Halloween Extravaganza: Costumes Galore!

Whether you are the host or the guest, go big! When that time of year comes around where it's socially acceptable to be anyone or anything, then by golly you need to be! I thought it would be fun to highlight some costume ideas - ones that are fun, appropriate, and easy. Most of them are DIYable (yup, totally made that word up) but there are some that are for purchase too. If I was all organized, I would have categorized them and stuff, but I'm not. :) So, in no particular order...

If you're pregnant, you could consider going as a bun in the oven and the baker! Check out how they put this together for $10!

From Sasybrna on Etsy - a cute little Ghost with a detachable onesie! A little tulle, some heat transfer and a onesie and you could have the cutest ghost on the block!

Have some Mario Bros. fans in your midst? Then why not go as Mario and Luigi! Check out how Sustainably Chic Designs put together Mario and Luigi for her son and husband.

Are you a lover of music (or all things Apple)? What a cute idea to be an iPod (or iPad, even)! Check it out over at LilSugar.com. This would be cute for a little one, a grown up, or even the whole family. I'm thinking different Apple products or even the different generations of iPods!

While a Garbage Man/Truck may not be at the top of the list, you could take this idea and do it with any kind of truck or car that your kiddo likes. I found this idea through Gearfuse.com



How about being a bunch of grapes? Or any kind of fruit for that matter! It looks like this is a purple shirt, pants, and a bunch of purple balloons. You could also do green grapes or, for a family, dress up like the Fruit of the Loom characters from the commercials! Sorry, no real source on this one, the link I found was just on Pinterest

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Do you have a new baby that will be sleeping anyway? Why not swaddle them up and make them into a baby sushi roll! So cute!

Life as a Thrifter made an adorably cute hippie onesie costume. What an easy costume for a little one - and nothing that they're going to hate wearing either!

Have a wiggly baby or toddler? Try out this Spider Web Mom & Spider Baby costume from MarthaStewart.com.

How about being a Publisher's Clearing House winner? What a fun idea! This idea comes from Coolest-Homemade-Costumes.com

One of my favorite games to play when I was younger was Operation - so how about being a doctor and the Operation guy? I'm really in love with this idea!! I found it through Pinterest but the source link wasn't working.

And another from Coolest-homemade-costumes.com - a Pinata!

You can also check out the Halloween Costumes from years past - Mr. & Mrs. Potato Head, Charlie Brown, Frankenstein and the Bride of Frankenstein and a few other fun ideas. There are also links from the Great Halloween Link Up from which you can glean some inspiration.

Places To Visit On Halloween

Are you looking for another attraction besides your annual spook alley to visit on Halloween this year? I've heard of quite a few spooky places around the world that might peak your interest. If not on Halloween....maybe some other time. *spooky laughter ha ha ha ha*

1. Bell Witch Cave in Tennessee, United States

A Witch is said to haunt this cave. The owners, being the Bells, have named her the Bell Witch. Passerbyers have said they've been hit, bumped, or assaulted by something that wasn't there. People that live nearby say you can hear horrible noises coming from the cave. The property owners give tours during the summertime and OCTOBER!!!

2. Old Jewish Cemetery in Prague, Czech Republic



If this isn't the creepiest cemetery you've ever seen. No it's not on purpose either! This cemetery dates back to the 15th century. It is the oldest Jewish burial site in all of Europe. It is unknown how many people are actually buried here. Tombs have been layered here because Jews are forbidden to bury their dead outside their own quarters. There are crooked graves and tombstones with caskets reaching up out of the ground.

3. Fremantle Prison in Australia



This prison served as a place for incarceration for almost 150 years. It was where the worst and most horrible criminals were kept with maximum security. There are rumors of hauntings in various parts of the facility. Guided tours are given. There is even an underground tour beneath the prison into the solitary confinement cells. If that wasn't creepy enough...that specific tour through the tunnels is filled with water.

4. Catacombs of Paris, France



I know, I know! Creeepy! This is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Paris. It's an underground ossuary. An old tunnel designated to store remains from condemned cemeteries in the latter 1700s. There are more bones than can be counted stacked upon one another.

5. Salem, Massachusetts




I saved the best for last. At least for me. I've always wanted to go to Salem...especially on Halloween! If you're not from the United States this is where the Salem Witch trials took place. 26 people were accused of practicing witchcraft and put to death with what you would hardly call a trial. There are museums dedicated to this history in Salem. Halloween is a favorite celebration here with many festivities for the whole family!

