Halloween 09 recap.

So this week I immediately opened my Google 2010 calendar and wrote the following, in bold, across the first week of October:

Finish boys costumes by the 15th.  Seriously.  Do it.  And while you're at it, figure out your costume (and Charlie's) if you're going to the grown-up neighborhood party.  Do not wait until the day night of the party to make something--it makes you grumpy.  

It's not as if I didn't get everything done.  That's the thing with Type A procrastinators--we're good at it.  And we usually pull it out so never really learn our lesson.  But next year will be different!  And yes, Type A procrastinators are also typically optimistic.  

Max was Clifford, Leo was Snoopy, and Will was Eeyore.  My sewing room is covered in fur and felt bits.  It's even sticking to the walls.  In one of the pictures below, I tried to capture Leo wagging his tail, which he did every time he got some candy.  He did not break character all night and it was the cutest thing.  I also whipped up some very last minute grown up costumes because one of our neighbors throws a party that begins after the munchkins are tucked in.  My parents came over to babysit so Charlie and I could go.  We went as sushi--he was a salmon roe roll and I was shrimp nigiri.  I forgot to take a picture but if I get one from the other partygoers I'll add it later.

As for treats, cake pops were made.  The kids loved the happy witches and Frankenstein Jrs.  The eyeballs--not so much.  I think someone at the party told them that they were cow eyes and they just couldn't get over it.  They did look pretty realistic--red edible marker for the veining was key.

Can you believe it's November?  How did that happen?  I've pulled out several UFOs (unfinished objects) from last year.  And I'm trying to get back into knitting.  Which makes perfect sense because, as I'm sure you know, there is always so much extra time around the holidays.  We shall see.

     

If you wait until the last minute, it only takes a minute.

Back when I was practicing appellate law, a dear co-worker and I adopted the title of this post as an unofficial office slogan.  We were so busy that on any given day, we could only deal with the most urgent of deadlines.  I find myself in a similar boat these days.

Last year, Max was sick the entire week before Halloween.  It turned out to be bronchitis.  It was almost serious enough to keep him in for trick or treating, but luckily, he started feeling better and made it out.  I am 85% sure he was not faking it. 

He asked to be a wizard and I had every intention of finding a pattern and sewing a proper costume for him.  But caring for him that week was full-time, especially as we were constantly on guard, attempting to keep his brothers healthy (but of course Leo still got sick).

It was not until the night before Halloween that I found time to try to whip up a wizard costume (and no, the irony that I had to conjure up something was not lost on me).  I already had the fabric but no pattern.  Below is what I did and it worked well enough.  It is certainly not the best constructed garment I've ever made--in fact, it's probably one of the worst--but it was quick and easy and put a smile on my little one's face, a rare sight indeed that week.

In case you are in similar desperate straits (and I sure hope you're not), here is an extremely rudimentary guide to how I made a wizard frock in about 30 minutes.  Ours went over the head but you could also cut it up the front to make it more robe like.

 

I used a satin costuming fabric that was fairly difficult to work with, especially the neckline as it kept slipping (I double folded it).  To really save time, I recommend using a fabric that will not fray, such as fleece or jersey, so you wouldn't have to bother with hemming. 

As for Leo, he had told us for weeks that he wanted to be an astronaut and the plan was to use Max's costume from the previous year.  But the night before the harvest parade at his school, he decided he wanted to be a lion.  He really wanted to be a lion.

And I have a problem saying no. 

Again, I attempted this with no pattern--what is wrong with me??  I used a pair of his footed pajamas as a guide.  I'm sorry I can't diagram it because it was pretty nightmarish and I've blocked it from memory.  At least the parade was a few days before Halloween, so in my book, I was done "early."   I used fleece, which I love because it is so forgiving.

So after last year's stressfest getting their costumes done, you would think I learned my lesson and finished their costumes early this year, right?  Perhaps before we left for Disney?  Wrong.  Guess what I'll be doing after bedtime this week? 

I'm participating in A Soft Place to Land's DIY day.  Be sure to check out all the other projects--I always get so many ideas from there!

  

Halloween treats.

During the week leading up to Halloween, I usually like to make some fun treats for the boys.  I'm a bit behind this year because of our recent trip so I have yet to make anything truly special.  But since I wasn't blogging in 2008, I thought I'd post some pictures of what we did last year.

For our neighborhood pumpkin carving party, I made haunted pumpkin patch and spider web cupcakes.

