DIY Pirate and Parrot Costumes

Happy Halloween!

I couldn't let the day go by without posting pictures of the boys in their costumes. Also, these might be a small part of the reason that I haven't been around here very much. :) 

I had a lot of fun making these costumes and was really happy with how they turned out. I think they make a pretty cute pair. 

I couldn't have made them without the inspiration that I found on pinterest...

Sources:

Parrot photo via Pinterest from here.

Pirate photo via Pinterest from here.

Hat photo via Pinterest from here.

I am linking up to the Pinterest challenge hosted by:

Young House Love

Bower Power

Our Fifth House

and

The Ugly Duckling House

Pinterest challenge: Yarn Wreath

I have always loved a good DIY project and pinterest (my guilty pleasure) is the culprit for making my To Do list about a mile long! There is so much inspiration to be had there. It's so easy to get lost in the images.

Well a couple of my favorite bloggers are hosting a pinterest challenge. The goal is to find a pin that inspires you and then you put your own spin on it! Very fun and a kick in the pants to stop pinning and actually create something!

The hosts for this challenge are:

Sherry from Young House Love

Katie from Bower Power Blog

Erin from The Great Indoors

Cassie from Hi Sugarplum

I admit I am a little impatient and once I get started on a project, I want instant gratification, so I am always intrigued by the simple and fast ones (of course they have to be pretty too!) This yarn wreath fit the bill. Here is my pin:

Source: ishouldbefoldinglaundry.com via Stephanie on Pinterest

Funnily enough, before I had even heard of pinterest, I made another yarn wreath which was much more time consuming (but just as easy).

I know that this one has been all over blog-land, but I had so much fun making it and was so happy with how it turned out that I thought it would be perfect to share here.

For the most part, I followed this tutorial, by Jo-Anna at A pretty life in the Suburbs.

Instead of a styrofoam wreath, I used a straw wreath. I didn't even bother to remove the plastic from around the wreath to avoid little bits of straw getting all over me and the couch while I wrapped. 

I started with a dab of hot glue to secure the yarn and then I wrapped. Really, that's all there is to it, just wrapping round and round. I didn't bother to line up each row of yarn. I actually prefer the random look. If I noticed a bare spot, I just wound my way back to cover it up. Easy. 

Once I was happy with the coverage around the wreath I used a dab of hot glue to secure the end of the yarn. (I glued my flowers over this spot.)

This is where Jo-Anna's tutorial came in really handy. Hop on over there for more detailed instructions.  

Here was my process in pictures...

Once I had enough, I hot glued the rosettes onto my wreath. I only ended up using one yellow and one gray 8 x 11 piece of felt for all of them. 

This was such and simple and satisfying project. I can't wait to make some more of them!

My DIY potty chart

We've been on this potty training adventure for awhile now. Jack definitely gets it. He knows what it feels like to have to go and he knows how to go without our help. However, he rarely announces that he has to use the potty on his own. I am constantly reminding and asking him and he usually says no, he doesn't have to go. It's not until I bribe him that he willingly goes. If I miss the opportunity and don't bribe him at the right time, he has accidents.

Chocolate had been our (his) bribe of choice and I realized the other day, that by the end of the day, he's practically eaten an entire candy bar by giving him a small piece with every success on the potty. So the other day, I announced that we were out of chocolate (not true, you will always find chocolate in this house) and told him, with all of the enthusiasm I could muster, that we were going to try something new - a Sticker chart! I didn't exactly have a plan when I mentioned this to him so I didn't have anything ready to go the next time he went on the potty. Good thing he's got a great memory, because he reminded me that he wanted his sticker chart (didn't even ask for chocolate), so off the Staples we went.

We came home with poster board, markers and star stickers that he picked out. We had the foam letters and vehicle stickers on hand. Obviously, it's nothing fancy. He gets 1 sticker for pee and 2 for poop. When he gets to a big colored spot on the chart, he gets a special sticker and a small prize.

His first prize was silly putty. I haven't figured out what the others will be...Maybe a matchbox car or a small book. I feel much better about this than giving him chocolate every time. Hopefully, by the time he get's to the end, he'll be potty trained! (and if not, I bought some extra poster board.)

13 - DIY Wreath

Even though I've been sick all week and I've barely left the house, I did manage to finish a little project that I had going on. I worked on it after Jack was in bed (Rob even helped a little). I saw this a few weeks ago, and I thought I'd give it a try. It involved lots of yarn and way more pom poms than I ever thought that I would need.  I am really happy with how it turned out though...

~13~

My pom pom wreath.