Halloween Costumes In Review

To begin with I just have to say it: I HATE Halloween. I do! I just am not a fan! It is not our thing. Tyler doesn't like dressing up either, so that doesn't help. He'll be anything as long as he doesn't have to think about it. ha ha. You can tell I am in charge most years. I think part of the reason I dislike it so much is because I always end up making our costumes and I'm just one big ball of stress for 1 month. I figure though if I have to do it I might as well make the best one I can right?! Since we have a babe now I was thinking we may not need to dress up, but we are going to a party, so we now need to. I still don't know what I'm going to be. Tyler has to be something specific for work, so I am stranded and at a loss. Luckily I still have a week...can I keep it simple and not have a week filled with 3am bedtimes? I'll keep you posted. :) For those of you who still need some ideas I thought it would be fun to share our past costumes with you. I can give you instructions for any of them if you would like. So, here we go. Our Halloween Costume vault:

Year #1:Dating still: Cowgirl/boy

homemade chaps

Year #2: first married : Fairy and Burger King

Obviously this is when the king came out. This was all his idea. We had our party early and Tyler re-sold his mask for $100. He bought it for like $10 or something.

made everything but the wings and mask. 

#3: Miss Muffet and a Spider 

 #4: Rockstars

gotta love Rockband

 #5: Derilicte from Zoolander and Wind Up Doll

Tyler looked so great and I hardly got any great picts of him. We were so late this year! 

 and finally last year #6: Stefano Canturi Barbie (look her up- sold for like $300,000 or something ridiculous)  and Ken. We peaked this year. This is will be the best and most intricate I will do for a LONG time. :)

This is the best pict I got of my skirt-this was go around #3 or 4 though, so it's lost some umph (notice the fullness in the first pict)! We did get great use out of them, but from my hair (don't mind my brown side burns) to the boxes, we were spent by the time Halloween arrived!

 We did win $25 in a contest though! :)

Hope you enjoyed my trip down memory lane! :) Happy costume hunting/making. Wish me luck!!

Halloween Bingo

I've been searching for a Halloween Bingo game (no time to make one) and came across this one. I wanted to share because I think it's so darling! Just download and print!
6 boards total!


from *artsyfartsymama*

Dating Divas Costume Contest

The Divas are hosting their 2nd Halloween Costume Contest! It's SO easy to enter! All you have to do is upload a photo to their Facebook page and then get family and friends to vote! Here is everything you need to know: http://www.thedatingdivas.com/tara/halloween-costume-contest. :) You still have 6 days to enter, so get that camera crackin'!

Confetti Eggs

This looks like a good time! What a fun game! I want to have a party like this.


Rules of The Game:

1. Hide your eggs as usual and let friends hunt for them
2. When everyone has finished, the smashing begins
3. Nicely (no throwing) smash the eggs on friends' heads
4. The one who gets the golden confetti smashed on their head wins the grand prize.

How To Make The Eggs:

1. Use a sewing pin and poke a hole at the top of the egg
2. Open a larger hole at the bottom of the egg
3. Let the egg drain out of the bigger hole into a bowl- blowing through the top small hole if necessary.
4. Rinse and let dry.
5. Color the eggshells- let dry thoroughly
6. Fill each egg about halfway with confetti (fruity pebbles, or your choice of filling). You can use a funnel if you need to
7. Cut a piece of tissue paper slightly larger than the egg's hole. Glue the paper to the edges of the hole.
8. Let the smashing begin!

*tutorial and picts from Oh Happy Day*

Printable V-Day Tag

I wanted to create something for you all for Valentines Day. It is after all one of my favorite Holidays. I decided to go with a tag. I will use it on a gift or as a card with a sweet note on the back. You could also glue it to a homemade card or jar filled with love notes. Hope you all enjoy it.

DIY Glitter Tees

Look at these little guys! Adorable! How cute would they be for Valentines to put a heart on it or spell LOVE? So cute! Options are endless.
Below I've posted the step-by-step instructions (including the tie printables) I found here by momtastic.com


We've loving all things glitter and glam right now, especially around Valentines Day, so today we're sharing with  you this fun tutorial to make a glitter tie and bow tie tee for a mini fashionista.

Either tee would look cute dressed  up with a  blazer and some leggings. The stencil templates are included in the tutorial for your convenience. Make sure you allow more time for drying as the glitter fabric paint tends to take a bit longer. Enjoy!

