Super Mario Brothers Custom Felt Trick-or-Treat bags

I have had such fun making my girls their very own themed trick-or-treat bags over the years!  As soon as they decided on Super Mario Brothers for this year, my head started churning with ideas...

These bags are made completely out of felt (with a little grosgrain ribbon to strengthen the handles), so they are inexpensive.  Felt also comes in lots of colors, so it is easy to customize a design.  I buy the felt from the roll, so they are pretty strong - made out of recycled plastic bottles.  They easily hold up for trick or treating, and a few Halloween parties.  Best of all, they can be anything you can think up!

Last year, I made bags to go along with our Harry Potter theme.

Two years ago it was Toy Story - Etch a Sketch and Pizza Planet.  

You can find my tutorial for these felt bags here.

Luckily, when my daughter decided to be Mario - her bag was an easy pick - one of the question mark boxes from the game!  I'm in love.  Here it is with the question mark sewn on, before I sewed the bag together.

And a little surprise on the inside - a star :)  Because when you pop those question mark boxes, sometimes a star comes out - get it?!  It's waiting inside...

Here it is after it's all sewn together...

For Princess Peach, one side has a mushroom, and one side has her castle.  Here they are cut out before they are sewn down.  

And here they are all sewn together.  I love the way this one turned out!!

Click here to see my post about making their costumes (felt was the star this year!).

Let your imagination run wild with these - and make some fun trick-or-treat bags for your little monsters!

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Meet Mario and Princess Peach! {2013 Halloween Costumes}

I love my little video game characters!

Over the years, I have made my girls quite a few Halloween costumes.  We love to do a family theme - like the last couple years with Harry Potter and Toy Story.

This year, the stipulation was that my middle daughter had to be a princess.  So, after some brainstorming, my oldest came up with the idea of Super Mario Brothers!  She said she would be Mario, so that her sister could be Princess Peach ;)

Luckily, there are some great tutorials on the web for Mario costumes - and I was able to make her whole outfit!  It's all made out of felt too -so not too expensive.

The Mario Hat was made using this tutorial from Mum of all Trades.  I did alter it so that the brim was bigger - but it is a very easy tutorial to follow and adjust, and worked great.  

The overalls were made from a tutorial on Smashed Peas and Carrots - and I really like it because you can make any size overalls you need with her method.  (In fact, I made my husband some overalls so that he can be Luigi!)

The red shirt and white gloves we picked up at the store - and we actually have some glow in the dark mustaches I'm saving for Halloween -- so this mustache was a quick cutout for picture taking purposes ;)

Princess Peach was part DIY and part existing dress modification.  We had this pink dress up dress - but it was pretty hammered.  The sleeves were ripped to shreds, and other pieces were hanging.  So, I took it and added new sleeves using this method at Make It And Love It - and it worked great!  I was afraid the pink satin would be hard to work with, but it wasn't.  I also added the pink ruffles on the side to make it look more like Peach's dress.  

The "jewel" on the front of the dress and the crown are both made from felt.

I have made a number of crowns now (for birthdays), using this tutorial at Juicy Bits, and I love them!  They have all been different, with different colors and embellishments, but the method is the same.  Princess Peach was actually really simple with yellow felt as the base, red and blue "jewels" and brown outlines.  

Long white gloves from the costume store complete her outfit - and she is thrilled!

I'm still working on costumes for the rest of us - but I hope by Halloween we'll all match ;) Click here to see them all!

And of course I made the felt trick or treat bags for these costumes that I make every year (you can see parts of them in these pictures) - and I'll be posting about those soon!

Are you feeling ready for Halloween?

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Halloween Photo Garland

I've had this photo garland up for a few days now, and I am constantly smiling.  I love looking at it, and having it up in the living room.  

Our family loves to dress up, and I have made my kids a number of Halloween costumes over the past few years.  With so many wonderful memories, I really wanted a way to display them in the house this season.  

This project was so easy, and cost me very little - which is why I decided to do it a couple days ago when I got the inkling.  

I sorted through every Halloween picture I have to find a good view of each and every costume anyone in our family has ever worn.  We're talking even pictures from when I was a kid!!  It was so much fun.  I found about a half a dozen pictures of me when I was young, a few of my husband from before we got married, and seven years of our own children's costumes (and family costumes), starting from when my oldest daughter was a butterfly at 10 months old.  

Aren't pictures such a treasure!?

I had the pictures printed in matte finish, and then I cut them down to 4"x4" squares if I could, or cropped them into rectangles as small as I could get them.  Then I cut black paper 1/2" larger than my photo to make a simple black background.

This big set of windows in the living room was the perfect, wide place to hang some twine, and I had these mini clothes pins from somewhere that I used to clip each photo to the twine.

When I needed to fill a little more space, I cut out "OCT 31" in black paper and attached it to the string too, to even things out.

My kids were so cute when they got up the next morning and saw what I had done.  They loved looking through every picture, and asking questions, and remembering their favorite costumes.  (Yah, I tried out "BOO" before I settled on "OCT 31" ;)  )

I'm thinking I might hang up other fall and then Christmas photos on this twine when Halloween is over - I love it so much!  I can also see having a great "grandkid" photo garland in a guest room or playroom if you are a grandparent, or putting one up in a child's room above their bed would be so darling.  

Try making your own photo garland and let me know how it goes!

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Ashley's Halloween House {Specimen Bottles}

Talk about a perfect combination of creepy and clever.

My sister has been collecting these unique, old cork top bottles over the years, and filling them will all sorts of mythical scary things.  

This fabulous display is on the table right as you walk in the door, and such a fun focal point.  Wait until you see it all up close...

The fairy skeleton and cyclops eyeball are so easy, you won't believe it.

Both are little grow-in-water toys that have been soaking for much longer than the recommended 2-3 days ;)  

The water was simply tinted with a few drops of food coloring, and the toys were left to grow for all time.  These have lasted multiple Halloweens, and they look as creepy as ever!

Some of the labels my sister made herself - and some she has picked up at garage sales, and various craft stores.  

This label was store bought, and the mummified earwigs were my sister's own clever invention.  

Ashley's Halloween House {Outdoor Decor}

My sister is a Halloween fanatic!  She throws the most amazing Halloween parties, and starts to purchase Halloween items 12 months in advance - at all the "day after Halloween" sales ;)

Her home is a treasure trove of great Halloween ideas, and I wanted to share a few of them with you!

One of my favorite decorations she has is this Halloween direction sign, which she made entirely herself.  

She based the idea loosely on the directional sign I made a couple years ago - but boy, did she take this to a whole new level!  I covet it, highly :)

Black and Gold Halloween Cauldron Clock

I love clocks.  I love the idea of making anything into a clock!  

To me, clocks are like wreaths, or pillow covers.  Why not make one for every season??  Switch them out to match your holiday decor - and have it be anything you want!

I had an old clock I didn't want to use anymore - but instead of throwing the whole thing away, I took the clock mechanism out of it, and re-purposed it! (This is as easy as carefully pulling the hands off, and unattaching the box in the back that holds the battery)

So that means that this project cost me a total of $0 - that's what I like!  Plus, I did it all by hand - no vinyl or cutting machine required.

4x4 Post Painted Pumpkins

Power Tools, Posts, and Paint to make Pumpkins?  Perfect! 

(yes I am using cheesy alliteration ;)

My friend saw these pumpkins over at Simply Kierste and asked me to make a few for her.  

Aren't they cute?!  

The nice thing about these is that the rough wood, and extra sanding, make them look shabby and delightful - so the painting doesn't have to be perfect - and any differences make them even more charming!  

I used vinyl dots as a reverse stencil, but you could easily use those colorful dots you can get at the office supply store.  And the stripes are made with painter's tape.  So no vinyl cutting machine required!

The thick branches as stems are a perfect touch (FYI - I would definitely suggest using wood glue to secure them - not hot glue - because they are very heavy!)

Not only are these a fun decoration for yourself - but they are perfect fall gifts for friends!

Technically there are 3 to a set - small, medium and large - but my friend had the idea to give just 1 pumpkin as a present, which I think is brilliant.  They are cute all by themselves, and with the twine tied around the stem, even just one would be a great addition to a mantel or porch.  

So, what are you waiting for?  Make yourself a few!

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Halloween Bat Wreath {Easy & Inexpensive}

Are you as into wreaths as we are?  

My girls like to have a wreath hanging from their bedroom door - and because they are SO easy and inexpensive to make, we often change up the wreath for the season or holiday.  

What makes them so inexpensive and easy you ask??

For every wreath I make I use a $1 foam tube from the plumbing section of the hardware store as a wreath form.  They are awesome!  If you get the kind made for 1/2" tubing, they curve very nicely - and you can make the circle any size you want (I usually get 2 wreaths out of 1 length of tubing) - just cut it where you want it, and tape the ends together with packing tape.  Easy!

For this bat wreath, we wrapped the whole thing in yarn.  This is where my daughter is an invaluable helper!!  She helps me wind it around, I hot glue every few twists, and we get it done fast!

We made the moon and the bats out of construction paper, and I used a few pieces of wire to make some of the bats stand up.  The wire pokes into the foam easily and a dab of hot glue helps everything stay put.  Hang it with a loop of ribbon and you're done!

Wasn't that easy?  

Now you can go to town and have fun!

Check out some of the other wreaths I've made using foam tubing:

Yarn Ball Christmas Ball Wreath

Back to School Teacher Wreath

Patriotic Coffee Filter Wreath

Fabric and Washi Tape Spring Wreath

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