costumes

DIY Lucy van Pelt Costume + Movie Themed Halloween Ideas

September 27, 2017 by Danielle 80 Comments

If you’re in need of a simple DIY costume for your child (or yourself) look no further then this DIY Lucy van Pelt costume! With a simple blue dress, some black felt, and some glue, you can have a costume put together in minutes.

I love Halloweentime. The change of the weather, the fun excitement of choosing and making a costume, and the fun parties and treats that come out at this time of the year. I feel like it kicks off the whole holiday season with a bang! When trying to figure out what to dress my youngest as this year (the other two are choosing their own costumes) I thought back to my oldest’s first Halloween when we dressed him up as Charlie Brown. And I wanted to recreate the simplicity of his costume for my youngest.

Just like her siblings, Norah does not like confining clothes or “dress up” costumes. So we are always cognizant of this when choosing costumes for Halloween. By turning normal clothes into a costume, she’s none the wiser that she’s dressed up and it’s a lot easier (and cheaper) for mama! This DIY Lucy van Pelt costume cost less than $20 and most of it was spent on the dress that we can reuse again.

I was able to pair up with Norah’s costume and created a Peanuts Teacher sign to carry around so I was “in costume” as well as the Peanuts Teacher. My husband made a shirt for himself when Ethan was Charlie Brown and simply wrote Wah Wah Wah Wah all over it. It was the perfect pairing for a child/parent costume.

If you’re looking for a great base for a DIY costume, check out Primary.com’s selection of dresses, shirts, skirts, pants and shorts in solid colors that will match whatever you’re trying to put together! We were able to grab a blue dress for Norah and a yellow shirt for my son to recreate his Charlie Brown costume for our on-air appearance on The CW Channel 6’s San Diego Living segment yesterday.

DIY Lucy van Pelt Costume

What you’ll need:

prewashed blue dress
white socks
1 sheet black felt
no sew glue
cardboard square
black sharpie

What you do:

1. Grab your felt and scissors and cut out two small circles with a line connecting them similar to the photo below (or you can do what we did for our Baymax sock rice packs and grab some buttons and felt).

2. Add glue to back of felt making sure to get close but not on the edges.

3. Glue felt pieces to middle of shirt and let dry completely. Secure with 1-2 stitches in either circle if you plan on washing the dress afterwards.

4. If you don’t have saddleback shoes for your little one, re-create Lucy’s look by cutting out a black felt strip and gluing to white socks to give the appearance of saddleback shoes. Or, if you have white shoes, use a sharpie or felt to cover and look like saddleback shoes. If you’re wearing shoes, pair with white socks.

5. Make an Advice sign similar to what Lucy uses in the cartoon by cutting out a small rectangular hole in a square cardboard piece and writing on it in sharpie.

Enjoy!

Movie Themed Halloween Ideas

Looking for more great Halloween-movie themed ideas for this Halloween? Check out these amazing San Diego blogger creations featured on the same segment:

Halloween “Beetlejuice” from Making It Sweet | Movie: Beetlejuice
Spiderweb Kettle Corn Treats from Create Celebrate Explore by Tonya Staab | Movie: Nightmare Before Christmas
Eyeball Wreath from Made with Happy | Movie: Young Frankenstein
Cauldron Pudding Pots and Halloween Party Witches Brooms from Made By A Princess | Movie: Hocus Pocus
Rice Crispy Pumpkins from Mi Advice | Movie: It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown

For more great movie ideas for the holidays and beyond, please check out my friend Suzette Valle’s book, 101 Movies To See Before You Grow Up. It’s a great place to start when thinking of great movies for the kids to see. And to find out what you’ve missed and need to catch up on!

You can find our original DIY Charlie Brown Costume post here. Perfect for a family costume idea – Charlie Brown, Lucy, and parents as teachers! You can print your own Peanuts Teacher Wah Wah sign here.

Who is your favorite Peanuts character?

Looking for more movie night ideas? Check out these great posts!

Movie Night Popcorn Bark

Outdoor Movie Night On A Trampoline

Family Movie Night Snack Recipes

Homemade Microwavable Popcorn

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This post was originally featured on October 12th, 2016

Filed Under: Crafts/DIY Tagged With: costumes, halloween

Last Minute DIY Octopus Costume

October 30, 2015 by Danielle 7 Comments

This easy DIY octopus costume is made with fun finds at our local dollar store. Total cost of the project? $5!! And it came together in less than 30 minutes.

