The Sea Monster

Need a last-minute Halloween costume?  How about a no-sew Sea Monster?

In truth, he's actually a Kelp Monster, and if you call him a Sea Monster he gets all offended.  But try telling someone your son wants to be a Kelp Monster...go ahead, I'll wait...I guarantee you'll get some of the most confused looks.  So...Kelp Monster, Sea Monster, whatever.  I looked at some pre-fab costumes, but they were too expensive and too scary...mine has more of a "cheesy home-made" vibe, but I figure I can still get away with it at four years old.

Here are your supplies:

• T-Rex costume from Party City ($14) or similar basic garment for underneath.
• Green leis.  Is that how you spell that?  You know...those plastic green (or any colored) Hawaiian necklaces?  Okay, cool.  I used about 14 of them.
• Brown spraypaint to "muck up" your leis.
• Decorative Fishing Net (I got mine at the Lobby for a few dollars).
• Starfish (Again, from the Lobby for about $5).

First, cut the leis so they became long strands of "kelp."  I learned to NOT cut right through them.  Instead, find where they are knotted, untie the knot (or cut through it), then tie together the two strings that come out of each end.  I also reinforced mine with tape. This way, your lei will not unravel.  This step will take you about the length of one Nate Berkus show.

What it will look like after you untie it.

After it's been knotted, trimmed and reinforced by tape.

Second, spraypaint your kelp randomly and without much effort to give it a "mucky" look.

Third, using hot glue, regular glue, or whatever you like (and understanding that a net is, by definition, porous, so protect your workspace), glue the kelp to your net.  We had several fittings during this process to test how my kelp was draping.  Project Runway, here I come.

At some point, attach your net to the headpiece or hood that your child will be wearing underneath.  I like the T-Rex costume for this, because all I had to do was pull the horns up through the net, and they are tight enough to secure the net in place...no glueing required!

Finally, glue your starfish, shells, or other ocean-y stuff all over your kelp, and you are done!

Optional: dress your other children as scary sea creatures.

One more look at them together:

I know, scary!!!  Happy Halloween!!!

P.S. Lovin' the Linky's at:

The Shabby Nest

Madigan Made

Fingerprints on the Fridge

A Child's Gifts

I love receiving gifts from my children.  You know, those little sweet things that seem like treasures to them, so they become treasures to you, too.  I get a lot of dandelions and rocks and the vast majority of them quietly go away after a day or so, though the sweet memory of receiving them is forever mine.

The bouquet he gave me last weekend.

Recently Biggest gave me an acorn that wasn't crusty with red clay, and it was pretty big, and it still had its top, so I told him how special I thought it was.  And he said to me, "Mommy, I want you to frame it and keep it by your bed."  Wow.  So, I did.

Love this little treasure, and its one of the few I hope to keep around for a while.

Not to get too deep on you today, but I intentionally mounted it so that little dimple was facing forward.  I wanted to see the sole imperfection on this acorn, to remind myself not to insist on perfection from my children.  So many times, my child has brought me a leaf or something and I will say, "Well, let's find one that's prettier, or has all its parts."  But I am trying to do so less and less.  I don't want to teach my children that perfection is the only thing I will accept.  After all, my Father lovingly accepts gifts from me that are far from perfect, all the time.  So, the acorn is my reminder.

And, it's pretty cute on my nightstand, too.



P.S. Lovin' the Linky's at:

Pretty Little Pumpkin Project

Hey gang!  A creative bug bit me today (totally out of the blue) and I suddenly found myself making some little felt pumpkins:

I came across these $.79 embroidery hoops, and the adhesive felt in my craft supplies...and just a little while later I had these cuties for my pinboard!

I just cut pumpkins out of the felt, and used a brown fine-point marker to simulate stitched lines.  The stems are made from burlap fringe, glued to a small piece of brown felt.

I painted the hoops with a couple of different metallic acrylic paints, for a glimmery neutral effect.

Here's how they look on my pinboard:

Just a little bit o' Fall for my office:)  Love it when something simple turns out cute:)

Sunday Funnies

Say whaaaaa?  A Sunday Funnies post?  I thought she'd long ago forgotten she ever had this series!!!  Nah, I will be back occasionally until I get my feet back under me, and then (hopefully) be back every week, since I know your life is totally empty without my Funnies.

