How to Make 3 Halloween Costumes for Less than 20 Dollars

I love making Halloween costumes.  I don't know why.  I just get a kick out of it. But the challenge to me isn't how elaborate I can make a costume, but rather, how can I make them out of the cheapest materials possible. I think I did all right this year:

Behold, the Paper Doll:

We made this from scraps of fabric I had on hand,
a swatch of butcher paper
two sheets of poster board
spray adhesive
hot glue
and bias tape
and a feather from my feather duster

What I like about it:
1. Mattie designed the dress herself
2. It isn't ridiculously sexy for a young girl.

 Look out for the LegoMan:

I made this from an empty cheese ball container (from Sam's)
a foam life belt from the thrift store (99 cents)
the bottom of an oatmeal container
two plastic drink cups
lots of hot glue
Krylon spray paint for plastic
and a circular metal candle holder that I cut in half to make the curved hands.


The only problem with this costume is that he can't use his hands much.  But it turned out pretty cool.


And that brings us to Tinkerbell.

Charleigh always thinks up cool things that she wants to be for Halloween.  The other two labor over it, auditioning ideas for their cool factor ...and I have to shoot some of their ideas down, like when Vin wanted to be Neil from Dead Poet's Society. (Not an easy one to explain at a stranger's front door.)  But Chuck usually just pipes up sometime close to Halloween what she wants, typically low maintenance.   So when I was in the thrift store the other day and a pair of fairy wings brushed my arm on the half-off rack, I was all over it.  The wings turned out to be attached to a very cheap and flimsy green dress or shirt which reeked of BO.   I took it home, took the wings off, soaked it in a vinegar bath and it turned out fine.  At the thrift store, I also found a pair of camo ballerina flats, a big yardage of green felt for a dollar and a little piece of gold lame' for 25 cents.   

I'm not a great seamstress, but I tweaked the dress into a shirt and a pair of pantaloons, and the felt into a tunic, to which I sewed the wings (which worked much better since the felt has more body than the flimsy stuff).  I used a couple of scraps to make rosettes on her shoes and some more scraps for hair-bows.  I also made a little over-skirt with the gold, trying to give her some warmth in layers.  Finally, I bribed her to eat her eggs this morning by telling her she could wear some green eyeshadow.  Done.

And that, my friends, is three cute costumes on the cheap.

Here We Go Again

Charleigh is a big 2nd grader.

I told her to keep her teeth in her head. Three are hanging by strings.

Calvin is at the top of the food chain....fifth grade.

I told him to take care of his little sister. Which he would do anyway.

Mattie is a 7th grader. Which I am in denial about.

I told her to take her own preferences seriously but be kind to kids who looked like they were scared.

snapping pics in the car lane is always appreciated, right?

bye!

Love you!

I'll just be here when you get home. Looking at your baby pictures.

2010
2009
2008
2007
2006

The Birthday Boy

I often wonder about my son...what he will grow up to be. 

I worry, of course, because I know that life will be tough to navigate if you don't learn to turn down each and every dessert that comes your way, to finish books that seem a little boring at first, and to save your money for a rainy day instead of letting it burn a hole in your pocket.

On the other hand, when you are incredibly bright and curious and aren't afraid of girls, when you always notice babies and love to make them laugh, when you look out for others and care about the people around you, well...maybe you will turn out just fine.

My sweet boy, Calvin is not at all embarrassed to hold my hand or kiss me goodbye in front of anybody. He cheerfully greets me every morning, happy that the day has started, the only morning person and the only extrovert in this house.  He is the sweetest of big brothers to Charleigh and tries hard to understand his big sister, even though she is very different from him.  He knows that Mattie is almost a teenager and maybe that explains why she won't let him hug and kiss her.  He loves football and video games and doing well at school.  He is a good friend and has some very good buddies that are all really good guys, too.  He is happy that our friend Jamal has moved back into the area so he will have somebody to play Risk and other board games with and he has recently discovered the podcast, "Stuff You Missed in History Class."  He keeps a box of papers and cards that are important to him and is a sentimental fellow about his Kindergarten teacher, Bonnie Culp.

My Vin is ten years old today.  I love him the way a mother loves her only son...that strange mix of adoring him, worrying about him, annoying him by worrying about him, laughing at him, being so utterly grateful for him and then going back to adoring him.

It's the Last Day of School

This school year has flown by...I don't think I ever felt like I got on top of it.  And I think I spent the entire month of May writing a check for five dollars for this or that field trip.  The kids love to inform me of what is coming soon.  "Hey mom, in two years, we'll be in three different schools!"  Yikes.  Color me scattered.