Halloween Extravagaza: Party Invites

The most important part of throwing a great party is sending out a great invitation. I'm sure you've all heard this before. It's true! I've had friends tell me the main reason they started coming to our parties was because of the invitation they received in the mail.

For our Halloween party we always try to choose a good date. I do not recommend the 31st because of trick or treating and other festivities that day. I recommend a week before Halloween or the Friday before. Send your invites out the first of the month. I always made sure to call Miranda about our party date because she would be coming from out of town and her hubby needed to request work off.




For the rest of the wording on the invite you can be as simple as you like or dress it up. I've made up a little poem on past invites. If you're not great at coming up with your own just google Halloween invites and click on images. You will see a load of ideas for little poems to put on your invites. I used the invite above as an example. The more creative your invite the better response you will get as far as guests wanting to come to your party. :)
Some ideas in the past that I've used are melting wax and dripping it over the invitation edges. The above invitation is basically what I did. I've used black and red. We even bought an 'H' stamp to seal our envelopes one year.




Another idea you can bounce off of is sending your guests 'something' in their invite. Last year I bought Martha Stewart invitations and put my own twist on them(yes I'm guilty for not always doing the whole invitation myself). The original came with white shredded paper. I bought moss and just used the fingers and stick on RSVP part of the invite. Miranda had to help me put the bows on the fingers and get the back off the stickers because sometimes I can be craft challenged LOL! Above is the picture of how the invitations were supposed to look. Sadly I don't have a pic of my own with the moss.

You get the idea. Make sure your invite has some flare to it and will be talked about and remembered. Something they'll want to keep on the counter or hang on the fridge to remind them of their upcoming party. Don't forget to make costumes mandatory!!! Have fun with your invites!! :)

Thanks to all the fabulous bloggers out there who take the time and effort to host these spectacular parties!! We're linking up here:


Mondays:
Just Something I Whipped Up, Craftastic Monday, Turquoise Lovin', Making the World Cuter Mondays, Making Mondays Marvelous, Creative Me Mondays, Made By You Mondays, Craft-O-Maniac Monday, Made with Love, More the Merrier


Tuesdays:
Get You Craft On, Tuesday Confessional, Who's Got Glam, Ta-Da Tuesdays, Tip Me Tuesdays, Take a Look Tuesdays, Show Me What You Got, Tuesday Tutorials, Too Cute Tuesdays, Craft & Tell, Tutorials & Tips Tuesday


Wednesdays:
Whatever Goes Wednesday, Idea Sharing Wednesday, What I Made Wednesday, DIY Under $5, Woot Woot Wednesday, Wow Me Wednesday, Your Whims Wednesday, Lil' Luna Link Party, Hoo's Got Talent, We Can Do it Cheaper, Look What I Made, What I Whipped up Wednesday, Wow Me Wednesday


Thursdays:
Strut Your Stuff, DIY Diva Thursdays, Hookin' Up With House of Hepworths, Get Your Brag On


Fridays:
Frugal Friday, Creative-ly U, Feature Yourself Friday, PityParty, Look At Me, Show & Share, Fantabulous Friday, Tickled Pink Fridays, I'm Lovin' It


Saturdays/Sundays:
Lovely Little Linkup, Weekend Wander, Sundae Scoop, Sunday Showcase Party, Think Pink Sundays, Anything Goes, Whatcha Got Weekend, Free For All

More Faves from the Halloween Link Up!!!

It's time for another round of features from our Great Halloween Link Up! If you haven't already, be sure to hop on over and submit your own awesome projects and get some inspiration from the amazing projects that have already been linked up! We'd especially love to see some more costume ideas added to the party!


One of my favorites is the Halloween Spell Book from Design DNA. I love, love, love that it uses common crafting supplies. I know I have everything on hand and might just have to give it a try!

Check out the Cowboy and Indian Princess Costumes that Joy in the Jumble created for less than $10! That's my kind of project! And so cute too!

I've seen all sorts of bat collages around blogland lately, but I love that Lorie from Reading Confetti used handprints to make bats! You have to go see the picture of her son's expression when he first saw the bats. Priceless! And Lorie - I'm in LOVE with your kitchen, by the way!!

If we featured your idea, be sure to grab our featured buttons! Thanks for linking up!

