Sam I am

Well... I am only a couple weeks behind here, and October has long past us, and I am sure your Halloween spoils long since devoured. (Don't pretend like you don't gank your kid's candy) I couldn't let us pass over it entirely without sharing pictures of Sam's first Halloween... I know i'm late, but back up your brain just a smidge and soak in the cuteness that is about to hit you like BAM.

After much debate we landed on the perfect, clever, comfy, warm, and simple to sew costume for the boy. A little Dr. Seuss action... Sam I Am!
I used a pair for Sam's pj's as a pattern and whipped up some pants and a tunic out of fleece. Usually I am anti-fleece, but it's super cheap, stretchy and easy to sew with, which makes it perfect for costumes and fun. Plus it was super warm, which was important as it was super cold out during our festivities!

Sam was a huge fan of his sign, and the felt green eggs and ham. He also rubbed his legs and laughed hysterically the first time I put the fleece pants on him. The thing he didn't love... was his hat.

But with a little sweet talking, fast camera work, and a carrot bribe, we were able to get a few pics of him with it on... before he burst into angry tears or ripped it off and threw it.
Poor kid.
He did like being the center of attention though (he usually does) (Because he usually is). Mama even threw together a quick coodinating outfit, that was a hit with the kiddos! So many kiddos came by our house and shouted excitedly, You're the Cat in the Hat! or It's Dr. Seuss! Which made me laugh. My parents joined in on the fun and donned Thing 1 and Thing 2 visors with awesome blue hair. Good sports.

It was the perfect first Halloween costume for our little Sam I Am. I was happy that everything turned out well. I even got it done early-- and in time to submit pictures and be featured in an online costume parade on one of my favorite blogs! Fun!
Our little Sam was cute as can be. Can you even believe that little boy sitting on my lap is the same one in this picture at just 2 weeks old???

Tiny sweetie Sam I Am baby. How did you get so big???

That was Halloween around here! Better late than never.
I'm already onto all kinds of projects for other holidays and festivities... including a holiday market I am to be a part of next week. Whoo am I sewing my fingers off these days! What have you been up to while I've been away? :)

LOOK AT THIS: Halloween costumes

Can we turn this hot mess

Yuck! on the shapeless baggy dress, crazy hair, and pale makeupless face.



Into this fabulous costume idea?

Well... you tell me:

We are Millie Dilmount and Jimmy Smith from the Show Thoroughly Modern Millie. Cute, right?

The Costume party was for our Theatre group, so everyone was supposed to come dressed as characters from a show... My parents came as well... and they were:

Captain and Maria Von Trapp from The Sound of Music. (My mother would like to note that they are Act II SOM... so no whistle for the captain and no habit for Maria!) My mom MADE her dress too... She was trying to create Julie Andrews (Eeeks, I love her!) dress from the gazebo scene (Pic of the dress HERE)... but this is how the dress started:

Awesome, Right? That would be a heinous, stained, sz 24 mother of the bride dress, that we got for about $5 at the thrift store. She also made my dad--Captain Von Trapp-- a jacket. She did a great job. :)

And... just to show you one more crazy person who put way more effort into their costume than was necessary (HA!) My good friend Erin (with whom I planned the party) has a life-long dream (and I use the term 'dream' loosely, because it is more like an obsession... ha!) to play Mary Poppins in the stage musical. Here was her family inspiration:

Her costume started with thrift store finds that looked a little like this:

But with a little sewing and tweaking ended up like this:

Without a doubt... her cutest accessory was her son Dawson, dressed as a chimney sweep for the evening:

The party was super fun, and all the costumes were great! Unfortunately, my camera was forgotten and the food table and decor was rather destroyed by the time i remembered to ask someone to take pictures of it... so no decor pictures as promised.

But to assuage your sorrows, the boys enjoyed their first Halloween together with themed costumes as well (I love a good theme). The boys love their dad more than anything in the world... and so why not be just like him for Halloween???

Winston was a FedEx Courier... just like his dad. And Charlie...

WAS A PACKAGE! :) (Ahahahahahaha!)

They were much to concerned with kids, and stealing candy from the trick-or-treat bucket, and wrestling and playing to be bothered to sit still very long for a picture (see my hand holding Winston down???) but they were ridiculously cute and got many compliments and giggles from all the guests on Halloween... I think they had a great time too. Yay.

And... That's our Family's first Halloween. :) Hope yours was Lovely as well!

MAKE THIS: My Halloween Treat To-Do List

I told you about the Halloween party this weekend... decor is ready, costumes together, now it's time to make the food! And I have received tons of yummy inspiration from blogland for this party! I want to make:

These adorable candy corn inspired rice krispies from A Little Tipsy

This salty/nutty/sweet confections Cheri from I am Momma, Hear Me Roar! named Crows Feet. (That would be a pretzel topped with a Rollo and a pecan. YUUUUUMMMM!)