Last year, the summer was planned to the enth degree with trips all over the country, camps and more.  But we bonked on filling out the camp forms this year, so we are only on the waiting list. And neither of our cars is really road worthy for a cross-country trek.  So I don't know what we are going to be doing this summer.

So I am going to dream a little. I am dreaming of saying yes to the kids as often as I possibly can.  Yes to the library and going to garage sales and having friends over and going to friend's houses.  And I am putting together a little list of things I can teach them if I just take the time....practical things like how to wash their own clothes, but also things we just always seem too busy for:  teaching Mattie to sew on her groovy vintage sewing machine.  Showing Vin new techniques on the digital camera.  Reading the Little House on the Prairie books with Charleigh.  

One of the big negatives about being a workaholic is that I operate in two speeds:  Super-fast go mode and basically dead.  I rarely function in a low-gear, steadily productive, energy saving, balanced way.  I don't even know what that looks like or if people really do work like that at all.  I've spent the last few weeks since recognizing my workaholic problem in the part of my crazy cycle where I don't do anything.  I'm too worn out.  I've been running full-tilt since February.  I'm exhausted.  I need rest.  I am conscious of trying to rest.  But soon, I will be tempted to ramp up again.  I can feel my curiosity returning, which usually leads to taking on projects.  With nothing particularly stressful happening during the summer, I can usually keep it under control, but with the season change in the fall, I will launch into another cycle of crazy.  I'd like to avoid that cycle if possible.  I'd like to try to plan for it and keep myself from going to that place that is so destructive to myself, my family and my relationships.

So I am dreaming of an industrious summer this year.  One in which I use each day to accomplish real goals. But also a summer when I shut down early each night and sit on the patio with my husband and recognize how good we have it. A summer that I don't regret. A summer when I don't run away from my kids and hide behind work.  I find the thought kind of challenging, but I know that sleeping in til 7:30 every day will really help!

I KNEW he looked familiar.

Thanks to the wonder of Netflix, I was watching Family Ties, when I finally figured out who Vin reminds me of. 

The Spring Picture Trap

Fortunately, we escaped the trap. Thanks, Vin for being a 9 year old boy. At least we know he brushed his teeth that morning.

A Typical Conversation with Vin, age 9

My son, my middle child, my gray-eyed wonder....

Rubs my back, despite my pretending to be asleep..
"Mom?  How you feeling, Mom?  Do you want coffee?"
I groan, pretending to be asleep a little longer...."Half."
"Half a pot? Ok, Mom. I'm on it.  I'm having some today. I have a busy day. Need to be awake!" 

Minutes later, he is back, and I hear the coffee pot percolating.

He climbs in bed, after showing me his outfit for the day. He is going to a movie with his friend.  He's wearing a Cleveland Browns t-shirt, skinny jeans and a vintage wool fedora.  "Lose the hat, Man. They won't be able to see over you in the theater."

"Hey Mom? I want more skinny jeans. They are really comfortable."

"ok."

"But not too skinny.  Like in Sunny, With a Chance....they are so skinny they can't get them on and then when they do, they fall over because the blood can't circulate."  He laughs to himself....This Disney show is high comedy to him. 

"Hey Mom?  George Washington's teeth were made out of whale bones, other bones and wood. Do you you think he ever got slivers?"

"Maybe.  I bet they just tasted bad."

"I have a loose tooth. Right here.  Actually two."

"Hey Mom?  Why did they take Ronald Reagan to the hospital when they didn't even know he was shot? "

"As a precaution."

"Oh.  Ok. That was something.  He just walks into the hospital and collapses. The bullet was like an inch from his heart.  How did he survive that?"

"He was really strong and healthy."

"Hey Mom?"   Hey Mom means subject change. "Have you ever owned stocks?"

"sort of. I have some investments. I guess that's what that is."

"I want to own stocks. Because you buy them, and then the companies that they are in give you money.  Do you think that businesses have stocks in other companies?"

"I...guess so."  I am fuzzy on this but I'm guessing yes.

"That would be weird.  Like if McDonalds had stock in Sonic.  They would be competition."

"Well maybe McDonalds has stock in like....beef....or something." 

"That would make more sense. Hey Mom?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you sore this morning?  Because when I was sick, I was sore. Like I think you have to use other muscles to throw up. "

"Yeah, I am sore."

"And did you have a headache?  Because I had a headache."

"Yeah, I had a headache too.  I took some ibuprofen."

"And did you sleep last night really hard?  Because I was exhausted."

"Yeah, Buddy, I slept hard."