<a href="http://lifeinthemotherhood.blogspot.com"><img src="http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee81/mrsdupree819/LITMFeaturedButton2.jpg" border="0" alt="Life in the Motherhood"></a>

Halloween Extravagaza: Throw An Amazing Party!

I LOVE Halloween!!! Every year my husband and I throw our Annual Harris Halloween Party. It's an adult only party and is super fun getting into the spirit of Halloween with all our closest friends. I take this holiday very serious....okay mostly I take throwing this party very serious....and I usually expect the same from all our guests. All in good fun of course! Over the years we've had amazing costumes, extreme competitive edge over our games (with injuries! Haha), delicious fun food, awesome invites, and best of all....great self-esteem enhancing compliments on everything. :)

I'm going to show you all how to throw an amazing Halloween party for adults or kids. The next few days will cover my basics:

1. Invites
2. Decor
3. Costumes
4. Food & Drink
5. Games, prizes, and the little extras

I'll show you how to do each basic with a little something extra to make your guests talk about your party for years to come! You just might be named the Halloween Queen!

FHE Idea: Prayer

Clipart from LDSfiles.com

Scripture: James 1:5

Song: I Pray in Faith (Children's Songbook, #14) (Download the song here or see the words and music here)

Activity and Lesson Ideas:

• Gather enough rocks for your family and get some paint (think puffy paint or even acrylic paint and a small paintbrush). Paint the words, "Did you think to pray?" on each rock. Each person is supposed to put their rock on their pillows (preferably in the morning after they make their bed) and then when they get in the bed, they see the rock and it reminds them to pray. Subsequently it gets put on the floor and when you stand up in the morning, you see/step on it and remind yourself to pray again. You could also make a special pillowcase, picture, or anything else special that each person can hang up to remind them to pray.
• Ask each person (or those capable of doing so) to share an experience they've had with prayer or why prayer is important to them.
• Make a list of reasons, times, and places that we can pray. The point of this is to show that we can pray for anything, anytime, and anywhere, even if it's just a silent prayer.
• If you have young children, you might consider starting with the basics - learning how to pray. I know that with Andyroo (who is 3), he can pray on his own, but it's really the same exact prayer unless we prompt him to say something else. We're working on helping him say different things, but it takes time to learn that prayers don't have to be the same thing every time. Discuss the parts of a prayer and why each part is important (the opening, thanking Heavenly Father, asking for blessings, and the closing). For younger children, you could use this flip book activity from the Nursery Manual (pg 16-19).
• Here are a few poems and articles I found that might be helpful for planning your lesson
• "My Little Prayer" - a poem from the October 2011 Friend
• Watch this short video from LDS.org about one woman's experience with prayer
• "Come Unto Him in Prayer and Faith" - an article by President Thomas S. Monson in the March 2009 Ensign
• "How Can I Make Prayer More Meaningful" - an article by Elder D. Todd Christofferson from the October 2010 New Era. It's a Q&A format meant to help make prayer more meaningful.

Removing Red Wine Stains (and yellowed neck stains)

My husband works in a restaurant and has for almost the whole time I've known him. And though he comes home with all sorts of stains and spills on his white shirts, I was confronted with a new kind of stain this week. Red wine. We don't drink, so I've only heard rumors about it's mystical staining powers. I was a little scared. Mostly because I'm currently out of a laundry pretreater/stain remover.

So what did I do? Googled it, of course! I wish I could link you to the source, but unfortunately our internet was down and I was searching on my phone. I have no idea where I actually wound up online. Sorry.

So how to remove this monstrosity? Equal parts hydrogen peroxide and Dawn dish soap. Yup. It was that easy. I mixed it up, dabbed it on with a q-tip, and watched it disappear. And thank goodness for that. The stain just had to be on his one GOOD white shirt. And white I was removing stains, I was curious to know if the mixture would remove the yellow stains around the neckline. I applied it to about 1/4th of the neckline and just threw it in the wash. In the morning when I checked, the part that I applied the mixture to was gone! Yay!

The stain removal fun was late at night right before bed, so I left the mixture in a little ramekin overnight (because if it worked, I wanted to save it). When I woke up, the Hydrogen Peroxide had turned the blue mixture clear. I ended up just empyting it into an empty baby food jar and putting it in the laundry room.

Any fabulous stain removal tips you use?