DIY Halloween Costume Round-Up

Halloween is just few days away so I thought a little Sew Can Do costume how-to round-up would be good for those last minute costume needs and fun like a virtual costume party too!  

 Costume Tour Time!

My Princess Merida tutorial was a big hit last year and has been really popular this year too. I've seen some fabulous "I made it!" pics from readers looking for true-to-the-movie style. I show how to modify a basic dress pattern to get the classic Brave look, how to make a quiver & belt and, of course, a wild red yarn wig to make your little Merida complete.

Go vintage cute with my classic Strawberry Shortcake hat how-to.  Add a red dress, apron & striped tights for a complete berry girl look.

Give a little pirate some extra sense of adventure with my Argh! Pirate Eyepatch tutorial.  

I also share how to put the rest of the costume together HERE.

Holy Smokes!  It's a Batman Mask & Gauntlet Pattern!  Use my free downloadable patterns to make these classic Batman accessories.  Toss in some grey pajamas & a cape and the look is complete.

And modify the mask pattern and add some other basic items to turn it into either the Old Time Bank Robber:

Or a BOO-tiful Secret Message Ghost:

Use my Just A Giraffe Coat tutorial to turn a basic jacket pattern into a wild-animal wearable:

While this isn't a free pattern here on the blog, my Dynamite Dinosaur Cape PDF Pattern makes a super warm and comfy costume:

It fits ages 3 & up and is easy to customize in whatever colors desired for boys & girls.

And for some other costume inspiration ideas, here are a few other creations I've made over the years and links to more info on them:

Shining Knight & Enchanted Princess:

            

Classic Roman Soldier (includes link to an amazing helmet how-to):

Our Star Wars Trio: Yoda, Han Solo & Princess Leia.  The Leia hairdo hat & gown patterns can be found in my shop.

This walk down Costume Memory Lane almost makes me want to make some more;)

And for more fun costume ideas, check out my DIY Halloween Costume board on Pinterest:

Tutorial Time: Strawberry Party Piñata & Surprise Ball Favors

Making your own custom-themed party accents can be easy, cheap and fun.  Today I'm going to show how I made my own custom Strawberry Piñata and Strawberry Surprise Balls for the Strawberry Shortcake Birthday Party, I shared earlier this week.  By putting together with some basic supplies, a little DIY and a set of strawberry-themed printables, I was able to style up a pretty party within a "real" mom's budget and time:

Now let's get to the how-to info.  For the Strawberry Piñata...



Materials Needed:
- Red crepe paper (1-2 rolls)
- Green duct tape
- Hot glue gun
- Newspaper
- Liquid Starch (find in the laundry aisle)
- Masking tape
- Scissors
- A Balloon 

How To Do It:
Start making the piñata by covering an inflated balloon with strips of newspaper dipped in liquid starch.  Cover with 2-3 full layers.  Using the starch gives a nice, smooth finish, which is also pretty hard. Leave several inches at the knot of the balloon uncovered, as this will be where the piñata gets filled.  Allow several hours to fully dry.

Pop and remove the balloon from the gap in the base.  Fill with treats/toys and then close by covering with several large pieces of newspaper.  Using masking tape and a strip of packing tape will keep it firmly closed, but not so much that the kids won't be able to break it.

Take a strip of green duct tape about 6-8 inches long and fold in half:

Use strip to make a handle and then tape down ends with more duct tape:

Take some strips of red crepe paper and begin to layer in a criss-cross fashion along the bottom end.  Tack down each end with a dab of hot glue. 

Now take longer strips of crepe paper and starting at the top, near the stem, wrap in a "U" shape around the base of the strawberry and up to the other side near the top:

Fix ends into place with more hot glue:

Continue wrapping until newspaper is completely covered.  By keeping the crepe taut as you wrap, it will keep a nice curved shape against the piñata.

Take a strip of green duct tape, about 4-5 inches long and fold in one short end to make a point.  Repeat with 7 other pieces.

Apply stem pieces along top near handle, in a fanned out shape:

Now the piñata is ready to display or hang and use:



The Strawberry Surprise Balls do double duty as both decorations and favors.  Nestled within their many layers are little treats and toys.  As they are unwrapped, each surprise item is revealed.  

