Happy Halloween!

via creditcards.com

Happy Halloween! I thought I would share this "spooky" infographic I found on creditcards.com about the cost of Halloween. Sure, we shelled out more than the national average on our pumpkin, but spent much less on costumes and candy.

Is Halloween a trick or treat for your budget?
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DIY Baby Dinosaur Costume

Halloween is only a few days away! Are you ready? I finally pulled together Monica's costume over the weekend. We went to Target a few weeks ago and were less than impressed at the costume selection for babies. So we picked up the pumpkin onesie she wore to the pumpkin patch and called it a day. The onesie also came with a pumpkin hat, so we figured she would be a pumpkin for Halloween.

Turns out, the pumpkin hat was a tad small (girlfriend has lots of hair!), so it wasn't looking like she was going to be a pumpkin. After brainstorming and creating a quick costume for my work party (thanks to this tutorial), I knew it would be easy enough to whip up Monica's costume.

I present to you, our little Cute-a-saurus!

See also: a DIY baby dinosaur costume that can be made in less than an hour for only a few bucks. If you're still searching for a costume for your little one, grab your sewing machine and get crafting!

Materials

• Hooded sweatshirt (one with a zipper is easier to sew)
• Two sheets of felt (mine were 9"x12")
• Thread
• Fabric glue
• Note: Not all fabric glues are created equal. Test yours out on a piece of scraft felt first. I tried two kinds of fabric glue (Liquid Stitch and Sew No More) and both drenched the felt. I finally had success with Martha Stewart's glittering glue. The original tutorial said that Aleene's no-sew fabric glue worked well for her.

 

Tools

• Rotary cutter and cutting mat (or scissors)
• Iron and ironing board
• Sewing machine
• Pins

 

 

Cut the felt rectangles in half, widthwise.

 

You'll now have four 6"x9" felt rectangles.

 

Fold the felt rectangles in half lengthwise and iron the crease.

 

It's now time to mark where the spikes will be cut from the felt. I was able to get three spikes from each of the felt rectangles. Along the creased side of the felt, put a mark at 3" and 6". Along the open side of the felt, put a mark at 1.5", 4.5", and 7.5". You can trace a line to connect the marks if you like. Repeat for the other felt rectangles.

 

Cut out your spikes.

 

For a newborn-sized sweatshirt, I only needed 7 spikes. Two 9"x12" sheets of felt yielded 12 spikes, so use as many as you need for larger sweatshirts.  

 

Unfold the spikes and pin them down the center of the hoodie, making sure the crease is in the center. Start with the hood (there's usually a seam going down the center) and work your way down.

 

Sew the spikes onto the hoodie, following the creases as your guide.

 

Looking cute!

 

Apply fabric glue to the spikes, fold together, and let dry overnight. This gives the spikes a little more substance. Or if you don't have time to glue the spikes, you can just tape and fold them together.

 

Rarrrr!

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$2 Chipotle Boo-ritos

Happy Halloween! For the finance and accounting types out there, I hope you enjoy performing a physical inventory of your candy tonight :)

For those who don't plan on meticulously documenting their treats, Chipotle has other plans for you! Simply wear a costume to your nearest Chipotle between 4pm and close on Halloween and a burrito, bowl, salad, or order of tacos is yours for $2!

What's even better is that they're donating the proceeds, up to $1,000,000 to The Chipotle Cultivate Foundation, their non-profit organization committed to creating a more sustainable and healthful food supply and to raising awareness concerning food issues.

And yes, that was my Halloween costume at work this year. I was a blinged out "precious metals hedge" and my coworker was a "Canadian foreign exchange rate hedge." If you chuckled at that, I salute you!
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A Work Appropriate Halloween Costume

Rosie the Riveter, Madewell chambray shirt, polka dot head scarf,
Nars Dragon Girl lip pencil, Gap jeans and belt, TOMS suede booties

Halloween is right around the corner and there's still a little time to concoct the perfect costume. I have two big meetings at work the day of our Halloween party and costume contest, so I'm thinking of wearing something that's executive-appropriate, but can also be accessorized when the time calls.

Taking my cue from Jessica of What I Wore, Rosie the Riveter could be the perfect option. Bonus points if you walk around with a tool belt with some hardware. Though I'm thinking of wearing something a little more accounting and finance related (think hedges).

Do you have a Halloween party at work? What do you plan on wearing?

