Halloween Weekend and More

If you saw my Dare to Share Party post that I shared on Friday, you saw that this past weekend was my birthday. What I am not sure I mentioned is it was also my boyfriend's birthday just a couple of days before mine. We love celebrating our birthdays together.  It was such a great weekend, I thought I would share more about it in a stand alone post. 

You may see me mention going to a Friday night dance with my friends in some of my Dare to Share  posts.  This weekend was the annual Halloween Dance. It is usually the largest attended dance of the year, which was definitely true this year.  

My friends and I were color coordinated, but did not realize it until we saw the pictures. LOL!  This year I was Little Red Riding Hood.  I did not know it was going to be such a popular costume this year. There were five of us wearing a version of Red Riding Hood. 

Last year my boyfriend and I went as Beauty and the Beast. I loved my dress, but it was really hard to dance in because it was way too long for me. We did win 2nd place in the couples costume contest though. 

This year, once I found my Little Red Riding Hood costume, we were trying to find a wolf costume for him. It turns out there are not that many out there that are not very expensive, or too hot to dance in.  At the last minute we found a sloth costume at Walmart. It wasn't his favorite costume ever, but it was easy to wear, and most people thought he was a wolf anyway.  😄

Another tradition we do every year is have a Sushi dinner on our birthday weekend.  We were staying at a friend's house, and not near our usual go to restaurant. We tried a  place that was new to us, and it was delicious! 

We received a free appetizer for being first time customers, and free dessert for our birthday. 

The next day, we stopped and had our annual Birthday Party shakes.  These shakes are way over the top, but so much fun. 

I also had time to visit with my now grown kids. I had my free Red Robin birthday meal for lunch, and then we went  to a local cider mill.  We thought skeleton wagon was really cool.  Did you notice the baby skeleton? I missed it at first. 

On Halloween night, I went trick or treating with my bonus daughter.  I got a walking tour of around the neighborhood. There were a few houses here that go all out.  Even though I am not a fan of scary stuff, this house was definitely my favorite. 

Hopefully you had a fantastic Halloween too! 

Now I am going to share something with you that is definitely a TREAT, and not a trick.  Do you remember when I mentioned the Gold City Venture E-Printables Course in my Dare to Share Post, well they opened their doors to the course today for a limited time. (Nov 2- Nov 7) 

  

 If you have ever thought about starting a printable Etsy shop, I highly recommend them.  I have learned so much from this course, and it is one of the most affordable courses out there. In addition to the modules where they teach you step by step how to make printables, open an Etsy shop and more, they also have a very supportive Facebook group, and several live chats every month.  Disclosure, I am an affiliate for this course, but I would feel the exact same way about it, even if I wasn't. I am so happy I took this course and started on my Etsy journey. 

If you would like to know more about printables, without jumping right in to the course, they have a free Ebook, and free workshop where you can learn more.  Tomorrow I will be sharing another creating resource that I am very excited about.   

 

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Last Minute Halloween Crafts and Treats

 Can you believe we are already in the final countdown for Halloween.. EEEK!  While I am still working on a few new items for this year, I thought I would share some of my older Halloween posts with quick, easy and affordable crafts that you may be interested in doing with your family.  

If you are having or attending a Halloween Party, a cute way to give out treats is by making these Halloween Treat boxes using mini boxes from the Dollar Tree.  You can see how I made them using google eyes and paper on my post Even More Halloween Treat Boxes.

If you like to make cupcakes, here are a few you might be interested in.  You can see how to make these fun monster cupcakes here on our post Halloween Cupcakes.

And you can find these cupcakes using Oreos and candy on the post Easy Halloween Cupcakes.

One of my favorite pumpkin crafts, using Dollar Tree Pumpkins was my Olaf.  You can see how to make him on this post Olaf Pumpkin

I have an entire gang of pumpkins made from Dollar Tree pumpkins. I had plans on adding a few new ones this year, but it did not happen.  You can see how to make all of these and a three eyed monster pumpkin here on my post Pumpkin Idea Round Up (no carve). 

