Spider Baby Tutorial

Friday night when Baby M was doing this...

I broke out the sewing machine to make THIS...

{image via Martha Stewart}

It's a Martha Stewart project I found Online last year...I had my heart set on tackling a homemade costume for Baby M's first Halloween. Little did I know that it would end up taking so much time {~3 hrs} and would cost more than planned {~$30 for the entire project}. But it was still worth it. There's something satisfying in knowing that I actually made his costume rather than buying it. At our church's Fall Festival last night, probably about 2 dozen people let me know that if we'd had a Costume Contest {sadly they didn't do it this year} then we'd have won hands down. Yay!

Here's the creepy crawly tutorial:

Take 3 pairs of men's black dress socks and tuck in another 1-in at each of the ankles.

Stuff each of the 6 socks...these will be the spider legs.

Cut an oval out of cardboard and staple each of the legs to the backing. {Martha suggests using guaged wire, but I found stapling is much easier and I think it holds better than the suggested 2 holes per sock}

To finish off the harness and body, hot glue and staple 2 long pieces of black ribbon as indicated {or you could do velcro, but I just tied the ribbon in a bow around M}. Cut out a piece of black fur to hide the cardboard {add additional poly-fiber fill if you'd like some more depth to the back of the body}

Hot glue the fur to the body...et Voila!
For the Mommy skirt, I made a white apron from an old bed sheet {just cut and sewn down to size}. Drape black yarn as pictured and affix with pins. Sew the yarn lines at the top and bottom and then tie the horizontal yarn in knots so they drape in a web-like pattern. I simply pinned the "apron" in the back to wear it as a skirt.

Here's the spider in action!

{Dress Baby in a black body suit or sweat pants/long-sleeved onesie}

The pair of us: Spider and Web

{Mommy wears all white and drapes the apron across like a skirt}

Happy Halloween!

A few more pictures from the night HERE

Wah Wah Weekend

t's a new day. And today is GORGEOUS {hurrah!}. This weekend I have a laundry list of things to accomplish. Tomorrow officially marks the start of Halloween week...yep, something I wouldn't have ever noticed pre-child. But apparently there are a number of local events that celebrate "Harvest Season" "Fall Festival" or really just plain ole Halloween. Of course first I need to finish sewing M's costume...yikes! To celebrate, we may venture over to Boo at the Zoo, Harvest Celebration, and then maybe a couple of local Trunk or Treats {our church Fall Festival is this Sunday too}. I'd also like to finish up redecorating my sunroom/office- procrastinated!

eekend, here we come!

Back to Happy

I'm kind of in a funk.

It happens.

But this time I don't even think I've done a decent job of putting on a smile and trudging forward... It'll get better. It always does. And I'll move on. But for now, I'm still wallowing in my sad state, trying to stop this stupid selfishness so I can return back to joyful.

{image: DeeDee Hampton}

I even have a to-do list to "Get Back to Happy":

• Cry- it's a healthy release, but sometimes one of the toughest things for me to allow myself to do.
• Pray- turn to God through the good and bad, I feel like it's the tough times where He's calling me to remember that He's the one I should turn to.
• Read- Scripture holds a plethora of uplifting encouragements.
• Talk- it's a good release to share the pain and woes with Mom, friends, family members...heck, maybe even blog about it!
• Keep Busy- try to remove myself from the hurt. You'd think it'd be automatic with a baby, but there always seems to be unexpected moments when the pain seeps in.
• Resolve- tomorrow is a new day.
• Listen- listen to God, listen to your own heart, and maybe even to some good music

I haven't had conclusive evidence, but I sometimes think "good medicine" is music- even if it's the sad kind where you're reminded that you're down {insert the phrase my Mom would use, "Poor Baby"}. For me, music is an incredible release. I think sometimes I'm able to work through feelings just by listening and experiencing the emotions evoked through song. By the way, thanks Sylvia Grace for your Playlist, I've picked up some good new songs {Gardenia & Free Falling} that I've been jamming to this morning.

I'll try to be more cheery...I know I'll get my groove back soon!

Cool Crew

Of course my child takes precedence over my fashionable desires...as he should! {I actually dress him better than I dress myself} So I feel very much out of the fashion loop lately. In fact, other than InStyle magazine and what I occasionally see Online, I have no clue what's really "IN" for Fall.

That and the fact that I haven't been able to fit into my pre-preggers clothes until as of late so my main goal with dressing has been function, "what can I fit into right now." But just 3 more lbs to go and I'm back down to my "start weight"- hurrah! My goal is to get 7 lbs under my pre-preggers weight...and that dangling-carrot-incentive is cold clothes shopping. {Woo-hoo!}

So to get me out of Fashion Hibernation, here are some of my inspiration photos from J Crew...lovely findings by the way:

{all images stolen from J.Crew}

I'm totally digging these classics with a modern twist:

• layers
• ruffle tops
• shorts and tights for cool weather {maybe paired with high-heeled booties or oxfords}
• close-fit, long cardigans
• bauble necklaces
• structured bags
• leather gloves
• pencil skirts

Feel Like Giving Up?

A man of Faith and his spirit of hope and perseverance.