Halloween BOOOO! (Costume ideas)



Jenny, Kate & Vicki

   October 31st has long been thought of as the day the dead return to earth. It is a holiday full of celebration and superstition. Dressing up became a way to ward off the dead spirits. In the later part of the 19th century Americans began to dress up in costume and go house to house asking for money. Today Halloween is known as a childrens holiday in the community. Kids dress up and go door to door looking for treats or in some cases tricks. This eventually became a “trick or treat” tradition.

  As a former costume designer and shop owner I was always thrilled when October rolled around. There is nothing more exciting than creating a costume and spending the evening acting out the character or costume you’ve created. It doesn’t matter what age you are.


Mark as a "Nose Picker"


  My days of a costume shop owner have long passed but I still get many requests for costume ideas. Whether you yourself are heading to a Halloween party or dressing up your children for “trick or treating”, here a few of my favorite costume ideas for you to use. Remember, the costume is just a costume but the character is you, so have some fun, let go and play dress up!

Cinderella and the ugly stepsisters (my all-time favorite)
You will need: old prom dresses (found in your closet or the “Goodwill”)
                        costume makeup, warts, buck teeth, etc.
                        1 ugly large mans shoe
                        velvet or satin pillow
This requires a group of 4 girls.  3 ugly sisters and 1 cinderella. Go from house to house or party to party looking for Prince Charming. This is really fun and is a huge hit with young and old alike.
HINT: Being an ugly step sister is a lot more fun than Cinderella.

"All dolled up"
You will need:  a cute outfit maybe like a baby doll
                          paper doll or any kind of dolls
Sew dolls all over outfit.


"Chick Magnet" (costume for a man)
You will need: Black clothing
                        Old Barbie dolls
                        Thread
Sew Barbie dolls all over shirt and pants. Easy to wear and fun!



Chic, Fred, Ray and Karen

 "The 4 Aces" (best worked with 2 couples)
You will need:  8 pieces of white tag board
                          4 - 5 yards of ribbon
                          black and red paint
Paint aces from a deck of cards, 1 being a spade, 1 heart, 1 clover, 1 diamond. Punch 1 hole in the top left of tagboard and 1 hole in the top right. String ribbon through front and back as in photo.
Hint: Carry a deck of cards and request bets and play poker, you could make some money or lose some.

"Cereal Killer"
You will need: Crazy clothing
                         Tiny boxes of cereal
                         Fake blood or red paint
                         Plastic knives
                        Thread or hot glue
Punch holes in cereal boxes with plastic knives glueing knives in place. Paint red blood around the boxes then sew boxes all over you clothing.

"Deviled eggs" A good one to do with you partner or spouse or do alone as a "Deviled Egg:
You will need:   white sheet, pillow case or clothing
                           yellow paint
                          devil horns
                          white face paint
Paint yellow spot on front of costume choice. Paint face white and wear horns.
Hint: Enter party with plate of deviled eggs!

"Devil and the Blue Dress" This costume needs a partner
You will need:   red clothing or devil costume
                           devil horns
                           blue dress
This costume goes without explaining!

So, here you have a few ideas for some easy one of a kind costumes. Remember... it is how YOU play out the part!!!  If you have any other unusual ideas for costumes, please e-mail your tips and or photos to us at katelund@yahoo.com  we'll be happy to share them with others!

Boooooo,
-Kate

Pressed Flower Creations " When You Look At Them You Want To Smell Them"

  

Pamela Vincent

  