Materials Needed:
- Red crepe paper (1-2 rolls)
- Some scraps of green crepe or construction paper
- Small treats, toys or trinkets (I used a super ball, sweet tarts, tootsie rolls, tattoos, silicone rings)
- Hot glue gun
- Clear tape
- Scissors
- Black marker

How To Do It:
To make my stems I went the super easy route and used this floral die cut shape & my Cuttlebug. This could be cut by hand, but since I already had them, I just saved a little time and used what I had.

Grab a roll of red crepe paper and the items to include in the surprise ball.  It's best to start with something like a ball for the center to give a "base" to wind around and then used items that are thin or can easily be bent to include in the subsequent layers:

Fold crepe paper in half and begin winding around the ball, covering completely from all angles:

Next add another item like a candy and begin winding paper around widthwise and lengthwise:

Continuing adding and winding crepe around the remaining items.  To give the ball a strawberry-like shape, add a tootsie roll or similar shaped item sideways to one end and continuing wrapping. 

As the ball becomes larger, the crepe no longer will need to be folded and can simply be wound around.  Hold the crepe firmly with a little bit of pull to keep it nice and taut so it will not gape. And then secure with tape near upper end:

Hot glue the stem on and use a marker to draw on the seeds.

Nestle the surprise balls into a strawberry basket for a pretty effect:



These custom party items are a hit with young and old alike and very easy on the wallet too.  To check out the entire party, click HERE.

I'm also sharing this project with my FAVE LINK PARTIES.

Click HERE to check them out!

A Strawberry Shortcake Birthday Party, Thrifty-Style

Having just returned from my sister's wedding, I've got parties on the brain again.  And I realized I still hadn't shared the Strawberry Shortcake Party from my daughter's last birthday (almost a year ago).  Yes, I am super slow getting this out, but I promise it's worth the wait! So, come on in and get the full tour:

As I've mentioned before, I've got major love for the old school Strawberry Shortcake of my youth.   The Strawberry Shortcake party I had when I turned 5 was one of my favorites. Now that my Little Miss has fallen in love with the now-vintage berry girl too, it seemed a natural choice for her party.  

Gorgeous, styled parties are something I really love, but I've got a real world budget to work with, so keeping costs minimal is a must.  I started with basic solid color paper products, glass mason jars & plates and some old baskets.  Thanks to my lovely friend Bird, of Bird's Party, I also had some fabulous custom printables with a strawberry theme to spruce things up.  It really helped tie everything together and she made me the cutest matching invitations:

I printed & cut out the personalized bunting, signage and shaped decorations.  There were printables in the set to wrap my water bottles, use as candy envelopes and tag our favor bags too: 

To make a nice platform centerpiece I simply wrapped a few cardboard boxes in red wrapping paper and then taped a strip of strawberry print grosgrain ribbon around each one. This gave me the perfect stand for cupcakes, as well as a place to display the Strawberry Shortcake hat I made (my tutorial for making it can be found here):

My old standby $20 glass drink dispenser, that I've used for every one of Little Miss's birthdays, held some berry lemonade and was easily decorated with some more berry ribbon and a printable berry cutout.  I even used a leftover strip of some berry print laminate fabric as my drip guard:

  
I got some mini gumball machines to give as favors and stuck some of the extra printables on them to tie-them into the party theme:

 To eat we had some little cream cheese and homemade strawberry jam sandwiches:

Yummy homemade cupcakes accented with a few printables on toothpicks:



Some red candies and, of course, some fresh berries:

For a few berry-themed activities, I used our Ikea art easel and freehanded a Strawberry Shortcake hat on paper and used some strawberry shaped sticky notes (from the $1 section at Target) to do a little "Pin the Berry On The Hat":



Finding a strawberry shaped piñata for a cheap price was nearly impossible (I mean who wants to pay $20 for something you plan to destroy?), so I created my own.  I'll be sharing my ultra thrifty how-to for it later this week:



It was a total hit with the kids - check out my party girl giving it her all:

I also created these strawberry surprise balls.  Besides being a cute decorative accent, they also are a great activity & favor for the guests.  Nestled within their many layers are little treats and toys.  As they are unwrapped, each surprise item is revealed.  These were as fun for the adults as they were for the kids.  I'll also be sharing how I did these later this week too:)

The birthday girl was also kitted out in all her Strawberry Shortcake glory:

It was a lot of fun and felt so good to share a bit of my childhood with my daughter and make a new memory too.  Now I just need to think about the next birthday that's nearly here!  

For tutorials on making my strawberry piñata & surprise ball favors, just click HERE:)

I'm also sharing this project with my FAVE LINK PARTIES.

Click HERE to check them out!