Flock this way and check out Zoë’s DIY Flamingo Costume.

After over two years of being stuck at home during the pandemic, this Halloween sure feels extra special for Zoë. Physical school is finally back on, which also means actual Halloween parties in person, yay! This time Zoë wanted something girly, cute, and fun. When she said she wanted pink, I knew it had to be a flamingo. It definitely fit the bill!

Quick and easy, this costume took me less than hour to make. Yup, easy peasy! There was no sewing involved, too!

Materials Used:

• Pink feather boas
• Elastic
• Black felt sheet
• Pink felt sheet
• White felt sheet
• Pink & white striped socks
• White T-shirt
• White shorts
• Scissors
• Fabric glue

To Make the Flamingo Costume:

Step 1: Make the Feather Tutu Skirt

Make the waistband by tying the ends of an elastic together. This is pretty straightforward, just make sure it fits snugly around the waist, and double the knot so it stays in place.

Cut a strip of feather boa twice the length of how long you want the tutu skirt to be. So if you want the skirt to be 14 inches from the waist, cut it around 28 inches. Fold the feather boa in half and loop it around the elastic. Repeat with as many half feather boa strips around the elastic until you are satisfied with the fluffiness. I used a total of 6 feather boas for ours since the boas I had were quite thin, but you can adjust depending on how fluffy you want yours.

Step 2: Make the Flamingo Head and Neck

Cut out the beak shape on black felt, then glue on the detail using pink felt. I used fabric glue, but you may also use hot glue. Make the eyes by cutting out a big circle using white felt, and a smaller one using black felt, then glue together. If you have big googly eyes on hand, you may use that instead.

To complete the head and neck, take another long strip of feather boa and glue one end to the beak. Finish it off by gluing the eye, and you’re done!

Step 3: Assemble

With everything done and ready, it’s time to assemble! Put on your white shirt and shorts underneath. Slip on the feather tutu skirt, then drape the flamingo head around your neck while tucking the other end under the skirt. You may leave it as is, or secure the head to shirt with a safety pin, double sided tape, or by adding velcro like what I did.

Finish off the look with pink & white striped socks, cute & comfy shoes, and voilà, you’re all ready to flamingle!

Zoë’s one happy flamingo, all ready to go trick or treating with her flock!

** Warning: This costume is the cutest, but be warned, the feathers shed like crazy!

Check out our other DIY costumes:

• Paper Doll
• Monstera Deliciosia
• Claw Machine
• Gumball Machine
• Cutie Cupcake

This year, we’re making it fashionable! Zoë wanted to look colorful, pretty, and fab, so we made sure to get her all dolled up in a DIY Paper Doll Costume.

Check it out!

This paper doll costume is inspired by Zoë’s very own paper doll creations.

Zoë loves making paper dolls. She draws, colors, and styles them up, then narrates stories of adventure with them. The ones pictured above are just a few that she’s made over the years. I figured it was time to finally turn her into one of her creations, so this year’s paper doll costume was definitely the right fit!

Honestly, I was convinced that Zoë was done with our yearly DIY costume tradition, so I had no plans of making anything. She was already set on just wearing a Disney Princess costume, but when her friends started talking about Halloween a few weeks ago, she finally put her DIY thinking cap on. You can bet I was happy that she changed her mind—I don’t think I’m ready to let go of our Halloween tradition just yet. Plus, I was really itching to get my hands crafting. 😀

Constructed using minimal materials (an old Ikea cardboard box, an old headband, ribbon, and paint), this paper doll costume is probably the easiest DIY I’ve made. I completed everything in less than two days. This four-piece ensemble was a pretty simple craft of drawing, cutting, and painting. All Zoë asked for was to use her favorite colors, add a heart on the shirt, and give her bright pink hair. Cute, colorful, and girly, just the way she wanted it!

We completed the look with white tights and black shoes. Très chic! All ready and dressed to kill!

