The Easiest Halloween Decoration: Old West Haunted Graveyard

We love Halloween here at the Curtis household. I thought I'd share some pics of our haunted graveyard. There's a sweet story behind these decorations, if you can believe it.


I have four siblings, two of whom are much younger than I. When I was a teenager, before they were born, I'd visit my dad's house around Halloween, and a house down the street always had the coolest old west graveyard decorations taking over their lawn. Around the time that I went off to college, it seems the kids from that home also left the nest. When my brother and sister were toddlers, the owners of that home passed along the decorations to my father & stepmother so they could keep up the tradition on the street. Now my siblings are almost in college themselves, so the decorations were passed on to me to share with Scarlet.


So these tombstones have history. We've also added a few new ones. I love the "old west graveyard" theme because it's inexpensive and easy to execute! You just take scrap wood and paint silly halloween tombstone sayings on them, then use a mallet to drive a stake into your grass and lean the tombstone on it. Rain, sprinklers, and the elements only make the tombstones look more old and authentic.


And of course, some skeleton limbs, zombie arms, and light-up brains only add to the fun.


My favorite addition this year was Scarlet's selection of rubber centipedes, which of course had to be placed on skulls.


And my husband's finger-on-the-doorbell brings me endless joy. I knew I married him for a reason.


Check out some more pics of our easy Halloween Old West Haunted Graveyard after the jump, and tell me, do you think it's too much?
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Last Minute Halloween Costume: Tippi Hedren in The Birds

Not sure what to be for Halloween yet? Here's a last minute costume that's easy to pull together and totally awesome: Melanie Daniels (as played by Tippi Hedren) in Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds.

My friend Erin went as this one year, then I stole the costume from her a few years later (right after baby was born and I hadn't quite pulled myself together yet). It took about three minutes to get the elements together and I had a great response at our annual halloween bash. This year my friend Anna (mom of adorable Niko that you've seen featured on Prudent Baby before) asked to borrow the get-up, so I forced her to pose for pictures as payment. All you need is an old dress, a blonde wig done up 60's style (or your own hair), and some dollar store black birds.  Stick a few in your hair...


Glue a few to your dress...


Accessorize with some drips of fake blood (or a lip liner works just as well) and act spooked out all night long!


Think you might give it a try?

Halloween Homemade Playdough Pals

Ghosts, ghouls, witches, and goblins are making their way to Halloween parties and we don't want them to leave empty handed. Give those little Halloween haunts a spider or bat full of sparkly play-dough oozing out.

Or a witch with icky sticky and slimy threads of hair. Your little trick-or-treaters are sure to love this spooky party favor.

See how to make your own Halloween Homemade Playdough Pals with Sparkly Playdough recipe and instructions after the jump...

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Bluebird Costume Tutorial

Little sister was happy to play bluebird to big sister's Snow White, especially when the alternative was a bearded dwarf. My mother told me I could ABSOLUTELY NOT dress little sister as a bearded dwarf.


So we are loving this sweet bluebird costume, especially for toddler types who are finicky about costume-wearing in general. These directions can be easily modified for an owl, a bat or any winged critter. I've even caught princess Snow White herself wearing it around the house!


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More Costume Inspiration

You know how I feel about costumes, so of course I adore Halloween. What are you dressing the kids up as this year? Are you planning to dress up too? If you need some inspiration, or just your fix of crafty cuteness. Check out these slide shows to see what other crafty mamas around the web have cooked up! We shared our first costume inspiration round up here (definitely check it out for adorable ideas), then scope out 10 More Awesome Costume Ideas for Little Ladies, and...

10 More Awesome Costume Ideas for Little Dudes

25 Totally Unique Halloween Party Ideas

Halloween is almost here! Yay! Maybe you are planning a party of your own, or maybe you are doing your PTA time at your school’s Halloween bash. Either way, these 25 totally unique Halloween party ideas will have you inspired to create a spooktacular good time. From candy blood slides to pumpkin drink coolers to simple DIY halloween party games, we’ve got an idea that’s just right for your Halloween bash. Check out 25 Totally Unique Halloween Party Ideas.

Costume Inspiration!

You know how I feel about costumes, so of course I adore Halloween. What are you dressing the kids up as this year? Are you planning to dress up too? If you need some inspiration, or just your fix of crafty cuteness. Check out these slide shows to see what other crafty mamas around the web have cooked up! The little Dwight Schrute pictured above is so adorable, and the cardboard robocop is pretty amazing too. Check them out here: 10 Awesome Costume Ideas for Little Dudes.


Dot candy cuteness! And the sweet scarecrow! See these costumes and more here: 15 Awesome Costume Ideas for Little Ladies.


