Easy DIY Halloween Costume Dinosaur

So I wanted to make a costume for the mini and thought a dinosaur would be adorable. So I went out to Target got myself a plain circo hoodie for $8. I chose dark blue for the hoodie, and went over to JoAnns for some turquoise felt. The felt was 25 cents a sheet and I bought 2 sheets which was plenty.

So this costume cost me $8.50 and turned out fantastically cute. I couldnt be happier. Here's how I did it. Folded the felt sheets in half and cut out triangle pieces in varying sizes.

 I chose bigger to smaller. Then folded the sweater in half and layed out my pattern, so I knew where to pin the traingles (diamonds.)

Then I pinned down the triangles, and just sewed them down, open, in the middle of the sweater on one side of the seam.

Make sure that you sew all of your pieces on the same side of the seam, I didnt and one had kept falling over so I had to hand sew it down. So, learn from my mistake.

Then I  folded the triangles and sewed the pieces shut.

 Voila! Then have a pant-less photoshoot outside because its 80 degrees a week before Halloween. Ridiculous, but super cute!

This was really easy, and took me maybe an hour from start to finish. Perfect for a last minute costume!!!  But it was really simple and not complicated at all. A beginning sewer could definitely do this. Let me know if you have any questions!!
xoxo, Janean Pin It

Adult Tutu Tutorial Peacock Costume

Last year for Halloween, I was a witch and made myself a tutu for that.

It was so easy and has been so popular among readers that I have decided that this year, I will be a Peacock and upgrade my witch tutu by adding more tulle in different colors.

I added 4 yrds of blue, 3 of green, and 2 of the plum. I chose these colors based off of a Peacock feather. I just went to the flower section of Joanns and held it up to the tulle colors.

 They didnt have all the exact colors I wanted, but paired with the 4 yrds of black and 4yrds of purple that were already on the tutu I think it turned out great! Tulle is about $1.49/yd and you can buy all the supplies you need at Joanns, including the elastic for the waistband.

I made the back longer, trying to emulate a peacock tail. The blue is the longest and green on top of that. The blue is about 27inches long (54 inches, folded in half) and the green, a few inches shorter.

 I will be adding a few feathers to the back and am wearing blue tights and a blue shirt with sparkly sequin shoulders. I am also adding my light brown leather flats that I got on sale from Urban Outfitters, to give it a bird foot look. I am also going to be wearing my lace mask I made. Im not quite sure how Im going to do my hair yet, but I think it will be up and I will probably make some fancy feather clip or something! I will keep you posted!

 Let me know if you have any construction questions in the comments, or check out my witch tutu tutorial. I will respond! Hope this helps anyone out there with adult tutu tutorial questions!
xoxo, Janean

With all the popularity this post is receiving, I have found a few of my favorite and affordable tutus online, you can check out my selction here.

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Easy DIY Bat Garland for Halloween

As I was preparing for Halloween I had this crazy idea to make a bat garland, from a plastic table cloth. Dare I say a batty idea? I dare. So I traveled down to the Dollar Tree and picked up a black plastic tablecloth. I almost bought 2 just for good measure but glad I decided against it. I wouldn't have used it. I def had enough material.

I decided to fold the table cloth the way you do when you make a people chain. It's the same folding method for making a paper fan. I chose this way because most garlands want you to cut out like 100 bats. This way I only have to cut one! No brainer! If you don't know how to do that, or what I mean. Please ask and I'll clarify.

Next I needed a template. I took a piece of packaging cardboard that came with the giant spider I just bought. It was the right stiffness, but bonus, it had a simple image of a bat on it. I just used that image as a reference for my own and drew one on the back.

Then I cut the bat out and used it as a template and placed it on top of my folded tablecloth. I cut out everywhere except on the folds. Don't cut the bat out all the way. He needs to be able to attach to the next bat, and they will be attached at the folds.

In some places the bat might be attached to another spot like on the wing, below. This is just because there are soo many layers to cut throughout and you may not cut through every one. If this is the case, then just snip where you need to.

Then I pulled it open. Voila. ( cue angelic chorus) This was perfect, and with just one cut we had over 30 ft of garland. Then hang away. I chose over windows and in doorways.

Posted with Blogsy

 

Hope this inspired you to make some fun and easy Halloween decorations. The kids love it!!

xoxo, Janean

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Easy DIY Lace Mask for Halloween Costume

For Halloween this year, I am planning on being, well, maybe I shouldnt tell quite yet. But I am super excited about my costume and think it will be pretty cool. I have decided to wear a mask with it. But not your normal everyday run of the mill mask. I wanted a super elegant mask, very feminine, and super classy. I really love the look of the lace masks I have been seeing online. Here is where I drew my inspiration from.

Now, these masks can cost you a pretty penny, if you want to buy one, but, why not MAKE our own. For cheap?