Zoë definitely approves her DIY Paper Doll Costume. She loves it from head to toe! We adore it, too. We reckon she looks like an absolute doll!

Check out our other DIY costumes:

• Monstera Deliciosia
• Claw Machine
• Gumball Machine
• Cutie Cupcake

Check out Zoë’s DIY Monstera Deliciosa Costume!

Funny how it took a pandemic for me to finally get into the plant craze. Having no choice but to stay home has led me to this new hobby. Buying plants, learning about light and humidity levels, formulating the perfect soil mix, and getting to know each plant’s needs, has given me time away from all the worries of the world. I’ve been so into plants that it has rubbed onto Zoë, too. So much that she was all in when I pitched her the crazy idea of turning her into a plant for Halloween!

Materials for our DIY Monstera Deliciosa Costume was pretty simple: an old cardboard box, green felt, soft wire ties, and some green ribbon.

This costume was actually inspired by A Beautiful Mess’ DIY Houseplant Boxtume from two years ago, and I followed their step-by-step instruction to make the plant pot for our costume. They made a pretty detailed tutorial on how to construct the base from old cardboard, so I followed it and just made sure to measure it to fit Zoë’s body. I finished it off by painting the cardboard pot a terracotta orange.

For the leaves, I used cardstock to make the template. I drew the leaf pattern with slits by hand, cut it out, then traced the outline on green felt. The goal was to make a lush pot of monstera, so I traced and cut about two dozen felt leaves. Using an X-Acto knife, I also added tiny holes to several leaves to give them those famous monstera fenestrations. To complete their look, I glued soft wire ties to the back of each leaf using strips of felt and hot glue.

Once all the leaves were attached to their wire stems, I taped them one by one to the inner wall of the pot. The stems were flexible enough to be folded and bent, so I adjusted each leaf at different heights and pointed them to different directions. The result? A very lush-looking pot of monstera, indeed! Imagine how expensive this pot would be if it were a real monstera. Haha!

To make the costume easy to wear over the shoulders, I attached straps to the pot using 2 strips of ribbon. I just made sure to criss-cross the straps at the back, to prevent them from slipping off.

Zoë also requested for a monstera headband, so I made smaller monstera leaves using leftover felt, then attached them to a plain black headband using wire and hot glue.

Our little monstera! Zoë absolutely loved her DIY Monstera Deliciosa Costume! We started the month of October thinking that Halloween would be completely cancelled this year, but in the end, Zoë proudly wore her leaves for three virtual parties! We had a bootiful time, afterall.

Halloween may have been a little different this year, but I’m glad we were able to continue our DIY costume tradition.

Want to see our previous DIY costumes? Last year Zoë was a Claw Machine, three years ago she was a Gumball Machine, then before that she was a Cutie Cupcake.

This year, she wanted to be a claw machine. The truth? It was another project this DIY-loving momma took on with excitement.

Check out Zoë’s claw-some costume!

When we were conceptualizing and thinking of how to build the claw machine costume, our first concern was the size and weight of the final product. We didn’t want to make something too bulky or too heavy for Zoë to carry. Instead of using a regular-sized box, we used foam board and built the main box frame from scratch, making sure the size was just right for Zoe’s upper body. We made it small enough for her to be able to sit down comfortably on the floor.

Using foam board made it easier to cut out windows on three sides, as well as the prize compartment. We made sure to measure and cut out all the details before putting all sides together with some super glue and masking tape. With a generous coat of spray paint (red for the exterior, and silver for the interior), the main structure was done.

For the controls, we used random objects we could find at home. We glued on a small red box to the front, then added the button made from a white medicine bottle cap and a green plastic magnet. The joystick was made from a small red Christmas ball, glued to the cap of a gray Crayola marker. We secured it to the box with a square foam board piece, spray painted black. We then constructed the claw using foam board and string, spray-painted silver, then attached it to the roof of the claw machine.