And because Leo was in his preschool's owl class last year, I also made some owl cupcakes (got this one from my trusty Hello Cupcake book).

I displayed the cupcakes on a fun stand I picked up from the craft store.  The stand was cute but also nothing but trouble to assemble, so I recommend you pass on it should you see it this year.  

For a playdate treat, I made Bakerella's cake pops (btw, did you see that proposal on Bakerella??  I was dying over it). 

The cupcake pops are on my short list again for this year--the boys just love them--but as they take quite some time to make, they may get cut and we'll instead make Martha's monster pops (found via one of One Pretty Thing's Halloween Food roundup).  I think a 'build your own monster pop' activity would be very well received. 

We'll see what I come up with. 

Applesauce jack o'lantern favor tutorial.

Our youngest started in a nursery class this year and his group plans to have a small Halloween party, so I needed another non-candy favor idea.  It's not as if Will hasn't tried candy--please, he's the third--but at least I can say it's on a rare occasion.  The older boys know to go into stealth mode (hide in pantry) when they're eating a piece.

I came up with applesauce jack o'lanterns and if you'd like to make some, too, you will need:

• 2 applesauce cups (per favor)
• tape
• scissors
• orange crepe paper
• black electrical tape

Directions

Tape applesauce cups together to form pumpkin shape.

Wrap crepe paper around a few times, just to help with coverage.  Tape.

Fold crepe paper in half (better coverage, better scale) and wind around and around, turning as you go, until the cups are completely wrapped.  Tape.

Cut cute (we went for non-scary) jack o'lantern face shapes out of electrical tape.  Stick on.  Tie on a note if you like.  Get these done ahead of time and cross something off your to-do list.

 

Mummy flashlight tutorial.

I've had this idea since last year when we saw inexpensive flashlights at Ikea (I think they were 50 cents).  My boys love flashlights, especially when they are trick or treating.  So instead of giving out candy favors at our Halloween celebration, I thought we'd give out flashlights.  I of course also wanted them to look cute--so like everything else around here during Halloween, they got the mummy treatment (we're talking stuffed animals, furniture legs, me if I stand still long enough...).

You will need a small, inexpensive flashlight, white crepe paper, tape, and a black marker.  I haven't made it back to Ikea to see if they have the bargain flashlights again this year, but I found this one at our Dollar Tree (I also picked up some batteries there.  I definitely recommend having the flashlights ready to go to avoid the buzz kill factor).  

Wrap the flashlight a couple of times with the crepe paper lengthways and tape to secure.

 Fold the crepe paper in half and wrap the flashlight completely.         

After securely taping, dot on a couple of eyes with a marker (I think googley eyes would be great here but I didn't have any on hand).  Add a note and there you go--a practical, yet fun, Halloween favor that both kids and parents will appreciate. 

For more DIY ideas, be sure to check out today's DIY Day at Kimba's A Soft Place to Land.  And also be sure to check back here for another sugarless Halloween favor idea.  It's geared to the under-two set and I hope to post it tomorrow. 

Halloween treat bag tutorial.

I was in the craft store a few days ago and saw a kit from Martha's line for cute favor bags.  They were designed to look like witch brooms and I thought they were adorable.  But I didn't want to spend any money on them since I knew I could do the same thing with items I already had at home.

Here's what you will need (per treat bag) if you'd like to make some, too:

• 2 brown paper bags
• straight edge
• exacto knife and cutting surface
• twine
• twig*

Directions:  

Flatten one of the bags.  The picture below isn't the best because I didn't take one with the sides smoothed out.  Basically, you want two layers to cut through so push out the sides and flatten.

Leaving about a two inch border of the bag uncut at the top and bottom, cut lines through both layers in the center portion.  No need to be too exact, it's a witch's broom after all. 

Place your goodies in the uncut bag and place within the cut bag. 

Shmoosh down a bit and gather both bags at the top.  Insert your twig* and tie with twine. 

I think these will be perfect to package our Halloween cutout cookies this year.  I'll use the sugar cookie recipe and frosting technique I posted about here.

*If I were making these for children, I'd probably use a pretzel rod in lieu of a twig (maybe a cellophane wrapped chocolate-dipped pretzel rod, hmm...).  Generally speaking, I'm against equipping children with a pointy, small, stick.  Especially when they're in a group.  And sugar is in their near future.  I'm just saying...

Muffin tin Monday.

