Epic Octopus Costume Photos and Instructions

After many many hours of watching Jonathan Bird's Blue World videos on Youtube, Parker decided he wanted to be an octopus for Halloween this year. Not just any octopus, a blue ringed octopus. Threenagers have very specific needs. You feel me, mamas? So I said challenge accepted and started researching octopus costumes and inspo. If you follow me on Pinterest and were wondering what I was up to, now you know. There is a method to my madness! I lucked out in finding this octopus costume pattern and tutorial from Martha Stewart and the rest was history. Enjoy these snaps of my little octopus contemplating his return to the sea. All photo credits belong to my wonderful husband who is totally supportive of my crazy ideas. 

This costume took a total of 4 hours of actual sewing and construction time. Add a few hours for the time it took for the puffy paint to dry. In total, it took me 4 days to complete the whole project because trying to find 4 hours of time to craft is nearly impossible.

I perused the aisles of Joann's to find a solid yellow cotton similar to this and a lighter patterned yellow cotton for the interior that looked like octopus suckers. I used the instructions from this DIY Octopus Costume tutorial to add a bit of a curl to the tentacles.

After sewing the outer part of the cape together, I pulled up a few photos of blue ringed octopuses (octopi?) and drew the blue ringed octopus pattern onto the outer part of the cape using brown and blue puffy paint. I had considered cutting the rings out of felt and sewing them on but figured puffy paint would be less time consuming. The paint actually gives the costume a cool texture too. Threenagers totally appreciate hand painted fabric, right?

After the paint dried overnight, I finished sewing all the parts of the costume together and let Parker help me stuff the tentacles and head with poly-fil. He loved that part! Side note: the "filling tool" aka single chopstick that comes in the poly-fil bag is such a joke. HA!

I was so happy with how the costume turned out that I made Parker and Tuan go down to La Jolla Shores to snap some photos. We arrived as the sun was setting and the tide was low. It was perfect and Tuan did a fantastic job capturing the essence of the costume.

Now the only thing left to do is make my tiger shrimp costume and our family will be all set for Halloween. Happy crafting, everyone!

If you have any questions about the costume, leave a comment below!

Over-the-Collar Dog Bandana Tutorial

My BFF Susan has the most adorable double doodle (golden retriever x poodle x 2) named Chewy. As a first time pet parent, Susan has been spoiling Chewy with pricey accessories from Etsy. We've all been there! When I saw how much sellers were charging for dog bandanas, my first thought was, "That is crazy! I can make that!" This is a very easy project I hope you enjoy picking fabrics and patterns to make your dog the hippest on the block. 

[Follow Chewy and her adventures on IG @chewy_doodle. This cute pup has more followers than I do!]

Over-the-Collar Dog Bandana

Materials needed

-11x11 inch square of fabric (you can buy a fat quarter and trim it down or buy a 1/3 yard cut from the bolt and cut it down)

-scissors/fabric trimmer

-grid cutting mat

-fabric pencil

-ruler

-matching thread

-pins

*Note that the amount of fabric required will vary based on the size you want your bandana to be. I started with a 11x11 square in order to have the final bandana size be 9 in for Chewy who is a medium sized dog. 

Instructions

1. Cut your fabric down to size and square it off. Using the selvage edge of the fabric helps immensely.

2. Line up the square of fabric right side up on the grid of your cutting mat. Starting from the corner, mark four inches across and mark inches down. Draw a line between those two points. Do that for two opposite ends of the square. See below.

3. Fold your fabric along the line and sew flat using a 1/4 inch seam allowance. You will end up with a flat triangle on both sides of the square. Sewing the flap down makes it easier to feed the collar through later. Your square should look like this now.

4. Fold your fabric in half so the pointed ends meet. Sew the pointed end shut using a 1/2 inch seam allowance.

5. Now it's time to flip your collar inside out and sew a line about 2 inches down from the top to create a tunnel to feed your collar through. Finish your pointed end with a 1/4 inch seam allowance.  That's it! You are done. 

The first collar I attempted to make was a disaster. My 2nd attempt took 10 minutes. After the 2nd one, I was flying through my stack of squares. This really is a simple project and you can embellish your bandanas with trim, fringe and fancy patterned finishes. The fabric I used for the tutorial was cotton but you an use any material. Happy sewing, Mamas!

Halloween: Spooktacular Bandit Bat Plushie Tutorial

Ever spend so much time on Pinterest that you feel compelled to just make something? This happened to me last week. I was so overcome with the need to make something that I went fabric shopping during my lunch break after finding Gleeful Things' Halloween Bat Plushie Tutorial. I used the PDF template from Julie's tutorial and modified it to look a little more like Udder's Bandit Bat. This project took a total of 1 hour but I think I can make this faster now that I have completed one. Enjoy and have fun creating this fun little plushie bat! It's makes for a great, inexpensive Halloween gift.

Materials Needed

-Flannel in black and white (I bought 10 inch pieces from Beverly's)

-Coordinating cotton fabric 

-Embroidery floss + embroidery needle

-Stuffing

-Sewing machine and basic sewing supplies

Instructions

1. Cut. Download, print and cut out the template pieces from Gleeful Things. Make any desired modifications to body shape or face shape. Use template to cut out your fabric pieces. You should have 2 body pieces (Mary's modification: 2 head pieces and 2 lower body pieces sewn together), 2 wing pieces, 2 sets of ear pieces, 1 bandit face mask (Mary's modification), 2 eye pieces.

2. The face. Sew head and lower body pieces together. Using a zigzag stitch, attach the bandit mask to the face. Attach the eyes to the bandit mask using the zigzag stitch. Embroider any desired details onto the face. I added a little mouth and X's on the eyes.

Note: I didn't add the face details until the end but it would be smarter to add this now.

