holidays Archives - Page 4 of 8

DIY Bee Costume

November 15, 2015 By Taylor 3 Comments

For our last trick, we have the Bee costume! We call our daughter Bee so when the boys came up with a “bug theme” it was kind of a given that she would be a Bee!

This costume was also super easy and semi-homemade! I found the cutest little ballet leotard in the dance section at Walmart, which she will be wearing often because I can’t handle how cute it is!! I found the antenna (which she hated and wouldn’t keep on haha) at Joanns, it was so cute but sister would just not keep them on at all! The skirt and the wings were mama made :)

For the wings, I used a metal hanger, cut it in half and shaped both sides, Then I covered each side in some fabric that I think is iridescent organza? Then I used electrical tape to connect them and sewed elastic straps on the back for her to wear them. I added the veins with a sharpie.

For the skirt, I tried to find yellow and black striped fabric, I’m sure I could have found it online if I wouldn’t have procrastinated :) But I did wait till the last minute so I had to make my own. I cut 2.5″ strips of fabric and sewed them all together to make the fabric for the skirt, I made the skirt fullness 2 and a half times the waist so it would be flouncy! I added yellow pompoms and called it a day!

She loved the shirt and the bodysuit and the wings grew on her, I just couldn’t get her on board with the antenna! She did like to eat it however.

Here are a few pics of the whole “bug” game.

They had so much fun and it was so a mom dream to see all of my little critters trick or treating together!

For more DIY Costume ideas check our our: LIZARD, ROACH, UNICORN, SKUNK, FOX, POSEIDON, OCTOPUS, BATMAN and ROBIN

Easy DIY Lizard Costume

November 7, 2015 By Taylor 3 Comments

OK, so keeping with our “bug” Halloween theme (you can read about the creepy, crawly Roach Costume HERE) I present the Lizard. And yes, I know a lizard isn’t actually a bug. But like I said in my last post, when your four year old finally decides on something and is super excited about it… don’t burst his bubble haha.

This costume is so easy that I can hardy call it a costume! I love sewing and making elaborate clothing but on Halloween I usually go the “semi-handmade” route. It’s only one night right? My kids do love playing dress up so they get plenty of love but usually not outside of the house after Halloween so I try to use what I have.

I have used (and LOVE) the Bimaa Pattern several times. So I knew it would make a perfect Lizard Hoodie! Here is my secret Bimaa hack: Once you have the pattern, you can line the shirt pattern piece up with an existing or store bought shirt and cut the neck hole to match the pattern. I always buy two matching shirts from the boys section and with the extra shirt I make the hood part using the pattern, then sew them together just like in the instructions… this just saves you from having the sew a whole shirt! So in the lizards case, I bought two green boys tees. I used an olive green knit for the interior of the hoodie, the lizard belly and the eyelids. Then I used black and white felt for the eyes and nose holes and sewed them right on the hoodie exterior before adding the lining. I added a tail to the back of the lizard (using the scraps from the second boys t-shirt).

Then he just wore some green shorts he already had, ideally I wanted to make green leggings but again… I ran out of time haha. Story of my life!

He was super happy with it so thats all that matters :) Here is his best “lizard face”. Stay tuned for the Bee later this week!

DIY Roach Costume

November 3, 2015 By Taylor 5 Comments

Yes, you read that right! My son wanted to be a roach for Halloween and I said yes :)

A few months ago I was throwing around group costume ideas for the three kids. Nothing was sticking then my oldest said, “what about bugs”? I immediately liked the idea because my daughters name is Bee so naturally she could dress as a Bee. Then my four year old got super excited cause he wanted to be a lizard. Who am I to crush his dreams and tell him that a lizard isn’t actually a bug? A Bee and a Lizard, done. But then my oldest son said he wanted to dress up as a roach?! I tried to talk him out of it because how does one even go about sewing a roach suit?? But he was determined and I like a good sewing challenge so I said let’s go for it!

