Little Ghosties--No Sew Costumes

Our preschooler wanted to be a "Scary Ghost" this year for Halloween-- which, by the way, is the first year he's had any opinions on the matter. And where did he get the "scary" part anyway? 

My mom said to just put an old sheet over his head and cut holes, Charlie Brown style. I'm not really big on over-the-head costumes because of the whole suffocation thing. I'm an overprotective mother like that.

Besides, I wanted the boys to match this year and there is no way my baby was going to stay under a sheet for more than a second or two. I'd like to see us even try to make him. 

Furthermore, I don't have an old white sheet. We'd have to buy a new one just to cut holes in it. 

And the whole suffocation thing.

Since my official Halloween costume motto is "semi-homemade is good enough for us" I headed to Wal-Mart and grabbed two white tee shirts per boy (I'll explain) and black sweat pants, then picked up tulle and lightweight cotton fabric from Hobby Lobby.

For each costume, I ripped strips of the fabric and hot glued them around the collar of one of the shirts. Then I cut thicker strips of the tulle and bunched it at the end before gluing over the fabric. I wanted them to seem gauzy, scrappy and whimsical (not scary--don't tell the four year old).

For the hats, I used the extra tee shirt (in each boy's size), and cut the neck/collar out. This was the perfect base for each hat. I left about half an inch of tee shirt around the edge when I cut it out.

Then I cut the remaining tee shirt into strips and glued them around the band, on the non-stretchy 1/2" of fabric. That way the hat could still stretch.

I placed the rim on each boy's head and gathered the strips at the top and knotted.

A friend of mine said they looked a little bit like ghost robbers, but in a cute way. Ha!

I love the hats! I'm thinking about remembering this technique for winter caps--but using lots of overlapping strips so there are no holes.

For the mask, I used black felt and measured a sideways "8" shape. I put in over my boy's eyes to properly measure where the holes would need to be cut. Then I added a strap of elastic to the back.

These little guys enjoyed running in the front yard and looking at a favorite spooky story book.

Trick-or-treating is going to be a lot of fun this year, too!

Shared with: Tatertots and Jello

Tetris Halloween Costume from Duck Tape

I am the t-shirt transformation queen when Halloween rolls around every year. I've made Davy Crockett, some funny shirts for Jeremy and I to wear to pass out candy last year, and I even made my oldest an Elvis costume out of a black t-shirt and black pants when he was two. Maybe I'll dig up those photos and share them sometime.

Give me a glue gun and a Wal-Mart shirt and I can whip something up.

My philosophy is, why start from scratch?

This was no exception and, if you follow on facebook, you probably recognize this picture below. I had a little contest going to see if anyone could guess what game we had picked for the theme party.

Some of you guessed Angry Birds, Candy Land, and Sorry! All of those would have been fun themes, but nothing beats how simple cutting squares of Duck tape was for Tetris.

I even sort of felt like I was playing Tetris as I lined everything up. Ha! 

These shirts took 10 minutes and if you want to make your own, I recommend using a square template to make sure every shape goes on straight.

My boys' costumes are completed, too, and as soon as I can get their pictures made, I'll share them with you. 

I guarantee you'll see a couple more tee shirt transformations!

Shared with: Sugar Bee Crafts, A Bowl Full of Lemons, Tatertots and Jello

Guest Bathroom Makeover

I made a Facebook pinky-swear to post about the bathroom re-do today and I never break a pinky swear.

Our newest adventure is the guest bathroom. Here are the before pictures so you, too, can marvel at how its 1984 glory days had been living on for decades.

strange chainy light fixtures (I won't tell you exactly where I held them when a few girlfriends were over, but it involved pretend anatomy and got me a good laugh--just like 7th grade),

 faux mint green marbled countertops, 

peeling wallpaper (complete with a sad, sad trim) and bad laminate flooring,

awkward (and cheap) cabinet and an awfully small potty with a soft, cushy seat that spoke to whomever sat on it, "pffshhhhhhh," as it flattened underneath the weight. 

Aside from cosmetic issues that I so lovingly addressed above, the space had quite a few functional issues. 