Two weeks ago my family and I were invited to take a peek at Sea World San Diego’s Halloween Spooktacular. Since the invite suggested having our kids dress up in their favorite sea-inspired costumes I knew I would have to get creative.

So the night before the event – yeah, I know… last minute – we headed out in search of supplies for a cool sea costume for my son and daughter. After snagging an Ariel costume at another store for my daughter we headed over to Dollar Tree to see if anything caught our eye.

While there we saw many fun things to use in our costume in the toy aisle, we eventually settled on a simple and easy DIY octopus costume made out of a Dollar Tree shirt and Dollar Tree fuzzy socks. We walked out of the store only paying $5! How awesome is that?

Here’s how we did it:

DIY Octopus Costume

What you need:

1 Dollar Tree shirt (any color)
4 pair Dollar Tree fuzzy socks (any color/pattern)
Black and White felt for eyeballs
wash cloths or microfiber shop towels
needle & thread

What you do:

1. Grab the socks and stuff one washcloth/towel into each sock.

2. Cut out felt eye balls and sew pupil onto whites. Then sew the eyes onto the shirt 1/2 way down (you can put the shirt on your child and see where the eyes would best fit).

3. Sew stuffed legs onto the bottom hem of the shirt. Make sure to reinforce your stitches by going over them twice so the legs don’t fly off after a night of fun trick or treating!

That’s it! Now your octopus costume is complete! How easy was that? And it takes under an hour to make. If you have sewing skills and prefer to use a sewing machine it’d be even faster!

Too bad my sewing machine is hidden beneath boxes still in the garage… maybe next year!

If your little one would prefer a hat to complete the costume or would like to be a squid instead, consider picking up a beanie hat at Dollar Tree or sewing a felt squid hat in the same color as the shirt.

What will your little one be dressed up as for Halloween?

Love this idea? Here’s some more:

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Filed Under: Crafts/DIY, Halloween Tagged With: costumes, DIY costumes, DIY Octopus Costume, Dollar Tree, halloween, kids costumes

10 Easy DIY Baby Costumes

October 7, 2015 by Danielle 1 Comment

Halloween is just around the corner and I cannot wait! Not only because it’s Halloween but it’s my youngest’s first Halloween. I love the holidays with a new baby! So many fun things to experience and do. I remember my oldest’s first Halloweentime. He absolutely loved the pumpkin patches, carving his first pumpkin (and eating the raw squash inside), and the fun party we went to with his friend.

In the spirit of Halloween, I love making my kids costumes most years. Sometimes they’re more difficult than others. However for the first Halloween? I love simple! Because babies don’t need a crazy, bulky, uncomfortable costume for their first Halloween. Here’s a list of easy baby costumes for your little one’s first Halloween!

10 Easy DIY Baby Costumes

Easy DIY Charlie Brown from Simmworks Family

DIY Infant Cupcake from Simmworks Family

DIY Fabric Tutu Lion Costume from SlapDash Mom

No-Sew DIY Elmo Halloween Costume from Do Try This at Home

Where The Wild Things Are Costumes from Tried & True

Easy DIY Infant Bear Costume from It Happens in a Blink

Baby Shark Costume from At Home with Sweet T

DIY Cute Little Bee Costume from At Home with Sweet T

A Robber (parent or older sibling) and A Bag of Money (baby) from Domestic Imperfection

DIY Infant Mermaid Costume from The Pinning Mama

Filed Under: Crafts/DIY Tagged With: costumes

DIY Dinosaur Hoodie

October 1, 2015 by Danielle 13 Comments

Last Halloween when I was busy figuring out costumes for the kids to wear I got a request from my son for a dinosaur costume. Since I know he doesn’t like big, full body costumes I thought that trying my hand at a DIY dinosaur hoodie would be easier for him to wear. Well a few months later and the hoodie is getting great use… as a fabulous addition to our dress up closet! And it’ll be the perfect thing to wear to The Good Dinosaur movie when it comes out on November 25th!

