Mitchell Zoo Animals and Zoo Keeper Halloween

Well, here’s the finished Halloween Costumes that go with the animal trick or treat buckets I made. How awesome are they! My daughter, Katie (the Zoo Keeper), made the elephant, tiger and Zebra masks from patterns she bought from Wintercroft.com.  You need to check them out!

Their decorated campsite won 1^st place at the Dayton KOA and Richmond campsites they stayed at!

Her husband, Dave’s Elephant costume was a BIG hit and even won 1^st Place during their Richmond Halloween event! At the Dayton KOA, little kids ran up to him and hugged him…oh, it was so sweet!

Here’s my grandson, Kylan’s Tiger Costume. He loved it and never took off the mask!

In fact, he would hide behind a tree at their campsite and peek around it when the hayride drove past. That may have helped them win 1^st Place.

And don’t you just LOVE these pink pumpkin pigs! I just think they’re sooo cute! Katie worked really hard making all the masks and campsite decorations. Good job Honey!

Here’s my granddaughter, Kinzley’s Cheetah costume. Isn’t she just a cutie! You should have seen her dancing at the Monster Bash. She could have danced all night, LOL!

Here’s my grandson’s, Caden’s Zebra costume along with his mom, the Zoo Keeper and dog Rocket, the Lion. Katie used a boa for Caden’s mane, which gently flowed behind him when he walked. Rocket got lots of compliments too and he never tried taking his costume off the whole time we were out walking.

Here’s the three grand kids…with Kinzley showing some “attitude”, hahaha!

My husband and I had so much fun walking around the campground with them, looking at all the great costumes and campsite decorations.

Another successful Halloween!

Happy Halloween Everyone!!

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2016 Halloween Trick Or Treat Baskets

 

This year my job was to make the grandkids Halloween baskets to go with their Zoo Animal theme.  Their mom, Katie, is making all the Halloween costumes…boy is she doing an awesome job!  I can’t wait to show them to you.

This Rhino trick or treat basket is for Caden.  He’s the first one I made and I was very happy with the results.  I kinda just winged it.  The head is a template I found online and increased the size.

This Crocodile trick or treat basket is for Kylan.  He too is made from felt with rick rack teeth and scales down his tail.  He is made from a sewing pattern I downloaded and adjusted for the basket.  

Lastly, this Flamingo trick or treat basket is for Kinzley.  It’s perfect because she just LOVES pink and I found out that her Halloween costume has no pink at all!  Like the other baskets, this one is made from felt.  I made all pattern pieces. 

I also made the Giraffe, Hippo and Moose heads (shown above) to decorate their camper/campsite.  I had the felt and just couldn’t help myself!

Hope you all have a very Happy Halloween!

 

Visor Caddy For Lou

As a little something extra for Father’s Day, I made my husband this Visor Caddy for his work van.  It holds a 4″ X 6″ notepad, pen/pencil, a travel size pack of tissues, two business card holders (one for his card to give out and one for the cards he receives), and a zipper pocket for receipts or…whatever.

The visor measures 16″ X 7″ and attaches to the visor with elastic sewn on the backside.  Here’s the DIY Visor Caddy Pattern you can download.  Since this was for a cargo van, I suggest you compare it with your visor so you can make whatever changes might be needed.

Happy Sewing!

Travel Bag and Toiletry Bag Sewing Pattern

I finally finished writing the sewing pattern for these Travel and Toiletry Bags that have been sitting in my sewing area for weeks!  I promised my daughter she could have them (she gave me the idea) and the other day she saw them and said, “I can’t wait to get my bags”…OK, Katie, I got the hint.  They’re all yours:)

The Large Travel Bag measures 20″ X 11″ X 7″ deep, has a lined front divided pocket, three (3) inner pocket and a shoulder strap.  

The Toiletry Bag measures 10″ X 6″ X 4 1/2″ deep and has three (3) inner pockets and short handles.  It’s roomy enough to hold your toiletries, brush/combs and your make up.

You can purchase the pattern HERE!

 

DIY Pet Snake

Here’s an easy and fun craft project for the kids. My grandkids and I made these a year ago and they’re still playing with them. I did have to do some mending and re-gluing of an eye or two!

DIY PET SNAKES

I took an old white t-shirt and cut 2” wide strips, leaving the side seams intact. Then drew the tail and head shape on each end.

Stitch along the edge 1/4”, leaving a 3” opening for turning and stuffing.

Turn the snake right side out. I used a dowel rod.

Stuff the snake with batting. I used a plastic tube (cut from an outdoor candy cane decoration) that I inserted into the snake, then stuck in some batting and pushed it through the tube with a dowel rod.

Hand stitch the opening closed.

Tie one end to form the head with heavy thread.

Cut a tongue from red felt. Push in the end of the head with a pencil tip, add some glue and insert the tongue.  Glue on wiggly eyes.  You can also sew on buttons for eyes.

Cover the work area with an old plastic table cloth or paper, and let the kids decorate their snake with permanent markers.

To make the decorations “bleed”, spray with rubbing alcohol. You can also use a dropper and drip the alcohol onto the marker designs. Let dry.

Done.  Now it’s play time!

Shopping Cart Grocery Bag Sewing Pattern

I have to tell you, I LOVE THIS Grocery Bag! 

I designed it to use at the new ALDI store that recently opened in our area. This grocery store requires you to bag your own groceries, so this Shopping Cart Grocery Bag does the job wonderfully, and the large size helps get the groceries into the house a whole lot quicker too!

The bag quickly and easily attaches to a standard shopping cart and has a large and small front pocket to hold a notepad, pen, coupons, your purse/wallet and so much more.

Made from durable Outdoor Pro-Tuff Fabric (sold at Walmart), this bag is nice and strong.  The backside (bag interior) of this fabric is 100% PVC, so it’s easy to clean and eliminates the need for a lining.

When not in use, simply fold and store it in your car or truck so it’s available when you need it.

For more photos and information about this Craftsy sewing pattern, click here.

UPDATE:  

The other day I got caught in the pouring rain leaving the grocery store. Boy was I happy I used my Shopping Cart Grocery Bag!!!

Here it is after I brought it in. It was filled with 5 plastic grocery bags plus four (4) 2 litters.  It was heavy, but I just heaved it out of the cart and into the backseat. Thankfully it only took a few seconds. My hair and shirt didn’t far as good…I looked like a drowned rat when I got home. LOL!

The rain never soaked through the Grocery bag (because of the PVC backing), and the rain that did get inside was easily wiped dry with a towel.

Here’s an Ohio State one I made for my daughter from the grey Pro-Tuff fabric. I printed the side logo on dark iron on transfer paper.

And, here’s one I made from the Blue Pro-Tuff fabric. With the Fourth Of July just around the corner, the blue went perfect with the red, white and blue ribbon trim on the handles and front pockets.

My Dog Leash and Treat Bag with Poop Bag Dispenser

For all you dog lovers, here’s my latest Craftsy Pattern.

I had been working on designing a dog treat bag pattern that hooked onto a leash.  I thought it was a good idea, but then I got a BETTER idea, which was to incorporate the Poop Bags into the design.

I also decided to include how to make a dog leash and came up with the Dog Leash and Treat Bag with Poop Bag Dispenser Pattern

The Dog Leash is super easy to make and fun to coordinate with the Treat Bag fabric.

The Treat Bag is, well, kinda neat and very practical!  It’s easy to make and easy to use.   Just place a Poop Bag roll into the bag lining and push the end through the bottom opening.  Close the lining and fill the top with dog treats…or people treats…or personal items such as keys, ID and some money.  Then simply attach it onto the dog leash with the swivel hook.