Sweet Pea Homemade Halloween Costumes – Fabulous!
Posted by Sarah on October 18, 2009 · 2 Comments
Ahhh….promote the love of veggies early on! This adorable costume can work for twins as well. We found this on Parenting.com and it would work even for those of us who cannot sew, don’t have time to sew or simply want to make something at home but don’t own a sewing machine!
Can you get more adorable??
Sweet Pea is probably the most popular baby theme out there and now you can make it work as an adorable Halloween costume for an infant.
Who can get enough of these adorable veggies!
Click here to see the instructions on how to make this awesome costume.
Homemade Halloween Costumes – Who wants to be a Snowball? Toddler Halloween Costume Ideas from Parenting.com
Posted by Sarah on October 16, 2009 · Leave a Comment
Ok….soo….I have to admit…. When I saw this costume, I was blown away. NO SEW??? NO WAY!!!
But apparently, Parenting.com has come up with a way to completely shatter all my excuses for not being the Suzy Home-maker Mom who doesnt even OWN a sewing maching, let alone contemplate ideas of sewing something as complicated as a Halloween costume.
I mean, I watch Project Runway just like most of you out there and momentarily fantasize about being a serious fashionista equipped with a Singer maching capable of banging out the latest fashions right out of my own basement! But come on! Whom are we kidding????? I can’t even sew a button if my life depended on it. Nor would I want to!
But ok…let’s put my guilt and unrealistic SuperMom dreams aside. CHECK OUT THESE ADORABLE COSTUMES!!
Love it!
Maggots…my pride & joy
Posted by Gigi on October 16, 2009 · Leave a Comment
Sure, I went to college and graduated with honors. Yes, I was very successful at a corporate job – and as we all know delight in my bringing in to this world, four beautiful children. BUT even with all of that considered, I present to you….my greatest achievement…….the creation of Maggots.
Okay well not real maggots but since I am now the mother of three boys, I feel it is my duty to be cool with gross stuff, so I decided to make a ghoulish lab in the foyer. My favorite addition came from just a few little things I had around the house….so proud, so proud.
Elbow macaroni + corn syrup + red food dye = maggots soaking in blood.
Your welcome.
Kid Safe Pumpkin Lighting Tips & Ideas
Posted by Sarah on October 14, 2009 · Leave a Comment
With so many options out there, it’s hard to find the time to carve the pumpkins, get the templates, make the cookies, decorate the house, decorate the yard, get the right costume…should we go on?
With all the busy moms out there, we decided to map out the best way to light up your pumpkins this Halloween.
The obvious, best and SAFEST way to light up your next pumpkin masterpiece, especially if you have small children or would not want to burn your house down, is to use a candle-free option.
Check hardware stores or online stores for color-changing strobe lights (these we found on Amazon.com for about $8.50 each), battery-operated tea lights (we found these on save-on-crafts.com – 6 for $6 ) which are great to use even after Halloween for a safer candle burning effect or rainbow LEDs that are made just for pumpkins and are safe for use in fresh or foam pumpkins.
In our opinion, battery-operated tea lights are a great option for a small pumpkins or gourd. If you have larger pumpkins to illuminate, you can use several tea lights in the same pumpkin.
For indoor decorations, Christmas lights specifically designed for pumpkins (found these at christmaslightsetc.com for $7.95 per set of 50) are an awesome way to light up your pumpkins. This would also let you make a colorful tabletop displays or window sill decoration! Imagine the possibilities!
And of course, finally, candles are an obvious choice. Votive or pillar candles, placed on a plate which is large enough to catch any drips, are the best option.
A good tip when illuminating a pumpkin with a candle is to cut a small hole in the top of the pumpkin, like a chimney, allowing the heat and smoke to escape.
But needless to say, you should ONLY use this as a last option and NEVER if you have children. Let’s not make Halloween truly scary!
Happy Trick or Treating People!
Essential Pumkin Carving Tools Unveiled!
Posted by Sarah on October 13, 2009 · Leave a Comment
Ok…so, you’ve made up your mind, you bought the pumpkins, you’ve got the templates and now you are sitting down trying to figure out how to make a Picaso Pumpkin Masterpiece using nothing but your hands and your archaic kitchen knife?
No worries! We have you covered. Check out our essential pumpkin carving tools must haves!
Dremel Cordless Pumpkin Carving Kit
This baby will have you carving pumpkins you can be proud of!
For those of you over-achievers looking to carve more advanced pumpkins than the traditional jack o’lantern, this awesome tool kit allows fast, easy carving of spectacularly sculpted pumpkins. It even comes with included templates. It’ll cost you about $30.00
Alright, so Picaso or Michaelangelo have nothing on you!
