DIY Halloween Costume - Potato Bug and Gingerbread Cookie

Trick or Treat! Would you dare open your door to two such nefarious characters? Take a second look at the smaller mug:

Well, don't let this delectable looking Gingerbread Cookie fool you. I used to call her "the Brute" back then. She was nearly kicked out of her Montessori school a year later and there are dents around the house from the ferocity of her tantrums.

This costume also proves that I always seem to have food on my mind. For my son's first Halloween, he was a Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich, which was rather ironic as he soon developed a bad peanut allergy. He used to go ring each doorbell and say, "Trick or Treat I can't have any candy with nuts or eggs." The conversations that ensued made for slow going on Halloween night. I made my daughter into a Gingerbread Cookie for her first Halloween, and showing she knew a good thing when she saw it, she asked to be a Cookie again for her second turn at trick or treating.

I used a store bought generic clown/bodysuit pattern, light brown heavy fleece, 4.5 yards of thick cream rickrack, 24" of pink satin ribbon, elastic for the wrists and ankles, velcro for the hood, a zipper for the back, and some deep purple fabric for the raisins. Follow the directions on the package but attach the rickrack before sewing front and back together. I made the raisins by taking a circle of fabric and just scrunching it into a wrinkly oval and sewing it together before attaching it to the costume.

I was so worried about my little morsel getting cold that I made this outfit as warm as a woolly coat. Of course my daughter had a metabolism like a furnace and she got rather sweaty inside it. But she looked good, and as she in her present incarnation would opine, that is all that matters.

Where's that can of Raid when you need it? We really thought our son would turn out to be an entomologist at this time, as there was nothing he loved so much as insects. So it was no surprise when he asked to be a potato bug for Halloween. I bought a black turtle neck at the consignment shop, and used material scraps I had already for the rest of the costume. I basically sewed a pillow in the oval shape of a potato bug, glued on strips of black for the stripes, and time always being short, simply pinned it to the back of his shirt. He was of course adamant that an insect had six legs, so I sewed two tubes of black fabric, stuffed them and pinned them to the back of his shirt as well. I also put a loop on the ends to slip over his wrists so he could wave all four arms at once. I attached some pipe cleaners to a headband for his antennae.

"This is good stuff. How 'bout we slip out and do a few more blocks while Mom's asleep?"

Happy Halloween!

Jody

www.astudiobythesea.etsy.com

NewNewInterview with Lynsey of Cuteable

In our fourth installment of indie style bloggers, let's meet Lynsey of Cuteable.

1. So tell us a little about your site and how you got started?

Well Cuteable is fairly new to us as we only bought the site in January after the previous owner realised they weren't spending as much time as they would like on their own craft business. I'm a WAHM with two girls and I run my own Etsy shop, Swirly Arts too so thought I could combine my love of cute and handmade things with my daughters being at home. Luckily my husband agreed (he does all the technical stuff) and it fits in quite nicely into our lives now.

2. What do you look for when featuring an artist?

Well the site is called Cuteable and the previous owner did a great job of keeping with that feeling but I'm moving it slightly to feature more stuff that isn't traditionally 'cute' - but that's not saying I don't like the cute! I tend to feature things I like myself and if I really like something then I will do a whole post about that ones person's items.

3. Suggestions on how to generate buzz about your products?

It's probably something you have heard before but make your item unique - not necessarily the only one of it's kind because that is pretty rare but have a unique selling point either to do with you or the item itself. Also if you are describing something then make sure you describe it well - people cannot pick the item up and see how much work has gone into it so you have to let them know. Also don't be afraid of contacting people with blogs etc about your work - I'm always on the lookout for new things!

4. What not to do when contacting sites like yours?

Make sure you enter your shop name/flickr name or where ever I need to link too in your email - I have lost count of the number of people I have contact to ask for these details! Don't worry if you do forget though as I will still feature you but just not as quickly!

5. What blogs do you follow to stay current?

Oh my goodness - lots and lots!! I have 370 blogs in my google reader and my favourites are the ones written by crafters themselves - I like to see what the masses are doing and I use these as the basis for my Clinks posts. I do also like having a peek at the Craftzine blog too!

6. What trends do you see developing? What products or styles are hot?

I think eco friendly products are becoming more important with more and more crafters sourcing their materials from charity shops, thrift stores etc and just generally making use of things that would once be thrown away. Birds are always a popular theme too :)

7. Is blogging more of a hobby or do you see this becoming a long term career choice?

Running Cuteable is much more than a hobby - it takes up a great deal of time and at the moment it's about 4 hours a day. That involves all the answering of emails, sending out advertising information as well as writing the posts. I do it though because I love mentioning people, their products and just acknowledging the hard work and time and effort that goes into making things. If I had a pound for every email I have received thanking me for the mention then I would be well on my way to becoming rich!

8. Do you see yourself embracing new media to reach your audience (podcasting, video)?

Eeek - that kind of thing scares me! It took me long enough after we took over Cuteable to get the hang of writing the posts so that's not going to happen in the short term future. Maybe longer term but we will see!

9. What do you think sets you apart from other design blogs?

I think the fact that I am a crafter and maker myself so I know the amount of time and effort that goes into the work I showcase. Also I hope that the passion I have for handmade comes though in my posts.

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Special thanks to Lynsey for taking the time for this interview. Be sure to check out Lynsey at Cuteable (http://www.cuteable.com/) and her shop Swirly Arts on Etsy!

Danielle
Collective Elements