Tinkerbell Costume

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This Tinkerbell costume was really easy and I think it turned out so cute!

I love homemade costumes because they're fun to make, but mostly because they're unique and they don't look and feel cheap like the store bought ones.

For the tutu, I followed this no-sew tutorial.  I used lime green shimmery tulle and white glitter tulle.  Fair warning: the glitter tulle sheds like crazy.  So if you don't want the mess, just use the shimmery tulle.  It's still really pretty and fun, I just wanted that "pixie dust" look (and I got it; you should see the sparkle that flies off when she runs!).

The wings were made kind of like this, but I used tulle instead of nylons...never again.  I used the tulle because that's what I had on hand, but next time I am definitely using nylons.  Let's just say that tulle doesn't glue well...

For the top, I used a white onesie, taped a stencil onto it and glued glitter to it.  For the shoes, I bought some used ones in her size from Kid-to-Kid and glued on the same glitter that I used on her onesie.  To get the glitter to stay on her shoes better, we gave them a few coats of lacquer and it totally worked.  We made sure to use it outside away from the kids and to let it dry a few days before she wore them.

Her wand was made using my tutorial here, and her tights are these from Target.  That's it!  Really simple and she loved running around pretending to be Tink.

Peter Pan Costume

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If you need a costume idea that you can quickly make before next week, here's a great one.  I actually finished this the beginning of September...last year I was scrambling to finish his costume and this year I wanted to get a jump on it ASAP.  My son is really excited about his costume, even though the pictures don't do it justice.  He's not a fan of pictures!  Oh boys, gotta love them!

I didn't come up with the pattern for his costume, but I did find some that were a great help in completing this project.  And I absolutely love the way it turned out.

The top, belt, knife and hat were all from Ashley over at Make It and Love It.  She's a genius, especially when it comes to awesome costumes.  Here's the post on her Peter Pan costume.

The idea for the shoe covers came from this post, although I didn't follow it completely.  I came up with my own similar way, but I didn't document the process.  This tutorial is very helpful.

The leggings came from the girls over at Small Fry.  I used an old shirt of mine that I didn't wear anymore and it was perfect for him.  My son has really long legs, so those mini skirts from Forever 21 that they used won't work for him, but I'm definitely going to grab a few and make some leggings for my daughter.  This tutorial was really fast and very simple, just the way I like.

These pictures crack me up; he was doing his best to cooperate while not looking at the camera.  And he only did so because I may or may not have promised him some M&M's for helping out...you do what you gotta do.

Fairy Wands

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This year for Halloween, my kids are dressing up as Peter Pan and Tinkerbell.  I'll do a post on their costumes later, but for now I wanted to share how I made my daughter's wand.

Supplies:
wooden dowel, 3/8"
white glitter fabric
cotton balls
organza ribbon, 1/8"
acrylic paint/spray paint
hot glue gun
sewing machine

To start off, draw or print out the shape you want onto a piece of card stock.  My star measures 3.5x3.5" and my heart measures 2.5x2.5".  Use your pattern to cut out pieces of your glitter fabric.  With right sides facing out, sew along the edges leaving a small opening at the bottom that's large enough for you to stuff cotton balls inside.  I don't have any pictures of this step, but I did this by tearing the cotton balls into small pieces and then I used tweezers to shove them inside.  For the star, make sure you start out with really small pieces to fit into the points, and then work from there.  After you've stuffed it as much as you want, then finish sewing leaving a small enough hole for the dowel to fit in.

Cut your dowel to the length you want, I cut mine to 12", and if needed, sand the ends smooth.  Then paint your dowel and let it dry.  Once it's dry, cut four strips of ribbon, mine were 9" long, and hot glue them around the top, like pictured.  You can curl your ribbons or leave them as they are; it just depends on the look you're going for.

Once your ribbons are attached, put your glue gun inside your heart or star, squeeze a fair amount of glue inside and shove the dowel in, squeezing the fabric around it to make sure it attaches securely.  Let it dry and you're done!

Halloween Decor - Easy, Simple, & Inexpensive

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We don't usually do a whole lot of decorating for Halloween, aside from carving pumpkins.  I thought it would be fun to do something, however minimal, to help it feel more festive around here.  I saw this ghost garland on Pinterest and thought it would be fun to make, but I did mine a little bit differently. 

Here's what you'll need.

• white fabric
• cotton balls
• bakers twine, yarn, or string
• black sharpie

I cut the fabric to approximately 10 inches by 5 inches; I didn't measure them because I wasn't looking for perfection, so I just eyeballed it.  Place the cotton ball in the center of the fabric and wrap it around so that it's pulled tight underneath the cotton ball.  Take your twine/yarn/string and tie it around to make a neck for your ghost.  Add two black dots for eyes.  Continue making the ghosts until you have your desired length, spacing them as close together as you like.

For the garland above it, I used these images for the bat, pumpkin and witch and put them into PDF files, which you can download here, here, and here.  Print them out onto construction paper and cut them out.  Then punch holes into them and thread your twine through.  Hang and enjoy!

I really like these, even though they are simple and kinda cheap looking, mainly because they didn't cost me anything to make and if my kids happen to grab them and destroy them, I won't be heartbroken over it.  They definitely help make our home feel more festive for the season and so far, the kids haven't touched them!  Although I'm not sure if I should take that as a good thing...