Showing posts with label children's books. Show all posts
Showing posts with label children's books. Show all posts

Tuesday, October 31, 2017

hallead family trick or treat '17

You guyyyyyyys! I officially have not blogged for a year. There are so many reasons for that. Our family is at a completely different place than we were 365 days ago. But I'm getting the itch again, and I'm ready to pick it back up.

For this year's family costume it was time to, "Take chances, make mistakes, and get messy!"


Jaina was Ms. Frizzle, complete with crazy hair, Fiona was Liz the lizard, and Zach and I were.... the bus. ;)



"Bus, do your stuff!"

  Image via Scholastic

Jaina watched Magic School Bus all summer, and I was not mad about it. It really holds up, as far as kid shows go. Lily Tomlin as Ms. Frizzle is the best.

Image via Netflix

Image via Netflix

The reboot, The Magic School Bus Rides Again, is pretty cute too. Fun fact, the new Ms. Frizzle (former Ms., now Prof. Frizzle's little sister) is voiced by Kate McKinnon, and her name is Fiona Felicity Frizzle. Love it!

Here are a few outfit details. I always wanna go all out, but I did my best to keep it simple. And cheap! All I bought were Jaina's star dress, which she will definitely wear again, and four adult tshirts to make the bus shirts, Fiona's lizard top, and her tail. I had enough felt scraps, notions, and fiber-fill to put everything else together. All in, I only spent $20 for four outfits. Pretty good, especially since Jaina got a new dress out of it. 


Saturn belt


Liz horn barrettes


Liz tail using pattern from Andrea's Notebook



I put these bus tshirts together a couple episodes of Frasier. ;)


It got the job done for just some felt and a Sharpie.


Jaina was so excited to wear her star "earrings" and shoe clips.


I French braided her hair the night before after a bath, and it was perfect by the next evening. Just like the "The Friz". And check out Fiona's tail!



We love trick or treating with our friends, the Kipes. Our neighborhood is a bit creepy for little kids. Thankfully the weather stayed mild!


The whole gang!


Having a nice mug of hot chocolate while the toddlers roll around in sugar spasms.


That tail!

No matter how "grown up" I am, dressing up is still one of my favorite things. Thank goodness, my girls are still up for my ideas. One more Hallead Family Costume for the books!


Friday, October 31, 2014

halloween '14

Happy Halloween, everyone! Also, happy finally-breaking-down-and-letting-our-toddler-try-candy day! We got to go trick-or-treating twice this year. First on Hanover's random trick-or-treat night which is always "the Tuesday before the Halloween parade which is the Thursday before Halloween" (seriously). And then we got dressed up again tonight to get our $3 burritos at Chipotle and to trick-or-treat with our Spring Grove friends.

So here we are! Another Hallead Family Group Costume. Here's hoping we can keep this going for years to come. ; )

 Little Red Riding Hood, Grandma, and the Big Bad Wolf in the woods

Not sure about Daddy Wolf

(Spinning) "I Wed Wiying Hood, Mommy!"

I had planned to make Jaina a simple Red Riding Hood outfit with a hoodie and a simple skirt, but when I saw this gorgeous outfit at TJMaxx with the crushed velour cape and cute little dirndl I just went for it. For me to make that would take hours and more money than the costume cost. So maybe next year she'll be Gretel and I can make Zach Hansel. ; ) And she is gonna have soooo much fun running around the house in that cape.

Now I could have very easily gotten ahold of a lovely full-length flannel nightgown from the thrift store for me to wear as the Grandma, but I refused to walk around like that. So I opted for a cardigan, a shawl, my great-grandmother's apron, and a simple mob cap that I threw together quickly the day of. Oh, and you simply must wear your glasses at the end of your nose. 

I made Zach the Martha Stewart Big Bad Wolf Hoodie Costume with a $2 hoodie from the thrift store. M-Stew of course has printable templates and easy to follow instructions, so it was a breeze. I also added the faux fur on the sleeves and the backs of the ears.

Check out Fred, Wilma, and Pebbles from last year!

Saturday, June 21, 2014

jaina's mary poppins birthday party

"In every job that must be done, there is an element of fun.
You find the fun, and SNAP, the job's a game!"


The job truly was a game, throwing this Mary Poppins party for my little girl. She has fallen head over heals for "Poppy" over the past few months, and it was so fun to surprise her with all her favorite characters.





