Madeline Costume

In an old house in Paris that was covered with vines
Lived twelve little girls in two straight lines.
They left the house at half past nine
In two straight lines in rain or shine.
The smallest one was Madeline.

(-from Madeline's Rescue by Ludwig Bemelmans)

I just can't get over my cute little Madeline!

I've said before that I'm kind of a Halloween Grinch.  My sweet little one year old almost didn't get a costume for Halloween this year since I figure if she's young enough to not care then I don't care to take the time to make a costume.  I know.  I'm no fun.  Super Grinchy.

I decided to browse Pinterest for costume ideas anyway--just for fun--to see what was out there because I was drawing a blank.  I had ZERO ideas.  As I scrolled through Pinterest the costume that stood out to me the most was Madeline.  We have loved the books at our house and I thought a little Madeline would be so sweet.  After all, my spunky little one year old is the smallest one in our family--like it says in the book.  It all just seemed to fit.

My little Madeline just loves her costume and she thinks wearing her sweet little hat is too much fun.




Here's a view of the back.



I tried to talk myself out of the costume but I just couldn't.  It all came together so flawlessly.  I already had the blue fabric to make the dress so I had no excuse.  I used a nightgown pattern from my stash that had raglan sleeves making it super simple to put together.  I got out of having to sew a collar for the dress by using a collared shirt I already had.  Last I added a ribbon around the neck.




Here it is all put together.



The hat I found at Target on clearance for a few dollars.  This was the only purchase I made for the costume.  Everything else I already owned--which is how I like to do Halloween costumes.  I added a black ribbon and it was all ready for Miss Madeline to wear.

I'm so glad I got over my ginchy-ness because I had so much fun putting this consume together.  I really don't remember the last time I was this excited about a project.  I even wrote a little poem about my own "smallest one" to go along with it--but I'm not really much of a poet so I'll save that one for the family blog.




So, what are your kids being for Halloween this year?  Do you make or buy your costumes or do a little of both?

Dr. Seuss Costumes

For school last year my boys needed to dress up like a Dr. Seuss character.  They picked some pretty simple characters and we made some super simple costumes.  Mr. W wanted to be The Lorax and Mr. J was a star-bellied Sneetch.

The Lorax consisted of orange shirt and shorts with a yellow felt Lorax-ish mustache.  So easy!  The Sneetch was only a little more complex . . . but not much!  Yellow shirt and shorts were the basics.  Then I cut out some felt with Wonder Under so I could attach the white "feathers" around the collar and the blue star to the belly.  

Really easy costumes but everyone recognized them so it was a success!  Do your kids dress up at school to celebrate Dr. Seuss?

Find more Dr. Seuss inspiration and activities for your kids here.

Zoo Keeper Costume

My daughter decided she wanted to be a zoo keeper for Halloween this year.  I think it such a unique and creative idea--and I have to say I was relieved that she decided to break her three year trend of being Super Girl!

This girl loves learning about wild animals and even created her own little wild animal pocket book to go along with her costume.  She had so much fun researching different animals, picked two for each letter of the alphabet, and included them in her book along with a photo and interesting fact.

This costume was super simple to put together.  I found a plain brown shirt and put a "zoo keeper" patch on it (she added a long sleeve black shirt underneath because it was cold).   The hat I happened to find at Hobby-Lobby and the pants she already owned.  Since the costume was so simple (and a little plain) I let her pick out a snake to add something fun.  

 

 She loves her new stuffed snake and it's no secret that her brothers are jealous. 

This girl is ready for an adventure (and Halloween)!

What are your kids being for Halloween this year?

Simple Super Hero Costumes

Super heroes are a popular choice for Halloween at our house.  Last year my two oldest decided to be Super Man and Super Girl.  This year my five year old picked Batman so I couldn't help but have my almost-two-year-old be Robin.

I kind of have a little competition with myself when creating Halloween costumes for my kids.  How simple can I make them, how inexpensive can I create them for, and how much of it can I reuse after Halloween is over.  I think this Batman costume is a winner!

Here's the break down:

Plain black pants and shirt (can be worn as regular clothes after Halloween) - Target

Black cape  - Dollar Tree (only $1 of course)

Batman belt - made free from leftover scraps

Batman mask - amazon.com ($3.54)

While this costume looks simple my son was very specific about how he wanted it.  He wanted to be a modern all-black batman.  He didn't want a logo on his shirt and he let me know exactly how he wanted the belt made.  This is a boy who know's what he wants.  I think his costume turned out perfect!

My busy little two-year-old makes a great side kick.  He wants to be just like his big brother and is constantly copying everything my five year old does.  Usually he loves to get his picture taken but this time he was not in the mood.  I made him a cute little yellow and red reversible cape but he wanted nothing to do with it.  Sniff :(  I'm just happy that I got him to wear the belt--even if it was only for a few minutes.  The cape and belt were both free since I made them from my scrap pile.  I bought a plain red shirt from Target and added the Robin logo and stripes using Wonder Under.  The green pants were my biggest challenge.  I looked everywhere for green pants!  I was about to break down and make some and then I checked JC Penny.  They had three different styles of green pants!  Of course!  I think he makes one cute Robin--even without his cape :)

And here's my super duo!  Not the best picture but the only one I got of them together.

