Go see my tutorial for DIY bleach pen kid’s t-shirts on You Are My Fave today. It is the perfect, easy Halloween craft!
DIY Bleach Pen Kid’s T-shirt Guest Post
October 2, 2012 by 1 Comment
Adult Halloween Party Inspiration
October 2, 2012 by Leave a Comment
I’m craving an adult Halloween party that is grown up, sophisticated. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t really like Halloween. But I think a more arty, avant garde approach would make it tolerable. P.S. that gold pinata is a DIY from A to Z Celebrations. Totally go make one.
Black diamond glasses . gold tray . tablescape . black glitter art installation . gold masks . cherry cocktail . gold leaf white chocolates . black and gold lamp . white wig with mask . black horned mask . champagne with sparklers . worm noodles . spider candlestick holder . black cake plate . gold pinata
Pumpkin Faced Oranges with Cloves!
October 18, 2011 by Leave a Comment
Did you ever make clove studded oranges for Christmas when you were little? We did. These might be two of my favorite smells in the world. When my boys started asking to carve our pumpkins, I kept telling them no, that it was too early. Too many years we cut in to the pumpkins, making adorably spooky faces, only to find them all moldy and gross before Halloween. So in order to have them feel like they were making pumpkin faces I decided to give them oranges and cloves.
Here is the very detailed tutorial:
Get an orange and some whole cloves. Shove cloves in orange in any face or pattern you want. Enjoy.
And the kitchen smells amazing when you are done. I will let you know that these lasted all of 5 minutes with my boys. They have some sort of inner driving force that prompts them to take apart anything they just finished making.
Don’t want faces? You can create any kind of pattern or polka dot look from the cloves too. I call this one Charlie Brown’s shirt.
For some reason I decided to google and see if anyone else had already done this craft AFTER I did it (duh). And of course there are others. Check them out for more inspiration here and here.
Sharon
all photos are mine.
Kid’s Halloween Books with Great Graphics
October 11, 2011 by 2 Comments
So this afternoon I volunteered in my son’s classroom. There was another mom in there as well so I had a quick second to glance through the Scholastic order forms. I was delighted to see some books with great graphics, humorous stories and Halloween themed (even though I don’t enjoy it. And seeing as both my kids are having afraid-of-the-dark-issues right now, I picked these books because they appeal to my aesthetic.) Here are some of my faves:
The Hallo-Wiener {by Dav Pilkey}
My oldest son was a hot dog for his very first Halloween so I was especially drawn to this book.
Oscar is a dachshund forced to wear a hot dog costume on Halloween which he does begrudgingly but in the end saves the day from some kind of peril. ”Oscar proves that he may be short on height, but he’s long on heart.” HA!
Jeremy Draws a Monster {Peter McCarty}
Similar to Harold and the Purple Crayon, Jeremy draws and the images come to life. After drawing a monster who demands that Jeremy do things for him, he realizes that while he can get lost in his drawings and the solitude it provides, he would also like to experience real relationships with other kids and without this bossy monster.
Stinky Poetry: Halloween {Elizabeth Krych}
This book comes with scratch and sniff stickers that the kids have to put in the proper spot throughout the story. I am not sure what smells they are and seeing as it is a Halloween themed book, I have to assume some of them might be pretty rank. But I love kids poetry books and think the colors and graphics from the cover are outstanding!! This was available in the Scholastic catalogue I found in the classroom but I couldn’t yet find it on Scholastic’s website. 
Welcome to Monster Town {Ryan Heshka}
What happens in Monstertown when the son goes down? This book will tell you all about what the different people found in town do for work and what else goes on there. A little bit of humor, creepy but cool illustrations. Probably best for older kids. Again, this was in the Scholastic brochure, but not on their site.
ABC Spook Show {Ryan Heshka}
When I was researching the book above, I also came across this ABC book. Sort of a dictionary of creepy (G is for ghouls…) From the sample pages I could see, this seems a little darker than the previous book. And for some reason I think Jenny would love this book. Do you remember her zombie party from last year?
Vunce Upon A Time {J. Otto Seibold}
I LOVE the Christmas book ‘Olive the Other Reindeer’ so it is no surprise that I was drawn to this book by the same illustrator. This story is about a vegetarian vampire who loves candy. But he is afraid to trick-or-treat on account of the scary humans. It is a non-scary story about overcoming fears and I am pretty sure this one will be delivered to my house shortly.
Again, I haven’t read any of these but was drawn to them for their graphics and story concept. If anyone has read them, I’d love to hear your thoughts! Now, if you would, please tell me what your kids are going to be for Halloween, I’d love to hear. Do you dress up too?
Maybe I really am starting to like Halloween. After all, it took me about 30 years to like guacamole.
Sharon
Washcloth Ghost Tutorial From Camp Spooky
October 5, 2011 by Leave a Comment
My readers who are local should go check out Camp Spooky for themselves. But for my readers who are out of town, you too can create these adorable and super easy washcloth ghosts. They are cheap to make and would be the perfect activity for a kid’s Halloween party.
Supplies needed:
Washcloth (could also use felt, scraps of fabric, old t-shirts, even a napkin as long as it is fairly tough)
Cotton balls – just a handful per each ghost
White yarn – string or rubberbands would also work
Markers to embellish them
SO easy! But really cute!
First, lay out your washcloth, fabric, what have you in front of you.
Next, place a handful of cotton balls in the center of the washcloth.
Next, cut a small piece of white yarn. Gather the washcloth around the cotton balls and tie off with the yarn.
Of course if you were going to have the kids embellish them, you could have them draw on the washcloth before you added the cotton balls, or once it is complete so they could add a face, etc.
I know I just shared the link last week for my Halloween ideas from last year, but here is a similar craft I did with fabric and styrofoam. I have to say, the cotton balls would be WAY cheaper!
Thanks again Knott’s Berry Farm for a fabulous event at Camp Spooky!
Sharon
all images are mine.
