Category: Friday Fun

iScarf

This funky scarf has a pocket for your MP3 player, letting you rock out to cool tunes while keeping warm.

Materials

Polar fleece
Embroidery needle
Embroidery floss
Pom-pom balls
Fabric glue

Instructions

Cut a piece of polar fleece into a long rectangle (ours is 7 inches by 38 inches).

For the pocket, cut a polar fleece rectangle that’s about an inch wider than your music player (our pocket is 3 3/4 by 4 1/2 inches).

Thread an embroidery needle with embroidery floss.

Use a running stitch to sew three sides of the rectangle to the scarf..

Attach pom-pom ball trimto the ends of the scarf with fabric glue.

Hot Cocoa Candle

Get a jump on April Fool’s with this yummy (looking) treat. A simple technique creates the whipped cream; brown dye gives the cocoa its luscious color.

Dude, remember, never leave candles burning unattended or near unsupervised children. And wet your match down before throwing it in the trash. A friend of mine didn’t do that and nearly burned her bathroom down.

Materials

2 3/4 cups soy wax flakes
pouring container or heatproof measuring cup with spout
one third of a 3/4-ounce cube of brown wax dye
6-ounce glass mug made for hot beverages
9-inch-tall prewaxed wire wick with clip

Instructions

To make the cocoa:
Melt 1 3/4 cups of the soy wax flakes in a pouring container following these directions or in a heatproof measuring cup in the microwave according to the package directions. While the wax is melting, chop the dye into small pieces, then stir it into the wax.
Pour the wax into the mug and insert the wick. (If the wick tips, put a pencil across the top of the mug and lean the wick against it.) Let the candle cool, about 1 hour. The dye will lighten as the wax cools.

To make the whipped cream:
Melt the remaining wax and let it cool until it’s opaque, about 5 minutes.
Whip the wax with a fork until it begins to form frothy peaks. If the wax is too thin, wait a few minutes and try again. If it thickens too quickly, remelt it.

Scoop the whipped wax onto the cocoa as shown. Let it cool, then trim the wick so that it extends 1/4 inch.

How freaking cute is this?!

Fleece Hat

This soft and cozy cap is just the gift to give for fighting brisk winter weather.

Materials

Tape measure
1/2 yard fleece fabric
Scissors
Needle and thread
Buttons, appliqués, or felt pieces for decoration
1 yard decorative cord

Instructions

First, determine the size of the hat. (To avoid ruining the surprise, measure the head of someone who is similar in size to the recipient.) Now cut a piece of fleece that´s 16 inches wide and as long as the measurement you took plus 2 inches.

Fold the fleece in half, right side in so the 16-inch edges match up. Sew a 1/2-inch-wide seam along this edge, stopping 5 inches from the bottom. Just below the last stitch, make a 1/2-inch cut in from the side. Turn the material right side out. Now sew a seam along the last 5 inches of unsewn fleece.

Roll the bottom of the hat up two turns, so the cuff conceals the bottom part of the seam. To keep the cuff from unrolling, sew on a decorative button, an appliqué, or a felt cutout.

Finally, gather the top 3 inches of the hat and tie a colorful cord around it.

Okay. Maybe not the best, but I certainly like them. I know these ideas are last minute, but maybe you’ll get some ideas for next year. Unless you’re really crafty and can whip them up in no time flat and if that’s the case? I’M JEALOUS OF YOU.

Here are some of my favorite costumes from Family Fun:

Girl Costumes

Paper Doll (*squee!*)

Our cute paper doll costume can hold its own against Halloween ghouls, ghosts, and goblins.

Materials

diagrams and templates
poster board
paint
black marker
headband
duct tape
foam core
hot glue (an adult’s job)
elastic and Velcro straps
white t-shirt and shorts (concealed by the costume)
frilly socks and Mary Janes

Instructions

Clothing and accessories: Measure your child, then on poster board, draw a shirt, skirt with bloomers, and accessories to fit. (Download our free purse and bow templates, and shirt and skirt diagrams.)

Cut out the pieces and cut several 2- by 4-inch tabs from the scraps. Paint the pieces and let them dry.

