5 Awesome Halloween Costume Helps

1. The Thrift Store- So many creative costume options at very affordable prices. My costume last year came mostly from the thrift store. I was Velma from Scooby Doo. I found a bulky white sweater turtle neck and dyed it orange. I found a polyester maroon skirt there too. In years past, large neon green shirt for my husband to be Mike from Monsters INC, purple shirt and pants to go under my scaly dress for a Celia costume, and red pants for my Incredibles costume all came from the thrift store!

2. Solid colored t-shirts and/or sweats- They can be the foundation for so many costumes! I bought solid red, long-sleeved shirts for my husband and I the year we went as the Incredibles. I printed out the logo on regular paper and taped it to the shirts. It looked great!

3. The remnant bin at Joann's- Around Halloween, the fabric cutting line at Joann's is crazy! But after a big weekend (big coupons, holiday, whatever) the fabric remnant bins are full of fun stuff. You might even find exactly the kind of fabric you wanted (or never knew you wanted till you saw it). And best of all, all the remnants are 50% off!

4. Felt- Available in paper sized pieces in a rainbow of colors at a multitude of stores, felt is some handy stuff. If you want something a little nicer than paper stuck to your solid color shirt, felt is incredibly easy to work with and has a nice look. You can sew it, glue it, or even tape it on. On my husband's Mike costume, I used felt to make the eye and the mouth. I taped it on because I was lazy. It held up alright through the night, but if we had wanted to get multiple wearings out of it, a more permanent adhesive would have been better

5. Group costumes- Having a group costume is fun. Sometimes it can be tricky (like when your kids start developing opinions on their Halloween costumes) but having a group theme can make it more obvious to other people what you are supposed to be. When we did Monsters INC, people who just saw our daughter (she was Boo in her pink shirt and purple pants) didn't get it. But when 'Mike' was holding her hand, it became pretty obvious.

Five Awesome Things: Transformers

The idea for this feature has been rattling around in my brain for some time now.  I want to post about five awesome things that bring me joy or help me in some way.
This first post is about five things that have helped me make awesome transformations, the catalyst for the before -> after reaction if you will.
1. Spray Paint- Many a project I've done has involved spray paint.  It is very handy for painting a wide variety of things.  I've done light fixtures, plastic lids, wicker baskets, picture frames, a dishwasher, cardboard boxes, trim, outlet and switch plate covers, railings, and more.

2. Caulk- What can I say, caulk covers a multitude of sins!  If you've ever put up trim of any kind, you know it's true.  Caulk is what makes trim projects from looking awful to finished and chic.  It's also great for keeping water out of places where it doesn't belong.

3. Rub n Buff- A few months ago, I didn't even know what Rub n Buff was.  I learned about it on other people's blogs.  People were using it to fancy up picture frames or to spiff up the metal hardware on furniture pieces they were restoring.  I bought some at the craft store (I didn't find any at home depot) and boy did it make a difference on our porch light.  It's a wax paste that I believe has some kind of magical properties.  It's held up beautifully these last few weeks through rain, wind, and falling tree debris.

4. Restor-a-finish- My mother in law told me about this product a couple of years ago when I told her I wanted to paint our kitchen cabinets.  I ended up painting the kitchen cabinets any way, but I bought a can of this stuff to fix up the finish on this railing.  I had absolutely zero desire to try and refinish that thing so this was just the perfect product.  All I had to do was rub it on, wait, and then rub the excess off.  It took just a couple of minutes and it made a huge difference!

5. Mulch- Can't grow grass?  Have a bare patch of dirt?  Put some mulch on it and say, I meant to do that!  I don't know that it would work in every case (random little islands of mulch in the middle of sea of lawn might look a bit weird, though with enough effort, you could make it work).  We put mulch in our front slope yard regularly.  The tree blocks out a lot of the sun.  We've put some in our back yard as well and it's turned the ugly, muddy, perma-shade into a "we meant to do that!"