DIY Skeleton Costume

I love making the boys Halloween costumes each year and I'm busy prepping for this years costumes. Finley wants be a super hero (Super Fin) and Oliver wants to be a bat. I'm glad that they both chose things that are still kind of classic and will be fun for me to make. I hope to get them made soon so I can document the process in case any of you would like to see.

 Some of you might remember that I made skeleton costumes for the boys last year. I've had a bunch of questions about the construction of their costumes so I thought I'd share how I put them together. These were a bit more labor intensive (time wise) than other DIYs I've posted but they were not hard to make and they turned out RAD! Totally worth the effort.

What you'll need:

• Long sleeved t-shirt 
• Matching leggings 
• White felt (Eco-fi felt by Kunin is the best for holding up in the wash)
• *Fusible webbing (I used Heat n Bond Ultrahold for this project)
• Scissors (small scissors with a pointy tip work best)
• **Skeleton Template - download here. The mask is not included in the template.
• Embroidery floss in color of your choice (I used black on Oliver's and red on Finley's)
• If you make the mask, you'll need elastic for the band and a piece of black felt and white felt

*Since I use Heat n Bond, my instructions will follow Heat n Bond's instructions. If you are using a different fusible web, simply change out my instructions with the instructions on the package.

**I scoured the web last year for a template I could use for the boys' costumes. I wasn't able to find one so I came up with my own by taking measurements of the kids. I'm warning you that my template is pretty rudimentary but I like it that way. It would most likely fit costumes in the 3T/4T size range. If you want to make the costume bigger or smaller, just adjust the size of the template.

I did not take photos when I made these costumes but I know you guys are smart and I will answer any questions you may have. If you want to see photos of my applique process, check out any of my applique tutorials and you'll get a good idea of what's in store for you.

Directions:

1. Print out skeleton template and adjust size if needed.
2. Place the template under your fusible webbing and trace all of the bones.
3. Iron the webbing/bones that you traced onto your felt. For Heat n Bond, set it on the "wool" setting (NO STEAM). Iron the design onto the felt for about 3 or so seconds
4. Cut out all of the bones. Small, pointy scissors will make it easy to get in between the ribs and cut out some of the small openings.
5. Peel off the wax paper from the back of the bones.
6. Carefully place the bones where you want them on the shirt and leggings and iron them on for about 10 seconds (remember, no steam). For this step, I like to place a scrap piece of fabric between the applique and the iron for extra protection. Check to be sure that all of your bones are firmly adhered.
7. Now that your bones are attached, you're ready to start the applique process. You can do this with a machine or by hand. I'm a hand stitcher and although it took a while with both of these costumes, it was totally worth it - the stitching was the icing on top! To stitch by hand, cut about 3-4 feet of your embroidery thread. Your skein of thread will have six strands. Separate two of the strands from the piece you've cut and thread them through your needle. I used a blanket stitch for these costumes but a straight stitch (running stitch) would look great too. Pop in a movie (or two or three) because this part takes the longest. 
8. I do not have a template for the mask and to be honest, my kids hated wearing them. If you want to make one, it's pretty simple. I took two pieces of different colored felt (I used black and white for one mask and white and grey for the other) and cut out two matching ovals that would cover the top half of their faces.  I guesstimated where the boys' eyes were and cut out circles through both pieces of felt for the eyes. For the nose and teeth, I cut out just the white felt so that the darker, contrasting felt would show through. I then sewed an elastic band in and hand stitched them together using the same blanket stitch that I used on the body of the costume.

Once you're done, sit back and marvel at the handmade awesomeness that you've just created for your kiddos! And remember, it doesn't have to be perfect - that's part of the charm.

ETA: The leggings and tees are from American Apparel.

As always, feel free to comment or message me at finleyandoliver@gmail.com if you have any questions. 

Dem' Bones

The boys decided they wanted to be skeletons this year. I figured it would be easy enough but let me tell you, these costumes were a serious labor of love. I decided I'd hand stitch each of the bones to give them more character and it took forever. The boys could care less about this detail but I think it was definitely worth it.