Use black marker to outline the tabs with dotted lines and to add details to the clothing and accessories. Attach the tabs to the pieces and the bow to a headband with duct tape.
Reinforcements: Strengthen the shirt by attaching a roughly 7- by 8-inch piece of foam core to its back with hot glue (an adult’s job). Cut a strip of foam core to fit the skirt waist and hot-glue it on as well.

If the bottom of the skirt seems unstable when worn, add a strip of foam core along each leg.
Straps: Have your child hold the bottom of the shirt in front of her, then cut two lengths of wide elastic that can each reach from the top of the shirt, across your child’s back, and to the bottom of the opposite side of the shirt.

For strength, staple a rectangular scrap of poster board to both ends of each strap, then tape one end of each to the top of the shirt (the foam core, not the poster board).

Horizontally attach two strips of adhesive-backed Velcro at the bottom of the shirt and the matching strips to the foam core on the free end of each strap.

Use the same method to attach a single horizontal strap at the skirt waist.

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Face Book (hahahahaha!!!)

This friendly costume will have people wanting to add candy to your bag Halloween night.

Materials

12- to 15-ounce cereal box
glue stick
wrapping and white paper
marker
thin elastic
duct tape
baseball cap

Instructions

Book cover: Cut off the top and bottom flaps and one narrow side of a 12- to 15-ounce cereal box so that you’re left with three panels. Apply a glue stick all over the printed side of the cardboard, then cover it with wrapping paper that’s an inch wider than the box on all sides. Fold down the edges of the wrapping paper and glue them in place. Glue an 11- by 17-inch sheet of white paper on top.

Inside pages: Beginning at a short end, accordion-fold two sheets of 11- by 17-inch white paper. The folds should be 1 inch wide.

Glue an end flap of each of the folded sheets along a short edge of another 11- by 17-inch sheet, creating a table shape. Glue the bottom flaps of the accordioned sheets to the book cover leaving the center piece loose.

Face opening: Lay the book wrapping paper–side up and draw an oval face-opening in the center. Use a craft knife to cut through the cardboard and paper (an adult’s job).

Neck strap: Attach a length of thin elastic with duct tape under the white paper.

Hat attachment: Cut off the bill of a baseball cap. Attach the front of the cap to the book by running a strip of duct tape down the front center of the cap onto the top edge of the book above the face opening.

Continue running the tape over the edge of the book cover, straight down under the paper, through the face opening, and into the inside center of the hat.

Finishing touches: Glue the center of the white book page to the cover, then use a marker to write “face book.”

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Jellyfish Costume

To get this sweet and sassy jelly ready to roll, cover a broad-brimmed hat with bubble packaging and sparkly fabric, then add some ribbon-and-rickrack tentacles.

Download a complete materials list and illustrated step-by-step directions.

Materials

Glue gun and glue sticks
Broad-brimmed straw hat (we used a child’s sombrero)
1 yard of sparkly blue fabric
1 yard of blue fleece or felt
Large-bubble bubble packaging (we started with a 15- by 1-foot length and cut it into pieces as needed)
Clear packing tape
Fabric measuring tape
20 (1-yard) lengths of curling ribbon (we used 10 yards each of blue and silver)
5 (1-yard lengths) of 1-inch-wide sheer blue ribbon
3 (1-yard lengths) ofK-inch-wide red rick rack

Instructions

The Hat Base: Apply glue all over the underside of the hat brim. Lay the brim glue-side down on the fleece or felt and press it firmly. Trim the excess fabric. Cut away the fabric from the head hole.

Fill in the area around the crown with balls of bubble packaging, then top with sheets of the packaging, securing it with packing tape as you work.
The Covering and Tentacles: Measure the hat from one edge of the brim, up over the crown, and down to the far edge. Cut a circle from the sparkly fabric with a diameter equal to the over-the-crown measurement plus 6 inches. Cut the remaining fabric into 6 strips measuring 1 1/2 inches wide by 1 yard long.

Glue one end of each fabric strip, ribbon, and piece of rickrack to the brim’s underside, evenly spaced and about 1 inch in from the edge. If desired, leave a gap of 8 inches at the hat’s front center for your child’s face.

Temporarily bundle the ribbons’ free ends into the headhole. Center the hat’s crown on the fabric circle. Pull the fabric up over the edge of the brim, gluing it to make even gathers. Have your child wear blue clothes and try on the cap. If it’s too wobbly, glue felt or fleece strips to the inner hatband until it fits securely. Trim the tentacles as needed.

