Halloween Post-Mortum

"From earth's wide bounds, from ocean's farthest coast,
Though gates of pearl stream in the countless host,
And singing to Father, Son and Holy Ghost:
Alleluia, Alleluia!" ("For All the Saints," by Anglican Bishop William Walsham How)

With Sam's birthday the week before Halloween, I can see that the end of October is going to be a busy time for our family. Luckily, I already had a costume for Sam--a cute dragon that my sister had bought him last year but we had not used and still fit. Is he cute or what?

I tried to make him a little pumpkin bag out of orange felt, but I ran out of time and I didn't make it deep enough. Luckily, he only went to three or four houses so it sufficed. Our new neighborhood is so, well, neighborly. Everyone gathers in costume at the park and parades through the neighborhood before trick or treating.

I'm using this yet-unpainted and unstained tall shelf that used to be in our condo entryway (now in our dining room) for holiday themed decorations. It helps that Sam can't reach the high shelves. Here are our simple Halloween items.

I found these two little copper molds with acorns at a thrift store in Aurora last week. Aren't they so cute? I don't know why I love acorns so much. I guess I'm a sucker for anything fall-related. They're about two inches across. Not sure what they're for, but I think they fit with the orange metal wine pitcher from Greece.

It's not going to get any less busy, as I just started teaching two new classes--both of which I have never taught before, so lots of prep. In addition, I have tons of freelance writing projects, including an interview with Mary Gordon tomorrow night. Looking forward to that.

Now, on to Thanksgiving and (yikes!) Christmas.

Felt birthday garland

"Begin to weave, and God will give you the thread." (German proverb)

As you can see, it was a very felty birthday celebration for Sam. My final handmade touch to the birthday celebration is this felt garland or banner--again, another idea I've seen all over craft blogs for years. This was a quick and easy project anyone could do (even you, Amy!) Even better--like the crown--it was made completely from stash materials.

I cut the triangles out of brightly colored felt (from recycled sweaters, but you could use regular craft felt). I made them 5 inches across and 7 inches deep. Then I used stick-on felt letters leftover from this project. Then I sewed them together with jumbo-sized red rick rack, reinforcing back and forth in between each flag. You could glue the rick rack if you don't have a sewing machine (or I could do it for you, Amy). It used less than one package of jumbo rick rack.

Add a few helium balloons and the Moon Festival lantern still hanging from last month and you've got instant party atmosphere. The new red chairs add to the bright decorations. (Yes, those funky wood squares are topped by an incredibly ugly 80s floral wallpaper, but it will be awhile before we redo the walls in the dining room.)

Felt birthday crown

"Complete possession is proved only by giving. All you are unable to give possess you." (Andrew Gide)

My favorite gift to Sam on his birthday was this birthday crown I made from felt from recycled sweaters. I'd seen these throughout blogland and wanted to start the tradition with our family. I also wanted decorations that weren't plastic and covered with characters marketing to children. I know it's the thing to have theme parties these days (Thomas the Tank, Elmo, etc.). I know our kids will insist on that someday, but for now the theme is just "birthday."

I used this tutorial from Frontier Dreams and went with a sun/moon/stars theme and used all my bright colors from my stash (now organized in a dresser in my new craft room. Pictures of that soon!) I blanket stitched around the shapes and to hold the outside and inside together.

My favorite part is the fabric-covered elastic in the back. It makes the whole thing look so neat and finished. Also notice that I went with the initial "S" instead of spelling out "Sam" so that Sophie can use it too. Good thinking, huh?

I was afraid Sam might not want to wear it so we practiced a few days before and he loved it. When he wore it around the party, everyone thought he was so cute. The perfect little birthday boy.

One more birthday craft to share tomorrow.

Crayon cars

"What do you plan to do with your one, wild precious life?" (Poet Mary Oliver)

Today was Sam's 2nd birthday, and we celebrated with a party of 65 people (including 26 kids) at our new house. I went with easy food: hot dogs, Italian beef sandwiches, deli potato salad and chips. I made the cake (from a box). But I did manage to get creative with a few touches.