DIY Appliqued Ghost Tee

Photo courtesy of Laura Winslow Photography

With Halloween just around the corner, I thought I'd share my super easy tutorial to make an appliqued ghost t-shirt (or sweatshirt). This tee was a huge hit when I sold it in my shop.

My design aesthetic is really simple and clean so my designs are never complicated or fussy. If you prefer, you can just as easily draw out your own ghost or other Halloween character and follow the same instructions. If this is your first time appliqueing, this project will take you about an hour. (If you are familiar with my applique tutorials, the instructions are the same so you can just grab the template and run with it.)

You'll need the following:

blank t-shirt, one piece, or tank

felt or fabric piece for the applique (I prefer to use eco-fi felt)

 embroidery floss

scissors (small scissors with a pointy tip work best)

fusible webbing (I prefer to use heat 'n bond)

 template for the applique (download here)

Since I use Heat n Bond, my instructions will follow Heat n Bond's instructions. If you are using a different fusible web, simply change out my instructions with the instructions on the package. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to contact me and I can help you.

The first thing you'll want to do is take your ghost template and place it under a sheet of your fusible webbing. Take your pencil and trace the ghost on to the webbing so it looks something like this: 

Next you'll want to iron your "ghost" webbing onto your felt or fabric. For Heat n Bond, set it on the "wool" setting (NO STEAM). Iron the design onto the felt or fabric for about 3 or so seconds so it looks like this:

Carefully cut the applique out. Small scissors with a pointy tip work best.

Take the applique and peel off the wax paper layer from the back. Place the applique exactly where you want it on the t-shirt with the glossy/fusible webbing side face down. Iron the applique on to the t-shirt pressing for about 10 seconds. Again be sure to use the wool setting with no steam. Check to be sure that the applique is firmly adhered to the shirt.

Now that your ghost is attached to the t-shirt, you're ready to start the applique process. You can do this with a machine or by hand. I'm a hand stitcher  - I find it very relaxing and therapeutic. To stitch by hand, cut about 3-4 feet of your black embroidery thread. Your skein of thread will have six strands. Separate two of the strands from the piece you've cut and thread them through your needle.

For the ghost, I use a straight stitch. It's a basic stitch and great for a beginner. You basically bring the needle up through the t-shirt and back down making straight little stitches about a 2 cm in from the edge of your applique. 

 

A great video tutorial for the straight stitch is available here. The nice thing about sewing coordinating thread (floss) on felt or fabric is that it's hard to see so it's very forgiving if you're a beginning stitcher. If you're an experienced hand stitcher, it is fun to experiment with contrasting threads and different stitches.

 Once you've finished with the stitching, you're done! You can take these same principles and make a ton of other spooky creations - ghosts, bats, witches, etc.

If you give this a shot, I'd love to see the results! Please take a picture and email me at finleyandoliver@gmail.com. And again, if any of you get stuck, please don't hesitate to email me for help.

A Black and White Halloween

I love Halloween. Seriously love it. I think my favorite part about it is all the fun decor. This year I thought it would be cool to decorate our living and dining room in black and white. Kind of spooky yet classy at the same time. 

I used my Cricut Expression and the Mini Monsters cartridge to cut out these fun shapes for our white frames. 

For our dining table, we used a ton of black candle holders, taper candles, faux crows and white pumpkins. 

And of course, we had to have some little ghosties flying around. 

Halloween has been on my mind so much lately, and we've done so much to prepare that I can't believe it's still 2 1/2 weeks away!

Finley's Mini Cooper Costume

So I posted some time back that Finley wanted to be a Mini Cooper for Halloween. The kid is totally and completely obsessed with Minis. I was super stumped on this one but I'm lucky to have a handy dandy husband who was up for the challenge. We both admit that it doesn't really look like a Mini Cooper (more like a Jeep/Mini hybrid) but Finley thinks it does so we're happy with it.

We let him take it for a test drive tonight and he didn't want to stop.

