DIY: Non-Food Treats and Outdoor Decor

In 2015, it is pretty much a given that kids are not allowed to share treats with their friends at school. It's just the way it is. It's funny how when I was a kid, I would have been so happy to get a pencil or new eraser.  However, my kids would love to share and receive a treat with their pals.  This year, I went to my local Halloween store and picked up some spider rings and "eye" balls and packed it up (similar to last year's Halloween non-food treat).

I like to keep it simple and I try to pick items that can fit into a tiny bag.  Then I work on the graphics.  This year I found a skeleton Mickey and since Teo is a skeleton for Halloween, it worked.

Once that's done, it's time to put it together.

Then this is usually when I think of engaging small hands to help out.

Done!

So simple but hopefully helps to capture the fun and spirit of Halloween.

Outside our home, we have done some decorating as well. We are big fans of Halloween "Hands".

 

 

We brought back the scary face (previously known as the girl from the ring).

Last but not least, we "made" a little boy out of old clothes and boots belonging to Teo. 

Wishing you all a safe and happy Halloween!

DIY Vampire & Skeleton Costumes

It's days before Halloween and I'm not scrambling to find a costume.  Hurray!!!  This year was relatively easier than last year.  How?  I mixed and matched this year to get a costume that worked for both kids.

#1 wanted to be a vampire and I already had the shirt, amulet, and pants.  All I had to do was buy some Halloween Satin at Fabricland for his vampire cape ($8).  #2 wanted to be a skeleton again like last year.  Unfortunately, his shirt was too small.  So I went to H&M to buy a basic black shirt and found a skeleton shirt for $6.  I was able to re-use the pants. Yay!!!

We went to two Halloween events this weekend. On Saturday, we went to the safety village.  It was chilly, so their costumes were covered by hats, gloves, jackets and rain boots.  Kinda ruins the effect but I'd rather have a covered skeleton than a sick skeleton.

The village has the right about of "spookiness".  It is an event designed for little kids so you won't find people hiding in corners just to scare you. 

I'd be lying if I said that I wasn't excited to see the McDonald's truck.  I'll take a double double please!

On Sunday, we went to the museum and trick or treated amongst the historic homes.  Swoosh goes the cape!

Love seeing olden time tools

My favourite is the general store.  It's so cute!

The kids liked the Blacksmith the best... something about the horns and fire.

After the weekend, #2 asked, "are we going to go trick or treating for a third time tomorrow?".   It's so fun to be a kid!!

Happy Halloween!

The Summer of "Yes"

As I sit here in my living room with the fireplace on, I can no longer avoid the fact that summer is indeed gone. While I love hot chocolate and cozy flannel pjs, I also loved this past summer. This was the first summer that I didn't have to rush home so the kids could nap. This was the summer where both kids were open to doing new things. So while I sewed when I had to, most of my time was spent outdoors letting them have fun and to be curious. It truly was the summer of "yes" vs "no".   Do we want to go swimming?  Yes!  Should we go to the Science Centre?  Yes!  Should we go downtown again?  Yes!   In honour of this summer, should I write an overdue post about summer?  Yes!

We stalked Pachi at almost every Pan Am event we could go to.  Little guy was obsessed... he didn't even watch the torch relay.  We saw a table tennis game and went to numerous events but in the end, it was still all about Pachi.

So proud of our city and loved that there were free concerts.

We made our mark on one of many public art installations.

It wasn't all Pan Am though...  we spent a lot of time at the beach and had our first camping trip (no pics of camping since my phone died).

We baked.

We ate prety much whatever we wanted.

We took the train downtown so we could see the balloon drop at CBC kids day.

It wasn't a summer without some classes... they were in swim, tennis, soccer, and art.

They got a taste of what it would be like to fly.  Of course Pachi had to come.

Sigh... it was such a good summer.   

Superhero Toddler Backpack

Little people like superheroes.  Sometimes they like them cutesy.

Sometimes they like them not-so-cutesy. 

They go nuts when they see them in real life.  This is Brampton Batman!

So it totally made sense when I was asked to make a superhero backpack.

My friend Jess wanted a backpack for her youngest son to add to her collection of backpacks.   Last year I made these backpacks for her little guy and her nephew.   Here's a picture of one of the bags from this past summer.  What a cutie!

 
This time she wanted something superhero-like.  We agreed on the design.

Then got the final approval

This is the part of the backpack making process that I like the most... getting it already ready to be sewn!

Here is the finished product

Side pockets - great for waterbottles, napkins, and other tiny things. 

The lining

Inside out

Bottoms up!  The bottom is quilted for extra stability.

As always, I use real backpack connectors

I made this backpack early this year when we still had snow on the ground.  It is so hard to take pictures without a lot of natural light .  It is doubly hard to take pictures of black with red.   While it may look like the backpack is some shade of grey/black, it is indeed black denim.  These pics were all taken with my Samsung phone which somehow worked out better than my Canon.  Go figure.

Happy Sewing!