HALLOWEEN VIDEO

Video of our Halloween display.

HALLOWEEN 2009

Here are a few pics from Halloween night. Click here to see the rest.

WITCHES HAT

I've been searching for a really good looking Witch hat for a while now. I found nothing that was reasonably priced and all were made poorly. So I decided to make one.

I used acrylic felt that I happened to have. Next time I'll use better material. Wool would have been nicer. I doubled up the felt as well as added a heavy interfacing between the layers. Then I decided the use my free hand embroidery foot to sew the squiggly lines all over. This, along with the interfacing, helped give it some stiffness. I wrapped tulle around the base and stitched it in place. Then I tucked black feathers under the tulle and stitched them down. In the back I pulled up one of the pieces of tulle, gathered it and sewed it in place. Then I added the crystal button.

HALLOWINDOW

Still gearing up for Halloween. Check out our Hallowindow.

DEMON / WITCH

Animated demon is complete. Click here to see more pics.

THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS

Here's what we look like with our costumes. My daughter looks great and I can't believe she left the crown on. I on the other hand felt silly the whole time. And no, that's not my hair.

WILL'S TOMBSTONE

Finished another tombstone this weekend.

HALLOWEEN INSIDE

I finished putting up our Halloween decorations. There is actually more but I only decorated the foyer because our toddler can't get to it. Maybe next year we can add the rest.

Made this two years ago. It was actually supposed to go on the outside of the door but when I got done and hung it I couldn't shut the screen door. Doh!

I finally bought the Martha Stewart paper mice. I was going to cut them out myself but found these 40% off at Michaels.

Our Haunted Memories portraits went up four years ago for Halloween and never came down. Most people think they are just more of our family portraits like we have going up the steps. It's fun seeing peoples reactions. That's why we've left them up all year long. These linticular images are by far the best ones out there!

You can kind of see the spooky side of them in this pic.

Black feather wreath with a crow. Added the bows.

Pumpkins from Hallmark over a two year period. The owl I found at an antique mall five years ago.

CROWN

Finished adding the details to daughter's crown. I just need to add some elastic for a strap. Now here's hoping she keeps it on her head. We might have to do some practicing before we get our pictures take.

HALLOWEEN CAULDRON

Finished painting a cauldron for Halloween.

QUEEN OF HEARTS

I had a very productive weekend. I finished my daughter's Halloween costume today also. All I have to do is add the zipper. I'm waiting till we go to have pictures taken before I add it. My luck I'd put it in and in the next 4 weeks she'd go through some crazy growth spurt.

I used Simplicity pattern 4024 and used the Glenda the Good Witch pattern. There is no pattern in a toddler size for Queen of Hearts so I just made it up. The hardest part was figuring out the cutaway opening that shows the black and yellow stripes. Piecing this together was also time consuming. It's actually sewn into the side seems, so it's not really a skirt on top of another skirt. I also made a black tulle skirt for underneath that fills out the skirt.
Cant's wait for Halloween.

NEW TOMBSTONE

Completed tombstone for this years display. It stands 40" tall and is 11" wide at the base.
See the process and more pics here.

NEW HALLOWEEN BLOG

I started a new blog that will post all of our Halloween projects. It'll be a great way to keep that stuff all in one place every year. I'll always post one pic here for each entry with the link to the blog to see the rest of the pics and post.

ALICE

I mentioned that I'm gearing up for Halloween. I know it seems early, but to get everything done I usually start two months out. This year I'm dressing up as Alice and my daughter will be The Queen of Hearts. Last night I finished my costume. It was pretty easy. The only thing I'm not happy with is the Aprons material is kind of thin and the blue shows through a bit. But it is a costume and I didn't want to spend a ton on fabric so I didn't buy the best cotton. It's just going to bother me. But over all it's pretty cute and fits really well.

I used two different patterns to create this costume. The dress is Simplicity 4015. As you can see I added length to the skirt. 15" to be exact. I don't really need to be a slutty Alice. Weird.

And the apron is Simplicty 4282. I've used this pattern a lot. I just left off the sleeves and pockets, and didn't add the two back panels which would have made it to full.

Now I start the Queen of Hearts. This will involve some problem solving since there is no pattern for a toddler that exists. I think I'll be altering the Wizard of Oz Simplicty pattern.
More to come.