Happy Halloween!

I’ll start this post with a confession:  I do not think of myself as a crafty type of person.  I would like to be, I come from lineage that can create something from nothing, but that is not me.  I need to have something as a starter, something I can modify, and a vision in my brain isn’t always enough.

This year presented some challenges for me.  I had to dress myself as Barbie for Halloween, as that’s a tradition for me.  I also needed to tie it in with the theme for my team at work which had to be based off of a television show.  They chose Mad Men, so I had to figure out something that looked professional and like it was from the decade of the 1950’s-60’s.  Oh, and the other thing is, my outfit needed to be pumping friendly, which limits my wardrobe even more.

After some thought, I recalled that I had a dress that might work… but Barbie didn’t.  I needed fabric.  That presented the opportunity to walk the aisles of Joann’s, a store that I’ve only walked one time before, and that was to buy a gift card for one of my more crafty relatives.  I don’t know how to use a sewing machine, and don’t know if one would even work for such a small item anyway, so I hand sew everything I create for Barbie every year.

For William, he needed to be a leprechaun… and it needed to be completed before October 27th, because the important Halloween party he was attending was being held that day.  The problem was, I couldn’t find a leprechaun outfit for a toddler ANYWHERE.  There was a picture of a toddler who won a contest based on his leprechaun outfit, but when I clicked on the link, I learned that outfit was handmade.  Of course it was!  All the best costumes ARE handmade.

I finally found one that I could customize, but it started out a girl’s costume and had to be ripped and redone.  Then I had to find a plain black t-shirt and plain black tight fitting pants to go underneath the green jacket.

Meanwhile, Tony was busy decorating our home and carving our pumpkin… we have a reputation to uphold as the most overdecorated house in the neighborhood and we take that task very seriously!

Somehow, it all came together.  (Picture overload ahead.)

William as a leprechaun at the annual Miracle Babies reunion…

Me and Barbie, reunite as BFF’s once again this year…

With my cast of co-workers…

Our decorated home…

We wish you a Happy Halloween!