I'm not into the creepy and scary side of Halloween but I love the whimsy of being able to dress up as someone/thing else, no matter how old you are. It's a day to let loose, have fun and not take anything too seriously. 1. I wanted Devin's first costume to be a memorable (yet simple) one. I have very fond memories of watching The Joy of Painting with my grandma growing up + Devin already had a pair of jeans and a denim shirt in his closet so I thought baby Bob Ross would be perfect. All I needed to buy was a baby afro wig/beard (from eBay). I printed a Bob Ross painting I found online and made a paint palette to match... and voila! 2. Since it was Devin's first Halloween, I thought it'd be a cute idea for Andy to dress up too. Andy's not really into dressing up so I needed a costume that would't require much effort on his part. I'm an 80s kid so Wayne's World was big growing up. I bought a hat online, Andy already had a black t-shirt and I had a black wig from a costume a few years earlier. For Devin, I ordered a yard wig from Etsy. I bought black plastic glasses on Amazon and printable transfer sheets. I ironed on an Aerosmith logo to Devin's onsie and paired it with a flannel I found on Gap. I think Devin will get a kick out of this picture when he's older. 3. Devin went through a phase where he absolutely loved balloons. So UP! was an easy choice for Devin's 2nd Halloween. Devin already had khaki shorts and a yellow polo in his closet. I paired it with a yellow hat I found on eBay. Made his scarf, flag and sash from random craft supplies and badge images I found online. 4. It was Kelsey's first Halloween + probably the last time Devin will let me pick his costume. I wanted something that could keep the kiddos fairly warm and that I could make myself - Star Wars seemed like a good choice. Everything was made using discount fabric (found at Hobby Lobby), yarn, headband, and a Kleenex box. I used clothes they already owned to figure out the right dimensions to make Kelsey's Princess Leia dress and Devin's Jedi robe. Who needs a sewing machine when we have glue guns?! Total cost = $15. 5. Of course, I couldn't be left out of the fun. My coworkers wanted to do a Super Mario theme so I picked Toad since it seemed like an easy costume to make myself. I made my mushroom hat with cardboard, a plastic kitchen bowl and an old pillow/case. I made my vest using an old long sleeve shirt I already had in my closet. Total cost = $0!
Now, time to start planning next year's costumes. 😉
While looking into unicorn decorations on Etsy for my friend's daughter's 6th birthday party (see previous blog post), I came across a couple sellers that had unicorn headpieces for sale. They were adorable but a bit more than what I wanted to spend. Whenever I see something cute online, I tend to ask myself whether it's doable to make it myself - then I can add my own personal touches and it's usually a lot more affordable. My friend didn't have any activities planned for the party so I suggested having all the little guests make their own party hats or unicorn crowns, in this case.
She liked the idea so I went to my fave spots - Dollar Store, Michaels and Hobby Lobby to buy fake flowers and ribbon. I bought plain white headbands on Amazon. I grabbed some of my craft supplies (scissors, glue guns/sticks, scrapbook paper) and setup a craft table at the party. The crowns were a big hit. The little ones needed help from their mommies with the glue gun but they all had a great time designing their own crowns.
I, along with my other girlfriends, even made crowns. Of course, I couldn't leave Kelsey out so I made her a mini crown too. Yes, my crown was a bit much but unicorns are supposed to be fabulous and over the top, right?
Total cost was less than $23 and it made 11 crowns.
5 years ago, my friend Chantha, asked me where she could buy cookies in bulk. This was at a time when dessert tables were becoming really popular and she wanted to have a cookie bar at her daughter's 1st birthday. This was also around the time I started to get into baking so I recommended an obvious and logical choice - me! LOL. To my surprise, the cookies went over really well... and I've been in charge of taking care of Aiyla's birthday dessert table ever since.
Below are some pictures of Aiyla's past dessert tables. 2nd Birthday - Princess Sophia (I didn't make the cake) 3rd Birthday - Tinkerbell 4th Birthday - Inside Out 5th Birthday - Princess Tea Party I love orders for this particular friend because she gives me creative rein on all desserts. I get to pick all the treats and come up with the designs. I just need to stick to the theme. This year, Aiyla wanted unicorns for her 6th birthday so cute, very girly and colorful was the goal. The dessert table included: a unicorn cake (vanilla cake with fresh strawberries and cream cheese frosting filling), panna cotta, cake pops, pretzel rods, chocolate covered Oreos and sugar cookies. Dessert details below (click to enlarge). |
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