Friday, November 16, 2012

Homemade Is My New Favorite Thing

Halloween costumes for the kids
I must think I'm Martha Stewart or something. After making the girls' costumes last Halloween and decorating our home for last Christmas, I'm all about doing holidays homemade now. This Halloween was no different, and I'm super proud of my costumes I made for the kids.

Almonds was the only one who chose her costume. She wanted to be a butterfly. Then someone said to just make them all different insects, which I thought was brilliant. So then Blondie became a ladybug, and Chip was a honeybee. Thank goodness for us living here, because I had much better resources (in the form of my artistic sisters who had paints and twine, and an Ace store that was only a 2-minute walk away) to make cuter costumes. And the only one that actually took money was Chip's, because I had no yellow or black onesie to work with, and our sewing machine was down. I bought spray paint from Ace. Not the best idea, just so you know. I sprayed the stripes early in the morning and let it dry outside in the wind all day, and it still had smelled like paint fumes. Chip kept rubbing his face the whole time he wore it, and since I was a bit bothered by the paint fumes myself, I knew it wasn't worth it. Thank goodness I made it a whole week before Halloween, for our church party. But before the real trick-or-treating, I soaked and handwashed it. The paint started wearing off, but at least the smell was gone. So yay for that.

Halloween for me growing up was all about making our costumes. I remember only one costume I wore that was purchased (a bunny rabbit at 4 years old), but it was fun coming up with ideas for costumes and then seeing them created before my eyes. My mom was exceptional at making things from scratch. I remember in second grade on Halloween morning I didn't have a costume to wear to school. She told me to put on a dress and shoes, and by the time I was done getting dressed, she had sewn me a beautiful red cloak out of an old bed sheet. (Is that amazing or what? I swear, our mothers are the best!) If there is any tradition that I would like to pass down regarding Halloween, it is wearing homemade costumes. I absolutely love it!

But I better end by saying that I am NO Martha Stewart. I'm sure she never made anything by stapling fabric to cardboard, or spray painting a onesie, or making the kids wear their wings with pajamas. I doubt I'll even be as good as my mother

Oh, and if you must know, I dressed up as a wild insect photographer. It didn't look that believable because I had no safari hat or boots. But I had the camera. That should count for something, right?

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Oooh, so you read my post? Yipee! Let me know what you think! I'd love your two-cents on the matter!