Supplies:

• Plain white kids tee
• Freezer paper (you can find it in the grocery store next to the waxed and parchment paper)
• Print out of stencils: You can download the tie image here
• and the bowtie image here
• Exacto knife
• Cutting mat
• Glitter paint for fabric
• Foam brush
• Iron
• Paper bowl or plate

Cut a piece of freezer paper and place under your stencil. Tape both to the cutting mat. Cut out the stencil through both pieces with an exacto knife, I used a straight edge to help make that cut.

Remove the stencil from the inside of both pieces of paper. Throw that inside piece out. You'll need the  piece that's left.

Iron a piece of freezer paper onto the inside of the front and place on the ironing board as shown.

Iron the stencil onto the center of your tee. An easy way to find the center is to fold the tee in half length ways before and iron along the fold beforehand.

Squeeze some paint into a small container or paper plate and brush the paint into the middle of the stencil onto the tee. You might need to do a couple coats.

After it dries (the glitter kind of fabric paint takes a lot longer- allow a couple hours), peal the freezer paper off the front and inside

Repeat the process to make the bow tie if you'd like.

Let dry fully for 24 hours before wearing

Resolutions

I am not really one for resolutions. I don't usually like to sit and make a list of things for the New Year. However, this year Tyler and I are going to sit down and come up with some. I think it's a good thing. Well seeing as how it's the 5th, we obviously have not done this yet. :) I've been trying to come up with a great idea for how to put it together. I found this tutorial and it's a really great one. I saw the Subway Art idea last year, and want to display it in my house of things that Tyler and I like, or that describe who we are together. Anyways, this will show you how to make a great piece of art. Just in case you do not want your resolutions displayed for all to see (I don't) here is a printable for you. Happy New Year!! :)

lilblueboo.blogspot.com

Click pict to download

*APPARENTLY I WANTED TO RE-LIVE 2001!! WOW, SORRY ABOUT THAT PEOPLE, IT'S FIXED. LOL OH MAN. FORGIVE ME!*

Merry Christmas Everyone!!

"And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so? It came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags. And he puzzled and puzzled 'till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before. What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store? What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more?"
Dr. Seuss

Present Tags

Well now that I've shown you some great wrapping ideas...what about the tags? I want to come up with something really great this year. I'm trying to decide if I'm just slacking or not feeling the stress/rush to get everything done. I have 0 presents wrapped so far. If it wasn't for my amazing mom, who provided us with the 24 days of Christmas, our tree would be very lonely. So far I've decided on white and silver wrap for sure with accents of red, possibly lime green. Here are some ideas I'm loving.

*etownbrides.com*
This I think is so amazing. All they did was get glitter paper (you can find that pretty much anywhere these days), trace letters, and cut. So great. I'm going to do this, but with the names of people the present goes to. So it would read "TYLER". Make sense? I will probably place it a little farther down from the bow. I LOVE this!
Real Simple had these great ideas:

This is wooden tags with sticker letters. You could mimic it with similar paper.

This is so different and simple. Think of the color palette possibilities this will provide!

Craft paper- Dollar tree! You can purchase these snowflakes here. OR I would make my own-like in kindergarten- or use a doily. I would also let it dangle a little. Then I would cut out the initial of different colored paper and attach it in front of the snowflake.

Dollar tree has some really pretty ornaments that are going look amazing on a gift! I can't wait to get started.

Party Outfits

Usually by now I know what I will be wearing to each Holiday Party. This year, not super sure. I have some ideas since I have a few great things several people haven't seen. However, I want to find that "ah-ha, that's it" outfit, when it perfectly all fits together. Some requirements I have for this are: some sort of sparkle (naturally), warmth, comfort, and a killer piece of jewelry. I'm not going to buy anything new, so I will let you know what I come up with. Here are some ideas I am loving though.

*jcrew.com*
I love how this looks comfy, classy, and still formal. I'd put a chunky necklace- pearls or something super shiny and bold. OR see her layered bracelets? I got some from Forever21 and layered them, it's my new fav.


*gap.com*
I love the cut of these! They instantly slim your hips. They will be fabulous with a feminine top or chambray shirt and heals. I would for sure do bracelets with these.


I bought this tank last year and is one of my finalists for a party. I LOVE this so so much. This will be great with my jeans, and I can dress it up or down depending on the cardi or jacket I put with it. These are all over right now people.



*express.com*
 
*piperlime.com*
I love this!  I think it would be great with a black belt, leggings, and black top.


Check out this great look from piperlime. Loving the velvet jacket with the jeans.

Wrap Away

I love finding new fun ways to wrap my gifts. This is the best time to find new ideas! I love a pretty present. Here are some great ideas.

You can get the template for these tags here, or create your own.
the above are all from Marthastewart.com


*papersnitchblog.com*

*idealhome.com*

*allorahandmade.com*

*goodhousekeeping.com*