Halloween Bat Costume

This Halloween Riley ask to be a bat. Not Batman, but an actual bat. Of course there are no bat costumes at the stores, so I decided to go the easy route and start with a black hoodie as a base.

What I used:

• 1 Black Hoodie
• 1/2 yard of Black Fleece
• 1/2 yard of Black Satin (machine washable)
• Black thread
• Needle
• Sewing Machine

This costume is basically just 4 pieces; 2 wings and 2 ears. I started by cutting out a bat wing shape from black fleece that fit from the cuff to the waist band. Then I cut a mirror image for the other wing. Finally I used those two pieces as a template to cut the satin fabric. 

Putting the RIGHT sides together I sewed around the edges and left an opening large enough to flip the wings inside out. I pressed the wings flat and the 'quilted' the wings to make them look more like bat wings. The last step was to sew the wings along the arms and the body of the hoodie. 

I made the ears by cutting triangles, two out of the fleece and two out of the satin. Again, sewing the RIGHT sides together, leave the base of the triangle open to flip the ears inside out. Press the ears flat and then fold the ear in half, satin side in, sew along the bottom of the triangle. To attach the ears to the hood, I hand-sewed each ear with a flat bottom to make the ears stand up on the hood. Just a few stitches holds the ears on tight.

This costume was super quick to make, and it doesn't take a pattern since you just cut it to fit based on the size of the hoodie. The best thing is that because of the fabrics this whole costume can just be washed in the machine and wore over and over. Halloween is coming soon! What are you going to be this year?

Striped Play Rug - DIY

I have been working on Riley's room for the last week; painting, organizing, and cleaning out old toys and clothes. (I still need to hang his book shelves and his pictures on the wall.) Since we went for a neutral white walls in his room too I thought I would add a bit of color with a rug. OK, a lot of color. This rug is actually four small inexpensive rag rugs from a big box store. Each rug was $3.50 and I choose two rugs of each color pattern so the stripes would line up when I stitched them together.  Thirteen dollars for a 6 foot by 4 foot play rug is a steal!!

You can see a seam where I attached the ends, but it should flatten out with time. Riley decided that he needed a play ice cream shop too, so I made him one from an old presentation board Jered had left over from school. He loved it, probably more than the rug. We have been enjoying beautiful weather here in Iowa. Hope your weekend was as nice as ours.

Industrial Pipe Desk -DIY

When Max decided he wanted his own room again I knew he was at the age that he was going to need a desk in his room. I decided to make him an industrial style desk out of galvanized pipes from the hardware store. It's very simple and boyish, and hopefully will hold up to rough treatment. 

Here is what I bought at the hardware store:

• 2 of  a 12 X 48 Shelf - $21.52
• 4 of 18 inch pipe - $12.96
• 4 of 8 inch pipe - $9.16
• 2 of 12 inch pipe - $4.98
• 4 of T-pipe - $4.96
• 8 of Floor Flanges - $26.88
• 1 can black spray paint - $3.68
• 3/4" screws  - $0.64
• 4 metal braces - $2.18

Total Cost of materials - $86.96

The floor flanges are the feet and the connection to the desk. I used the 8 inch and the 18 inch pipes to make the legs, and the 12 pipes are the brace between the legs for stability. The T-pipe makes the connections between the legs. 

The Floor Flanges have places to connect to the desk with screws. I used 3/4" screws so that they did not pierce the top of the desk. 

The desk top is two shelves put together with metal brackets. Four brackets are evenly spaced along the seam of the two boards and bind them together.

Before I put the legs on to the desk top I sprayed them a flat black quick dry paint to match the shelves in his room. 

I also made Max a recycled can light from a large can and a light cord. The industrial pipe desk was a pretty easy project to complete and it took about an hour from start to finish. The cost of the materials was a bit higher that I expected, but the results were great. Max really likes having his own desk and has actually been doing his homework without being asked, and that is priceless.

All you need is...

Love - isn't that what we all need right now? Winter is really hanging on hard here in the Midwest and my family has been fighting the flu all week. (Not fun!) Also my family is going through lots changes right now which makes me need a good cheering up. I saw this pin on Pinterest and I absolutely knew I had to have a marquee LOVE sign. I have been wanting to make this for a while and February seems like the perfect month to finally do it. Lights always make me happy! 

First I bought some cardboard letters at Jo-Ann fabrics. 

I cut out the back of the letters and removed the inside cardboard support. Note that MOST letters are the same either way - L is not one of those letters!

Then I figured out where to place the lights evenly across the letters. I used two packages, with 20 lights each, so 40 lights total. My lights use battery packs and LED so they are not a fire hazard. 

To poke the holes was actually quite easy. I used a nail and hammer to make a tiny hole, then enlarge the hole with a pencil, and then even larger with a paint brush handle. The holes were just large enough for the lights to fit through.

I used some cardboard poster sheets cut into strips, 1 1/2 inch wide, glued around each letter. Just plain Elmer's school glue worked the best, and the clothes pins held it while the glue dried.

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Once the glue was dry, I painted the letters with white craft paint, let that dry, and then spray painted them gold for the final shiny finish. 

I pushed the lights through the back and hid all the cords inside the pockets of the letters. I really like the way it looks when the sign is all lit up. Right now I have them hung on the wall, but you could also place on a shelf or mantle since they do stand up on their own. What would your sign say if you made one?