Garden Variety

Pamela Vincent lives in Andover, Minnesota. She works full-time, but at the end of the day she retreats to her studio and creates pressed flower creations. She started out by taking photographs of her flower gardens, and then painting or drawing from them. At an early age, she began gardening with her Godmother and Father. She even worked at a well know nursery in the  Twin Cities, and that is where she became a "Master Gardner." Five years ago her Godmother gave her a shirt box filled with dried flowers, along with a wooden press. She shared with her how much fun she had pressing the flowers and would make book markers with them.  Pam said; " I thought if I could paint a garden with watercolor, why not pressed flowers." Pam has been given a talent to visualize color schemes and patterns before she creates her garden.  Recently Pam had a very rewarding experience."My sisters best friend, is fighting cancer. She asked me to create a special piece with all of her flowers from her walks. Pam, was honored and called it "Serenity Garden."  Everywhere Pam goes, she brings a bag or container and is always looking for something to pick. She says; " I feel like a kid in a candy store." Like so many of us, Pam has been inspired by surrounding herself with creative people. Pam has named her flower creations "Bringing Life to Art."  Contact Pam at  http://www.pamvincentcreations.com/ click on our Creative Chicks  "Sites We Love" and view her work.






Serenity Garden

 





"A Grandma Moment"

I know I promised all of you some Halloween ideas today.  But first I have to show you our littlest "Chicklet", Emiley's skating competition.

We all know how much Emiley enjoys crafting, her first passion is figure skating.  She began skating less than a year ago, when she was barely four years old, and truly loves it. Her Grandma said she did a perfect spiral for a five year old!!!  I never inherited the athletic gene but her Great Grandma Sandy was a figure skater and so is Sandy's sister Gail.  I say "so is" because at 67, Gail is still skating.  Sandy and Gail's father, Grandpa Gordon loved to speed skate.  In his day, he was president of the St. Paul Figure Skating Club.  Me, well I did inherit something, and that is my Grandma Mary's gift of sewing.  She would sew till wee hours of the night preparing for what they called "Pop Concerts"(skating shows, that toured the five state midwest area). Although, I did not sew this beautiful costume I have sewed some of her past outfits.  And I look forward to making some costumes for the 2010 Christmas show, if needed.

Speaking of costumes, it's Halloween and I have been busy creating costumes for Emiley and Adam, as well as others. Years ago I owned a costume shop in the Minneapolis area.  So, in the next couple of weeks I will post some of myown costume experiences.  So stay tuned, you might get an idea for one of your own.
-Kate

Make a Columbine and Grapevine Swag with Patty

Hanging “vine swags” above a window, doorway or around

your deck will soften a rooms décor and fall is the perfect time to do this!

What you will need:     Pruning shears

                                     Floral wire
                                     Wire cutters
                                     Hot glue gun
                                     Dried flowers
                                     White Christmas lights

Grab your pruning shears and cut down Columbine and Grapevine. Now is the perfect time because they are still soft and easy to form your swag. If vines are stiff you can always soak them in water prior to shaping. Remove all of the leaves from the vine. Lay them out in a straight line. Add as many layers of each vine for desired thickness. Use a piece of the vine and tie around sections to keep it together. As an added touch, intertwine white lights in the vine. Hang your swag and enjoy, they last forever.

"Get out of the box of Kleenex girlfriend!" favorite quote of Patty Sullivan

Happy Tuesday Chicks,

Patty Sullivan

I have a special treat for you! I am excited to introduce a new member of our team here at Creative Chicks Café. Her name is Patty, and such an amazing, inspirational, creative woman. Patty has a special “knack” for getting you up moving, and doing something creative. She is passionate about crocheting and carrying on her family traditions. Her Godmother,” Phyllis” taught her all sorts of crafting from, sewing, baking and refinishing furniture. But, one of the most important lessons she taught her was that she could create just about anything using ordinary, household items.

There’s another woman that Patty draws inspirational empowerment from and that was her “Grandmother Kate”. She loved to crochet and make dollies. And was famous for saying “busy hands are happy hands”. She treasures all the things these two women have ever given her and keeps them visible around her home to inspire her during her creative process. Patty finds it very rewarding when she has created something with her own two hands, and looks forward to passing on her family tradition of creativity by inspiring and prompting you with ideas for all seasons. Nobody says it better than Patty “Get your head out of the box of Kleenex, girlfriend! come along for the ride, a creative ride I’m sure you all will enjoy!”

You can see and read more about Patty in the "About" section at www.creativechickscafe.com.