There is very little roach costume inspiration out there, which is good and bad haha. I didn’t have anything to live up to in the era of Pinterest expectations but I also didn’t have a clue how to make it! After a good ol’ google search, I did find one awesome “cape” that a legit costume designer made and I pinned it HERE. After I saw that I knew a cape was the way to go. I found some brown jeans and a brown tee from the mens section so I just cut it down and sewed up the sides) for the body and got to work on the roach cape.

I bought brown suiting for the legs and ironed a very stiff fusible interfacing to the wrong side so they would be extra stiff. I used hot glue to attach a thin strip of brown faux fur to each leg… creepy right? For the antenna I used the suiting with some jewelry wire inside and a little brown pom-pom glued at the end.

Then I freehanded roach-shape-wings on to some brown satin. I used quilt batting inside them and sandwiched it between. I also sandwiched the legs between the wing layers before sewing right sides together. Then I flipped them right side out and top-stitched. The wings are two separate pieces but sewn together at the top where they connect. Then I added a neck hood/cape part with double batting and a layer of felt in between so it would stand up a little more. It was so thick that I really would have liked to hand-sew it so there wasn’t a huge line down the middle but, it was the day before Halloween and mama only has so much time.

I added a neck piece made from the suiting and used velcro to attach it.

Overall I’m really happy with the way it turned out, and he was super excited about it! I also learned that some people have quite the aversion to roaches… even when the model is a cute six year old haha! Stay tuned for the lizard and bee later this week :)

Cider Beetles: A Teacher Gift

December 17, 2014 By Taylor 16 Comments

Before staying home with my kiddos I used to be a teacher. I was always very spoiled every holiday by my student’s parents and received so many gifts, too many to remember. But I will always remember one year when a student made me a Cider Beetle attached to Apple Cider. It was so stinking cute that I told everyone about it. I decided this year I would re-create this adorable little gift.

I was so happy to find the recipe on the Imperial Sugar website. Imperial has a great Christmas page full of recipes and craft ideas you can do with your kids! They are also running a Kids Cookbook Giveaway that runs through Dec. 19th.

The boys did almost all the work here and LOVED it! I love boys who love to cook :)

How to made your own Cider Beetles:

Supplies:

12 oranges
5 cups Imperial Sugar Light Brown Sugar, firmly packed
24 (1 1/2-inch) stick cinnamon
24 small whole nutmegs
48 large whole allspices
192 whole cloves (8 legs on each beetle)

Directions:

Slice oranges in half crosswise; scoop out the pulp, and reserve for other uses.
Place orange half shells, cut side up, on a wire rack on a baking sheet. Bake at 250°F for about 2 hours or until dry and hard. Let these cool completely before assembling the beetles.
Pack brown sugar firmly into each orange shell, mounding it slightly. Arrange spices in brown sugar to resemble a beetle, pressing slightly into the sugar. Use cinnamon sticks for bodies, nutmegs for heads, allspices for eyes, and cloves for legs. If not using immediately, cover tightly with plastic wrap secured with a ribbon. Store in the refrigerator.
To use, unwrap beetle and drop into 1 1/2 quarts apple cider or straight apple juice, simmer 30 minutes. Remove rind and spices to serve. Store the unused cider in the refrigerator.

We started with our oranges.

Remove all the “insides” of the orange.

Then place them on a baking sheet and bake at 250 degrees for about 2 hours.

Then for the fun part… making the beetles! Pack the orange full of Imperial Brown Sugar.

Then you arrange all of the beetle parts.

I wrapped them in plastic wrap as soon as we finished and tied them up with a rubber band.

Then I just attached some ribbon around the apple cider and attached the beetle to the top for a perfect little teacher gift! I also attached some directions on how to brew it but I forgot to attach that before I took this picture. Brewing them is the best part because of the smell :) I hope you guys love making these as much as we did!