Now to get started on Oliver's costume. He originally wanted to be a VW Beetle but has changed his mind to a ghost (thank goodness!). Does anyone have any fun ideas on dressing up a ghost costume other than a plain sheet? I'd love to hear if you do.

Paper Ghost Mobile

I've posted before that my little Oliver is totally and completely obsessed with ghosts right now. I thought it would be fun to make him a little ghost mobile to hang up in his room. This was a super easy and super fun project. 

Oliver loves seeing the little ghosties dance around his room.

 

All I needed to make this was a few sheets of white card stock, a black Sharpie, a small hole punch, and some monofilament.

I used my Cricut Expression to cut the ghosts from the card stock but they could easily be drawn and cut out by hand. I am a horrible drawer but even I could pull off a pretty cute ghost. You could also print out some clip art ghosts and use those.

I then used a Sharpie to draw on eyes and mouths on both sides.

Next I used a plate as a template to draw a round circle out of the card stock for the top. I think it was 7 inches (not that it really matters). I used my small hole punch to punch holes around the circle and in the ghosts. Lastly, I used the monofilament to tie the ghosts to each other and to the circle using a simple knot.

This was really easy, a lot of fun, and best of all, Oliver adores it.

A Not So Spooky Ghost

Oliver has been obsessed with ghosts the past few months. According to Oliver, there is a ghost in my car, in the bath tub, a few in his room, etc. Since we had some free time together while Finley was at preschool this morning, I thought we'd try to whip up a ghost doll of his own. This little guy was easy peasy to make and only took about 30 minutes.

I didn't really think to document the details as I went along to turn it into a tutorial but here are the simple steps I followed:

• I took a half yard of white eco-fi felt (40% off right now at Joann's) and folded it in half.
• With a fabric pen, I free handed a ghost on the felt. I am terrible at drawing but a ghost is super simple - you can't really mess it up.
• Cut the ghost out (you should have two ghost pieces since the felt is folded in half)
• I drew some eyes and a mouth on a small piece of heat n bond (any fusible webbing will do - just follow the instructions on the package)
• Iron the heat n bond eyes and mouth on a small piece of black felt.
• Cut out the eyes and mouth and iron on to the face area of one of your ghost pieces.
• If you use a heavy duty fusible webbing you can probably skip this step but for durability, I sewed around the edges of the eyes and mouth.
• Pin the two ghost pieces together with the ghost's face facing in and sew. Be sure to leave about two inches open.
• Turn your little ghostie right side out and stuff with fiber fill.
• Stitch the opening closed.

Seriously, easy stuff. And Oliver couldn't be happier with the result. His little ghostie hasn't left his hand for the past two hours.

Halloween Already?

My 3 year old has been talking non-stop about Halloween lately which I think was triggered by a recent trip to Hobby Lobby. They have all of their fall and Christmas decor out. During checkout, he insisted that we needed rush home and hang up our Christmas lights.

When Finley was 10 months old, I couldn't resist the low price and cuteness of those puffy costumes at Old Navy so he was a little monkey. The following year Oliver joined us and I decided they would be a gnome and a mushroom. Finley refused to wear the beard so my husband stuck a little piece of white fluff into the side of his hat instead. I have no idea where the flag came from.

Last year I wanted to make them luchador costumes but I totally ran out of time. At the last minute, I picked up a puppy dog costume for Finley (that's the only choice you get the day before Halloween) and put together a viking costumer for Oliver with stuff we had around the house. Not the most original costumes but they still looked cute.

I love Halloween. It is my favorite holiday. I have loved dressing up my babies for the past few years and dictating what they would be. I knew the time would soon come when they would decide for themselves what they would be and that time is now upon me. Both of them are insistent on what they will be this year and no matter how hard I've tried, I can't change their minds. Those of you who know my kids in real life will not be surprised at their choices. If any of you have ideas of how to turn these into costumes, please let me know. Good thing we're getting an early start this year.

Finley's Costume:

Oliver's Costume:

My husband and I are pretty crafty but I'm not sure we're *that* crafty...