Mermaid Halloween Outfit

I'm sure everyone of you out there with young teenage girls know about the TV show, H2O . The one about the Mermaids? Well, of course my 11 year old now wants to be a Mermaid for Halloween. Heck, I think she even wants to be a Mermaid when she grows up!
I agreed, thinking, that should be easy to find...uhm, no!
She is too big for the kiddie outfits, and the grown-up outfits are a bit...how shall I put it....

I'll let you judge for yourself..
Not something I want my little girl to go Trick or Treating in.
Since she had her heart set on being a mermaid, I decided to try and make one myself.
Now, if you knew me, you would know that I don't sew. Dropped out of sewing classes not once, but twice! Just too tedious to my liking.
I do own a sewing machine, though, that I use from time to time to fix  or hem something.
All this to say that for me to decide to attempt something like this, was a sign of desperation!
I went to Hobby Lobby and got the fabric:

This for the tail part...

 ..and this for the tailfin.

I cut the tail fabric to make a point in the middle like this..

Sewed the back closed to make a skirt..

Folded the sheer piece to make a double layer, and gather stitched it , together with a strip of the blue satin to make one long, gathered strip.

 Then I just stiched this piece to the skirt part, and

Viola!

 O, yeah, and I put an elastic in the waist.

 Got the bra top at Savers. We might sew shells onto it..will see.

And don't worry, she won't be cold. This is Phoenix, remember? Kids have to stay hydrated on their trick or treat walk. LOL

I hope you could follow with all of the very technical terms I used,  but there you have it..a Mermaid Outfit for $16.00.

Happy Haunting!

Joining all  these parties

Happy Halloween and Happy Birthday

Happy Halloween, Everyone! And happy birthday to me!

OK, so this is what I opened my eyes to this morning.........

as well as this....

....A wonderful breakfast in bed made by Wonderhusband and the kids.

This is what I found when I went down stairs to the kitchen a little later.....

O well, the breakfast was very special, at least....

                                                      Pumpkin carving.

  My own little green monster...

I bought the dress at GW a while back, and then saw that Wal mart had the tights and mask to go with it....

Now, we just have to wait for all the sugar to get out of everyone's systems, and it will be business as usual....at least untill Thanksgiving!

Hope you all had a wonderful Halloween weekend!!

                                                                      Love,                                                 

                                                                                                     

Halloween Birthday

Hi!
Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend! I certainly did. I did not do anything crafty or creative, but I did get to clean up the area where I usually "create", which is..uhm.. actually my whole house.
But mostly my dining room, which is one of the first things you see when you come into my house, so tis a good thing to have it clean again.

Something you don't know about me, is that my birthday is on Halloween. This meant nothing all the time growing up in South Africa (there's another little tid bit of info you did not know about me), because in South Africa nobody used to celebrate Halloween.
So,  after moving to USA about 7 years ago, I decided to have my first (and last) Halloween Birthday Party!
I decided to show you some pictures of this momentous occasion:


                We decorated the entrance like a bat cave. This was when we were still living in Olympia, WA

Black garbage bags were cut up and hung from the walls and ceiling.

Spiderwebs from DT with little black spiders in, carved pumpkins, witch's hats, and bats cut out of black poster board helped to make it look more spooky.

    The table: 

  Eye balls, pumpkins, old dry branches.

  The old records were used as place mats and to put the hot dishes on.                                     

I found a recipe in a Martha Stewart magazine for these human (bread) fingers.The nails are almonds.

 These spider bread rolls were my own creation.Not bad for a domestically challenged gal.

The front door.

Some scary guests!

Since then, I have spent my birthday every year either going trick or treating with my daughter, or taking her to some Harvest Festival in town. That is the joys of parenthood.

Wondering how ya'll spend your Halloween?

Love to hear from you!

Love,

                                                           Joining these fun parties: