halloween

Well, we're almost halfway through September and I'm still chugging along with the September Blog-A-Thon! I don't think I'll keep up daily blogging when September ends (it's hard!) but it's definitely gotten me back in the groove. Hope you blog readers are enjoying yourselves :)

I mentioned earlier that besides this blogging commitment, I also committed to a week of sewing for my kids, specifically. And all that on top of starting to work again for my dad, once a week, plus I'm back to school full-time as a weekend college student (2 classes away from being a senior, woohoo!) This will be a busy few weeks (and months!) But I'm really looking forward to the week of sewing for Kieran & Maia because I'll be starting to work on their Halloween costumes. I am usually a bit of a procrastinator, so I have to start early or I may not finish in time! And I'm sure Halloween will creep up on us really fast - after all, it's already mid-September!

Prior to this Halloween, I picked out Maia's costumes myself, because, well, she was too little to pick!

Halloween 2008 she was "turnin' Japanese"...

Halloween 2009 she was a ladybug. (Note that I only have one picture of her, and it wasn't even Halloween - she was in a "flee the camera" stage at the time, ha!)

This year we started talking about Halloween, dressing up and trick-or-treating a few weeks ago to jog her memory and get prepped - we're HUGE Halloween fans at the Collins residence, so I figure she's got to know what she's getting into. We pulled out her Halloween-themed shirt from last year, which happened to still fit, and when she asked what that was on her shirt - it was a witch, by the way - she said that SHE'D like to be a witch. So, teeny-tiny-toddler witch it is! A friendly witch, if you will. She's already got a mini-broom & some adorable black boots. I'll come up with a black top for her, and I'd like to make a tutu for her, plus some tights or leggings and she'll be set! She did request that I put stars on her outfit, so I'll pick some metallic fabric out and embellish the top. So cute!

I'll probably buy some Babylegs brand leggings (& Kieran can wear them later!)



And I'll likely use this tutu-torial to make her skirt, probably in some more witchy colors.

Maia also decided what Kieran's costume should be (well, I helped her.) I set out a few items for inspiration and allowed her to pick. I gave her some options I thought I could easily make myself, so I set out a plush owl, a gnome-print diaper, and a shirt with a monkey (wouldn't a monkey be cute!? I could sew tan fur on a brown onesie for a furry tummy?) Anyways, she picked the gnome, which thrilled me because I have a weird obsession with gnomes that I'm pretty sure stems from watching David the Gnome on Nickelodeon when I was growing up. David was so cool! (Did anyone else watch that show? I probably watched it in the early 90's.)

Anyways, here's the diaper:

And this is David the Gnome, bless his tiny heart.

For Kieran I think we'll make a pointy red hat out of some posterboard & felt, make a white beard, have him wear a blue shirt and tie a little rope or ribbon around his tummy, and we already have some brown fleece pants to go along with it. I'll try to embellish some shoes with a cute decoration, or try to add a pointy end to them. And we have a little mushroom rattle I'll have him pose with for pictures. How cute will that be!?

Well, what do you think? Can I handle these semi-DIY costumes on top of my other commitments? I think so, and I'm excited to try!