just as darling (where are the pics of his brother last year?  I do not know) as his brother did last year!  

We went to a Halloween party and it was like pulling teeth to get a pose.  There was candy and games to be had, mom!  Oh, well...  

We got better pics at home on the stairs.

He was Winnie the Pooh, as were all his brothers before him when they were that age.  (Maybe I will put together a collage of all the Winnie the Poohs in our family - and Piglet, too...)

This was his first Halloween - and I just love a baby in a Pumpkin costume - not only is it cute but it stays as warm as you need it to be.  You can layer under it with warm coats (can you tell I am from Canada?) or just leave a diaper on underneath if it's warm enough.  

Hope you have enjoyed this first installment of Halloween costumes during the month of October.


What are your favorite kids' costumes form years past?


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REPurpose: Make an Infinity Scarf out of a square scarf

I love these sweet scarves!  They are so easy to wear.  They can be lightweight for spring or summer OR heavier for fall and winter. And I just discovered a new REPurpose method for these babies!

I had this square scarf that I loved - because of the fabric/ print, BUT I was never wearing it because it was square and how do you wear a square scarf these days?  Then one day it occurred to me that the measurements were right to make it into an Infinity Scarf.  So I immediately set to work!

This scarf measured about 34" square.  When I make an Infinity Scarf from scratch, I use about 2 yards in length - which is 72".  This will double up to about 68" (a little less when everything is cut off) which is close.  Just won't be as long - still totally wearable!

I started by folding it in half and I cut it along the fold.

I cut off the edges.  You do not have to do this but with the contrast edge and the fabric being sheer I did not want it to show through from the inside - I thought it would look weird.  

Then I sewed the two pieces right sides together.

I folded this down again, long-ways, and sewed the right sides together again, making a long tube.

Here is the long tube sewn together.

I turned the tube inside out, then brought the two ends together,with the seams right near each other.

This whole next step is probably the trickiest part:  I brought the two seams together and pinned.  This is where I start to sew.

Start sewing just before the pin, and keep pinching the edges together, and keep sewing.

Just keep sewing around those edges, pinching a little bit at a time as you go.   Just keep all the scarf underneath out of the way or you will sew over it and have to pick it out - yuck! 

When you get about as far as you can go, it will look like this.  Stop stitching when have gotten as far as you can go,and backstitch.

When you release and trim threads from that seam, just tug both sides and it will pop back to normal, leaving you with a tiny hole (or bigger depending on how far you got on that tricky seam).

Just fold those edges inside the hole.  Stitch the opening shut, very close to the edge.  I always just make sure this is my back neck placement when I wear it.

You are done!  Now you can wear your old scarf in a new way!

Here's me wearing it - ignore the gooney smile - but not the cutie down in the corner :)

Do you have any old square scarves you could REPurpose into an infinity scarf? 

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Studio Update: Hair Bows, Personal Washcloths, Scripture Totes, His & Hers Placemats

Here is a sampling of the {smaller} projects I have done in the last week or so.  

Sometimes when a new baby is brought into a family with siblings, the new one gets all the attention AND all the presents!  It's fun for the siblings to receive something along with the baby's gift.  Here's one idea:  embroidered washcloths with each child's initial.  It's simple and each child feels a part of the excitement of the new baby!

It was a spontaneous lesson: they wanted to make hair bows!  We paused on the doll sundresses and made matching "best friend" hair bows.  

I attended a wedding reception for the son of a friend of mine.  They are a darling couple and I wanted to give them something "newlyweddish".  These kinds of gifts are sweet at the time because it commemorates their new marriage and the new changes in their lives, but later on are so special to look back and remember when it all began.  

Scripture Tote: "BLANK CANVAS".  This was designed for an LDS missionary to hold his mission scriptures.  His grandmother wanted to give him a special gift.  My part was just to create the tote out of artist canvas-type material.  She has another family member who is an artist and is going to illustrate many scripture stories on the blank canvas - I can't wait to see the finished project!

P.S. I will be selling scripture totes here.  You can contact me for custom orders.  More to come on that later...  :)

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