Interested in making a super cape for your child's Halloween costume?

Be sure to check out my free templates here and here!

Simple Halloween Costumes

My kids just can't get enough of their super capes.  It is seriously their favorite dress-up toy.  My daughter is being a super girl for the third year this Halloween and with my son's super hero birthday party last month he decided to jump on the bandwagon too.

I like to make my kids Halloween costumes every year but I also like to keep them simple.  Really simple.  So this year they got to wear the new capes from my son's party, and I made them both a belt.  My son informed me that he need a shirt with a "S" on the front so I used a $5 shirt from Target and a smaller version of my Superman template and we were good to go. 

Super simple for me, and I have two happy super hero's ready to go out and save the world, or at least ready to go out and collect some candy . . .

What are your kids being for Halloween this year?

Super Hero Party (free templates included)

My oldest son turned four last month.  Turning four at our house is a big deal because that means you get to have your first birthday party with friends.  I love planning parties for my kids.  It's so much fun for me.  Because I was excited to start planning I asked him several months ago what kind of party he'd like to have and threw out some ideas.  A teddy bear picnic (he thought he was too old for that), ninjas, a spy party like his cousin, knights and dragons, pirates, or super heros.  My son didn't have to think about it for long.  Super hero's it was!  I thought it was a great choice.

I kept the decorating pretty simple.  Decorating is something I can easily get carried away with so I had to remind myself that a bunch of three and four year olds don't really care about a bunch of fancy decorations.  I made my super hero garland using some free images found online and this free download from One Charming Party.  I also downloaded this awesome free font called Sound FX from dafont.com.  It's full of pow and bang and zaps.  Really fun.  Check it out.

Next, the cake.  I have officially declared myself cake challenged.  When it comes to making and decorating cakes things never go how I have planned.  My grandma, mom, and aunts all make incredible cakes, but unfortunately I didn't inherit the cake decorating genes.



I wanted to find little super hero figures to decorate the cake and had a hard time hunting something down.  I finally spied these cute little guys at the bookstore.  They were perfect!!!  And after eating the cake and washing them off they're a new favorite toy for my little boy.

When the kids arrived at the party they each got to decorate a super hero mask using fabric markers.  I made the masks out of a thin pellon.  I wanted a material that was somewhat stiff so it wouldn't flop over and something that had a smooth surface making it easy to decorate with the markers. Pellon seemed like the best bet.  (See below for mask template.)

Then it was time for some super hero games.  I put my husband in charge of the games because he's so much better at that stuff than I am.  I can't remember everything he did, but here are a few ideas.

Superhero Obstacle Course
For this party game, get your Superhero guests to save the world by going through an action hero obstacle course. Set up an obstacle course around your yard or inside your home using cardboard boxes, garbage cans, old tires, bicycles, ropes, sports equipment, logs, trampolines, basketball and hula hoops, chairs, pillows or anything you can find to create a challenging course. You can have challenges like ball throwing, long jump, balance beam walking, climbing, crawling through a tube, running faster than a speeding bullet, bouncing a super ball very high, etc. Use a stopwatch to see how fast each child can complete the course.  If there is time have them try the course a second time and see if they can beat their time.

Kryptonite Toss
Take a bucket and cover it in tinfoil as if it were a planet. The "kryptonite" are ping pong balls painted bright green. Have the kids throw the "kryptonite" into the "planet" and see how many they can throw in, every time throwing from a tougher distance.

Lava Pit
Place some red fabric under a beam to create a lava pit and bridge.  Party goers try and cross the bridge without falling in the lava in order to save innocent citizens (or toy dinosaurs or other toy).  Once on the other side the superhero rescues the "toy" and then crosses the bridge again to bring them back to safety.


After games, and cake, and opening presents my son gifted each of his friends with a super hero cape of their own.  These were a lot of fun to make (plus simple and easy to whip out several) and a big hit with the kids.  They loved running around in their capes until it was time for mom or dad to come pick them up.

I couldn't resist making them reversible.  Makes for double the fun. (Templates included below.)

Superman and The Flash for the boys . . .

and Super girl and a princess cape for the girls.

Except for my six year old, who was not interested in a princess cape at all.  She has been dying for a bat girl cape.  So bat girl it was.

 We just never tire of super capes at our house . . .

They're well loved and played with often.

 Each guest got to bring home the mask they decorated, their reversible super cape, and this simple goodie bag which included superhero fruit snacks and stickers, a batman pencil and a punch balloon.

It was one. fun. day.

 Happy birthday super boy!  I sure do love you!


As promised, here are my templates for the super masks, batman and flash logos.  For my cape template, super man and princess logos please see this post.  I hope they come in handy for you!

(To print templates: Click on picture and then copy and save to your computer.  Open in a document and reduce your margins to zero.  Expand to 100% and print.)

Have a SUPER day!

Tu-tu

My daughter is going to be a ballerina for Halloween.

I found the tutorial to make her tutu here. It's a very simple no-sew tutu that can be made in probably 30 minutes to an hour. All you need is some elastic and a few yards of tulle. They could make darling Christmas presents for your daughter, niece, grand-daughter. . .