Not only is this hoodie easy to make, it’s almost no-sew! With only a small bit of sewing needed (thanks to the wonderful product that is No Sew), even the amateur crafter can pull off this simple costume. All you need are some matching pants and some socks to cover your shoes and you have the perfect DIY costume for Halloween.

DIY Dinosaur Hoodie

What you need:

zip up hoodie jacket
adhesive felt in different colors (for spikes, eyes, and belly)
1 piece regular felt (for tail) + more for stuffing tail
No Sew adhesive for fabric
needle and thread

What you do:

Cut out 8 triangle shapes for spikes.
Cut out a circle in one color felt. Cut that circle in half and adhere to either side of zipper on belly of jacket. Cut out zig zag pattern for decoration for belly in different colors and adhere to half circles.
Cut out eyes using one color for the eye lid, one color for the eyeball, and one color for the pupil.
Take felt for tail and create a cone. Using No Sew adhesive, glue cone in shape so that it stays. Trim away any additional felt.
Stuff tail cone with additional felt and use No Sew to close cone opening.
Using needle and thread, adhere cone tail to bottom back of jacket to secure in place.
Add spikes to the hoodie of the jacket by taking two triangles, removing the adhesive backing, and placing together on the seam of the hoodie.
Make sure about 1/2 an inch is attached to the jacket hoodie with the rest adhering to the other triangle. Use No Sew if additional adhesion is needed. Repeat with other three spikes.
Adhere eyes to side of hood to give the illusion of dino eyes when the jacket is on.
Let No Sew dry completely before letting your child wear the jacket.

What themed hoodie would you love to create for Halloween?

THE GOOD DINOSAUR opens in theatres everywhere on November 25th!

Like THE GOOD DINOSAUR on Facebook | Follow @THEGOODDINOSAUR on Twitter | Visit the official THE GOOD DINOSAUR website

A little sneak peek at the movie:

Filed Under: Crafts/DIY, Halloween, Holidays, Uncategorized Tagged With: costumes, dinosaur costume, disney, Disney Movies, DIY costumes, Dress Up, halloween, Halloween crafts, kids costumes, The Good Dinosaur

DIY Infant Cupcake Costume: An Easy Way For Baby To Dress Up

September 21, 2015 by Danielle 7 Comments

Looking for a cute costume for your baby? This DIY cupcake costume is a no-sew option that is absolutely perfect for baby.

One thing I’ve never been a fan of are big, awkward costumes for babies and little kids. I like something that’s breathable, moveable, and comfortable. Because each of my little ones has been mobile around the time their first Halloween came around, I’ve chosen to either make or purchase simple costumes that feel more like clothes than costumes for the little ones. My son was Charlie Brown for his first Halloween and my oldest daughter was a sushi roll.

This year is Norah’s first Halloween and just like her older brother and sister, I want her costume to be just as comfortable to move around with. However I got a little excited last year and purchased a cupcake costume on clearance after Halloween. The cupcake costume is simple but comes with a little hat. Since I wasn’t sure if she’d care for the costume, I decided to make a onesie to match. That way if we need to take her costume off at any point during the festivities we partake in, she’ll still be in costume! And? It was SO simple to make.

After heading to the store for some diapers, I was perusing the costumes and Halloween items they had up front and found the most adorable ghost onesie that would be perfect to match the cupcake costume! It’d just take a little felt and some hot glue to turn it into a cute cupcake onesie. The other onesies they had there would also be great for alternative costumes to wear under big costumes.

I started with making a cute pom out of red yarn to attach to a headband to act as a cherry on top to complete her outfit. Since I know she’ll wear a headband as long as she forgets about it, I thought this would be perfect for her costume as well in case she doesn’t wear the hat that came with it. Making poms out of yarn is super simple! Here’s how:

Easy DIY Pom Ball

What you’ll need:

yarn
scissors
fingers

What you do:

1. Take 2-3 fingers (depending on the size you want the pom to be) and wrap the yarn around your fingers a few times. More if you want a thicker pom, less if you want a thinner pom. Make sure to leave a tail on either end that’s about 3 inches long.

2. Take the wrapped yarn off your fingers and wrap in the center with the end of the yarn. Tie both ends together to secure the pom with a knot or two.

3. Cut the loops in each side and fluff up. Using the scissors, even up the pom so it’s somewhat level all around. Leave the ends longer so you can tie to a headband or sew to a hat.