3. The ears. Sew ear pieces right sides together using a 1/4 inch seam allowance. Flip ears inside out. Top stitch around the edges. I added a couple of extra stitches for added detail. Fold ears in half and pin in place to create a crease.

4. The wings. Sew wings pieces right side together using a 1/2 inch seam allowance. Be sure to leave a 2 inch spot at the top so you can turn it right side out.

5. Lightly stuff the wings to give them a thing layer of poofiness. Don't stuff too much or else the next step will be quite difficult. You just want a thin even layer of stuffing. Top stitch around the edge of the wings to seal in the stuffing and close up the hole.

6. Using a chalk pencil, draw lines going to all points on the wings. Top stitch over those lines. The result should look like the photo below.

7. The body. Attach the wings to the middle of the back side of the body with a single stitch.

8. Pin the ears in place at the top of the head. Roll the wings up and pin the rights sides of the body together. This part is a little tricky since the wings are stuffed.

9. Using a 1/2 inch seam allowance, sew the body pieces right sides together leaving a small hole so you can flip it right side out.

10. Stuff the body and sew up the hole. Now admire your handy work and have fun playing or gifting your new bat plushie.

[I love how the wings wrap around the body.]

Thank you for sharing this fun tutorial, Julie! Parker loves his new bat plushie.

Halloween: Custom Toddler Fox Cape Costume

It's hard to do everything by yourself. Sometimes, when life throws you curve balls, you just can't do everything that you intend. It's in those moments that you call on your friends. When those moments come during October and you have absolutely no time or energy to make a custom fox costume, you let your crazy friend who knows how her way around a sewing machine take over. I had such a fun time making this adorable little fox cape for my (fairy) goddaughter using this pattern from HelloDearKids. The only thing I didn't like about the pattern is that it didn't include a seam allowance so I had to free hand a little with the pattern cutting. Otherwise, it was pretty simple and the instructions that came with the pattern were excellent. The material used in the instructions was minky which I'm not a fan of. I used orange and white flannel for the outer layer to give the cape a little more heaviness and shape and a cotton print for the lining. It took me 3 hours to make this from beginning to end. The pattern goes up to size 6T.

Thanks for letting me make this amazing little cape for P. She's going to look amazing in it. It was made with love (there are even little hearts on the lining!) by her fairy godmother.

[I had some material leftover so I created a detachable tail because what's a cute fox without a fluffy tail? I free handed a tail shape using the orange flannel, added some white details for the tip, stuffed it with poly and attached a little elastic loop so I could attach it to the button I added on the back of the cape.]

[I love the lining fabric. Tuan actually picked it out at Joanns! Good eye, Husband.]

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Halloween: Easy Toddler Leggings Tutorial

I have been searching high and low for orange tights for Parker's duck costume. Target? Nope. Old Navy? Nope. Amazon? Yes, but for $15 NOPE. Buy Buy Baby? Maybe but I didn't want to drive to Encinitas. Halloween is right around the corner! Shouldn't orange tights be easy to find?? I gave in and went to Walmart on Saturday and found orange knee high socks. Using this excellent tutorial from How Does She? I made these easy toddler leggings in less than 10 minutes. So easy and they fit great. I'm feeling like a super mom after making leggings out of socks!

Me: Parker, stand by the door so I can take a photo of you in your leggings.

Parker: No, Iron Man!

Me: Fine, go grab Iron Man so we can take a photo.

My baby has opinions now.

Materials Needed

Pair of women's knee high socks

Scissors

Sewing machine

Instructions

The tutorial on How Does She? is really good and I didn't feel the need to revinvent the wheel. Check it out here http://www.howdoesshe.com/5-minute-toddler-leggings/.

[My only modification was using 1/2 inch elastic instead of 1 inch elastic since that is what I had on hand. 1 inch elastic would work better if you can get it. I'm amazed that knee high socks are the same length as toddler legs.]

DIY Easy Extra Large Minky Play Blanket

I'm a little obsessed with making these large play blankets. They are the perfect size for P who is now rolling everywhere and starting to scoot around. I've made 4 of these and I think they are going to be my go-to baby shower gift from now on. Here's a quick tutorial on how to make your own minky blanket.

Supplies Needed
Sewing machine
1 1/2 yards of cotton fabric (I ordered mine from Fabric Worm)
1 1/2 yards of minky fabric
Quilter's pins
Thread that coordinates with your fabric choices
Rotary cutter, cutting mat, acrylic ruler (I purchased this set from Joanns)

Directions

Pre wash and dry your fabric. Iron cotton fabric. Minky does not need to be ironed.

Using your cutting mat, square off your fabric. Make sure to hold your ruler with a wide hand to ensure that it doesn't move around.

After, your cotton is squared off, lay fabrics right sides together. I like to spread it out on my floor.

Pin edge of fabrics together all the way around. Pin about 1/2 inch away from edge. Leave a 6 inch hole for turning the blanket right side out. 

Trim off excess minky fabric so that both fabric pieces are the same size.

This is what your trimmed fabrics should look like.

Get your thread ready.

Using a 1/2 inch seam allowance, sew all around the edge of the blanket. Don't forget to leave that 6 inch hole open!

Flip your blanket right side out. Pin the opening so it's flush with the rest of the blanket.

Using a 1/4 inch seam allowance, top stitch around the entire blanket, making sure to close up the opening. I repeated this process 3 times to get the look I desired.

Ta da! Your banket is now complete. Time to wrap it up and give it to someone you love.

This blanket was given to baby Elijah who is just learning to roll around. We hope you enjoy the blanket baby E!

Please leave any questions or comments for me below. I'd love to see any photos of blankets you have made using this tutorial.

Don't throw away your extra minky! Another tutorial will be coming soon and you'll need your minky scraps.

Update: Baby E likes it!