If you are looking for quick and easy yard decor for Halloween night, you can make these glowing aliens to light the walk to your porch. You can see how to make them on my post Glowing Alien Heads for Halloween. 

Do you need a last minute costume?  A few years back I threw together this unicorn costume, using tulle, an unicorn headband, and rainbow sweatshirt.  You can see more on how I put everything together on this post How to make an unicorn costume - quick and easy tips.

My last craft is one of my favorites.  Together with my kids we made these cute frames to display their Halloween pictures. They had a blast making theme, and I now have last memories.  You can see how we put them together using Dollar Tree frames on my post Halloween Themed Frames.

Happy Crafting and HAPPY HALLOWEEN! 

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How to Have a Frugal Halloween

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It is only a little over a week to Halloween.  While I LOVE this time of year, if you are not careful it can cost a lot of money especially if you have more than one child.   Here are some ways you can have a Happy Halloween and not break the bank.  

Instead of buying an expensive costume, we have always made ours. Over the years we have had a lot of great memories and it became a yearly tradition.  My son's favorite costume was his Flying Chameleon.  We used sweats we already had in his closet, a T shirt one sale at the craft store and a couple of yards of felt.  Almost anything can become a costume.  I am putting mine together this year for under $5. I found a green tutu on sale for only $2 at Claires, a pair of dollar store butterfly/fairy wings, and a will be making a head piece that will be on the blog soon with supplies I already have on hand. I will be wearing to the local Halloween festival if the weather holds out.  

If you need some ideas for easy homemade costumes,  just do a search for Inexpensive DIY costumes and literally hundreds will come up.  I found this buzzfeed post with some really good ones that anyone can do. 

Some of our favorite Halloween decorations were homemade.  Last year I had a several Glowing Alien Heads leading up to our front door.  We used recycled milk jugs and glow sticks from the dollar store.  Total cost $2. 

I made this fun Witch Themed Halloween Wreath using just a few items from the dollar store.   

I made this Black Feathered Owl  using a $1 placement and a small bag of feathers.  I love how it turned out.  

Want an easy an inexpensive treat idea.  These Spider and Cat Cupcakes are made with a box of cupcake mix, a bag of Oreos, and a few pieces of candy and licorice.  

Do you need to take a treat to the class party?  You can make these Halloween Treat Boxes  for just pennies a piece.  You can find the containers in packs of 10 at the dollar store.  You will have enough for the entire class for $2-$3.  Make the faces with google eyes (also at the dollar store) and some cardstock.  

Is there anything frugal you do for Halloween? I would love to hear about it. 

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Dare to Share Features #182

I promised during the last  Dare to Share Party that I would be sharing features from party #182 and #183.  Sorry to be a little late, but things did get a bit hectic this weekend. There was a bit of happy news, and some sad news. I started to share about it, but this post is about the features.  Look for another post this week with news on what has been happening.  

If you have been following my blog for awhile, you know that I LOVE the movie Frozen.  I fell in love with these Frozen Sven Granola Bars by My Thoughts, Ideas and Ramblings. 

The fun dessert are Ghost Chocolate Cream Pie Bites from Sugar and Soul

Have a child who loves LEGO Star Wars and need some party ideas?  Check out this super fun party from The Scrap Shoppe Blog

Do you want an easy costume on a budget?  Check out this fun Olaf Costume from Crystal and Co.  I have a feeling that Frozen costumes are still going to be huge this year.  

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Top 10 Kids Costumes for 2015

Disclosure: This post contains affliliate links.  I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my link.

Now that my kids are a bit older, they not as interested in dressing up for Halloween anymore. My youngest is still considering dressing up this year, and I might help a family friend with a costume which makes me happy, but we have not clue what either one will wear yet.  When I saw that there was a lot of the top 10 costumes for this year, I had to check it out. Many were based on popular movies that have been out recently. We loved the Descendants and Inside Out, and are happy to see that made the list.  Do you see your favorite on the list?  