You are the ultimate pumpkin carver in your neighborhood. What do you have hiding in your toolbox? Flex Shaft Attachment. This baby will get into tight spots, nooks, and corners with ease. Professional carvers depend on it because it’s much lighter than a rotary tool, there’s less hand strain when carving detailed designs. The attachment works with any of the corded Dremel models and allows users to grip the output shaft like a pencil for added precision and control. It’ll cost you about $30.00
Pumpkin Masters Power Poker and Saw Have a need to do some intricate carving details? This is the perfect tool.
Make clean and quick cuts with this battery-operated pumpkin jigsaw.
Replaceable saw blades snap into place, and the clear saw guard doesn’t obstruct your view of the pattern.
This will make even the most complicated Halloween template seem like child’s play to you. Go wild and crazy with your pumpkin carving! There are no limits with this handy little tool.
You’ll be designing and creating your own styles pretty soon and won’t even need a template with this baby.
It’ll cost you about $10.00 at Pumpkin Masters.
These Speedball Linoleum Cutters are usually used for printmaking, however, they would work perfectly for shaving away parts of your masterpiece pumpkin and creating cool visual effects.
You can create interesting shadowing and detailing to enhance your design and make it seem like it’s illuminated from within without actually cutting out parts of the pumpkin. For come very cool ideas, click here to go to Martha Stewart. Love the raccoon and the graveyard pumpkins. Perfect examples of this little handy dandy tool can do for ya!
You can find this particular kit at Dick Blick Art Materials for around $9.00
Ok….soooo…you’ve spent the money on the tools, you’ve spent 15 hours researching the most unique carving template, you bought the pumpkins and are ready to carve. But all you can think of is the amount of time it will take you to create your masterpiece only to have it turn to mush in a day! We have your solution!
Funkins: The Original Artificial Carvable Pumpkins
You can now carve away to your heart’s content and your master piece will be safe and sound! This is fantastic pumpkin will cost you about $30.00 and maybe save you some time again next year. 
Now, go carve away you crazy pumpkin carving people! And let us know if we missed any must-have, can’t live without pumpkin carving tools and we’ll list them for ya!
Are You Ready for the Monster Mash?
Posted by Sarah on October 12, 2009 · Leave a Comment
Someone recently (Hi Jen!) sent me this adorable Monster Mash Video with the kid’s faces embedded in the characters. I thought I would share! It’s adorable!
Awesome Halloween Idea: Create An Eerie View Out The Window
Posted by Sarah on October 12, 2009 · Leave a Comment
Love this idea from BHG.com on creating a “Dreadful View” out of the window by taking a regular graveyard photo and simply magnifying it.
Then paste onto wall or window to create a scary landscape effect.
If you are feeling creative and/or ambition, you can even take a picture yourself with your own digital camera and convert it to black-and-white, then take the image to a blueprint service to have it enlarged.
Use double-sided tape to attach the image to the window from the outside if it’s protected from the elements or simply tape from the inside.
If the window is unprotected, tape the photo to the inside — cutting it into individual panes if you have to deal with muntins (as seen here).
This is an awesome Halloween project to do with your children and involved no mess and almost no clean-up.
How’s that for easy breezy?
Kid Friendly Pumpkin Pudding
Posted by Sarah on October 11, 2009 · Leave a Comment
Trick or Treat! Give me something good to eat!
Well you won’t have a problem serving something good to eat with this adorable Pumpkin Pudding dessert.
Imagine the squealing laughter these clever pumpkin puddings will bring out from your Halloween dinner party guests.
Whether you are inviting adults only or having a few kids over, these imaginative pumpkins by Martha Stewart (click here for the recipe) not only look good but taste awesome.
I would imagine these would go well as Thanksgiving dessert as well as a Halloween treat.
Spooky Halloween Pumpkin Magic
Posted by Sarah on October 9, 2009 · Leave a Comment
If you are tired of the same old orange pumpkins, this is the thing for you!
These puckish pumpkins with their paint-blackened rinds and orange-gold interiors, thumb their carved noses at traditional jack-o’-lanterns.
Martha Stewart’s Black Magic Pumpkins are the perfect alternative for the rebel inside you.
Just use a regular pumpkin, spray paint in black and carve away!
Click here to view the full instructions.
This idea would work great with our Gothic Bath article and is also an awesome and creative kids’ project.
Pumpkin Cupcakes for Halloween – When Else?
Posted by Sarah on October 7, 2009 · Leave a Comment
These adorable pumpkins cupcakes will be the center of attention at your next Halloween bash.
Featured on Martha Stewart, this pumpkin cupcake recipe is perfect as a Halloween project you can do with your kids.
Super nutritious and almost healthy for you in this cupcake verison, pumpkins are loaded with vitamins A and B, iron, potassium, protein, fiber — and are low in fat and sodium.
The perfect addition to your Halloween desert spread.
You can even line your serving platter with some beautiful fall colors. Collect some large oak leaves that have just begun to turn red, rinse them off and you have a gorgeous Halloween platter worthy of being in a magazine!
