Falling for Fall

Having grown up in western Oregon, I used to associate Autumn with rain, mud, and falling leaves...mostly soggy brown falling leaves.

Don't get me wrong - Oregon is a gorgeous place - it's just very wet for over half the year.  I remember being very excited when I got to crunch through dry, crispy autumn leaves instead of watching them fade into the wet concrete like ghostly remembrances of what they used to be.

So you can well imagine my happiness when the multitudes of trees shed their leaves here in Virginia, and we can actually go PLAY in them (and crunch them, and rake them, and throw them in the air...)

Even this Autumn, with so much rain (and now SNOW, unbelievably) that the majority of my kids' soccer practices and games have been cancelled, there are plenty of dry days inbetween so the leaves can stay gloriously crackly.

As you can see, Hazel shares my love of the crispy Fall leaves.  Gosh I love that girl - such a cutie, and so much personality!  Boy, oh boy, does she have a personality.  Guess that goes with the territory of being the baby of the family.

I wish she could stay innocent and little and snuggly forever - I'm even going to miss her sneaking into our bed every night.  I know, I know, that's a huge parenting no-no to let your kid do that consistently, but she's so...darn....snuggly!  Plus I'm so groggy and tired that it's easier just to move over and let her in than it is to carry her 45 pound self back into her own bed and stay with her until she falls back to sleep.  And did I mention she's so endearingly snuggly?

Just look at that sweet face and tell me you wouldn't do the same thing.  :-)

Don't you just love that fabric?  The cats are from Alexander Henry, and I'm sorry but I don't remember who did the spots and dots.  I used up every last little bit of those spots - I really regret not buying more of it when I had the chance!

Sooo, are you at all curious about what our Halloween costumes are this year? 

Why, a family of many-eyeballed aliens, of course!

Ta-dah!  Eliza enjoys posing for the camera now, can you tell?

I know, she's pretty subtle about it.

I think she's just really excited about her costume, and the fact that I let her wear "real" makeup for the first time ever.

Hazel was even more excited than Eliza about the makeup...oh dear, what have I done?!!

At least Hyrum didn't want any makeup.  The sparkly, glittery headpiece was quite enough for him.  At least it had lots of cool eyeballs!

How do you say "CHEESE" in alien language?  No, seriously...I want to know.

Yes, I made all the costumes.  Took me 2 days, but hurray that they're finally done.

My secret weapon was silver glitter Foamie sheets...I had never used that stuff before, and can I say, it's AWESOME.  It even has sticker adhesive on the back so if you want it to stick to something (like a shirt front, or wrist cuffs, or ears) you just peel off the paper in back.  Beautiful. 

I'm sorry I didn't take any photos along the way during the construction of the headpieces.  Each one is different, and I just folded the sheets in half and started cutting - so I don't have a pattern to share at this point.  But maybe, if you're REALLY interested and say pretty please, I can do a couple of samples to show you the basic techniques of How to Make an Alien Headpiece. 

If there's a lot of interest, I'll make a tutorial about it.  Sorry it's so close to Halloween, I should have done this weeks ago!  Typical me, doing things at the last minute in the squeak of time.

But at least I got to go outside and throw a bunch of leaves around with my baby!

Comments

[Michele]

I love the pictures of Hazel!!!! These pictures make me really miss fall. I love the Halloween costumes as well. Great job!

[shelley]

Thanks Michele! Fall here is truly a sight to behold. I should go outside more often and leave my work undone inside...pretty soon it's going to be too cold to linger outdoors!

[Pamela {JP Alexander Events}]

Love the costumes. Looking forward to your instructions for the Alien costumes.

[Tracy]

I would love the tutorial or steps on how to make the alien headdresses. My daughter has an "Aliens and Space" theme for bookweek, and this would be perfect (I am in Australia). PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE. Also, did you stick the silver glittery sheets to anthing to make the hats.

[Shelley]

Hi Tracy, There's really not much to the alien headdresses - just 8.5" x 11" sheets of glitter foam cut into shapes (you can use regular paper for a template - fold in half so the sides are symmetrical, then trace onto the foam and cut out.)
I stapled 1 strip of foam on both sides of headdress to go around the back of the head like a crown and the big ears hide where the strips are stapled on. The eyes are styrofoam balls cut in half (with a serrated knife) and glued on. That's about it! Good luck to you!