You can find many more girl costume ideas here.

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Boy Costumes

Alien Encounter

An alien costume ranked so high, you might say it was out of this world. According to Ryan, age nine, “It should have curvy black eyes and wear a robe.” Fitting the bill is this trick costume, inspired by finalist Kim Harvey and her son, Andrew, in FamilyFun.com’s annual on-line contest.

Materials

Balloon inflated to about 12 to 15 inches
Large bowl
Papier-mâché glue (See Tips section for recipe)
Newspaper, in 1 1/2- by 6-inch strips
Ruler; Scissors; Utility knife; Safety pins
Masking tape; Craft glue
Cardboard tube with a 2-inch diameter, at least 14 inches long
Tights
Green acrylic paint and paintbrush
Double-sided carpet tape
Black paper
3-4 yards of black polyester fabric
15- by 24-inch piece of cardboard (corrugation should run the long way)
3 1/4 yards of ribbon, 1 inch wide, in a color that matches pajamas
Velcro Sticky-Back strips
Black long-sleeved turtleneck
2 green rubber gloves
Fiberfill
Black skirt with elastic waist
Pajamas and slippers

There are a lot of instructions, which you can find here, along with helpful diagrams.

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Monkey Business

Combine two traditional costumes to make one outfit that’s totally bananas.

Materials

templates
wire hanger
brown faux fur
brown duct tape
hot glue (an adult’s job)
headband
tan felt
rectangular box
scrap cardboard
poster board
ribbon
craft foam
office clothes and tie
face paint for details

Instructions

Tail: Untwist and straighten a wire hanger. Snip off a 3-foot length and fold in the tips so that they don’t stick out (all adult jobs).

Place a 3-foot by 6-inch piece of short-pile brown faux fur face down and lay the hanger along one long edge. Secure it with duct tape. Roll the fur around the wire and secure it with hot glue (an adult’s job).

Bend and tuck 4 inches of the tail into the waist of the costume pants, and secure it with duct tape. Bend the tail to give it shape. (We cut our tail from a 2/3-yard piece of fur and used the rest for the ears and hair tuft.)

Ears and hair tuft: From faux fur, cut two ears and a rectangular tuft with one jagged edge. (Download free templates.)

Hot-glue the tuft, pile-side up, to the center of a headband (an adult’s job). With the pile sides facing backward, pinch the ears as shown to give them dimension, and hot-glue them to the side of the headband.

Glue a piece of tan felt to the center of each ear.

Briefcase and tie: Cut a long narrow side panel from a small, rectangular box. Snip two handles from scrap cardboard and cover them with brown duct tape. Tape the handles to the box as shown, then cover the box with tape. Write “This monkey means business” on poster board and attach it with ribbon to one of the briefcase handles.

For the tie, cut out a banana shape from craft foam using our template and tape it to a real tie.

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Bedbug

Create a cute bedbug costume so your child can creep and crawl around the neighborhood looking for treats.

Materials

template
pipe cleaner
craft foam
duct tape
poster board and ribbon
robe and pillowcase
headband

Instructions

Antennae: Wrap a pipe cleaner around a headband so that the two ends stick up at an angle.
Bedtime attire: A robe works best as a base for the legs and a pillowcase can be used as a candy collector.
Legs and sign: Use our free template to draw insect legs on craft foam. Cut out the forms and place duct tape on the ends closest to the body. Tape the legs behind the robe’s collar.

For the sign, write a message on poster board and hang it around your child’s neck with ribbon.

You can find many more boy costumes here.

Thinking of having a Halloween party for your monsters?

Maybe Family Fun can help.

Goblin Feet

Your children can probably imagine what actual goblin feet would taste like. (Dirty socks stuffed with cheese? Moldy tapioca pudding?) Luckily, these cookies are infinitely more tasty.

Ingredients

Half package (7 ounces) green meltable candy wafers
peanut butter cookies, such as Nutter Butter brand
cashew halves

Instructions

Follow the instructions on the candy wafer package to melt the wafers in a wide bowl. For each goblin foot, hold the edge of a cookie and dip it in the melted candy.
Place the cookie on a sheet of waxed paper and use a spoon to smooth the candy over the spot your fingers covered.
Place three cashew halves on the cookie for claws. (The candy may need to cool a minute or two for it to be stiff enough to hold the nuts in place.) Let the cookies set at room temperature.