For the finishing touches, we added some printed graphics and color changing mini LED light bulbs. The battery-operated plastic LED lights were an inexpensive find and definitely gave the whole costume more character.

Zoë’s favorite part? Choosing which stuffed toys to add to the costume!

To make lugging the costume around easier for Zoë, we added straps to the back panel and made it so she could wear and carry it like a backpack. She found the costume pretty easy to walk around in, and it wasn’t heavy, too.

Zoë loved her claw machine! She proudly wore it during her school’s costume day, and it was a huge hit with her schoolmates and friends! She even brought it along to two other Trick or Treat parties, and although she only put it on for a few minutes each time (she wanted to run around and play freely), she was so proud to show everyone her cool costume.

The recipe is super quick to make, using everyday ingredients found in the kitchen. I used to make them when Zoë was a toddler, and I loved that it was an edible, non-toxic and cheaper alternative to store-bought dough. The best part? It doesn’t leave nasty stains, making way for some endless fun!

Read on to see how quick it is to make this Easy Peasy Homemade Play Dough!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Flour
• 1 cup Water
• 1/3 cup Salt
• 2 tsp Cream of Tartar
• 1 TBSP Vegetable or Canola Oil
• Food Coloring

Making Homemade Play Dough

Making play dough at home is pretty quick and simple, so for this batch, I asked Zoë to help out. It does, however, involve a bit of stove-top cooking, so you may opt to let younger kids watch instead. This recipe also makes a huge ball of dough, around the size of two to three tubs of store-bought Play-Doh, but you should be able to make smaller batches by dividing the ingredients.

In a saucepan, add 1 cup flour, 1/3 cup salt and 2 teaspoons cream of tartar. Yes, make sure you put that much salt– it helps preserve the dough and makes it last for months. Try not to skip the cream of tartar, either. It helps give the dough some volume and elasticity, making it soft and pliable.

Add 1 cup of water and 1 tablespoon of vegetable or canola oil into the dry ingredients and turn the stove-top on low. Mix everything together and keep stirring until most of the lumps disappear. With a hot pan, this should only take about 30 seconds, so mix continuously.

Once you have the right consistency (still runny and not too thick), quickly add your food coloring and mix, mix, mix. You need to do this fast and watch the mixture, as it gets thick quite fast. It’ll be easier to mix the coloring when the mixture is still runny.

Stir the mixture until it becomes thick. You’ll know when it’s done once it starts forming into a ball. The whole process shouldn’t take more than a few minutes, really. The hotter your pan is, the faster it will be.

Scoop it out of the pan, and allow it to cool on a plate. You may also knead it by hand to make sure there aren’t any lumps left, before handing it to your kid.

And that’s it! These are super easy to make, you can quickly whip up several batches in no time!

Easy Peasy Homemade Play Dough, ready for some squeezing, molding, rolling, cutting, and shaping!

Zoë was ecstatic to see her huge balls of colorful play dough, done within minutes. She was even more excited, because she was able to help make each one, too!

We stored ours in airtight containers, but you may also place them inside ziplock bags, too. These should last us several months of endless fun, play and imagination!

Want to try your hand at making this Easy Peasy Homemade Play Dough?

Here’s a printable version:

Easy Peasy Homemade Play Dough

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Flour
• 1 cup Water
• 1/3 cup Salt
• 2 tsp Cream of Tartar
• 1 TBSP Vegetable or Canola Oil
• Food Coloring

Directions:

1. Mix flour, salt, cream of tartar, water and oil in a saucepan. Cook over low heat, stirring continuously.
2. Once the mixture becomes less lumpy, add in the food coloring and stir.
3. Continue stirring until the mixture become thick and it starts forming into a ball.
4. Scoop it out of the pan and allow it to cool on a plate or on wax paper.
5. Knead by hand and play!

Storage:

Store in a ziplock bag or in an airtight container.