These Yummy looking bars from Bakerella (but I might make mine with some spicy Pear Butter, yum!)

Not a sweet tooth? I think this fun Mummy dip and veggie tray from Hostess with the Mostess is SO fun. (They piped that top layer of cream cheese on there to make it look like strips of cloth, though I originally thought it was thin strips of tortilla, which I guess could work as well)

And of course, no fall evening would ever be complete with our most favorite traditional snack: Mama P Mix. This is Z's mom's creation and it's 'trail mix' style combo of candy corn, peanuts, and m&ms. It's yummy, salty, sweet goodness!
Now it's your turn, talk to me: What festive treats will be on your table this Halloweekend? :)

DO THIS: Plan a BLACK AND WHITE Halloween Party!

My friend E and I decided it would be great fun to throw a costume party for the theatre group we are a part of. I mean, who knows how to dress up better than theatre geeks? We are having it the Saturday before Halloween, but we didn't want it to be a really 'halloween' themed event. Does that make sense? Kinda went with a slightly spooky black and white themed party... like... Halloween minus the gory stuff for grown ups. :) Make sense? Here are some inspiration pics we are drawing from.

(I apologize, not all of them have photo credits, because they are ones my friend sent me)

Martha Stewart

Good Housekeeping

Good Housekeeping

 We really liked these simple framed black and white signs... and that glittery bat? LOVE it.

Martha Stewart

Plus, we are making a display of candles like these that I made HERE

And we will have black and white framed shots from old shows... and some other unique touches. All our friends have been asked to come dressed as their favorite character from a show. I am still working on costumes for Z and I, and Erin is still working on hers... So we cannot yet reveal.  But I'll give you a hint: Mine involves LOTS of long red fringe and Erin's a long red coat and lots of soot. Hmmm...

I'm really looking forward to putting all the details together, and I will definitely show some pics after the party. :)

CREATE THIS: My Very First Halloween Decor

When we were growing up, we always got to participate in Halloween activities... but we didn't celebrate it, per say. We got to dress up (as something respectable, modest, or non-scary) and trick-or-treat and participate in the Halloween school parties and costume parade. My parents always handed out candy to trick-or-treaters but mom and dad never dressed up (though, i don't know why because my parents love a good costume, and any excuse they can wear one), and we were not ever the people who decorated their house or played scary music, or cackled like creepers as the children got their candy. I have never been to a haunted house (I must admit I have little desire to ever go) and my record with horror films is not great. We don't get into scary creepy stuff. And that's just fine with me.

But this year is a little different. This year I have my own home... and for whatever reason the need to decorate according to the season has struck me... AND along with one of my good friends we are planning a Halloween/costume party... and so Halloween decor has struck me as kind of fun. Still not into the creepy gory stuff... and the cheesy bright orange and purple is not really my gig... but what if Halloween decor could somehow be sophisticated and slightly spooky? That's our vision for our "Black and White" Halloween costume party... and I think this fits the bill:

slightly spooky Halloween candles

Here's how I made it happen.

I collected a bunch of ugly mismatched candle sticks. Most of them were brass... I got them at the good will for about 99 cents each. Well... the big one? I must admit, I splurged and paid $3 for her. But I loved her... look at her lovely shape! She just had to be a part of my party. (so if you are keeping track of cost, so far I have seven dollars invested in this, you could do it for much cheaper if you already have some ugly candle sticks or find them at garage sales or if you are thrifty-er than I and don't fall in love with a $3 candle stick. Sigh)

Yikes, look at them, they are kind of a motley crew.

Next I got out everybody's buddy... glossy black spray paint... and went to town on those suckers. (I actually didn't have the spray paint on hand, used the last of mine on a different project, so my large can of rustoleum set me back another $3) I turned them upside down first and sprayed from the bottom side for coat 1, just to make sure the bottoms of all those lovely ridges and curves were covered.

By the time they dried and I flipped them to apply coat #2 it was about 9:00 and dark out. I still tried to take a picture, of the FULLY PAINTED candlesticks, and this is what came out:

Creepy, no? I can't for the life of me figure out why the paint didn't show up in the picture??? Strangest thing! Ghosts! Or something. Haunting my Halloween Candlesticks! I love it!

So here's what the ladies look like all painted up and dry the next day:

So pretty and glossy and lovely... not bad as they are, but I told you they were to be my Halloween decor, so I placed them on the mantle... and let the spiders do their thing...

Then I turned out the lights for some atmosphere (and discovered how difficult it is to take a decent picture in the dark... ha!)

 I am pretty happy with the result. Actually, as I was shopping yesterday I saw this glittery black skull that was like, ooh, Halloween glam, and I really wish I would have bought it to add to the arrangement, but... that's okay. So there's my very first ever Halloween decor. Kinda fun? Slightly spooky? Maybe? A little?

Well, I like it, at least. And the whole thing went down for about $10. Which my pocket book loves!

Happy October! :)