Jake & Izzy Neverland Pirates Costumes {DIY No Sew Scalloped Tee Tutorial}

Remember back in the day when Halloween consisted of just one night when you went around your neighborhood and trick or treated your heart out?  Now, Halloween has turned into a month long extravaganza with parties, carnivals, parades, dances, events and a whole lot of candy.  I'm not really complaining since Halloween is one of my favorite holiday's but it does mean that I have to get an early start on the costumes.  Luckily the kids decided on what they wanted to be all the way back in May - Jake and Izzy from the Neverland Pirates.

And today I'm going to show you how I made the Izzy scalloped tee.  I know it seems weird for me to be on top of things and actually put out a holiday tutorial in an appropriate time frame in relation to the holiday but this year I shocked even myself and got 'er done!  Don't be fooled into thinking I have my act completely together though.  Just yesterday I found an uncashed check for my 25th birthday {I'm *ahem* 31.}  Also I went an entire day this summer running errands with my yoga pants on inside out.  There was even a little crotch panel and a tag on the back.  I died.  But I digress...  Let's get back to the costumes-

 

And just in case you don't know who Jake and Izzy are, it's these guys -

 

 

 

I'm sure you can guess by my lack of crafty posts lately that I have been not quite feelin' it in the creative department so I wanted to keep things as simple as possible and wanted to make these NO SEW!  Each costume consists of clothes they already have and a custom made-by-mom t-shirt. 

 

Each tee cost me $3.  The bandana was $1.99 and a $1 tube of puffy paint was all I needed.  The rest of the supplies (felt, fabric, buttons & ribbon) were from my stash. 

 

For Jackson's I mean Jake's tee I just hot glued pieces of felt onto the front.  I then glued on ribbon trim and buttons.  I chopped up the sleeves to give it that authentic tattered pirate look.  Or as Jackson would say, "Mom, I look like a pie-rick!"  If you're wondering about the face this is his "yargh!" face.

Maggie oops, Izzy, got the coveted pixie dust necklace.  I used hot glue to make a little pouch, filled it with a little fluff and tied it off with some ribbon.

But the great little scallops are what this tutorial is all about.

This scallop technique is a great no sew way to add a great detail to any costume.  I can see this working for a knight, or a fairy, a flower, you name it.

 

Are you ready for the world's easiest tutorial?

 

Step 1:  Cut off hem of shirt and turn it inside out.

 

Step 2:  Iron a strip of light weight iron on interfacing to the bottom of the shirt.  This will make sure the scallops on the cut t-shirt don't roll and keep their shape.

Step 3:  Draw scallops onto interfacing.  Tip - Start with a half scallop on the sides and work your way into the middle of the shirt so you have nice even scallops all the way around.

Step 4:  Cut.  I cut both layers at once so that the scallops were even on both sides.

Step 5:  Flip shirt right side out and add details with glitter puffy paint.  The glitter is important because for reasons unknown to man it makes girls feel pretty and fancy and it's just plain cute.

At this point I added my paint scallops to the arms, and neck as well.  After the 4 hours the bottle told me to let it all dry, I flipped it over and added the paint details to the backside of the shirt.

As far as tips for the bandana I would recommend putting it on your child and marking where the ear ends.  Do this for each side. 

Place your paint detail between those spots so that when you tie on the head band you don't get snagged up on paint and so none of the pattern gets lost in the tie.  It just makes for a cleaner look in my opinion.  Plus I didn't want to hear the freak out if the paint started to peel off from the friction of the tie because you know those kinds of things are the end of the world to a 5 year old.

 

 

And Booyah!  It was THAT easy! 

 

Costumes that require little time, little money and little skill and effort always get a big thumbs up from me!  Not to mention the joy they bring your kids.  Mine were so happy and grateful that not only did they hug me but they hugged each other.  It was a Halloween miracle.

 

So do tell, what are your munchkins going to be this year?? 

 

Feel free to link up any pics or posts you may have so we can all visit and give a great big collective "awe". 

 

Did I mention I just love Halloween? 

 

I love Halloween.

Harry Potter Doll

I have lots and lots of projects and tutorials to show you but life got a little crazy (but fun) around here. So in the meantime how about I show you one of my favorite projects about one of my favorite things??

Harry Potter!!

Now as I explain the rest it's important for you to hum the theme song in your mind. You know, for effect. (dum duh da dum da dah dum...)

For Christmas I designed this doll for my niece Macy. Her mommy is a super fan of Potter. I slacked for 6 months on sending it so little Macy came to Alabama all the way from Canada to claim it this weekend. (Okay so it wasn't the only reason, but it was a bonus) Macy loved it but I think her mommy loved it a little more. :)

How I Did It:

I hand drew the pieces. Besides the glasses and the hair it's basically a bunch of rectangles pieced together. All parts of the doll are made with fabric and pieces were appliquéd together and machine stitched for security. For his scar I used a red permanent marker. I stuffed the whole thing with fluff and whip stitched his side together.