Littlest is in this mood lately (like, the past year) where Mommy is only allowed to sing if he wants me to.  If he's in the mood, then I must sing immediately.  If he's not in the mood and I start to sing, he will shout and even cry at me if I don't stop.  It's very flattering.  It almost forces me to play Rock Band to compensate for the blow to my ego.

The other day he was singing one of his favorite songs, and here comes Mommy to join in.  I'm not singing for one second before he shouts, "NO SING, MOMMY!!!"  Then, in his sweetest little voice, he finishes his song: "Now I know my ABC's, next time won't you sing with me?"  Sheesh.

Fall Fall Fall Fall Fall

Don't you love it?

The fun Fall goodies?

Candy Corn Sugar Cookies

Bacon Gruyere Stuffed Pumpkins

The trips to the pumpkin patch?

The best picture I got of the two of 'em!  Those cute little hooligans...

The turning leaves...cool nights...fragrant Fall candles...all of it?  I sure do.

I am going through a challenging season of life right now, but I remain so grateful for these seasonal blessings, and so much more.  God is good!

An ABC Baby Shower

My friend Jessica (if you've been here a while you know her as the girl with fabulous taste in fabric) had her first baby on September 1st.  Baby Reid was about four weeks early, and early on the little guy was in and out of the hospital as he struggled to regulate his temperature and gain weight.  He's doing great now, and in celebration of his good health I wanted to share pictures from the shower a few of us threw for her.

Jessica chose these vintage alphabet cards for his nursery, so we went with something of an "ABC" theme for her shower.

"B is for Baby" bottled water.
I just printed out labels on cardstock and stuck them on with double-sided tape.

In keeping with the theme...cute little signage for our food!

The cake!

Guests received a set of four "hello" notecards.  A little deviation from ABC's for the big-girl guests.

Here's what they looked like untied:

So cute.  Just another example of why I love my Silhouette machine.

And, for no good reason except that I can't resist...look at this sweet little corner of Reid's nursery:

Jess has lined his walls with a mix of letters in different styles, including the aforementioned notecards.

Ooh, ooh, and look at this one:

Precious!

Don't you love celebrating new babies?

Back from Belgium {A Pictorial}

Phew!  I got back on Saturday evening and have been dying to share my trip with you!  I had an absolute blast in Belgium.  We did some sightseeing in Antwerp, bought diamonds for customers, and took day-trips to Brussels and Amsterdam.  It was wonderful.  Can I share some of it with you?

Scenes from the beautiful city of Antwerp...

...and its beautiful cathedral:

Brussels!  I loved it not only because it is beautiful, but also because I'm a total dork about practicing my French. I continuously make a fool of myself.   It's great.

You know I am not going anywhere without taking waaay too many pictures of my food, right?

Of course, it wasn't all fun and games.  I also had to work.  And by work I mean help select beautiful diamonds from some of the best diamond-cutters in the world.  Hey, somebody's gotta do it!

If you're interested in learning how many millions that pile of rough diamonds is worth, come check out my business Facebook page.  In the meantime, it's back to reality for little old moi.  See ya soon!

Doozy Cards Giveaway Winners!

That Daddy here, filling in for That Mommy while she's living the good life in Belgium.  I have been instructed to author something clever in this space, but it turns out filling in for That Mommy has sapped my creative energy.  On the plus side, if you'd like me to yell at you or send you to time out for grabbing a toy, hitting your brother with a toy, intentionally breaking a toy, and/or cramming a costly toy--against all laws of physics and nature--into an even more costly toy to create a very costly and very nonfunctional supertoy, I have been honing those skills for several days and stand prepared to demonstrate them outside of the confines of the house.

Anyway, That Mommy extends her thanks once again to Doozy Cards for sponsoring this giveaway!  The lucky winner of the one-year membership is Susan Locey!

If you're the winner, I have already passed along your email to Doozy Cards, and they will contact you soon with your redemption code.  Enjoy!!!