Halloween 2010: Woodland Creatures

Happy Halloween! Eric and I went to a costume party last night. Eric resurrected his David the Gnome costume, and re-purposed a dress from high school and dressed as a fairy princess.

The party was at a restaurant, and dinner was served. It's pretty interesting eating with wings on. And Eric had to take his beard off. Ha! It was great fun. :)

Halloween 2009

I hope everybody had a wonderful Halloween! Mine was pretty grand. (But can somebody tell me why it was hot yesterday? It was in the low 70s; geez Louise!)

I was so excited to finally wear my awesome costume in public! Eric looked great, too! I've been thinking about these costumes since last year when I saw this on Martha Stewart.

When I found out that Brooke and Mike didn't have costumes, I put my thinking cap on. Yesterday afternoon Brooke and I set out on a mission while Eric and Mike were at school taking a class (9 - 5). Curious about the results of our shopping trip?

They were really good sports and played along with my Little Red Riding Hood theme.

We all piled into Eric's car and headed to a friend's for a little party (and a lot of candy). It was a great night, and I totally loved my cape. I just might wear it around the house year-round - it's that cool!

Costume break-down:

Little Red Riding Hood

1. cape: my mom made it from curtains she salvaged from a restaurant that went out of business
2. dress: $4.00 at Good Will (children's section = better deal!)
3. tights: $0.25 at Good Will (un-used in original packaging)
4. shoes & basket: I already owned these

Big Bad Wolf

1. sweatshirt: $20.00 at Label Shopper
2. ears & tail: my mom made them out of sheepskin we already had (how ironic!), a wire hanger (to give the ears structure), and some $0.20 felt from WalMart
3. whiskers: I made them from pipe cleaners from variety pack that was $3.00 at Michael's
4. fangs: $12.99 at some Halloween store
5. claws: $11.99 at some Halloween store
6. pants & boots: Eric already owned these

Gramma

1. curlers (taken out before photos, but awesome): I already owned them
2. nightgown: $15.00 at Marshalls
3. slippers: Brooke's

Wood Chopper

1. plaid shirt: $15.00 (I think) at Target
2. ax: $4.00 at some Halloween store (it was a grim reaper thingy, so I shortened it at home)
3. pants, belt, shoes: Mike's

I think we did a pretty good job reusing things we already own and making things work. Thanks mom, for ALL of your help with our costumes!

Little Devil

I'm getting excited! Halloween is just around the corner. Somebody give me a bag full of candy!

Speaking of Halloween, when I was in North Adams, my mom and I found a doggy devil costume at Good Will for like $3. You know we couldn't resist!

As soon as we got home I squeezed Z into it. It was a little snug, but totally awesome. He's a wiggly little guy, so it was hard to get a photo.

Isn't he funny?

Today's Lost In Thoughts is all about Halloween, so make sure to check it out and tell me about your Halloween traditions!

Owl Cards & David The Gnome

The top picture shows the treats I gave to friends. I made the owl in photoshop and on the inside the card just says "Happy Halloween!" I included tootsie pops because after I made the owl I kept thinking about the "How many licks does it take?" owl from the old commercials!

In the other pictures, The Schwarz is modeling his David the Gnome costume. It was a big hit last night and he got a lot of compliments. While many people knew which gnome he was portraying, he was also mistaken for the travelocity gnome and a dwarf (from Snow White). Anyway, I made the hat, and the rest of the outfit was made of pretty standard clothing. We attached a small purse to his belt because David wore a belt with bag (the gnome form of a  fanny pack?) to keep his medical supplies and herbs handy. Staying true to the character, we filled the bag with band aids and aspirin. 

Frog Princess

I'm a frog princess today - a new take on an old classic. I guess traditionally I'd be a regular princess, but a frog princess is just so darn cute. I am proud to say that I made this costume all by myself! I had a lot of fun sewing all of the pieces together and turning a plain sweatshirt into something recognizable.  On the bottom I have a short (too short, in my opinion) skit, green tights, and green felt covering my shoes. 

Ever since I can remember my mom's been making our Halloween costumes, and if there's one thing she's taught me, it's that wonderful costumes can be made from sweatsuits! Why? Well we live in New England and it's usually pretty cold when it's finally time to go trick-or-treating. If you want people to be able to see more than just the pant legs of your costume, it needs to be warm. Costumes made with a sweatsuit base allow for ample layering, meaning you can leave the winter jacket at home! 

Although I won't be trick-or-treating this year, I'm happy to carry on the family tradition. 

Happy Halloween!

I like to give credit where credit is due, so I'll let you know that I got the basic (Frog Prince) idea from Martha Stewart. She has a number to unique and simple costume ideas on her website.

Jack-O-Lanterns

I love it! People really get creative at Halloween. The one in the back looks like it has seen better days, but the two in front are still fresh and silly. Sure, they probably saw this idea in a magzine or online, but they still went ahead and did it. They made the effort and look at the delightful result! They chose wonderful pumpkins and carved them well. 

Stalking

What this black can doesn't know: that's a fake crow. 

I'm getting so excited for Halloween! I love when people decorate their lawns in ways I haven't seen before. This crow is so realistic that I wanted to stop and check it out. I couldn't believe it when the cat came over too! Holy Halloween luck batman!