Now it’s time to make the onesie! And, confession, this took less than 10 minutes to make from start to finish. So it’s the perfect last minute costume.

DIY Infant Cupcake Costume

What you’ll need:

onesie
fabric marker
scissors
felt in a variety of colors (brown too if you don’t have a onesie with ruffles at the bottom)
hot glue gun w/ hot glue sticks

What you do:

1. Grab a piece of felt to make the outline of a cupcake top for your costume. Choose whatever color you want the outline to be.

2. Once you have the outline traced, cut out the cupcake top and place on the onesie to get an idea of how thick you want the outline to be. Then cut out the outline and glue down to the onesie.

3. Take a few other felt colors and cut into small rectangles. Glue inside the cupcake top outline to look like sprinkles on the cupcake.

All done! Add a pair of black pants to the outfit to complete it on Halloween night if you need something a bit warmer.

What are your favorite infant costume idea!

Filed Under: Crafts/DIY Tagged With: costumes

Last Minute DIY Mummy Maternity Costume

September 15, 2015 by Danielle 27 Comments

This time last year I was pregnant with my third child. And just like with the first two pregnancies, I wanted to do something fun for Halloween. With my first pregnance I was an oven with a bun inside. Pretty cute if I do say so myself! And with my second pregnancy I made a skeleton shirt with a skeleton baby. This pregnancy I wanted to get a little craftier and came up with this mummy mommy costume. It was the perfect way to celebrate the holiday while still staying comfortable.

Since it’s a shirt, I could pair it with my maternity jeans, leggings, or anything else depending on the weather. So when we headed to Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party I didn’t have any part of my costume getting in the way. And when I helped out at my son’s school Halloween carnival, I was still able to run around and help the kids out at the various booths.

This costume took me all of 30 mintues to throw together but I’m sure with a little more time (and material) I could have really decked it out. Here’s how you put together this mummy mommy costume:

Last Minute DIY Mummy Maternity Costume

What you’ll need:

white t-shirt (long or short sleeved)
white tights (or an extra white t-shirt)
black felt
large sized googly eyes
fabric marker
hot glue gun

What you do:

1. Cut tights into long strips.

2. Layer strips over the t-shirt in a random pattern. Make sure the edges are at the seam of either side of the shirt.

3. Cut out a piece of black felt in the form of a football a little larger than the width of the googly eyes.

4. Hot glue googly eyes to the middle of the black felt and set aside.

5. Glue strips onto the shirt by adhering the edges to the seam of the shirt. Overlap edges to create a more layered look.

6. Put t-shirt on and grab the black felt googly eyes. Figure out the best position on your belly to put them and mark the center spot with a fabric marker.

7. Take t-shirt off. Glue black felt googly eyes to the spot you marked.

8. Add more strips if needed and glue in place.

That’s it! Simple. Easy. And cute!

What was your go-to maternity Halloween costume?

Filed Under: Halloween, Holidays Tagged With: costume, costumes, diy costume, DIY costumes, maternity costume

Happy Halloween 2013

October 31, 2013 by Danielle Leave a Comment

Happy Halloween from my ballerina and dinosaur (yes… my daughter changed her costume last minute). [Read more…]

Filed Under: Halloween, Holidays, Uncategorized Tagged With: costumes, DIY costumes, halloween, kids costumes

DIY Butterfly Costume

October 16, 2013 by Danielle 14 Comments

When we asked my daughter what she wanted to be for Halloween a few months back she quickly answered that she wanted to be a butterfly.

When we asked again a few weeks later, you know… just to be sure, she still confirmed that she wanted to be a butterfly. So I got to searching different designs, patterns, fabrics, etc. and scouring Pinterest.

Then she took it upon herself to figure out her own costume. And it cost us $5 out of pocket. That $5? Was for the wings. Everything else she dragged out of her closet.

And she LOVES how it turned out. Don’t you? Now to get started on my son’s dinosaur costume… That’ll probably take more time. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Crafts/DIY, Halloween, Holidays, Uncategorized Tagged With: butterfly, butterfly costume, costumes, DIY Butterfly Costume, DIY costumes, kids costumes

Cutest Sushi Roll Ever {The Wishing Elephant}

October 25, 2011 by Danielle 8 Comments

Some moms and dads would rather not attempt to DIY a costume for their kids. Whether it be a hectic schedule, lack of materials or they’re just plain bad at crafts, it’s ok! There is a way to have your kids look super adorable in a DIY costume with none of the super glue or felt flying around the house. A great place I like to look for DIY costumes is Etsy. Some of the Etsy stores I’ve stumbled upon have costumes that would be perfect for your little ones.