Try it out! It's a fun little doll to make. Plus, everyone needs a little more Potter in their lives right!?!

Paper Bag Cowboy Costumes

If you're looking for Halloween costume ideas and you're as cheap and lazy as I am then here is the costume for you!

Introducing -

Paper Bag Cowboy Costumes

Me and Johnny boy rockin' it pre-kids {I'm 6 mo. pregnant here}

Would you like to know how much these costumes cost? 

$0 dollars

How long did it take me to make both costumes?

less than 30 minutes

I really feel like Halloween costumes should be free or almost free, repurposed from something else  or they need to serve a year round purpose.  I've never seen any point in expensive, elaborate costumes that you'll never touch again.  That's what wedding dresses are for.

These paper bag costumes are something I've done several times and they always are a hit {I've probably done this costume 3 or 4 times}.  People think they are hilarious and I've usually made them last minute.  One time a little girl even came up to my husband and said, "Hi Woody.  Hi other girl."  Ha ha! They are super simple.  These would also make for great play clothes for the kiddies anytime.  This is also an easy way to make an Indian costume.

For the vest:

1. Lay paper bag flat and draw a design of a vest and cut it out.  If you're making one for an adult use as much of the bag as you can.
2. Crumple up the vest and then uncrumple it and smooth it out.  If you take the time {unlike us} to do this a few times you can really get it to look like leather.
3. Turn the paper bag inside out {so the store logo is on the inside} and decorate however you want.  You can draw on detail, cow print, sheriff badges, etc.

For the chaps:

1. Cut out 2 pieces 1 for each chap.
2. Crumple up the chaps just like in #2 for the vest {above}.
3. Use scissors to cut fringe along the outside of each chap.
4. Punch holes in the top of the chaps and string yarn through the holes.  Tie around waist.

For the belt buckle:

1. Cut out an oval from cardboard.
2. Cut out your initial from cardboard and attach to oval.
3. Cover the whole thing in tinfoil.
4. Attach to the yarn on the chaps with duct tape.

I've also made guns before by cutting out a gun shape from cardboard while leaving room for a barrel.  For the barrel I use part of a toilet paper roll and attach it with tape.  Then I covered the whole thing in tin foil.  If I have time I'll also make a tiny cowboy hat from the scraps that I keep on my head with a yarn tie.  I wish I had a picture to show you.  Oh well.

So get creative and have fun!  That's what Halloween is all about!

A Life Lesson from Monster Cupcakes

Well, Halloween season is upon us and it's time to get Halloweeny.  Probably the crafters best time of year.  Halloween crafts are so fun that it's hard not to go overboard.  One Halloween I learned a valuable lesson about going overboard that has changed me forever.  {Okay, maybe that's a little dramatic, but I did learn something.}

Several years ago, before I had kids I signed up to bring cupcakes for our Church's Halloween carnival cake walk.  I was so excited.  I had seen these fabulous monster cupcakes online {probably from Martha} and I knew they would be perfect.  They were funky/spooky/creepy/awesome and they were topped with tons of candy!  The kids would like them.  No - they would LOVE them.  I was sure of it.  How could they not?

I spent extra time trying to match every detail from my inspiration and ran to several stores trying to find the perfect green candy for the Quasimodo eye.  It was all going to be worth it because the kids were going to love them. 

I brought them to the carnival set them on the table with dozens of other treats {many of which were store bought - what were people thinking? BORING!} and went off to help with the carnival games.  By the end of the night I visited the cake tables to help clean up and was devastated.  Every single cake and treat was gone except for my cupcakes.  Not ONE was touched!  They were the only rejects left.  I was shocked.  I was devastated.

Fighting back tears, I offered the rejected little monsters to the missionaries who happened to walk by at that moment.  They gladly took them but let's face it - 19 year old boys will eat anything.  My husband had a theory and I think he was right.  I split up the cupcakes on to smaller plates and there was my fatal flaw.  The kids didn't care about getting 4 homemade monster cupcakes when they could have had a giant store bought cake.  They didn't care about the time and love and thought I put into them.  They just wanted cake and in as large of quantities as possible.  They aren't greedy.  No, they just like to eat themselves sick at Halloween and if a big box of sugar cookies will get them there well, that's what they want.

So the moral of the story for me is:

Don't waste your time or money, going all out on things like this.

Just buy that discounted box of cupcakes with the extra frosting, sprinkles and plastic spider rings and save yourself the trouble. 

Because less stress and more sugar is what everyone wants anyway.   

P.S.  If you want to make the monster cupcakes you use large marshmallows, small marshmallows, melted chocolate for the center of the eyes and fruit by the foot for the Quasimodo eye.  Good luck.