Toddler Pumpkin Costume

So I don't know about anyone else's toddler, but mine is obsessed with pumpkins. Not just Jack-o-lanterns, the kid loves pumpkins. This year he decided that is what he'd like to be for Halloween. I was excited since I wouldn't need to make another elaborate one-time-use costume again this year. I decided to go for a two-piece pajama style costume made out of cotton jersey. Since the local fabric store failed to have orange jersey (or any color that was reasonably priced, for that matter), I got everything I needed at Michael's.

Materials:

small plain white or orange t-shirt (for your child)
large plain white or orange t-shirt
1 box orange rit dye (if you are using white shirts)
black fabric paint & brush
needle & thread
scissors
elastic
pattern for toddler pajama bottoms



If you are using white t-shirts for this project, dye fabric according to the instructions on the box. Draw or print out a Jack-o-lantern template for your child's shirt. Carefully paint the pattern on the child's shirt according to the manufacturer's instructions.

Lay the adult shirt flat on the floor. Lay out the pattern for the pants so the bottom of the legs sit 1 to 2 inches below the hem of the shirt (this eliminates the need to hem the pants). Cut the pieces from the shirt and assemble according to the pattern instructions (omitting the hem).

For the hat, I cut just above the hem, making a dome shape that was as tall as the sleeve. Then, just sew along the dome. (Note: larger heads may require an additional shirt. You will want to cut the dome from the bottom seam of the t-shirt. Make sure you check in advance whether the sleeve will be sufficiently large for your toddler's head. If not, make sure to add an additional shirt to the dye bath).

Here is the finished outfit, made from white T-shirts. I don't think he'll wear his mask, so I plan to knit a green stem to add to the hat. He's going to be a cute little pumpkin!

Crayon Party!

So for my son's second birthday party I thought of doing a coloring theme. The kid sure does love to color. I saw in Parent's magazine an advertisement for the crayola website where you can get a coloring page made out of one of your photographs. I chose a cute picture of the birthday boy and printed them out at 1/2 page size. On the other side of the paper I printed out the invitation text. Invitees were instructed to color the picture and bring it back for a coloring contest. For the invitation wrapper I made a tri-fold crayon and printed it on brightly colored card stock.



At the party we had our son's favorite meal: macaroni and cheese with pureed squash and served chocolate cake with homemade blueberry frosting (for a nice purple color without mystery colorants). To make it into a crayon I made two small sheet cakes and set them end to end. Two diagonal cuts at the top made the crayon tip (and a nice pre-party snack). Once the cake was frosted I used black sugar to make a crayon design to complete the look.



For favors I used brightly colored favor boxes filled with dime store coloring books, a few washable crayons, stickers, and a package of toddler gummy snacks.

So hardly anyone colored, and the birthday boy was frightened of the bubble machine I got him, but all in all I'd say the party was a success!