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Forked Eyeballs

These scary-good Halloween treats, prepared and eaten on the same fork, begin with a doughnut hole dunked in white chocolate.

Ingredients

2 (11-ounce) bags white chocolate chips
12 doughnut holes
Semisweet chocolate chips
Tube of red decorator frosting
2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Instructions

To coat a dozen doughnut holes, melt the white chocolate chips with the oil over low heat (and keep the chocolate warm while you work). With a fork, spear each doughnut hole and submerge it in the melted chocolate to coat it, then gently tap off any excess.
Stick a semisweet chocolate chip with its point cut off onto each doughnut hole, cut end first. Place the forks (handle side down) in a mug and allow the chocolate coating to harden.
Use a tube of red decorator frosting to add squiggly veins radiating out from the pupils.

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Funny Bones

Bleached white bones never tasted so delicious. This recipe originally appeared in Ghoulish Goodies, by Sharon Bowers.

Ingredients

half package (7 ounces) white meltable candy wafers
36 pretzel sticks and thin rods of various lengths
72 mini marshmallows (about 1 cup)

Instructions

Follow the instructions on the candy wafers package to melt the candy in a wide bowl. For each bone, press marshmallows onto both ends of a pretzel stick or rod, with the marshmallows’ flat sides parallel to the pretzel.
Dip each pretzel into the melted candy to coat it. Lift it out with a fork, letting the excess drip back into the bowl. Place the bone onto a sheet of waxed paper to set at room temperature.

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Gingerbread Skeletons

What’s the hot costume this year for gingerbread people? Skeletons, of course!

Ingredients

Gingerbread cookie dough
White frosting

Instructions

To make a batch, punch out shapes from cookie dough using cat and gingerbread-man cookie cutters, then bake. When the cookies are cool, pipe on frosting bones.

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Cheese-Finger Food

Partying in costume calls for easy-eating fare, and these cheesy monster digits fit the bill.

Ingredients

Mozzarella string cheese
Green bell pepper
Cream cheese

Instructions

Wearing plastic gloves or sandwich bags over your hands to keep the cheese as smudge-free as possible, use a paring knife (parents only) to cut each string in half and then carve a shallow area for a fingernail just below the rounded end of each half.
Mark the joint right below the nail as well as the knuckle joint by carving out tiny horizontal wedges of cheese, as pictured.
For the fingernails, slice a green bell pepper into 3/8-inch-wide strips. Set the strips skin side down on your work surface and trim the pulp so that it’s about half as thick. Then cut the strips into ragged-topped nail shapes and stick them in place at the ends of the fingers with dabs of cream cheese.

Want more? Your wish is my command.

*Disclaimer: Family Fun did not compensate me for this post. I just think they’re cool. Now pass a cheese finger, won’t you?

I wish I had branded this quote into my brain when the boys were growing up because I did WAY too much nagging/yelling/berating and not NEARLY enough listening.

Shh. Hear that? It’s your child talking to you.

Can you hear him/her?

(BTW, I didn’t draw that Hitler mustache on Dude. He came in from playing and looked like this. I thought it was so funny that I had to take a picture. I don’t Hitler is funny, I thought him coming with a dirt mustache that looked like Hitler was funny. Just setting the facts straight because you KNOW there are those few people out there that will make nothing into something).

This song plays about a zillion times on the radio every day.

Jazz also told me that they play this song in between classes, too. (Apparently, the school plays songs while the kids are walking to their next classes – which COOL BEANS).

(Click the blue arrow to play)

It’s “Move Like Jagger” by Maroon 5.

Because I dig a little background information on things like this:

The song’s lyrics refer to a male protagonist’s ability to impress a female with his dance moves, which he compares to those of The Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger. For Levine and his bandmates, the song and video are all about exposing a new generation to the rock legend.

You can watch the video here.

It’s catchy. It makes you tap your foot and think about spontenously break dancing in the middle of the street. (Okay, it just makes ME feel that way). But it’s cool and hip and I dig it.

Music is such a big part of our household. I’d like to share my latest music cravings with you every Friday – let’s start this weekend off with a little song and dance, shall we?