A few weeks ago a good friend, Heather, posted a link to The Wishing Elephant’s Etsy store. The link went to a sushi roll costume and I knew it was the perfect idea for a great DIY costume. Now I don’t have a lot of time on my hands but I was prepared to try and re-create this costume for a news segment we were invited to participate in for The Mama Mary Show and Fox 5 News. I was already making the dino costume for my son so what’s another costume, right? But when I showed Mary the costume she contacted The Wishing Elephant and they surprised us by offering to send over a onesie in my daughter’s size!

Photo Courtesy of The Wishing Elephant

We were able to get the costume in time for the segment and as soon as we made it to the Fox 5 green room we put it on and were in awe of the cuteness! Everyone who saw Miss M fell in love with the costume and I’m pretty sure that she stole the show. At least she caught the eye of the news anchors! The costume was simple, well made and super comfy for any infant. I added a pair of neutral cream baby legs to protect Miss M’s knees and a cute headband from Evi Luna Boutique to create the look you see above.

And not only does The Wishing Elephant have adorable costumes for Halloween, they have a whole array of cute onesies that range from adorable gnomes to the ever so popular Mario and Luigi from The Super Mario Brothers. I’m especially smitten with the bow tie onesie. If we ever had another little boy I’d have to purchase it for pictures (NO! I’m not pregnant!). If you are looking for unique onesies for your little one or the perfect baby shower gift, you’ll find it here! Their appliques are made with eco felt (100% post consumer recycled plastic bottles) so you can feel good about your purchase.

Make sure to head on over to The Wishing Elephant’s Facebook page or blog and show them some love from The Simmworks Family Blog! We truly appreciate their generosity.

Ah! Sushi-zilla!

Filed Under: Crafts/DIY, Uncategorized Tagged With: costumes, Fox 5 News, halloween, sushi roll, The Mama Mary Show, The Wishing Elephant

Rawr Dinosaurs! {DIY Dinosaur Costume}

October 25, 2011 by Danielle 15 Comments

My son is obsessed with dinosaurs. He’s loved them ever since he was introduced to Dinosaur Train on PBS Kids shortly before his second birthday. I thought it’d be fun to try and design a simple dinosaur costume for him to wear whenever he wanted around the house. I didn’t want to spend too much money so I used simple materials I already had and some sponges I picked up on a recent shopping trip. I got the idea from Rookie Mom by doing a simple search for DIY Dino costumes and just adjusted it to fit a two year old. For his 3rd birthday I might attempt to make this Buddy the Dinosaur costume (the no-sew option)… maybe.

If you want to make your own DIY Dinosaur costume just follow these simple steps below.

How to make a DIY Dinosaur Costume [Read more…]

Filed Under: Clothing, Crafts/DIY, Uncategorized Tagged With: costumes, dinosaur costume, DIY, DIY costumes, halloween

DIY Lucy van Pelt Costume + Movie Themed Halloween Ideas

DIY Lucy van Pelt Costume

Movie Themed Halloween Ideas

Who is your favorite Peanuts character?

Last Minute DIY Octopus Costume

DIY Octopus Costume

What will your little one be dressed up as for Halloween?

10 Easy DIY Baby Costumes

10 Easy DIY Baby Costumes

DIY Dinosaur Hoodie

DIY Dinosaur Hoodie

What themed hoodie would you love to create for Halloween?

DIY Infant Cupcake Costume: An Easy Way For Baby To Dress Up

Easy DIY Pom Ball

DIY Infant Cupcake Costume

What are your favorite infant costume idea!

Last Minute DIY Mummy Maternity Costume

Last Minute DIY Mummy Maternity Costume

What was your go-to maternity Halloween costume?

Happy Halloween 2013

DIY Butterfly Costume

Cutest Sushi Roll Ever {The Wishing Elephant}

Rawr Dinosaurs! {DIY Dinosaur Costume}

How to make a DIY Dinosaur Costume [Read more…]

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