Thumbprint Cookies

It is ten days until Christmas. That's right. Ten. Since Thanksgiving was so late in November, my whole schedule is thrown off. Anyone else feeling this way? At least I have my gift list under control. Today I got around to baking our third Christmas cookie, Almond Thumbprints. I  always use raspberry preserves and orange marmalade, but any jam works. 

Almond Thumbprint Cookies

2 sticks of butter, softened

2/3 cup sugar

1/2 tsp almond flavor

1 3/4 cup of flour

Raspberry Preserves

Orange Marmalade

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Cream together butter and sugar until completely combined
3. Add almond flavor and mix again
4. Add flour by halves mixing completely each time. If dough is too sticky you can add up to 1/4 cup more flour.
5. Roll into equal balls and press with thumb. Fill each cookie with jam. 
6. Bake for 14 minutes, or until slightly brown on bottom.
7. Cool and then drizzle frosting (recipe below) over cookies.

Almond Frosting

1/2 cup confectioners sugar

2 tbsp milk

1 tsp almond flavor

Mix together completely. If not able to drizzle, add more milk one tablespoon at a time.

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In other news, Riley got to paint his Christmas train today. I always try to get the kids some sort of craft to work on in case we get snowed in or just bored on the weekends. He also worked on some ornaments for family presents. Making is the best for giving.

Chocolate Cookies

Day two of Christmas Cookie baking, and this time it's my Best Ever Chocolate Cookies. These cookies are like brownies in a cookie shape. They are great plain or topped with peppermint butter cream frosting.

The Best Ever Chocolate Cookies

1 cup butter softened

1 cup white sugar

¾ cup packed brown sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 ¼ cup Hersey’s Cocoa Powder

1 ¾ cup flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Cream together butter, both types of sugar, egg and vanilla.
3. Blend together Cocoa Powder, flour and baking soda.
4. Combine wet and dry ingredients until completely mixed.
5. Bake for 9 minutes. Let cool a bit before moving to cooling rack. 

Peppermint Butter Cream Frosting Recipe 

1 cup of softened butter

3 cups of confectioners' sugar

1 tsp peppermint extract

1 tsp vanilla 

1 or 2 tablespoons whipping cream 

Crushed peppermints for garnish

1. Whisk the sugar and butter together in a medium bowl on low speed until blended well.
2. Increase the speed to medium and beat 3 minutes. 
3. Add the vanilla and peppermint and cream. Beat 1 more minute.
4. Frost cookies and garnish with crushed peppermint.

Also it SNOWED!!! It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas around here.

Christmas Cookies

One of my favorite Christmas time traditions is cookie baking. This year I am making five family favorites. I try to pick a variety of flavors so that not everything on the plate is the same. The plan: One simple cookie, one citrus flavored, one fruity, one spicy, and one chocolate. The simple cookie I picked was my Aunt Lettie's Powdered Sugar cookies. They are lighter version of shortbread, but have the same sort of simple taste.

Aunt Lettie's Powdered Sugar Cookies

1 cup butter - softened

1 cup powdered sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

2 cups flour

1 tsp soda

2 tsp cream of tartar

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Cream together butter, powdered sugar, egg and vanilla. 
3. Combine flour, soda, and cream of tartar in a separate bowl. 
4. Slowly add flour mixture to the butter mixture a third at a time, combing completely before adding more. 
5. Roll into tablespoon sized balls and bake for 10-12 minutes. Cookies should be lightly browned on bottom. 
6. Store in an airtight container after cooled.

Shining Star...

 

This year's Christmas chalk art was inspired by Have yourself a Merry little Christmas carol. Looks like snow is in the forecast for us here in the Midwest. So excited for snow!

Riley is Four

On Saturday Riley turned 4! When I asked him what kind of party he wanted, he quickly said a doughnut party with lots and lots of sprinkles. To say the least I was excited! Finally a non-cartoon character party theme, and I can definitely work with doughnuts and sprinkles. 

I made the invitation for his party with a simple doughnut picture with lots of sprinkles.

For the party I made some simple party hats with confetti in the shape of a number 4. Brunch menu was many different kinds of doughnuts and even I used doughnut holes dipped in white chocolate and sprinkles for a cake pop like treat.  There were also some not-so-sweet choices, a mixed fruit tray and some cheese and spinach quiches.

For drinks we had white, chocolate, and strawberry milk served in milk bottles with paper straws. The milk bottles were just recycled Starbucks frappe bottles with the labels removed. Basically free and super cute glasses. There was also coffee (for the adults) and hot chocolate with whipped cream and sprinkles (of course!).

The table decorations were made from white powdered sugar doughnuts, with confetti poppers, and thank you gift bags. We also had clear balloons filled with confetti. The birthday "cake" was just doughnuts with white frosting and sprinkles stacked on a cake stand with candles.  

It was a super sweet party for a super sweet boy. Riley is a happy and gentle guy with lots of love for everyone. Four has to be my favorite age.

Day of the Dead / Halloween Recap

Halloween was a bit wet and very cold this year, but we still dressed up and went out Trick or Treating. As today is November first, it's appropriate that we all dressed as skeletons and Day of the Dead costumes.

I really like the whole look of the sugar skulls, and the costume is so simple. Wear black, make a crown of flowers, and paint your face. Jered's costume was just as simple with a black hat, a skull tie and face paint. 

Riley and Max had masks they decorated and colored. (Though Max is not wearing his mask in his photo). 

Basically the whole Trick or Treating went like the photo below, a blur. The kids all had a great time and ate way too much sugar. Hope everyone had a safe and happy Halloween!