Sunday, November 2, 2008

A TREAT of a Halloween!

Wow what a whirlwind Halloween day we had! First, we had our much-anticipated 20-week ultrasound and found out Seth is going to have a baby SISTER. We are excited to look forward to a little girl next spring, and it's so nice to finally say she/her and not "it" when talking about Baby. We're half way there!


On to other Halloween festivities. I just have to say I love Seth's costume. One of his favorite words these days is CAR (lately it's the phrase MY car!), so I decided to make him a NASCAR driver. How was I to make this when kids don't wear jumpsuits anymore? Enter eBay. I found a vendor who sells nothing but vintage clothing patterns and scored this circa 1970's Kwik Sew pattern, brand new, never been opened. Aside from the fact that this would work perfectly, I was instantly charmed by the cartoon drawings of those little kids!
I made style C (blue with white polka dots in the picture), and made it out of black stretch cotton and added red piping around the sleeves and down the sides. Next I printed logos for Tonka, Hotwheels, Lego, NASCAR, Matchbox and McDonalds and made my own patches using Heat n' Bond iron-on fusible webbing. They weren't staying on very well, so I secured them using clear "invisible" thread in my machine. Sounds like more work than it was, but it was really fun to see it evolve and turn out just like...no, BETTER...than I imagined! I'm sure Seth thought his mom had lost it the first time I put it on him and I squealed with delight. So...pardon me for the discourse (I sound a bit like I'm bragging, eh?) on costume construction, but WALLAH here is the finished product!


The driver in action!


He set out trick-or-treating with Matt and his trusty Frankenstein candy bag (made from a kitchen dish towel and more of that great stuff Heat n' Bond). He was close to saying "Trick or treat!" by saying "eat!", but mostly he just said "Hi!" Like the good little boy he is, he always said thank you ("kyou"). It rained all day but let up long enough for the kiddos to run around outside, and the rain returned again for the rest of the weekend. We kept a tally by the door, and when all was said and done, we had 125 "treaters" come to our house, give or take 5...it was hard to keep track the few times we got ambushed by huge throngs of goblins, princesses, animals and monsters.

...taking inventory...

We hope everyone had a Happy Halloween!

14 comments:

Ashlee said...

I'm amazed. We'll not really, b/c it's you we're talking about, but that costume is AWESOME. I also love the treat bag. I'm sure it will hold up better than the plastic pumpkins you can buy (we had 2 break this year...they are 4-5 years old but still). Cute stuff!
Congrats on baby girl!

Carrie said...

oh my gosh--that is so adorable! great job Jen!

Tara said...

Yay for girls! I'm so excited for you guys!!! As for that costume....that may be the cutest one I've seen this Halloween, really! Part of that may be that Seth is so adorable, too!!!

Jessica Jane said...

How exciting! A girl!! Seth's costume is great! He looks like the real deal. I love that you used kids toy brands as his sponsors. Very cute!

Jas and Kim said...

Jen, you truly are one amazing woman. Aside from a busy work schedule, wrangling a 2 year old and various other things you juggle, here you go and make us all look bad. That has to be the cutest little costume I have ever seen. Due to the fact that you made it by yourself from a 1970's pattern. Could you make a trip to Utah and teach us all how you do everything that you do? I love ya and am so excited for bebe girl to come. That has to be so fun for you guys. Be careful, once you have one of each it's easy to say that you're done. I know I feel it somedays. Congrats again! We love you!

Laura said...

Having seen the costume in person I can say that it IS the best costume I saw this Halloween. Totally cool and well-constructed. AND I'm SOOOO excited for your little girl to arrive! We're kinda partial to pink around here.

Kristen said...

Congratulations! A little girl! And I LOVE Seth's costume. Ty is crazy about cars too...too bad I can't sew worth anything!

Kelsie said...

Congrats on the baby GIRL! You'll have so much fun. And I'm so impressed with Seth's costume--it's darling (or tough ... or whatever you say about boys!)

Carrie said...

I forgot to say WOW!! A GIRL!!

theamazingjohnsons said...

Congratulations! I'm glad you are having a girl now. It's fun to have one of each. Great job on the costume, too!

Cortney said...

Hooray for the baby girl! I am so excited for you. That is fabulous news! And awesome job with the wonderful halloween costume. Seth looked so great!

The Gee Family said...

Jen and Matt- So exciting for you guys to have the opportunity to have a baby girl join your family. Boys are fun don't get me wrong but Jen, girls are so much more fun just because you have all the girlie, fun, pretty, adorable cute stuff!! Pink and purple are such fun colors to shop for. I was hoping you would have a girl. Seth is going to love having a little sister to dote on and protect. How are you feeling anyway? Are you getting uncomfortable? I'm sure you are looking so cute and pregnant by now. When is the actual due date? By the way that halloween costume and trick or treat bag you made Seth is so freakin cute. He looks like he could be a professional race car driver at his age. It takes talent to do that kind of stuff and you obviously have it! I miss you guys but hope you have a very happy Thanksgiving and Christmas. What are your holiday plans? Are you coming to Utah at all? Hopefully we can see you. I know it hasn't been long since we did but there is something about getting together for the holidays that is a tradition for our family.

Heather said...

Hooray, a little sister! And that costume is AWESOME. I'm super jealous. I wanted to make the girls' costumes, but sadly, I have no skills in that department.

Kristie said...

oh my gosh Jen! that is incredible! you need to take your show on the road, you are really talented. Seth looks perfect in that little jumpsuit. also, congratulations on your little girl!! I'm so excited for you to have a little lady... she'll be so cute and fun. good luck with the rest of your pregnancy.