Search This Blog

Featured Post

Christmas Crafts: Diy Elf on a Shelf with Outfit Tutorial

This post may contain affiliate links, please check out my disclosures page for more info.  Thanks! For my first project for Christmas, her...

Friday, October 27, 2017

It’s Halloween! and a Costume!

This post may contain affiliate links, please check out my disclosures page for more info.  Thanks!

It took longer than anticipated to complete, but hopefully it was worth it.  My Halloween costume! 

This year I was inspired  to dress as a witch for Halloween due to a couple of strange occurrences.

Diy frilly witch costume with lace and roses. Halloween crafts.

After weeks of designing and sewing, here’s how it came out.  Sadly, I still haven’t figured out how to take pictures of dark clothing without it looking horribly.

Diy witch cape made from an umbrella. Halloween crafts.

Anyway, the idea to make a witch costume started with the cute caplet.  It’s made from an umbrella.

Umbrella to witch cape.

That’s right, my trusty black ruffled umbrella (bought here) suddenly died on me.  Being a little too attached to it, I saved the fabric hopefully to find something to do with it. 

Then I remember an idea I heard about making ponchos with umbrellas and that lead to thinking about capes.

Umbrella to diy witch cape.

After cutting the fabric open and trimming it with lace and ribbon…

Umbrella to diy witch cape. Halloween crafts.

…I just had to tie it in front for an nearly instant witch’s cape.  If you look carefully, you can see that the lace is the same black lace from my recent craft haul (see A Spooky Black Craft Haul). 

Altering a vest for a witch costume. Halloween crafts.

Moving on, this vest and striped blouse actually came from a lucky pack (sort of like a grab bag) I bought from Bodyline recently (I forgot to mention it). 

I’m afraid the pack was a bit more unlucky for me because many of the pieces in it were horrible.  These two had promise and I realized quickly that they were perfect for this outfit, with some work.  The blouse was okay to begin with, but the vest so was not.

Altering a vest for a witch costume. Halloween crafts.

This is what the vest looked like before I started on it.  I think they were going for an “edgy” asymmetrical look.

Altering a vest for a witch costume. Halloween crafts.

Anyway, after removing the odd ruffle from the neckline…

Altering a vest for a witch costume. Halloween crafts.

…and the odd “ruffle” from the hem…

Altering a vest for a witch costume. Halloween crafts.

…then sewing on more of the that black lace (By Hand!), it was perfect.  Without the odd ruffles it’s easier to notice the cute rose buttons. 

The vest actually came with an odd pair of matching shorts with the same buttons.  I may need to swipe them for another project.  :)

Skirt for diy witch costume. Halloween crafts.

Now for the skirt, made with the black fabric from my craft haul.  It’s a simple full rectangle skirt with a ruffle and an elastic waistband.  Here’s a decent tutorial to make a similar skirt if you like.

diy ruffled skirt.

I added the same lace along the top of the ruffle.  It really helps bring the whole outfit together. 

I keep on saying outfit instead of costume since most of the pieces actually will work with my wardrobe, especially this skirt.  Pair it with a white blouse (like this one I altered) and pretty head band (like this one I made), and I’m good to go.

Diy frilly witch costume with lace and roses. Halloween crafts.

However, we’re still thinking about Halloween here, so here’s the piece that really makes it a costume.  The witches hat. 

I bought this plain hat from Target to decorate with ribbon and roses.  It’s actually the children’s hat because the “one size fits most” adult size hat was too big.  It works out well because the children’s one is a dollar less.

Diy frilly witch costume with lace and roses. Halloween crafts.

To decorate, I mostly just twisted and wrapped some wide ribbon around the brim and added a large but simple bow. 

What really finishes it off is the rose piece in the center.  To make it, I twisted two roses together by their stems and covered the stems with ribbon before attaching to the hat.

Diy frilly witch costume with lace and roses. Halloween crafts.

The neat thing is that I used a pin back to make the rose piece removable.  So after the holiday I can wear this as a large brooch if I want.

Black hair bows for Halloween.  Halloween crafts.

While I had the glue gun out for the hat and “brooch”, I also made these quick and easy hair clips with leftover black ribbon.  I thought some hair bows would be just the thing to make this witch outfit cuter. 

And with that I’m ready for Halloween, at least costume-wise.  Don’t ask about the candy.

Here’s the updated list:

  • Baby
  • Blue dress
  • Tiny outfits
  • T-shirts
  • Halloween
  • Pink dress
  • More T-shirts

Two down, five more to go.


Give it a try:

Read More »

Wednesday, October 25, 2017

A Spooky Black Craft Haul

I had intended to post this sooner, but life happens.

Anyway, to prepare for a certain holiday craft project I took a trip to my favorite craft store, SAS.

Craft store shopping haul, or shopping for Halloween.

As you can see, black was the color of choice for my craft purchases this time.

Craft store shopping haul, or shopping for Halloween.

I bought a few yards of black cotton fabric, you will see what this is for later this week. :)

Craft store shopping haul, or shopping for Halloween.  Black lace anyone?

To go along with it I bought this thin black lace.  It’s funny about the lace.  I looked all over the store, desperately trying to find black lace that would work.  I’m afraid there wasn’t much lace in that color to be found despite how close it is to Halloween.   Plus, most of what was there was either too wide, pricey or cheap looking.

Then I found the clearance area. 

Craft store shopping haul, or shopping for Halloween.  One dollar lace!

This entire bag of lace for only $1, and not just any lace, the perfect lace for my project and future ones to come.  Which is why I bought two bags of it.

Craft store shopping haul, or shopping for Halloween. Pretty lace.

Naturally, while searching for this perfect black lace I found some more lace I couldn’t live without.  These two lovelies will come in handy for a couple more projects.

Craft store shopping haul, or shopping for Halloween.  Lots of black ribbon.

In addition to the lace, I needed black ribbon and that was thankfully much easier to find.

Craft store shopping haul, or shopping for Halloween.  Black flowers for accessories

I also needed some large black flowers, so I bought the two on the right.  The smaller bunch of rosebuds I bought as an impulse.  I tend to used this type of rose bud a lot (see Hair Accessories Again? A Tutorial and Flowers for Your Hair, Flower Headband Tutorial), so having a few black ones might come in handy.

Craft store shopping haul, or shopping for Halloween.  A baby carriage for dolls?

Speaking of impulse buys, I also got this little baby carriage party favor for less than three dollars.  I thought it would be cute for my dolls.

Craft store shopping haul, or shopping for Halloween.

I also got this pack of golden roses with bows.  Couldn’t resist them at twenty-five cents and I think they will work perfectly for some Christmas crafting.

Craft store shopping haul, or shopping for Halloween.

Now the practical stuff, like thread.  Surprisingly not in black, but I buy black and white thread in bulk.  It’s other colors I tend to need, like pink and navy.

Craft store shopping haul, or shopping for Halloween.

I also bought a couple more blank headbands.  I like these ones because they are made of metal instead of plastic.  That means I can adjust the fit without breaking them.

Craft store shopping haul, or shopping for Halloween.

I also needed some more hooks and eyes, plus I grabbed some snaps just in case.  I go through these a lot for doll clothes and stuff, so I like to grab a pack every time I stop by SAS.  For 99 cents each, it’s a bargain. 

Craft store shopping haul, or shopping for Halloween.

I needed some more zippers, in black and white.  Both for upcoming projects.

Craft store shopping haul, or shopping for Halloween.

And finally I grabbed some more glue sticks for my glue gun.  It will be used constantly in the next few months.

That’s all for this haul, now stay tuned for the finished projects.  :)




Read More »