Halloween Memories

Because Halloween 2011 is already just a memory. And I know that, in what seems like only moments, Halloween 2025 will be only a memory. We had a slew of 1-4 year olds running through our house this morning, and the squeals and giggles were priceless. Some of my favorite moments from this day and how I wish I could live it all over again...

And as a gift to my readers who also happen to feel that time is slipping through their hands faster than they really appreciate...I discovered an amazing new-to-me blog while browsing Pinterest (yes - I'm on there and one of these days I'll figure out how to do the whole Pinterest button on blog thing, but that will have to wait until another day). After reading several posts about photographing Halloween, I just knew that this was a must follow. So, if you're looking to preserve some of your memories, head over and visit Katie Evans Photography. And for your future photography tip needs, I've added a link to her blog on my sidebar.

She happens to be running a contest right now, and while my photography is amateur at best, it seems to be getting better every day, so I'll be sending my memories as entries...you should join in on the fun too! Directions for how to submit your entries can be found on the blog. And just a note - I've included the tips that inspired each shot just for your info:)

UPDATE: You can vote for my pics by liking them on Pinterest. They're the ones from belle-n-bee.blogspot.com (obviously:).

Entry 1: Moving beyond the traditional pose

Entry 2: Capturing the details

Entry 3: Getting behind them

Hold tight to those memories in whatever way you can! Happy Halloween:)

A Baby Butterfly is a...

CATERPILLAR!

Beautiful Butterfly

As promised...more costumes!

I bought these hand-painted wings here.

And boy did I learn A LOT making this tutu! You know those go-to designs that you make time and again? Well, it turns out that they are "go-to" designs for a reason....THEY WORK! So next time you think that adding two extra layers of fluffy stuff won't change your go-to design at all...think again! It will...and you will get frustrated...and there will be a little girl standing at your side begging to wear it...over and over and over again. So after some modification to my go-to design, we finally ended up with a wearable result.

And why, you might be wondering, is that child staring off into the distance in every single picture?

She's watching tv...how else do you get a butterfly to stand still?

Presenting....

ABBY CADABBY!


These petals were KILLER! But totally worth the extra effort.



Now, is it for Belle or Bee???

NEITHER! This little number is for our neighbor, M. And guess what that means....more costumes to come!

From the Cutting Room Floor

Who doesn't love a good teaser?

R U CHICKEN???

Belle is:) Literally and figuratively! She was terrified of this costume and wouldn't go near it for weeks. On the BIG day, I was convinced that we would never get it on her. Our back-up plan was to carry the costume around on a hanger and make her wear a sign that said, "I'm too chicken for my costume!" Thankfully, we distracted her enough to get it over her head and once she was in it, she loved it:)

Quick Halloween Costume Tutorial - THE CHICKEN!

You will need:

1 super large hooded sweatshirt...ours hangs past Belle's knees

several feather boas - the number will depend on the size of your sweatshirt and how closely you stitch them on...we used 6

thread

needle

an outside space to work...trust me on this one!

patience

tights

dye (if, like me, you can't find yellow or orange tights)

shoes

yellow felt (the stiff kind)

red felt optional (also the stiff stuff)

1/4 elastic

To make the chicken:

Optional Comb - Cut a comb for the top of the head from red felt. Stitch it to the top of the hood. It doesn't matter that the bottom edge is visible...it won't be soon:) Our comb doesn't even really show, so you may want to make this pretty large if you want it to show out from under the feathers...or skip it altogether.

GO OUTSIDE (or in your garage)! Stitch the end of one boa to the bottom edge of your sweatshirt. Snake the boa up and down the sweatshirt, tacking it in place as you go. There' s no easy way to do this. You will itch, you may sneeze and you will be covered in feathers. The floor will be covered in feathers; the chair will be covered in feathers; your toes will be covered in feathers. If you are inside your house, your husband will NOT be happy! Keep stitching anyway. Be sure you are snaking up and down, NOT around the sweatshirt. Otherwise, all your little tacking stitches will tear out when the shirt stretches. When the sweatshirt is covered, use the same method to cover the hood.

To make the legs/feet:

If you couldn't find yellow or orange tights, then you will need to dye some. Follow the package directions to do this. THEY WILL BLEED IN THE WASH! No matter what the package says, you will find yellow spots on your favorite dress, the cutest pajamas in your house, and that adorable little skirt you made for going to the pumpkin patch.

For the feet - we magically had a pair of yellow fake Crocs (Thanks, Neeny!) already in our house. I used stiff yellow felt to cut out feet. I attached a piece of elastic to the edges of each foot so that it would slip over Belle's shoes.

The matching baby costume was a simple onesie with "egg" appliqued to the front. She got her own yellow tights too:) At just 6 weeks old, this was as close to a costume as she needed! But isn't she the cutest...I miss my BABY!