Halloween 2011

What a wonderful day and night we had this year.   Despite my son's allergies and inability to eat 90% of what is handed out...it remains his favorite holiday and I'd have to agree for good reason.   It was a day filled with smiles, treats, creative costumes, good friends and a nice fall night outside!

This year my children both picked costumes that really suited their current interests.

My little guy is all about movies with mystical figures, superpowers and anything that he can act out.  He has a particular affinity towards Harry Potter because the character himself is a little boy.  I myself have never been able to sit through the entire movie...guess I don't have the same caliber of imagination as he does.  He, on the other hand, has watched the first Harry Potter movie no less than 100 times (no exaggeration either) and he has a few favorite parts.

So it was very fitting that he chose to be Harry Potter himself...

He really got into the character and even thought that he was unrecognizable with his glasses on.  He kept taking them off to his friends and saying, "it's me, it's Ryan".  Very funny.

Here are a few of him at his class parade...he was filled with pure joy!

He had a HUGE smile the entire time.   He loves costumes and loves everything about Halloween!

My daughter plays soccer 5 days a week and loves everything about the sport. So...it was very fitting when she asked to be a soccer referee...


Here she is at her parade.

Unfortunately I only got 1 picture because she was too afraid to stop for the picture for fear of falling behind.      We did take a few cute ones before trick or treating though...

If you noticed our pumpkin in the pictures...we tried a new idea this year and we used cookie cutters to carve it and I have to say it was soooo much easier than the actual carving method.

First you cut the top and do the traditional digging out part.

That's definitely not one of my favorite parts, but since we love eating the seeds...there's no way around it.

Next we choose our cookie cutters.  We went for metal stars this year.    I don't know if this would work with the plastic kind because they make break.

We then placed them where we wanted them and gave them a tap to anchor them.

Then we just hammered away...

You want to hammer them until they are pretty far in.  You then use needle nose pliers to pull out the cookie cutter.   After that, we needed to use our cutting knife to finish going all the way through the pumpkin.  I guess you may not need this step if you carve more of the inside out, but as I mentioned, I hate that step.

And.....

Voila....we had to clean it up a bit on the inside after so you couldn't see the guts through the opening, but you get the idea.  

Here is our finished product...

I loved the way it came out and it looked great at night.  Of course I forgot to get a picture of it all lit up.

Another great tip I tried that worked....I applied Vaseline to the cut edges after carving it to keep them from rotting and changing shape.  It totally helped!

I hope you all enjoyed your Halloween as much as we did...until next year!

Poshed Up

Pumpkins Galore....

If you didn't gather from my previous posts, I LOVE everything about fall and halloween.  And most of all...I love pumpkins.  Pumpkin picking, pumpkin carving, decorating with pumpkins and even pumpkin desserts and coffee.  I have some great recipes to share, but first...some fun pumpkin ideas for carving and decorating.

The season of pumpkin picking has begun.  We went last Saturday for a quick stop just to get a few to decorate with and I think my little ones have become pumpkin crazed just like their momma.   They have been badgering me to go to our local farm since Labor Day.  I was able to hold them off until this past weekend.  Here they are taking a few pics...

I'm still waiting for the day that my little guy will pay attention long enough for a picture!

We only went home that day with a few sugar pumpkins and some gourds, but we are making plans for a full-day of pumpkin picking and hay rides soon.   Once we have our pumpkins, we are going to get to work on decorating and carving them.  While searching for ideas for our own, I found TONS of great ideas that I wanted to share with all of you.

They range in difficulty and time to do them, but they are all so fun that I had to share.  I'm listing them in level of ability (based on my own thoughts) so that if you aren't so crafty or interested in spending the time, you can find some ideas just right for you! 

The first group of ideas are all no-carve ideas.. This not only makes it easier, but it allows your pumpkins to last longer.  Here are a few on the easier side, but still beauties. 

Cut out pictures to adhere to your pumpkins...

How cute is this owl from bhg.com?

Or this idea from Good Housekeeping to add a mask to your pumpkin....you can get the templates by clicking here.

All you'll need for this next group is a hot glue gun and some festive ribbon and/or ric rac

 (found at any craft or fabric store).

From designer Eddie Ross 

From Good Housekeeping

From Haley at The Autocrat

Still in the easy category, but a bit harder...these monogrammed beauties were made using Mod Podge.  If you've never used it, it's like really sticking stuff that adheres anything to anything and is GREAT for crafting (also found at any craft store.)

From Kierste at Brown Paper Packages

Aren't they fun???

These pumpkins from bhg.com also done using Mod Podge and leaves.....

I love this idea as a table centerpiece.

The next idea is to paint the pumpkins and/or stencil them. 

This requires a bit more work, but they sure are fun!

From bhg.com

My ABSOLUTE FAVORITE and must try for this year.   Isn't it beautiful? 

Not sure about bugs on my mantle, but I can tell you that my daughter will go crazy

for the zebra printed one.  She love anything zebra...and I mean anything.  Hope this phase passes quickly...lol

I have a love of monogramming and think this one is so fun!

Or how about gold and black pumpkins...very fancy.  From Country Living.

And one for the Hello Kitty fan in your life!

Now for some great carving ideas.  Now I know by now some of you are thinking I must have WAY too much time on my hands.  Well, no I wish I could say I do.  I have way too much ambition and love of crafting actually.   I also LOVE decorating and crafting.  We all have our vices I suppose.  Humor me and keep reading....

These are fun but definitely more difficult because you don't want to carve all the way through the pumpkin.   This allows for it to glow better at night.  But...if you have crazy squirrels in your area like me, all of your hard work will go to waste quickly.

These are actually carved using cookie cutters and a rubber mallet....GENIUS!  Click here for a tutorial from freshhomeideas.com

Or how about simple circles or polka dots that are so fun when the pumpkin is lit.....

from Southern Hospitality.

Or if you're really ambitious...this is funny!

And lastly, here's a great website for some carving patterns if you dare....from The Pumpkin Lady.

The last idea I have to share is so much fun, but too much work for me.  If you try it or any of the other ideas or your own...PLEASE share.  People love to see new ideas and I love to share them.  This idea is from Better Homes & Gardens and it is just so much fun...wish I had full-time stylist like they do!

And just to prove that I truly love this stuff...I thought I'd share a few pumpkins of ours from the past....call me crazy I know!

That was hard and really not so pretty up close....

I'm really not so great at carving and hate the mess.

And last year's....

I'm excited to try something new.

I'll share once they are complete!  Please share yours too!

Poshed Up