Just Julie: Sweet n' Spooky Treats!

As the boys turn 3yrs old my husband and I realize that the time for having plan our families traditions around them is over. They can now pretty much attempt everything that we intend to do. I never said it wouldn't be messy but at least now they can participate in our pumpkin carving, cookie decorating, gingerbread house making, etc.

This year so far has been fun. My daughter Guinn came home from school Friday and was convinced we should have our own Halloween party this past weekend. She wrote a list of supplies, delegated tasks and made us promise we'd follow through. Trust me, there's no arguing with a 6yr old party plannner!

We headed out to the craft store and bought the supplies we'd need to make decorations and some spooky treats for our party. My husband and daughter spent quite some time working on their spooky cakes "Frankenstein" & "Skeleton Man." I think they turned out fabulous, they did a really great job.
We also made our sugar cookies with royal icing and decorated them to the max! Some were so drenched in icing by the time the kids were done that I couldn't even find the cookie on the tray. But they had fun and that's all that matters. Believe it or not we didn't have any crazy accidents with the food coloring.
It's times like these that I get a glimpse at what our future holds as a family and I really look forward to it. While I did love the baby years, I look forward to all the new ways we can share our lives together and all the memories we can create now that the kids are getting old enough to really get out and experience life with us. Gosh I love my little freckly family!

Just Julie: Homemade Halloween costumes! UPDATE

Whew! We're done. After a last minute decision to attend our local zoo's Boo at the Zoo event last Friday, I realized I had exactly 2 days to purchase the fabric and sew 1 Lava Girl & 2 Shark Boy costumes. I still had no real idea how I was going to do it but the fabric did lend itself to a little inspiration.

For Lava Girl I was most drawn to the pink vinyl and sparkly fabrics, sequins, etc. For the Shark Boys I found a snakeskin that I thought might double as sharkskin. All in all I ruined one whole pink skirt, that's not uncommon when you try and cut a skirt pattern out of your head without taking any measurements or anything. It was way too small and was totally not cut right. Even the skirt that I ended up using still didn't quite fit right, but the Lava Girl belt covers up the imperfections.

For the Shark Boys I was at a loss, I couldn't for the life of me figure out how I was going to make them look like sharks. I made the shorts first, then the arm cuffs, then the vests. It was at the last minute that I realized I had some super strength aplix that I had bought to make diapers and it worked perfectly for attaching the shark fins to their backs. Although, after having worn them to one event the shark fins already need to be replaced with new ones, they took quite a beating...

Maybe I just work best under pressure, who knows!? Just thought I'd update you all on how they turned out. Anyone else working on their costumes yet?

Just Julie: Homemade Halloween costumes anyone?

The time is drawing near.....Halloween that is. Last year we decided to commit to making our own costumes each year and start a tradition. The result was awesome and it felt very rewarding to have made our family's costumes with my own two hands but just like back in High School when I had a 20 page report due and months to plan, I waited until practically the night before to work on them...lol Oh and did I mention, I had pretty much never sewn anything before, or at least I had never sewn anything "well" before.

My husband and I were pirates, the boys were mini pirates and my daughter was a beautiful mermaid. I am sure we looked way better to ourselves knowing our costumes were unique and handmade, but regardless we dressed up as a family and thoroughly enjoyed our Halloween and festivities.

This year my daughter has announced she'd like to be Lava Girl, from the most annoying kids movie ever : The Adventures of Shark Boy & Lava Girl. I would rank this movie among the top 10 most annoying of all time, and I can now say I've seen it more times than any other adult on the planet, a fact that I am not proud of.

So in keeping with the theme, I am now beginning my preparations for sewing and planning out (1) Lava Girl and (2) Shark Boy costumes for this Halloween. No matter how painful the movie is to watch I am sure that my kids will look great in their costumes once I finish them.

So, what are your plans this Halloween? Do you make costumes, have themed costumes or have any special Halloween traditions? Please share! :)