Matador costume hits the Halloween party circuit

We went to a big old party for kids with congenital heart defects on Saturday. It was quite the shebang.

That was just the dessert and decor. There was also a lunch buffet, a DJ and dance floor and a spooky trick-or-treat trail.

It was such a nice party, and totally free, put on by Hearts of Hope Michigan for its members. And of course, it meant our first run-through in the Halloween costume. Introducing, el Matador Luke!

Witness: the ribbon ripping out of his cape within the first hour of the party. I guess it's back to the sewing table with that one!

The costume came from a book called Cute and Easy Halloween Costumes for Kids. I snagged it from Border's going-out-of-business sale for $11. It was magic: I pulled it off the shelf and flipped it open and landed on the matador page. We'd been planning on having Luke be a matador since the spring -- and there was a blueprint for me! Magic!

Most of the work went into this little bedazzled vest. I had some major issues with it, mostly due to rushing. I didn't take my time measuring and cutting correctly. That's always a really stupid thing to do. When I started to put the vest together, it was too short and funky, things weren't lining up. I added length to it, and that's why the rick-rack doesn't go all the way to the bottom.

But it works, right? I had to add "Ole" to the back, just for fun.

A felt hat and tie -- super easy -- were the only other pieces I made. Well, and the satin cape. The black leggings and pink socks came from a Mom2Mom sale. Did you know matadors wear pink socks? They do! I'm sure everyone looks at his costumes and wonders why our little boy is wearing pink socks, but you have to be authentic as possible about these things.

This little guy? I'm not done with his costume. He'll be the bull, eventually. This weekend, he was a hot-dog. A hand-me-down from Luke.

I really want to eat this hotdog right up.

I guess I'll still make his bull costume. Because it'll make more sense when it's a matador and a bull, rather than a matador and his friend, the hotdog. Right?

My new love: my scarflette

What's a scarflette you ask? 

Yeah, it's just some word I made up. 

Kinda cheesey. I know.

But I love my little scarflette, which is, as you guessed, a shorter, sassier version of the plain old scarf. One that just crosses around your neck. You really need some sort of closure for this.... I didn't add one myself, but might go back and add velcro. For now, I just pin it from underneath, which is fine, because it is so cute and cozy that I typically want to leave it there all day.

Ir's still comforting and warm, but not as bulky as a long scarf. Don't get me wrong, I love long scarves, too. But I thought this could be a nice change of pace. 

I had some fun making this little fabric flower. Every time I make a fabric flower, I hear Michael Kors complaining about things looking like craft projects on Project Runway. But whatever, I'm not on Project Runway, I'm not trying to make Fashion, and this is indeed a craft project. So fabric flowers it is. Mine is made of fabric and felt scraps and is stitched in place.

I have had this splattery-grey, mensware-looking fabric in my stash for more than a year. I picked it up at Arts and Scraps. I don't know what kind of fabric it is, but it had a bit of stretch in it. Then I picked up the old-man, red-and-black plaid flannel from the remnant bin at Jo-Ann's. I got home and decided they were destined to go together.

Altogether the fabric for this little project probably cost me about three bucks, at most. Yay. Love that.

We had a really glorious early October, with many days in the 70s. Well, those days are gone. Now, it's blustery, gray and chilly.

Why yes.... it's scarflette weather. 

I'm going to enter this in the Stitched in Color, Celebrate Color contest. Fun times!

Also linked up at....
 

Easy DIY Halloween costume, take two

Are you ready for the easiest DIY Halloween costume ever?

And dare I say, one of the cutest?

Here it is!

Charlie Brown!

This was Luke's costume when he was 1. I can't even remember him being this small. Crazy. But wasn't he a doll? Let me tell you, if you have a smallish boy, you should really consider Charlie Brown. It's just so nostalgic and cute. Tons of compliments will flow your way, believe me. And it's very simple.

Step one: find a yellow T-shirt. I got mine at a thrift store.

Step two: Use a Sharpie to draw a big zig-zag along the bottom of the shirt. Or if you want to be a little extra crafty, cut a zigzag out of felt and sew it on. I didn't know how to sew back then, so I took the easy route.

Step three: Use an eyebrow pencil to draw a curlicue on his forehead.

Step four: Pair this with dark pants, a football and whatever under-the-T layers you need to keep your kid warm.

Done!

Super fast, super cheap, super cute and memorable.

My new green door

Thanks to all who voted for me in the Stitched in Color Celebrate Color contest! I did not win, but I can't begrudge the two winners. They were both really fabulous, and if I wasn't totally all about winning fabric for myself, I probably would have voted for one of them as well. So congrats!

Also, a few people have emailed me asking how to make the rosettes. I followed this tutorial. You basically cut a circle out of felt -- the bigger the circle, the bigger your finished flower will be. Then cut the circle into a spiral. Roll the spiral up from one end and glue it at the end. That's it! If you cut the circle with scallops or points (like a sun) you wind up with some different types of petals and variations in your look. It's fun to experiment, and see what you end up with. I hot glued my rosettes to pieces of scrap felt, and then hot glued those right to the wreath form. That's it! Here's my original post.

By the way, the wreath is looking lovely these days on my new green door. Yup, I listened to you! I wanted to paint the door orange or yellow... But you said, no Krista, no. Green. Green is it. I think you were right.

Here she is!

The color is Saguaro by Sherwin-Williams. It took one goat of grey primer and three coats of paint to get a nice, even color. I did the first two coats last weekend, including one Sunday, a day I had 50 people over for a party. Ha ha ha! I am so smart.

Here's the before pic, and then the after.

I love it. Especially with the pumpkins and mums! Thanks for pointing me to green, friends!

Felt flower fall wreath

First off all, thanks for those who commented in the sewing confessional! It's so nice to know that you're also ignoring your tension and totally forgetting about what needle you're using. And not caring about which needle size is right to use anyway! That's another one I am very bad at. I just use the same needles for everything.
Glad to know I'm not alone!

I had some fun with my sewing machine, wrong needles and all, last weekend. I'll show you my project shortly! But first:

Another project completed inspired by something found on Pinterest!

I'm loving Pinterest. You? I really don't want to just pin pin pin and never make the things I pin. So I'm trying to be diligent about that. This weekend, I carved out some time to turn some of the inspiration from my wreath pin board into a new fall wreath for my door.

The board had lots of good inspiration, but I honed in on this one.

Isn't it pretty? I thought those rosettes were orange, but the blogger says they're mustard. I had orange in my head though, and went to the store for orange felt. The only orange felt I saw had a distinct I'm-about-to-go-hunting vibe though. So I skipped it and went with mustard (probably the same mustard?), two shades of brown and a mossy green.

Then I made many rosettes, some small. Some big. At least half were yellow because I thought that would pop best. I still really wish I'd found some way to get some orange in there. But oh well. I like the results as they are!

Not too "country," is it? At one point I had some fake berries stuck in it, but my friend pointed out it looked a little less Martha and a little more country that way. I think she was right.

What's on your door for the fall?

PS. I just might enter this into the Stitched in Color Celebrate Color contest. Go check it out here!