I wanted to offer something nice in the goodie bags without going overboard. Then I saw this idea for crayon cars on Craft Apple. I ran out to Target and got the car cupcake pan, bought some dollar-store crayons and started peeling them. I had no idea the party would get so big, and ended up making 24 of them. That's a lot of peeling.

But they turned out so cute! I dropped them in these cute blue robot bags from the Target $1 area, with a Halloween pencil, box of raisins, package of fruit snacks and a handful of Dum Dum pops.

Luckily I have a few left over for Sam.

The hunt for red chairs in October

"A quiet patience has taken us this far." (Adrienne Rich)

Because we didn't have a dining room in our condo, we didn't own a dining room table and chairs. In our new house, the dining room is the literal center of the home--and I wanted it to be the figurative one too. So I didn't want a formal dining room set. When we discovered that the previous owners had left a beat-up but solid dining room table in the basement, we brought it upstairs. I had visions of refinishing it, but decided not to when Sam started pounding on it with his silverware.

But we needed chairs. I have always loved the chairs at Starbucks, which look a lot like the "Schoolhouse Chair" from Pottery Barn ($200 apiece). I even like the mismatched color look. I considered trying to collect mismatched chairs from garage sales, thrift stores, etc., but wouldn't you know: once you're looking for something specific, you never see it.

I tried Ikea. Nothing good there. Craig's List? I found one nice set, but they were already sold. I went to the unpainted furniture store (where the owner was SO helpful) and found exactly what I wanted (I could stain/paint them whatever color I wanted--by this time I was thinking black would be nice), but even with a "buy one, get one half off" sale, it would have cost over $500 and taken 4 weeks.

Then last Thursday night, I was checking out the Chicago estate sale listing, peeking at the photos of sales I couldn't go to because I wouldn't have a car that day--when I discovered one in my neighborhood. And the first picture was of four red chairs. EXACTLY THE ONES I WANTED!

So the next morning, I got up and walked almost 2 miles in the rain (the bus never came) with my son in the stoller, wondering the whole way how much they'd be. I had decided I'd like to pay $100 but would be really happy with $80. That is, if they weren't gone already. I arrived 15 minutes into the sale and grabbed them immediately! They were $65. For all four.

I love, love, love them. And they really cheer up the old table and our dining room. I had hoped to paint that room a pumpkin orange, which won't go with these chairs. But on the other hand, I am thinking maybe red accents in the kitchen, when we redo it and include an eat-in area.

On top of that, the sticker on the bottom of the seat says Heywood-Wakefield, which means they may be antiques or collectible. The estate sale was for a former college professor (who had thousands of books) and his artist wife. I imagine she painted these "old chairs" to brighten their colorful house. And gave them several coats of varnish. They're nice and shiny.

This has to go down as one of my best estate sale purchases ever. (And I bought a few other things at the same sale too!)

Owls and Moons

"Just to be is a blessing. Just to live is holy." (Abraham Herschel)

I made another felt owl as a birthday gift, this time for my godson Lincoln, who just turned 3. I paired it with the Caldecott Medal-winning Own Moon, a book a friend gave Sam when we first got him. Using my Borders coupons, I can pick up nice children's books for gifts.

I've been into owls lately, and I'm also into a moon motif. In fact, I'm thinking of a second tattoo--a moon. We got Sam during the Moon Festival in Vietnam, and now Sophie's name means moon.

The owl pattern is from Button It Up and calls for triangle buttons as "claws," but I can't find any anywhere. Suggestions anyone? I don't think these hearts work that well. (Lincoln's name is on the back.) I need to make one of these for Sam.

We're getting more and more settled into our house. Every day we try to do a little more unpacking and organizing. Tomorrow I have a very exciting estate sale find to share!

Vote for my sister's tote

"If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need." (Cicero)

My sister, who is a librarian at Aurora University, has entered a contest sponsored by the American Library Association to design a tote bag to promote libraries. Although she is not a graphic designer, I think her theme is very clever. Would you please go to here to vote for her tote? You vote by adding it to your faves on Flickr. Thanks!

It's a girl!

Big news over at our adoption blog.