DIY FRIDAY: PAINTED PUMPKINS ON PEDESTALS

With Halloween only a few weeks away, it's time to pull out all the Halloween projects! Next week I'll be sharing a bunch of DIY Halloween costume projects, but for DIY Friday today I wanted to share a fun and easy Halloween craft: Painted Pumpkins on Pedestals!

I've seen a million painted pumpkins out there in so many varieties, but stacking them and putting them on pedestals makes for a fun and unique look. Try different sizes and heights of pumpkins and pedestals so you can put them all around your house -- short and wide ones as a centerpiece on your table, big and tall ones on your hearth, little tiny ones for your mantle...the possibilities are endless!

Share your Halloween projects on social media using hashtag #DIY4Halloween, or find more inspiration on Jo-Ann's project sharing hub!

Click through to see the full and easy tutorial!

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HOMEMADE HALLOWEEN: CURIOUS GEORGE + THE MAN WITH THE YELLOW HAT

Before I share my kids costumes for this year (and a few other fun DIY adult costumes!), I'm dipping back into the archives one more time to share our Halloween costumes from 2013. I'm not super in to family Halloween costumes, but I'm all about coordinating sibling costumes. My four year old was obsessed with Curious George last year, so we couldn't pass up on an opportunity to do Curious George and the Man with the Yellow Hat.

I shared my tutorial for the Curious George costume (a men's hoodie refashioned into a baby jumpsuit) right here on my blog, and the Man with the Yellow Hat tutorial is below!

Click through to see the full tutorial!

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HOMEMADE HALLOWEEN: FOOTBALL PLAYER + BABY FOOTBALL TUTORIALS

With Halloween quickly approaching, I've been frantically working on Halloween costumes and I'm so excited to share this years Halloween costumes with you guys -- they're coming later this week! But today I thought I'd dip back in my archives to share a tutorial for a fun Halloween costume idea -- one that we did almost two years ago exactly, just days after my baby was born: Football Player and Football costumes!

I use the football player costume two years in a row, and the second year, when baby brother came along, I whipped up an easy baby football costume (hoping he'd be born before Halloween so he could actually wear it (and he was)), and it turned out cuter than I could have imagined. 

I mean... 

TOUCHDOWN!!

click through to see the full tutorial!

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HOMEMADE HALLOWEEN: PETER PAN AND CAPTAIN HOOK COSTUMES

I know I've said this so many times already, but coordinating sibling costumes is really the best.  My mom suggested this idea a few weeks ago when we were trying to come up with a good costume idea, and instantly a little blonde baby Peter Pan popped into my head and I knew it was perfect.

And you guys...it. is. perfect. 

I had SUCH a blast making these costumes, and although I was most nervous about that Captain Hook coat, I am super pleased with how it came out. Also, now I'm feeling all confident about my tailoring skills and want to make a flared winter coat in my size (probably the dumbest idea ever, but I can't get it out of my mind!) 

ANYWAY. 

I'm sharing my tutorials for both of these costumes over on Babble this month, and now that costumes are done, Halloween can't come soon enough! 

You can find the Peter Pan Halloween Costume tutorial right here and the 

Captain Hook Halloween costume tutorial right here. 

HOMEMADE HALLOWEEN: DIY DISNEY PRINCESS HALLOWEEN COSTUMES

To finish off my week of Homemade Halloween costumes, I'm super excited to show you the three adult costumes I made this year. I'm really not into dressing up for Halloween now that I have kids, but coming up with, sewing, and styling these Disney Princess costumes was SO much fun that I just might do this every year.

Plus, when I teamed up with Sara from Tell, Love, and Chocolate to throw a Halloween costume party last night, I had three costumes to choose from!

(you can see pictures from the party over on my instagram!)

Tutorials for all three princesses are over on SheKnows -- hop over and check them out! 

Oh, and a huge thanks to Leanne for being my Elsa model ;) 

TASSEL CHANDELIER TUTORIAL

Last week, Sara, from Tell Love and Chocolate, and I hosted a Halloween party. We'll share a full recap of the party later this week, but today we've teamed up with Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft store to bring you a super cool Halloween tutorial of a project we did for the party -- a Tassel Chandelier!

Sara came up with this super cool idea and it looked amazing hanging above our long table under the twinkle lights.

My favorite thing about this project is that it's so customizable -- try different sizes of branches, or different sizes, colors, and numbers of tassels to make your chandelier completely unique. Also, they're a gorgeous fixture for above your table, like we did for our party, but you could also mount it above your fireplace, on your door in place of a wreath, on your wall, or above a door...the possibilities are practically endless!

Click through to find the super easy tutorial!

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A SPOOKTACULAR SOIREE + 5 TIPS FOR A PERFECT HALLOWEEN PARTY

invitations via minted

find the tutorial for the tassel chandelier right here

find the tutorial for my painted pumpkins right here

napkins made by sara

 where's my little mermaid rock when I need it? 

(find the tutorial for my DIY mermaid costume right here)

the hostesses with the mostestes ;)

PHOTOGRAPHY BY SARA WALK

Back in July, Sara, from Tell Love and Chocolate, and I hosted a backyard dinner party with some of our friends. After all the work we put into it, we swore we wouldn't host another one for a long time, but then Halloween started rolling around and we couldn't let the chance for a Halloween party pass us by, so the idea for our Spooktacular Soiree was born. I haven't been to a real Halloween party since I was a freshman in high school (and many of my friends were the same), so it was an absolute BLAST to dress up in costume and spend a night with friends.

With more than a week left til Halloween, there's still tons of time to throw a little party with your friends, so in addition to all the party ideas in the photos above, here's Five Tips for an Easy and Perfect Halloween Party you can throw together this weekend!

And check out more great holiday party ideas over on Jo-Ann's project hub, or search the hashtag #DIYforHalloween!



1. Go Potluck Style. With all the invitations, decor, set up, and stresses that come with being a party hostess, the last thing you want to worry about is feeding everyone. Make it easy on yourself and pass out dinner assignments with the invitations. We asked guests to bring "Halloween or Fall Themed Dishes," and we ended up with the most creative, delicious, and festive food!

2. Make Costumes Mandatory. When we threw the floral affair party over the summer, we everyone dress in all white, and this time we asked everyone to wear their Halloween costume. Having everyone dressed up makes the party feel cohesive and creates an ambiance that shouldn't be missed! Plus, it's fun to see everyone's creativity in their costumes -- we had some girls go all out!

3. Make a Photobooth. If you're all dressed up in costumes, give your friends a chance to show them off! Plus, who doesn't love a photobooth? We hung a fun spiderweb backdrop, and then set up the camera on the tripod and used a remote and the timer and let everyone go to town!

4. Have at least one activity. We didn't get any pictures of it, but we had a donut eating contest -- you know, where the donuts hang from string and you have to eat them with your hands behind your back? Having some kind of fun activity gets people laughing, having fun, and breaks up the party a bit so you're not just sitting and eating dinner the entire time. (At our Floral Affair we had everyone make their own floral crowns!)

5. Don't forget the music! Music is everything at parties -- it completely sets the mood and keeps any awkward silences at bay. We chose the Halloween Party Pandora Station and it was perfect. A good mix of spooky and festive tunes, and even a few jams that had everyone out of their chairs and dancing!

 Now go throw a Halloween party!!

A huge thanks to Minted for the gorgeous invitations, and to Caravan Shoppe for the perfect photo backdrop! 

This post was created in partnership with Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft Stores