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The Ghost-ess with the Most-ess

Lululemon tank and shorts, Nike boxing shoes, Missoni bathrobe,
Title boxing gloves, Tory Burch belt, my pillow

Happy Halloween weekend! I might still go as the hot dog, but I've also considered this:

PILLOW FIGHT(ER)!!!

I would be a boxer or prize fighter with a pillow. Rocky won't know what hit him. I have a bright pink bathrobe, but that Missoni robe would be fierce. I would add boxing gloves and a Tory Burch championship belt.

Now that we have costumes picked out, it's time to move onto more important things. Like what sort of treats to serve at your Halloween party. You know I love cupcakes, so I might make a batch of these ghoulish guys.

Bake some of your favorite cupcakes. Then whip up some frosting. (This is my go-to recipe. If you don't want to use a vanilla bean, you can either leave it out or substitute another teaspoon of vanilla extract.) If that's too much hassle, I won't tell if you use frosting from a can.

Color small batches of frosting with food coloring to make the veins and spider webs. Pipe the frosting from a sandwich bag with the corner cut off. Use either M&M's or Skittles for the eyes and spiders. I used sprinkles as the spider webs.

The witches were really fun to make! (And yes, these pictures are from before I learned about food styling.) Color frosting light green for the face. I then piped purple frosting on for the hair. The eyes are chocolate chips and the nose is a piece of candy corn. Pop on an ice cream cone for the witch's hat and you're ready too boogie.

Recipe at Pearl of Wisdom

If you're feeling really daring, you should make these ghostly pavlovas. My friend Elisa has the recipe on her blog.

Have a spooky weekend! And check out the rest of the Friday's Fancies for more budget-less costume ideas.

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Easy Halloween Costumes

Oh, buddy! Halloween is less than a week away! Do you have your costume picked out? I haven't quite decided yet. I'm not one for a slutty Halloween costume, or one that just involves a pair of wings or ears, so I'll have to summon my creative juices over the next few days.

If you're looking for some easy Halloween costumes, you've come to the right place! None of these will break your budget, unless you're looking to invest in a costume.

It seems every blogger has a striped shirt. (Guilty as charged, I just bought this navy and white one from the Gap.) Put those stripes to work as a pirate. Add a bandanna, glittery scarf, eye patch, or sword and you're golden.

Other easy costumes straight from your closet include a cowboy/cowgirl. Lasso a straw hat, plaid or gingham shirt, and some denim. Sheriff star and toy guns are optional.

I've also been a spy at the last minute. Sneak around with black sunglasses, trench coat, and a briefcase.

We have clever friends that were smores one year. She wore all white as the marshmallow. He wore all brown as the chocolate. Both had a square of cardboard strapped to their back as a graham cracker.

One of my favorite costumes from growing up is the Indian corn and my sister's bunch of grapes. This was also perfect for wearing over a winter jacket when the weather was chilly for trick or treating. Simply pin balloons to an oversized shirt. My Mom then painted our faces to look like the stem of the grapes or the dried leaves of the corn.

If you're a little pressed for time to DIY a costume, you can always pick one up at Target or the like. I was a Joann Fabrics over the weekend and their Halloween costumes were already marked down.

And yes, I will milk my running hot dog costume for all it's worth :) It was marked full priced when I looked at it, but I asked for a discount because it was slightly damaged. Its main purpose was for the Halloween 10K, so I didn't care if the velcro needed to be restitched. So if you're handy with a needle and thread, don't be afraid to ask for a discount.

On the other extreme, John decided to invest in this chicken costume, fondly referred to as the "Chilliken." $80 (including tax and shipping) isn't cheap, but he's used this costume for years. And multiple times a year while at SLU.

Fun fact: The Chilliken even made a brief appearance at our wedding. You guessed it. We're dancing "The Chicken Dance."

Jessica of "What I Wore" always has fantastic Halloween ideas. Here are this year's costumes. Some are easy and pulled from your closet, while others take a little more skill to DIY.

What's the most clever costume you've seen?
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Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween, everyone!

Are you dressing up as anything? I don't have a costume picked out yet. Last year I ran a Halloween 10K as a hot dog (nice buns!).

Maybe I'll wear that to Chipotle to get a $2 burrito. If you show up to Chipotle after 6pm on Halloween dressed up as processed food you can get a burrito for $2. Up to $1,000,000 of the proceeds from the promotion will be donated to Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution.

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