1. The size and shape. It is a square bathroom with enough floor space but not a lot of surface, storage or wall space.

2. No windows = no natural light. The bathroom was very dark with only a vanity fixture for lighting. This also made choosing a paint color tricky.

3. Awkward, small toilet that felt like it was in the middle of the room, very exposed.

4. No vent

5. Small bathtub/shower

6. Narrow mirrors that left the room feeling like even more of a cave

7. Shallow sink with low faucet

Our Solutions:

1. Floors. The old vinyl was ripped up and replaced with a grayish 18" ceramic tile and gray grout, then new baseboards were added. I want to point out that this was really old laminate flooring and solid glue held it in place. We pulled up as much as we could, but the bits and parts that wouldn't budge were tiled right over. It saved a lot of time--and elbow grease-- and was recommended by the professionals we spoke with.

2. Lighting. My images aren't stellar, but the fixture is here if you're interested. I'll also note that I got it for a half-price deal for only $26.10 and free shipping. Win! It adds so much more light, but the room really did need a centered overhead light too. Because we also wanted to install a vent, we went with a combo light/vent and it's functional--not the coolest (just a standard flushmount). 

3. Countertop.  Though we did install granite in the kitchen, that was not in the budget for the bathrooms and I really deliberated on this decision. Should we install a different, more attractive, laminate? What about tiling it? Or, should we do nothing and save up for a solid surface? In the end, we saved our cash and painted it with a paint made specifically for laminate countertops, made by Rustoleum. It took two coats-- was VERY strong smelling-- but worked great! The paint was only about $20 and made one of the grandest impacts in the room. I recommend it.

4. Cabinets. The vanity cabinet stayed and got a coat of glossy white. The too-narrow corner cabinet (with warping doors and a mildew smell) was pulled out and replaced by a Craigslist find that I sanded and painted with Valspar Firecracker. More on that later.

5. Walls. Oh, the wretched wallpaper. I know it's very chic right now, but I will NEVER install wallpaper in a house. Jeremy proved his undying love a million times over by removing most of it and then retexturing the walls where drywall was ripped. And he never even said a bad word. The man is the Ghandi of home renovating. 

The paint color I chose is called Bistro White (also Valspar). I wanted to go very neutral to balance the bright curtain and bold cabinet. Also, the room is windowless and needed to maintain a bright, airy element.

6. Potty. Replaced. Good solid seat. The end.

7. Details. We went with two pewter mirrors, a prettier faucet, a new toilet paper holder and a curtain rod that bows out to give a bigger feel to the smallish tub. I also splurged on the Pottery Barn curtain that adds color and punch, but still blends in with the softer blues and overall palette of our home.

As is always the case with me, I haven't decided on a few accessories for the walls. 

It's so much better now. Best of all, we really did pay very little for the dramatic difference between before and after.

Shared with: Miss Mustard Seed, Sugar Bee Crafts, A Bowl Full of Lemons, Tatertots and Jello

A Year of DIYing

It's been a while since I'd written about our DIY projects and fixing up this old house we bought a year ago. Wow. It really is hard to believe twelve months have vaporized behind us-- a little longer, in fact.

But we've been doing a lot. Time slips by like that when you're excited about living your life. When I went back to dig up pictures of the house, I scrolled through the months of images saved on my computer and was stunned at how far we've come-- as a family first, and also on the work we've done on our home.

the boys at this time last year (right before moving)

• My boys turned 4 and 1 in this house.
• We hosted Christmas Eve for the first time here.
• We added a new dog to our family.

the boys about a month ago

• We met some new neighbors who have become friends.
• We learned how to lay tile, rewire lights, install faucets and molding, how to retexture ceilings and walls, and how to get help when we needed it.
• We developed a clearer style-- that's still evolving.

October of last year-- greener grass, but LOTS of overgrown landscaping that hid the house from the street

• Jeremy and I celebrated our 9th anniversary and started saving up for a trip to Italy for our 10th.
• We bought a new car.
• My baby took his first steps and said "Mama" right here in our living room.
• My four-year-old learned to ride a bike on this driveway and read his first book at the dining room table.

