Never Too Early for Halloween Costumes

Arkansas kids all went back to school this week.  It was fun to see my friends (and some far off relatives) post the first day of school pictures.  BL Baby Boy started his college classes Thursday.  All this means that in spite of absolutely no evidence that this summer straight from Hades will ever end, Halloween is just a few weeks away.  Time to start thinking of costumes.  The last several years have seen a lot of stores with Chinese import costumes that are rather nice and are under $20.  I've got some prejudices and issues with them but they're really very cute and you couldn't make something for that price. The problem comes is that they are usually only in small sizes suited more to preschoolers.  Especially a problem if your kids are as big for their age as are the BestLoved Kiddlets. There is also a good chance you will see several copies of your kid on the street on the big night.  I thought it would be fun to post some of the  best DIY costumes I've found.  I don't have a kid to out fit but I can dream.

via ni(D)

 When I was a kid a popular costume was a ghost.  An old white sheet or other white fabric was draped over the child and eye holes were cut out.  Vola! A Ghost.  These monsters come from a French blog/shop but looks almost as easy to DIY. Cut two matching sized pieces of a smooth, light colored fabric wide enough to go around your child and long enough to go from their head to mid calf. Seam them together, rounding the top and leaving holes for the arms. It's kind of like a tea cozy for your kid.  Then you and/or your child can draw a monster on the front (you could draw a back view, too, if desired).  It looks like these have some kind of mesh over the eye area.  You could just cut holes where your kids eyes are.  It would be great if the child's eyes were in the center of the monster eye or you could look for something see through to sew in place so your child could see. The imaginary monster can be colored with Sharpies, paint or even crayons.  If you use crayons, iron the front sandwiched between paper towels so the crayon wax melts and seeps into the fabric.  No one else will have a costume like yours. 

I love these.  







Three Bears

I'm never sure if my favorite fairy tales have bears or pigs.  Maybe it's the wolves that I like the best.  New in the shop is another version of Goldilocks and The Three Bears.

Meet the family.  They have a wonderful house all in a woodland style.

Goldilocks, of course, is splended.  Buttter wouldn't melt in her mouth.

She can't help but invade the house and try out the furniture.

I'm not the only one who loves three bears.  Look at where we ate dinner one night when we were in West Yellowstone, MT.  We had spent a busy day Yellowstone Park.

Salmon was served.

How I Cope With Stress

I've got lots of stuff on the table.  Shop to be updated.  Stake Primary Training this Saturday (and we're down a Councilor).  I was asked to do an online mag article - due this weekend.  So what did I do yesterday?

Yup, I rearranged the bookshelves by color!  Totally silly and unnecessary but sooo pretty.  I've seen this and been very disdainful.  My beloved books were arranged like a library - fiction alpha by author, non fiction by subject.  Never would I do something so frivolous as arrange by color.  I then watched HGTV Home by Novogratz last Saturday. 

via Apartment Therapy

I was overcome by color shaded book case lust.  Every day I looked at the bookcases I would think, "that would be pretty".  My book shelves take up about 25 feet of wall and are hard not to see so I was thinking this a bunch. Tuesday night BLHubby was working late and I started to sort and rearrange. I didn't finish until Wed morn.  As to finding stuff, Apartment Therapy's Grace Bonny has a post that changed my ideas.  After all I don't have an enormous building sized library.  I usually rearrange, purge and clean up my bookcases a couple of times a year (sad to say that's usually all that I dust, also) so if it doesn't work, I can redo it.  Right now it makes me happy!  Now back to real work.

Shop Update

At long last, in spite of all this summer's "stuff", I'm getting the shop replenished.  Two new Noah's Arks done and listed.  Two more waiting for paint.

A pretty red boat house.  It seems that red, yellow and blue are popular colors for an ark.

I love this one with the blue roof.  It seems to me that blue boats look the most sea worthy.  Or they look like vacation photos of the Caribbean or Greece.

Money No Object Monday - Life Size Lincoln Logs

I haven't found anything handmade that I thought was worthy of big bucks for a while, but this idea looks like it would be fun. 


Texas Sized Lincoln Logs by PRGDesign on Etsy

Years ago BLHubby found an enormous set of Lincoln Logs at a garage sale for $10.  It filled a 50 gallon tote.  It was a great set for the kids and then the grands to play with.  Gradually, the pieces got broken and lost and not too long ago I sorted and tossed the bad ones and we now have a shoe box full of pieces.  These life sized cedar building pieces could be handled by a kid and can be changed and rebuilt with maybe a little bit of help from the adults.  Unlike Lincoln Logs, they are flat.  I guess if you made round life sized logs it would be hard for a kid to lift and set the logs. 

 Price? Pretty steep. The price is dependent on what roof style you choose. The first one above has a flat roof made of cedar boards and is $1099.   Shipping will add another $250.

This set has a gabled roof with boards and is $1199.  You can also get the set with out a board roof that you can put a tarp or other roof system on it for $999.  Not much information on the makers. They opened their Etsy shop less than a month ago. 

This could be the ultimate back yard toy.

Quilts I Would Sew If I Wasn't Painting

We've had a terribly hot and dry summer here at the Best Loved House.  Hard to believe that in July I could return from Montana, Utah, Idaho and Wyoming and the western states would look lush and green and Arkansas looks as brown as Phoenix or Los Angeles.   I may have found a good "rain dance".  I've got some Arks and Play Sets ready to list in the shop and it's been cloudy with a little rain for the last couple of days.  The dark makes it hard to get good pictures. It seems to happen whenever I want good product photos.   Maybe if I got really, really productive the drought will break :).

So here are some poor pictures of the Three Bears beds is progress.  I love painting quilts on them.  I do like to make quilts, but never have the time any more.  It's fun to paint fantasy quilts for the Bear Family.

Highlights of Yellowstone

We had a great time visiting Yellowstone with the family.  When I was in high school, my parents ranched about 80 miles north of the North Entrance to the park.  For us, visiting Yellowstone was a day trip taken in the spring or late fall when the work on the farm was light.  We spent my 16th birthday there.  Visiting in the off season was colder but the park was uncrowded and the animals down from the high country and easy to view.  It's been a few years since I last visited.  The BLBiggest Boy had just celebrated his first birthday.  Now we were here with his own boy.  So, what are the highlights I took pictures of?

The Grands, naturally.  Look how much fun they're having with their binoculars. Like true naturalists.

Those obligatory pictures in front of the signs.  Old Faithful is the signature sight in the Park.  It had changed a bunch from my last visit.  When I was there last there was the Old Faithful Inn, a General Store and a Gas Station.  I love, love Old Faithful Inn.  Did you know it's style is "National Park Rustic". Now there is a whole complex around the Best Loved Geyser. The newest building is the Old Faithful Visitors Center.  You can see the geyser erupt from the windows of the building and browse the museum and information while you wait.  But what did I think was the best part? 

The handcrafted tiles in the ladies room!  Yes, I took pictures of the tile in the bathroom.  Loved it! 

The glass tile was inset with metal tiles that had an inset outline of some of the animals common to the Park. 

Love the fish.  And the Wolf is the best.

Something for everyone!