 Costume Express has pulled together their list of top 10 kid’s costumes which includes Disney’s Descendants, Star Wars, Paw Patrol, Big Hero 6 and more. Check out the full list below to see if your child’s costume is included. Additionally, Costume Express is offering 15% off sitewide with code AFCCXP15 at checkout. Whether your child’s costume is on the list or you find another great costume on the site, be sure to use code AFCCXP15 to save 15%.

Disney's Descendants: Kids Mal Isle of the Lost Deluxe Costume

Halo: Kids Master Chief Muscle Costume

Disney Inside Out - Classic Disgust Costume For Girls

Batman The Dark Knight Rises Muscle Kids Costume 12-14

Paw Patrol - Chase Toddler/Kids Costume

Jurassic World Indominus Rex Costume For Kids

Star Wars Darth Vader Child Costume

Avengers 2: Age of Ultron Deluxe Iron Man Mark 43 Kids Costume

Big Hero 6: Deluxe Baymax Muscle Costume For Kids

Avengers 2 - Age of Ultron: Deluxe Kids Captain America Costume

Browse the full selection of all of the hottest costumes for the entire family at CostumeExpress.com !

What does your child want to be for Halloween?  

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DIY Ariel Costume - Feature of the Day

Long time readers may know that I have made homemade costumes for years.  (you can see some of them on my About Me page).  At the end of every summer, my kids would start to think about what they wanted to be for Halloween.  While my own kids are on the older side for Trick or Treating now, we still might come up with new costumes this year.  When I see tutorials for costumes that can be easily made at home I get excited, which is why I am featuring this DIY Arial Costume by A Bountiful Love.  It is quite adorable, and easier to put together than you might think.  (I think my oldest was also Ariel many years ago when she was in her princess phase.)   Be sure to stop over to A Bountiful Love  for full instructions, and few more a super cute costumes..  

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Making Your Own Halloween Costumes

Fall is one of our favorite times of the year.  One reason for that is because we always make Halloween a fun family event.   If you have had the chance to read my About Me page, you saw that I wanted to be a fashion designer when I was growing up.  When I was in college, I majored in  textiles and clothing.  For that major we had to take merchandising, history of clothing,  sewing, and costume design.   The costume design classes were definitely my favorite.  In a way, I am using my degree each year, because for the last several years my kids have wanted me to make their costumes.  

It just so happens, that my kids take after their mama when it comes to their creative side.  Did they ever request something simple?...  Nope!   Kara  requested things like a hatching chicken,

 a fox, 

 a raccoon, (not the best costume to be wearing in the rain) 

Cream the bunny from Sonic the Hedgehog

and Domo! 

She seemed to like making people guess who she was supposed to be each year. 

Kyle had his own unusual requests, like the year he wanted to be a fly, (I have no idea why) 

a praying mantis, (again no idea why) 

and one of his favorites, a flying Chameleon.  

We won first place in the neighborhood costume contest that year.  When he was announced the winner, they had no idea exactly what he was.. I can understand why, there is no such thing as a flying chameleon. (that I know of) He was also wearing vampire fangs. (again, no idea why)   With only six weeks until Halloween, we have begun to think about this year's costume.  Kyle doesn't think he will go out trick or treating, so he has not requested one. Originally Kara thought she might be  a hedgehog, but lately has been thinking she might be a squirrel instead. We have ideas on how to make it,  but we have not even begun to start on it though.    Do you like to make your own Halloween costumes?  I would love to hear about them.  

Here are  links to the costumes that I have shared on the blog. 

How to Make A Fox Costume, Part 1

How to Make a Fox Costume, Part 2

How to Make a Fox Costume, part 3

Flying Chameleon Costume 

Homemade Bird Costume (designed by Kara, not pictured) 

Raccoon Costume Pictures 

 

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