Zoë has been bugging me to let her make more slime for weeks. I’ve been giving her silly excuses and putting it off, because in reality, this momma just can’t deal with all the sticky mess. The last one we made left me cleaning up slimy residue for a while, and worse, it left some food coloring stains on some of her clothes, too! Which is why I was ecstatic to find this new recipe. No Borax, no detergent, no shaving cream, and no food coloring, this 3-ingredient slime recipe is not only easy to make, it’s also a mess-free and safer alternative for kids! And the absolute best part? It’s sparkly and glittery, too. Perfect for my glitter-lovin’ princess!

Check out how we made this easy Mess-Free Glitter Slime!

Ingredients:

• 6 fl oz Glitter Glue
• 1/2 TBSP Baking Soda
• 1 1/4 TBSP Contact Lens Solution

Making Mess-Free Glitter Slime

We used Elmer’s Classic Glitter Glue in pink for this batch. We love Elmer’s glitter glue, because it skips the extra step of having to add glitter separately to plain glue. Plus points that they come in pretty colors, too! No need to use food coloring. No need to worry about staining hands and clothes in the process. Saves time and effort, plus no mess? Mom approved!

To start off, we needed to empty the entire bottle of glitter glue into the bowl.  Zoë was happy enough to do all the work for this. Since all the ingredients are safe and kid-friendly, I allowed myself to sit back and let her enjoy her fun little Science experiment on her own.

Once all the glue was ready, Zoë measured 1/2 TBSP of baking soda and added it to the glue. She stirred the ingredients together, making sure everything was mixed well.

After mixing the baking soda with the glue, it was time for the magic ingredient: contact lens solution! Measuring 1 TBSP of the solution, Zoë added it to the glue mixture.

After a quick stir with a spoon, everything started coming together. A gooey and stretchy slime was finally forming. Zoë was ecstatic to see her pink goo!

Since we wanted a firmer and less sticky consistency, we added an extra 1/4 TBSP of contact lens solution. This did the trick! At this point, Zoë scooped it out of the bowl and continued kneading the slime by hand.

Within seconds, our Glitter Slime was ready! Check out that glittery goo!

It’s pretty obvious that my little 6-year-old was happy with her pink glitter slime. I guess part of its allure is getting the chance to make it all by herself. She has been playing with it nonstop: stretching, molding, squeezing and shaping it! It has given her endless fun!

Are you on the lookout for a new slime recipe? A recipe with ingredients that are safer and more kid-friendly? A recipe that is not only mess-free, but is also fast and easy to make? Then try out this Mess-Free Glitter Slime recipe. I promise it will be fun; not just for your kids, but for your mommy sanity, too!

Here’s a printable version:

How to Make Mess-Free Glitter Slime

Ingredients:

• 6 fl oz Elmer’s Classic Glitter Glue
• 1/2 TBSP Baking Soda
• 1 1/4 TBSP Contact Lens Solution

Directions:

1. Pour 6 fl oz of Elmer’s Classic Glitter Glue into a bowl.
2. Add 1/2 TBSP of Baking Soda and stir well until it is mixed well with the glue.
3. Gradually add the Contact Lens Solution to the glue mixture. Start off with 1 TBSP of solution, mixing all the ingredients together with a spoon.
4. If slime is still too sticky, add more Contact Lens Solution until you reach your desired consistency.
5. Continue kneading the slime by hand.
6. Enjoy!

Come check out how I made this no-sew gumball machine costume, guaranteed to make the cutest, most colorful little outfit that’s perfect for some Halloween dress-up fun. No tricks, just treats; I promise that it’ll be quick and easy. Your little ones will be ready for all the fun in no time!

Materials Used:

• Clear plastic serving bowl (at least 11 inches)
• Ping pong balls
• Acrylic paints
• White felt
• White ribbon
• Velcro
• Red felt
• Gray felt
• Black felt
• Red ribbon
• Hot glue gun

To Make the Gumball Container:

To start off, I made colorful gumballs by painting two dozen plain white ping pong balls using acrylic paint. Once they dried, I placed them inside the clear plastic serving bowl.