I can not believe she actually wore her whole outfit! That hat is an Easter hat from the Dollar Store that I spray painted black and added daises and cherries to, and the scarf is crocheted. I found the top, skirt, and shoes at the thrift store. The umbrella was from Amazon, and the "carpet bag" is actually one of my grandma's purses!

Somewhere just after "Super-" you realize this word is 34 letters long...
Also, we fit that hat stand in my Pontiac Grand Prix. ; )




I made these simple cupcake wrappers using this pattern. So easy, and it really finished them off. Never setting naked cupcakes out again!

 Notice the "tuppence", Jane and Michael's picture, and snowglobe I made with just a picture of St. Paul's Cathedral!

  
Babybel Cheese Umbrellas! These are becoming one of my favorites. You just pull the center tab off of the wax as normal and cut them in half. Then you cut bendy straws off right after the ridges, and stick them in the cheese. I make these the day ahead of time and just keep them sealed well in the fridge. 


If you ever need an old-fashioned medicine bottle, just pick up a teeny bottle of Jager. ; )

The Spoonful of Sugars were Pink Velvet cakeballs dipped in white chocolate. The secret is to dip the chilled cakeballs in a little bit of the melted chocolate and stick them to the spoons. Once that's hardened it's much easier to dip the whole spoon in the chocolate without the cakeball falling off.


These were actual mini caramel apples! I used a melon baller to scoop out the apples. After tossing them in lemon juice I squeezed each apple-ball multiple times with paper towels to make sure they were as dry as possible. Then I used Wilton's Salted Caramel Candy Melts (which must've been some sort of limited edition, cause I can't find them anywhere online) to dip them just like cakeballs. From the sound of the chatter on Pinterest, dipping them in traditional caramel doesn't work, so the candy melts were my solution. They turned out great!


The penguin waiter scene is one of Jaina's favorite parts, so I dressed up this little guy with some felt to serve the food. Also, over the penguin's shoulder you can just barely see the Mary Poppins outline I drew on the mirror with a whiteboard marker. "Cheeky." ; )



There's one key piece missing from the dessert table, and that's the awesome vintage wallpaper backdrop that I spent hours on. If I had known I wouldn't have my backdrop I would've used a lot more color in the linens. The wallpaper was mounted onto a three-paneled piece of cardboard, and the strong winds that day just turned it into a sail. It would've knocked the entire table over if I had left it. So that bummed me out for about two seconds, but I got over it. If anyone wants to rent a backdrop or photo booth for a Victorian tea party, let me know!



I'm pretty proud of this chalkboard. I have horrible handwriting and am not very good at drawing,
so this is a big win for me. And those are carnations like the one Mr. Banks and all the rest of the men at the bank wear in their lapels. (Extra points for anyone who can tell me the name of the bank in the movie without looking up the lyrics. I have listened to the soundtrack - quite literally - hundreds of times, and I still can not tell what they're saying.)

The Chimney Sweep Brushes were Rice Krispy Treats dipped in chocolate!

I thought it would be fun to have real roasted chestnuts at the party. Turns out no one else remembered Bert saying this line, not even Zach. I guess that's what happens when you've seen the movie 15 odd times.


That's what Jane, Michael, and Mary Poppins say after they each take their medicine.
The drinks were really limeade, pink lemonade, and iced tea. ; )


Lemonade is one of her favorite treats. Or, "Sowry!", as she calls it. (sour)


She looooves her Daddy.

The favors were mini chalkboards and chalk in "carpetbags" that I sewed up.
The line on the card is what Bert says before they jump in the chalk picture.

This horse has been at my grandma's house for ages.
It's gone through children, grandchildren, and now great-grandchildren!







Thank you so much to everyone who came and helped out! Jaina had a wonderful day. Especially once she kicked her shoes off and found some sticks. ; )


Two years old is gonna be a lot of fun!


Party Credits
Party Styling: Kara Hallead of Kara's Domestic Life
Photography: Faith Scheuerman
Costume: Vintage, Thrifted, Amazon, A.C. Moore, and Dollar Tree
Chocolate Coins, Silver Spoons: Party City
Paper Straws: Kikkerland
Mini Chalkboards: Hobby Lobby
Decor & Linens: Vintage