I started with some greenish lace that I already had, but lace is readily available at all fabric stores and is pretty cheap too, depending on how intricate it is, but simple lace, cheap. I picked up a cheap plastic mask from Joanns for $2 for the shape and eye placement. I seriously did consider though, skipping the plastic mask and making a paper mache mold from my own face. Then I realized how ridiculous that was and decided to eat the $2. Worth it! And last but not least, Fabric Stiffener. This was the fabric stiffener I bought, Stiffy. Worked great, although it did cost $7 and the bottle is huge, way more than I needed for this project and I'm pretty sure you can buy small bottles at most fabric stores for like $2. Alas, this was all Joanns had so I bought it.
I placed a square of lace over the mask to see how much I needed, cut it out and then cut the shape the way I wanted the mask to look, while laying it over the plastic mask. So that I knew where to cut. This was fairly easy. Once I had the shape I wanted and the eye holes cut out, I poured about two capfuls of Stiffy on a ceramic plate, dipped my lace in it and squeezed off the extra. Then I draped it on the mask while it dried so it would take its shape. I let mine dry on a paper plate, just so none dripped off onto the counter. Although, even if it had, it would have been easy to clean since Stiffy is waterbased.

As soon as it was dry, which took about 2 hours, I had my mask.Oh and it dries clear. I was worried it might not. but it totally did.

With a little clear stretch elastic for the band, it will be complete! Im really stoked about it and think it turned out great! You could also just use the elastic band that came with the plastic mask, which would be easier, but hey.

In other news, I can't stop buying Legos for my child who loves them with all his heart, but really isnt old enough for them yet. We just buy the little things, like this helicopter for example. It took us about 10 minutes to assemble it together and it took him about two minutes to decide he wanted the cock pit open and took the whole thing apart. Ugh. Honestly, if I see pieces on the floor, I just throw them away... Just lookin out for the baby. Worst mom ever?

Oh, and I had to treat myself to some Halloween Oreos. I love Oreos, never buy them though, but it is Halloween. And really, who can resist those cute little super festive black and orange cookies? Not me. They would look great with this project!

Hope your having a great Wednesday!
xoxo, Janean Pin It

Familia Bedelia

Fam bam is in town this week and I couldn't be more thrilled (read stressed.) I just want everything to be perfect. I want to have the house nice and cozy and homey. It's totally the perfectionist in me, and those darn Martha Stewart magazines that I love so much that are inspiring me to work my butt off. I want the house spotless, the bathroom full of clean towels, the laundry washed with plenty of clean sheets, the night stand to have water bottles and fresh flowers, mints for my guests the fridge full and brimming with a plethora of delicious food choices. Oh and did I mention, all the boxes still aren't unpacked, there's like 3 left. And my house isn't near as ready decorated or spruced up as I'd like it to be since moving in. And on top of that, I'm blogging aka procrastinating. So, wish me luck on getting everything perfect. Ha. The good news is, most of the week they are staying in Anaheim at the fabulous Disney Grand Californian Hotel, while they visit Mickey and the gang. It was a really nice and beautiful hotel. I totally would recommend it. I went down yesterday for a visit and considered staying the night and joining them at Disneyland the next day. But after we swam in the pool, did the water slide, toured Downtown Disney, bought some Legos and built race cars at the Lego store and ate at a nice restaurant, I decided to tell my kid that we actually did spend the day at Disneyland and called it good. Better revel in the fact that he doesn't know any better while I still can. Decided to drive home at about 10 pm and got stuck in parking lot type traffic for a good 30 min, because really, I'm not sure what else California is famous for. Then to top it off, someone who hates all of the Orange and San Diego County residents, and probably their job, decided to close the freeway down to one lane. And not just for like 10 miles, but for at least 30 miles. I'm not quite sure how this kind of garbage happens to me, but at least the babes were asleep and not screaming the whole time because that just would have been too good to be true. In other news I built a fort for my children to try and keep them contained while I cleaned the house. That lasted for a hot minute, and they were over it. On the bright side though, one of my crafts, an adult tutu tutorial that I used last year for my witch costume at Halloween has been lighting Pinterest on fire. It makes me happy to see that I'm quite possibly making a dent in this little blogging world. Granted it may be small, but a dent nonetheless. Well, I should go and do something productive, those dirty stairs are just begging to be vacuumed! Why they just can't lower their standards, I'm not sure, but off I go.
xoxo, Janean

Love me a good photo bomb. Espesh when it comes with light up Mickey ears! Lol. Who is that kid?!

Bought this to do a review on it. I dropped a good $20 on it, and, honestly, I love me a good magic eraser. Will buy them over any sponge, any time. But the mop, not any better than any other mop I've used before. Maybe its because there is no soap scum on my kitchen floors. Results are in. Not worth the money.

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