Tip: You can save time and effort by buying colored ping pong balls, if they are available.

I then sealed the gumballs inside the bowl by hot glueing white felt over it. To keep it more secured, I overlapped and glued about a centimeter of the felt to the side of the bowl, before trimming off the excess.

Next, I hot-glued two strips of velcro on the side of the bowl with the white felt. I then glued the other side of the two velcro to the ends of the white ribbon. The gumball container is designed to be worn like a big necklace, so I measured the length of the ribbon around my daughter’s neck, just long enough for the bowl to hang over the belly.

The gaumball container should look like this with the white ribbon. The velcro allows it to be put on and taken off easily, and provides an adjustable strap, too.

To Make the Gumball Machine Base:

To make the gumball machine base, I opted for a simpler tie-back apron. I needed a costume that Zoë could move around freely in and run around with, so lightweight apron was the best solution.

I simply cut out the shape of the apron on red felt, and glued red ribbon on the top portion to make the apron string, making sure it’s long enough to tie around the waist.

For the finishing touches, I cut out the details on felt. A big rectangle with rounded corners on gray felt for the base plate. Circle coin slot on white felt, plus the ₱5 on black felt. Both black and gray felt for the turn handle. Four small black and gray circles for the plate screws. A big black semi-circle for the gumball hole.

I glued everything in place on top of the red felt apron, and voila, the gumball machine base is done!

I paired the gumball machine costume with red pants, a white shirt, then topped it off with a red hat, and Zoë was ready for all the colorful treats!

This deliciously fun costume was a treat to make. Let your little ones have a ball by making it for them, too!

Check out Zoë’s Halloween costume last year!

No tricks, just treats! This cupcake costume was such a hit, that I decided to share a tutorial on how I made everything from scratch. A little warning: this is a rather lengthy and picture-heavy post. Measurements are also estimates, following my daughter’s body size and shape.

Materials Used:

• Aida Cloth (fabric used for cross-stitch embroidery)
• Plain white fabric
• Felt (to make the cupcake wrapper)
• Fiber fill
• Coloured pipe cleaners
• Velcro
• Elastic
• Plastic boning
• Glue gun + stick
• Needle and thread
• Plastic Headband
• Red cloth

To Make The Cupcake Base:

To start off, I took the Aida cloth and cut it up to make the base of the cupcake. For the measurements, I basically just wrapped it around Zoë’s waist, making sure to leave plenty of room for her to be able to move around freely. I made the circumference of the top part slightly bigger than the circumference of to bottom, giving it a more realistic cupcake look. I then glued the ends together using a glue gun.

Taking the plastic boning, I glued it around the interior of the cupcake base. One around the top part of the cupcake, and another one around the bottom. The boning helps keep the cupcake’s shape.

For the actual cupcake wrappers, I took the pink felt and cut it down to size. I made sure the height covered the height of the cupcake base, adding about 5 inches extra to the measurement. I then folded the felt accordion-style, about 2 inches per fold.

Once the felt was ready, I glued it around the cupcake base, overlapping the felt about an inch over the top part of the base and around 4 inches at the bottom.

Once I finished glueing the felt wrapper around the cupcake base, I then took the extra felt on the bottom and tucked it inside, glueing it to the interior of the base.

The finished cupcake base should look like this.

To complete the cupcake base, I sewed on 2 elastics, long enough for it to be crossed over the shoulder when worn.

The cupcake base is done!

To Make the Frosting:

For the frosting, I sewed the white fabric similarly to how you would make an extra long pillow.

I cut the length of the fabric, measuring about twice around Zoë’s chest. For the height, I measured about twice the height of Zoë’s torso. All measurements, estimates, because the frosting need not be exact, just big and flowy enough to be filled with fiber fill.