Maybe the whole family wants to coordinate. Get inspired here: 15 Group Costume Ideas for Families.

Follow our dress up pinterest board for more fun costume tutorial linkage. And tell us what you & your kids are planning to dress up as in the comments!

Cookie Cutter Confections: A Simple Party Treat

Here is a simple last-minute sweet treat to use as a party favor or kid-friendly activity.

Read on for the quick DIY


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How to Make Beautiful Dress Up Wings

I spotted these AMAZING dress up wings at Llevo el Invierno while surfing the crafty web, and I just had to ask their creator to share the tutorial with us. Her site is adorable, and it is written in both spanish and english, definitely check it out for more crafty inspiration. Take it away Eri...

Hi everyone! I'm Eri from Llevo el Invierno, and I'm here to share my wings tutorial handmade for my little daughter Emma with Prudent Baby readers. I drew my own pattern to make these bird wings.  I share the pattern because it is near the springtime and this is a season when costumes for kids are always needed. You don't have to be an expert in sewing to make these wings, you just have to have some patience to cut and paste all the pieces of fabric. Enjoy your flight, little birds!!

Get the full Beautiful Dress Up Wings tutorial after the jump...
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Last Minute St Patrick's Day Treats w/ FREE PRINTABLES!

We loved the little Jelly Bean Pods from the 4th of July so here are more for St. Patrick's Day! This time we have free printables to make us all look extra Mom-tastic. But really they take like 3.5 seconds to make. Shhhhh...


Get the FREE PRINTABLES and EASY INSTRUCTIONS...
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Last Minute Costume - Easy Poodle Skirt

Wendy from Gurgle Turtle sent me this picture of her super cute poodle skirts she made her girls and I just HAD to beg her to share her tute with y'all.  It's crazy simple but with such polished results, you can totally whip one up before the friday school halloween parade!  Take it away Wendy from Gurgle Turtle...

So I wanted to make my little girls some poodle skirts without spending hours dealing with patterns or elastic waistbands. The girls would only be wearing these for a couple of hours, so why spend too much time making them? That's when I decided to make the poodle skirts in a wrap style. Super easy, super fast, and totally cute!

Get the full Easy Peasy Poodle Skirt Tutorial after the jump...

And remember, any comment you leave this week could win you some special secret mystery trim from Jacinda's stash, so show Wendy some love!

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Halloween Throwback: Edibles

As promised, here is the edible version of Halloween Throwback.

Savory Stuffed Pumpkin

Simple Iced Ginger Spice Cookies

Toasted Pumpkin Seeds

Jello Halloween Treats (including a mommy juice version)

Brain Muffins (Jaime, I still have nightmares about these)

Shortbread Cookies: Recipe and Display

And don't forget, any comment you leave this week could win you a little stash of pretty ribbon and trim. Mmmmmm ribbon and trim. Think you will try any of these tasty treats? The stuffed pumpkin comes highly recommended. And the Jello shots, they are good too.

Halloween Throwback: Decor

Last year when Prudent Baby was just a wee lad we did a bunch of cool DIYs for Halloween. Since we had like 11 readers back then it's quite possible that you missed them. And that's just a shame! So here is a little round-up of some of our favorites projects in the Halloween decor category.
Baby Food Jar Fabric Wrapped Tealights {pictured above}

Cameo Plaque

Spooky Yarn Bowl

Embroidered Doorbell Cover

Bat-Mobile

Halloween Specimen Jar
Stay tuned for the edible version of this post this afternoon! And don't forget, any comment you leave this week could win you a little stash of pretty ribbon and trim. Mmmmmm ribbon and trim. Do you decorate for Halloween? My husband sucked all the fun out of it this year by telling me I couldn't hide the giant hairy spiders for him to find when he least expects it. Should I respect his request? Bah ha ha!

DIY Tinkerbell Fairy Costume

So I have mentioned that Miss S requested a Tinkerbell costume for Halloween, and you guys know me, I had to take that as a challenge and make one, instead of spending like two dollars to buy one (seriously, maybe you should just buy one).

 I took inspiration from a bunch of places, including this awesome homemade costume I found through some creative googling.  I already shared with you how to make Homemade Fairy Wings and the Tutu I whipped up as a sort of petticoat.  Now I'll share the full tutorial for the costume.  This will work for pretty much any fairy/princess get up your little one requests.

At the end of the day, I'm really glad I did it, I mean, the look on her face when she saw it...priceless.

Get the full Homemade Tinkerbell / Fairy Costume Tutorial after the jump...

And remember, leave a clever, cute, or kind comment on any post this week and you could win that 1/2 yard of Nicey Jane Oilcloth!
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