halloween – Page 3 – Can Can Dancer

DIY Burlap & Lace Bunting

Hello World,

I’ve been seeing bunting on Pinterest and Etsy lately being used for birthdays and weddings, using fun fabrics or different papers. I made some of my own, but my own spin of it and used thrifted lace trim and burlap.

I made mine say “Happy Halloween,” but I think I’ll make another set near Christmas too. Maybe even another one that just says “love” for all year round decor.

1. Gather your supplies: burlap fabric, lace trim, glue (I used Aleene’s tacky glue), scissors, a paintbrush, paint, and alphabet stencils (mine were from this Darby Smart kit).

2. Cut out as many triangles as you need from the burlap. I bought a yard, and used only a third of it for 14 triangles.

3. Place a piece of paper under your first burlap triangle, to protect your work surface. Place your first stencil letter down, and gently paint within the stencil.

4. Remove the stencil, and a fill in the stencil spaces if you want a full letter. Allow to dry, and repeat with all your other letters.

5. Line all your painted burlap triangles in a row, and apply glue to the top of each triangle. (I did two bunting strands, so HAPPY and HALLOWEEN were separate pieces in the end.) (I forgot to take a photo of this step.)

6. Leave at least a foot of lace trim free at each end, and press the lace trim onto the glued areas. Allow to dry flat overnight. (I get an F- and forgot to take a photo of this too.)

7. Hang and enjoy!

Happy Crafting!

October 18, 2014

DIY Halloween Costume #2 – Mermaid

Hello World,

In my last post, I shared a DIY Glinda costume my mom had put together. For the second costume in this series, I’m sharing her DIY mermaid costume with you today,. To switch it up, my sixteen year old sister was kind enough to model it (with her mermaid-tastic hair).

My mom bought the teal sequin dress at a thrift shop, and sewed the three panels (two skinny ones on the front, one large one on the center back) on the bottom to flare it out and make it look more fin-like.

For my sister’s makeup, I started by applying foundation to her face as a base. I then used my finger to apply light yellow and light green eyeshadow from her cheek bone area to her forehead. Next, I used a small eyeshadow brush and drew overlapping semi circles with teal eyeshadow to give the appearance of scales. Next, I drew scales with liquid black eyeliner. (I used the $1 e.l.f. eyeliner, and it worked great.) To finish off her mermaid makeup, I applied some glitter eyeliner to random areas of the scales.

To make the shell top, my mom found two large shells (try to find ones that are similar sizes, so your chest doesn’t look lopsided) and pushed them into a netted produce bag. We twisted the center of the bag, and knotted each end of the bag, trapping the shells inside. Next, we hid the knots in the back side of the shell. We looped ribbon to the center of the top (to make a halter) and to each end to make straps (similar to a string bikini top). We tied the halter portion around my sister’s neck, and knotted the other ends together in the back.

My mom actually made the base of her crown with a plastic pie-container lid! She cut an ‘X’ in the center of the lid so it would better sit on her head, and covered it with glittery gold paint. Next, she tied grocery-bag netting around it, and trapped shells, starfish, and plastic under-the-sea toys in the netting. She layered more ribbon and puka shells to fill it out. To top it off, she tied a large starfish to the front netting. We kept it secured to my sister’s head with a few large bobby pins.

To finish off the costume, my sister wore many pearl, puka shell, and beaded necklaces of varying lengths. She also wore bangles and pearl bracelets for a “look at this stuff, isn’t it neat” look. (Yes, Ariel is my favorite Disney princess.)

Happy Costuming!

October 12, 2014October 12, 2014

DIY Halloween Costume #1 – Glinda

Hello World,

From the my last blog post, it has been established that I love Halloween. I love decorating, making delicious treats, and most of all I love dressing up for Halloween. I think I inherited the love of costumes from my mom, as my mom always had awesome DIY costumes every year growing up.

Recently, I was looking through old photos, and realized many of my mom’s costumes would still be great costumes to worn today. She went digging through her costume bins, and found she still had many of the items needed for each costume. My mom, being a good sport has remade and modeled some of best ones, and I’ll be sharing them all up until Halloween.

To kick off this Halloween costumes series, today I’m first sharing her Glinda costume. (1 Because The Wizard of Oz is still one of my favorite movies. And 2 because the sleeves are just that great.)

The dress she is wearing is actually a bridesmaid dress she wore back in the 80’s. She then tied some glittery pink tulle and ribbon around her waist to add a little more pizzazz, and stuffed her sleeves with tissues to make them even more amazing.

The petticoat she has under the dress is also from the 80’s wedding, and has so many layers of tulle. To pull off a Glinda costume, I’d highly recommend wearing a cage or petticoat to fill out your dress more.

She bought her crown at a Halloween costume story for less than $10 a few years ago. For her wand (you can find similar ones at the dollar store), she tied silver and gold curled ribbon to it to dress it up. She used a 1-inch curling for her hair, and wore glittery and pearl accessories to top off her look.

Happy Costuming!

October 8, 2014October 12, 2014