-Kate

"An Apple A Day, Keeps The Doctor Away"

As the old saying goes “An apple a day keeps the doctor away”! Do you believe it?
Well it’s true. The benefits of apples are endless. An apple is an excellent source
of natural fiber, vitamins and minerals. Here are just a few reasons why you should

add an apple a day to your diet:


• Healthier lungs, studies have shown that children who drink a glass of apple
   juice per day decrease asthma symptoms, such as wheezing.
• Protects your brain from brain disease
• Helps prevent Alzheimer’s and Parkinsonism
• Prevents tooth decay, eating an apple will kill up to 80% of the bacteria
   in your mouth
• Reduces bad cholesterol
• Low in calories
• Prevents cancer and heart disease

***CURES ACID REFLUX***

If you suffer from acid reflux I have the cure for you…I know, in my house
we call it the magic potion.
Here a few recipes to cure acid reflux:

• 1 Tablespoon of apple cider vinegar to 1 cup of apple juice.
• 1 or 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar with water
• 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar 3 times a day (this is a tough one but you get used to it.)
• 1 cup of warm apple cider before bedtime(my favorite)
• 2 apples a day or some slices before you go to bed

I was at the creative connection event and on the last night of the convention I had acid reflux at 2:00 in the morning, and no apple juice or cider available. Then I remembered I had an apple left from lunch. Four bites later the acid reflux was gone. HONESTLY! Now I don’t go anywhere without an apple in my bag!
Nutrition Facts of 1 medium apple:
Calories 80
Sodium o
Carbohydrates 21 grams
Dietary Fiber 4 grams

Calcium 10 mg

Phosphorus 10 mg

Iron 25 mg

Potassium 159 mg

Vitamin C 8 mg

Vitamin A 73 IU

These are just a few benefits that I have found in an apple. Now tell me, what are your benefits?

DON’T BE SHY . . . . . . . . .

"Autumn Harvest Time"

Fall is here and that means “apple time”! And we’re looking for savory autumn recipes using apples to share. Please submit your recipe along with any comments below, or you can email them to: katelund@yahoo.com we’ll post recipes as we receive them.

I look forward to trying them all, -KATE

"The importance of a good photograph"

One of the topics at “The Creative Connection weekend” focused on the use of good photography on your blog. Photographs are critical and many times, people will decide whether or not to bother reading the rest of your blog. It is important that you produce professional, clean, crisp photographs for your readers.

Until now, I have been a novice photographer and content to just point and shoot. Last weekend we went to visit our friends at “River Bay Camping and Resort in Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin”. I loaded up ALL my cameras, determined to read the manuals from cover to cover and practice my photography while taking beautiful fall foliage pictures. Little did I know how quickly I was going to learn my camera.



Sony Cyber-Shot



"Little Sony" pocket camera

River Bay was flooding, and it was rising rapidly. Everyone was working diligently to save their property and personal belongings. No one had time to take pictures that were needed, not only for the insurance company but the news media too. Being a past Event Planner I had no problem with the “press releases” but the accompanying photographs were another issue. I started out with my "Sony Cyber-Shot" which was great but I really needed a stronger zoom lense and external flash. My “I phone” took awful pictures and my” little pocket Sony” was adequate, but the photos seemed a little dark and there was no time for “Photoshop” improvements. My Sony “Handycam” was great for video and I should of used it more, but I still hadn’t read the manual. The best photos were taken from the "Droid Phone”. I couldn't believe the quality of the photo application on that phone. It really caught the color and the mood of the moment, with just a quick point and shoot.


"Droid" phone



"Droid" phone



"Droid" phone


So you ask… what have I learned, well first I signed up immediately for a beginner’s digital phototaghy class that starts November 7. Second, I need to invest in a new camera. Really I do, my digital cameras are quite old, and they have improved them over the years. I’ve narrowed it down to either a Canon or Nikon. I am looking for a camera that will let me be free me to shoot more creatively. If anybody has any suggestions I would greatly appreciate them. I would like to get the camera as soon as possible so I can read the manual, cover to cover, that’s if they have accompanying manuals anymore!