It's unusual for me to post twice in a day, I know.  But I've wanted to participate in the Muffin Tin Monday carnival for ages.  And I finally did.  This week's theme was "all about you."  I didn't do a full tin for Will because he's going through a challenging phase where, if more than one thing is placed in front of him, he uses both hands to sweep everything off and onto the floor.  My friend dubbed the move The Zamboni.

But here is Leo's lunch tin.

I chose our heart-shaped muffin pan because Leo, our middle son, is pure love.  He is our cuddle bug and still manages to fold all 44 pounds of himself into my lap at least seven times a day.  I filled his tin with some of his favorites:  broccoli and carrots with Ranch dressing to dip--Leo loves broccoli because it's his favorite color; turkey and cheese skewers on green and yellow picks (yellow is his 2nd favorite color); an apple popover we made from the apples picked over the weekend (Leo is my most prolific little U-picker); and goldfish crackers--a perennial favorite but even more so now that he has a new fishing pole and is practicing his casting for his next fishing trip with Grandpa.

For more of this week's Muffin Tin Monday meals, be sure to check out Michelle's wonderful blog.  It was really fun and Leo absolutely devoured his lunch--even more so than usual as he's our eater!

Ma'am. Step away from the contact paper.

 

Could someone please, please, come over here and put away this roll of vinyl?  I really do have some other stuff to get to.  But I couldn't help myself yesterday when I started decorating for Halloween and decided that our pictures looked a little out of place.

So I held up a sheet of acetate over the pictures to get a sense of scale.  And I drew a mustache here, a cape there...a few masks.  Then I traced everything onto contact paper (excuse the drawings--18 month-old on lap while attempting). 

I topped them with another sheet of vinyl and did some trimming and some sticking (more on Con-Tact paper crafts here and here).  Now the pictures are ready for Halloween.  

I saw a clever post last year where you use a grease pencil to embellish your pictures.  That was my original plan.  But then I realized that drawing directly onto my picture glass would absolutely guarantee a 30 minute Windex frenzy right before guests arrived for Thanksgiving dinner.  So this works for me--after Halloween, I can just peel off the cut outs.

More Halloween stuff coming up--Happy Monday!

Apples.

We went apple picking today.

Well actually, just the older boys and I went apple picking, as Charlie stayed back to let Will nap.  We picked a full bushel...lots of Golden Delicious and Empires, a few Courtlands, Red Delicious and Rome Beauties as well.  And of course, Granny Smith and Fuji--I think those are our favorites to eat raw.  And eat them we did.

I hope to put up pie filling tomorrow or later in the week and will post what canning recipe I settle on.  The one I used last year was pretty good but I think I can do better.  I also hope to can a nice surplus of applesauce.  I saw an interesting recipe for applesauce on a wonderful blog I just discovered called by little hands--you roast the apples.  I think this will bring a nice depth to the flavors so I'm anxious to try it.  I just love homemade applesauce.

I'm also excited to try Katie Brown's apple brownie recipe.  And for breakfast tomorrow, we're having apple popovers--can't wait.  Hope you are enjoying these beautiful fall days as well.

On a roll.

ETA:  Hiya.  For some reason a picture that's not meant to appear in this post is appearing in lieu of the intended photo (see the flowers down there?  And if you don't see flowers maybe it's resolved).  I've tried to fix it but that just results in another picture swapping in another post.  So I'm sending a Q to the super helpful folks at Squarespace tech support.  Hopefully they can help--pls pardon it in the meantime (I want to leave up the misplaced photo so they can see what I'm talking about).  xo, S

 

We're not quite finished making reading labels, so the Con-Tact paper roll is still out.  And it's a good thing because an impromptu neighborhood playgroup had to duck inside due to a sudden rain shower.  So I let them loose on the materials for a quick craft project.  We made vinyl stickers--here's how: 

 Have the little ones draw on the contact paper, leaving the backing on (I like to tape it down because it curls up when it comes off the roll).  We tried to use normal markers but they wiped right off.  Instead, use permanent markers (note to self:  get more colors!) or crayons.  Top with another sheet of contact paper and cut out.  Little hands will need help peeling the backing off as it can be a bit fussy.  And on the crayon drawings, the top layer will not want to adhere to the waxy image without some extra rubbing.

These work great on windows.  And they hold up much better to the abuse a one-year-old can dish out (at least compared to the gel stick-ons we've previously used). 

I think we'll do a whole bunch of Halloween decorations next.  (ETA:  Did some, see this post).  Have a great weekend!