"Yeah, I slept really hard when I was sick. I didn't sleep very well last night. I think I was excited. Ok. I'm going to go get your coffee.  I'm glad you feel better, Mom.  Kiss?"   He plants a smooshy kiss on my face before heading to the kitchen for two cups of coffee.  He will pause to freak out at his sister's threat to smash his lego creation upstairs.  She won't do it, but she knows she can yank him around...every time.  Then he won't be able to find his wallet and we'll have an argument over which coat he should wear.  And he left his gloves in dad's car.  He makes his little sister some toast before heading out the door with his friend.  

Oh, this boy.

The Deed is Done

In preparation for our fourth annual Book Character Day (in lieu of flat out Halloween at school)
Vin had a pretty specific idea in mind for his costume. It's not a surprise.  But I felt like I needed to take some very focused pictures that could some day pretty momentous ....you know....when he graduates from West Point.

(the other two, by the way....Chuck is getting ears at school to be one of the 101 Dalmatians and Mattie is obviously a fashion designer, duh.)

Before

My Dad.

He broke the clippers and probably my heart.

Oh be still my heart. This boy.  They say for every boy you have, they take two years off their mother's life.   This little over-achiever is probably taking four.

It's the First Day of School....Again

I'm having a hard time putting into words all the reasons I wasn't ready for school to start this year.  It's been such an amazing summer...I never got the chance to get tired of the kids being home from school.  Even yesterday, whipping their rooms and dresser drawers into shape, I knew I didn't want this day to come so soon.  Last year they were all safe and snug together in elementary school, but we are now the parents of a middle schooler. So I guess that dropping her off in a strange place among strange faces...who were friendly enough but not nearly as nurturing of us poor parents as elementary teachers are...was what prompted me to an odd bit of cliche behavior.  I remember calling my Mom on Mattie's first day of Kindergarten, in tears, confessing that I always thought it was really dumb for mommies to cry when their kids went to school, but maybe it isn't so silly after all....through sobs.  She assured me then that it's not silly at all.

Looks like I'm gonna need another pep-talk, Mom.

If You Build it They Will Come (ie...how to set up a craft show booth)

So here we are a couple of days from the show, and I was in desperate need of knowing
if I had enough stuff  to fill the space.  I've never done this kind of out door show, and I had a sense that I would need to practice a bit before setting up in the 85 degree weather they are calling for on Thursday.

So I taped off a section of my garage and worked on arranging my doors.  Oh, my doors. I love them so.  Three of them came from a boy-scout sale a couple of years ago. I paid a dollar a piece.  Robb was so incredulous at the time, but not a week later, I got my first show invite and he has since learned not to mess with the ways of the Junk Ninja.   The fourth door, the one that is very distressed and white...let me tell you about that.  I was driving down highway 412, a very twisty and lovely road, on my way back from the airport about a month ago, and I spotted this lying alongside the road.  I spun the van around and shoved it in the back with no clear idea why I felt that I simply must have this item.  It was attached with hinges to the door post and pierced through with many large nails,  but they hammered out just fine.  I scraped it down, trying not to breathe too much (what's a little lead paint here and there?) and used the attached hinges to secure it to my other door. Voilia.  I'd say three bucks is a very fair price for a booth display.

The crib, you may well recognize from my Heartwood Booth.  I decided not to reinvent the wheel and just dissembled it when I got my other items.  The crib belonged to my Great Grandma and Mom brought it home some 30 years ago with ideas in her head about what might be done with it.  It then hung in the barn for about 25 years until I was home one weekend with a vehicle big enough to stow it.   Dad fussed but Mom was triumphant that somebody shared her vision.   After a low time of me growing morning glories on it, it has become one of my favorite things in the world, giving me deep satisfaction for finding such a perfect use for it.

Now just try to picture it all with a black plastic curtain behind it since they are predicting rain after all (Today I buy the Wellies...whoohooo!)   I spent the day polishing up each piece, gluing wallpaper backing to each framed piece and hanging wires, sealing the grout and adding a little flourish to some of the frames.  My voice is still gone.

And while I was working this out, my children were doing what children do.....playing in cardboard boxes.

All for One and Three for Three!

We've been watching a lot of the Cosby Show lately on Netflix. I think He has given us permission to feel kind of excited about having the kids out the door.

Now that the moment is upon me though, I'm not sure what I feel. And so I will post some pictures and try to figure out what to do after that, not unlike Charleigh, who sat down in her spot and focussed on her coloring page like it was the last coloring page on earth. She wouldn't even look up to wave goodbye to us!