This year, Texas saw a terrible drought that took most of our grass with it. We did a lot of other yard work, though, removing about twenty giant palm trees that hid our house and harbored roaches.

The new front bed we put in this summer.

Jeremy and I enjoy the work we've devoted to making our formerly ugly house into a cozy, inviting home for our family. It's time we spend together and it's an investment into our future memories. The pride of accomplishment, of learning to mend an uncomfortable space into a family place, has been invaluable. I wouldn't trade it.

People always ask us, "Would you buy the house again, knowing all the work ahead of you?" Our answer is "Yes!" We have become better for it.

And we saved a fortune!

EBook Price Change Tomorrow - Get them today!

If you haven't purchased Table Talkers or A Year of Sugar Scrubs yet, today's your last chance to get them on sale for $2.99. Tomorrow, the price will go up. Get 'em while they're hot! 

Click the buttons below to be taken to each page where you can purchase through PayPal.

By the way, check out this wonderful review of Table Talkers at 1+1+1=1. 

Guest Posting at Little Miss Momma

I'm visiting with the Little Miss Momma readers today. 

Come on over and check out my favorite ideas for DIY Christmas gifts.

Crustless (and Perfect) Pumpkin Pie... Recipe and Free Printable

I could eat a big slice of this everyday of my life and never tire of it. That's rare for me--I don't usually like repeats. In fact, I prefer this version over regular crusted pumpkin pie. 

I will confess that I made it on Thursday night and between my husband, me, The Office on DVR and a big glass of milk, it didn't last to morning light.

Remorsefully, I added up the Weight Watchers points the next morning. I'm not really on Weight Watchers, but I was thinking that without the crust it might not be too tragic.... 

I was right! Woo-Hoo! A piece (1/6 of the pie) is only 6 points plus! (Now, if you eat the whole thing, that's a completely different story. I probably should be a little sorry.)

So I made another one for breakfast! We shared that one with the children.

Here's the recipe (modified from a Bisquick Recipe from General Mills). 

1 cup canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)

1/2 cup Original Bisquick mix

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup whole milk

1 T. melted butter

1-1/2 t. pumpkin pie spice

1 t. vanilla

2 eggs

1. Heat oven to 350.

2. Stir all ingredients together and pour into a greased pie plate.

3. Bake for 35-40 minutes. Cool for 30 minutes. Refrigerate to store.

It also makes really good mini-pies. Pour filling into a muffin tin and adjust cooking time to 15-20 minutes.

Shared with: The Idea Room, Fingerprints on the Fridge, Sugar Bee Crafts

Tutorial: Fabric Flower Broach (For Breast Cancer Awareness Month)

Autumn. Schmautumn. That's what I say.

I'm a bit enthusiastic regarding fabric and felt flowers lately, even if it is October and not April. I'm using Breast Cancer Awareness Month (which I'm celebrating in crafts all week) as an excuse to keep my pinks out for a while longer.

Want one for yourself or for a homemade Christmas present? Of course you do. It's no-sew, after all! 

Let's get out those fabric bits and make something adorably one-of-a-kind.

1. Cut a felt circle for the bottom and two green felt leaves. Hot glue together.

2. Use pinking shears to cut five circles of the same size out of fabric. Hot glue one circle on top of the felt. 

3. Fold the remaining four circles in half and then in half again and hot glue.

4. Hot glue each quartered circle as the top layer to your flower.

5. Cut a piece of flannel into a strip (about 1" x 10") with pinking shears. 

6. Make pleats with hot glue every inch or so.

7. Hot glue each end together, forming a circle.

8. Hot glue the middles of the top and bottom and sides together.

9. Glue this piece on top of the flower.

10. Add two layers of felt circles and a rhinestone.

Attach a safety pin to the back and fasten to a jacket or shirt. Or belt. Or headband. Or purse. Or your shoe. Or a hat. 

Did I mention how much I'm liking these flowers?

If you missed my other pink posts for October's Breast Cancer Awareness Month, you can find them here:

Pink Mantel

Sugar Scrubs