I folded the fabric in half across its height, with the right sides facing inward, pinning it to keep in place. I then stitched along the edges, leaving about four inches opening.

Once edges were stitched, I flipped it right-side out, then stuffed it with lots of fiber fill. I made sure to try it around Zoë’s chest, adding just enough filling for it too look fluffy. You want it to be full, but not too stuffed. Once I had enough filling to my liking, I stitched the opening close.

To be able to wear and fasten the frosting, I stitched velcro at the ends.

To make candy sprinkles, I cut colored pipe cleaners down to 4 inches and stitched them randomly at different angles on the frosting.

The finished cupcake with the frosting should look like this.

To Make the Cherry Headband:

To complete the look, I made a cherry headband by balling up some leftover fiber fill and covering it in red fabric. I then added a green pipe cleaner for the stem, before stitching it up and attaching it to the plastic headband.

Headband done!

Cupcake costume done! With the perfect cherry on top, of course!

Our little cupcake loved her costume! She has already worn it to two Halloween parties, a dress-up fair at school, and at a costume Christmas party, too!

Go on, try your hand at this cupcake costume and dress your cuties in the most deliciously adorable outfit! Pair it with a white shirt and some colorful leggings, and you’ll have the sweetest Halloween treat in town!

Now, why buy materials when you can make some using ingredients you already have at home, right? The other day, we did some making to be able to make some more crafts. We made some rainbow pasta!

Want to learn how to make some with your little ones, too? They are fun and easy to make, I decided to share how we made them below.

Materials Needed:

• Pasta
• Food coloring
• Rubbing alcohol
• Ziplock Bags
• Kitchen towel

To start off, fill up a ziplock bag with some uncooked pasta. Add about two to three tablespoon of rubbing alcohol. This will help spread the food coloring better.

Add a few drops of food coloring. We tried using both gel and liquid coloring, and we found that the latter was a lot easier to spread.

Now, for the fun part! Seal the bag and shake, shake, shake! Get the little ones in on this, and make sure the color is distributed all over the pasta. If the color isn’t spreading well, add a bit more rubbing alcohol.

Once you are sure that the food coloring has spread evenly, work on the other pasta using the other colors. Allow them to sit in the ziplock bags for at least twenty minutes to make sure they are dyed well.

Empty out all the colored pasta on a kitchen towel and allow to dry. We left ours out on the balcony on a sunny afternoon, so everything was all dried after about an hour. You may need to wait longer, even overnight, during cold days.

That’s it! All ready for some colorful crafts! They store nicely in glass jars, too!

The whole making of rainbow pasta was already an artsy exercise for my little girl, so we’re saving  our colorful goodies for our next crafting session. They’ll be perfect for our next Invitation to Create, I can’t wait to see what masterpiece Zoë can come up with!

This Cotton Ball Lamb idea actually came to mind one afternoon last year, after I found Zoë emptying out an entire pack of cotton balls onto the floor. Instead of trashing them in the bin, we decided to use them for some fun crafting.

Materials Needed:

• Black and White construction paper
• Colored construction paper (for the background)
• Cotton balls
• Black marker
• Glue
• Scissors

On black construction paper, draw four rectangles for the lamb’s legs, one big circle for the head and two pointy ears. Cut out the pieces. Make the eyes by cutting out two small circles on white paper, then inking the middle with black dots using a black marker. You may also use store-bought googly eyes if you have them on hand.

Stick the eyes and ears on the lamb’s head. Glue the head down on the right side of the coloured paper, then add the legs to the bottom.

Now for the fun part! Add glue to the cotton balls (on one side only), and stick them down one by one to make the fluffy body. Add as many cotton balls you can fit.

To finish, draw on the lamb’s nose and mouth using black marker.

There you have it! One fluffy activity to keep your little ones busy. This is so easy to do, even younger toddlers will enjoy all the glueing fun!