Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Looking Powerful Yet Feminine in Wonder Woman Halloween Costumes


Powerful, supple, clever and brave! In your Wonder Woman Halloween costumes you will show the world that it is not only males that can rescue people from dangerous situations and save the world. Wonder Woman proves that ladies have it in them too! Fighting for justice is like second nature to WW. She knows her stuff and she lives to save and help others!

Find the Wonder Woman costume that best suits you and your Halloween will be awesome. She has been around for decades and has inspired boys and girls alike. The great thing about wearing a Wonder Woman costume is that there are costumes available for ladies as well as girls. Therefore, if you have a daughter who would like to wear a Wonder Woman costume for Halloween, then you as her mother can wear one with her! You do not have to wear the same one as there are many to choose from, but if you like you could wear the same one as there are adult and children's costumes available.

Some Wonder Woman Costumes

When you are looking for Wonder Woman Halloween costumes, a few of the options you have is the Child Wonder Woman Costume, Kids Wonder Woman Costume, Teen Wonder Woman Costume, Adult Wonder Woman Costume, Pink Wonder Woman Costume, Plus Size Wonder Woman Costume and more.

Most of the costumes consist of the red cape, red spaghetti-strap top, blue shorts, skirt or underwear and the knee-high red and white boots. This is just the standard look for costumes, so if you are interested you will have to look at the different ones available in order for you to make a decision.

Even though Wonder Woman Halloween costumes are popular, you will be able to stand out from the rest of the crowd as you might be the only Wonder Woman there, but if you are not, a bit of make-up and a stylish hairstyle should do the trick! No matter what you try, you will be the most beautiful female there in your WW costume!

Ordering online

What you should do is get your costume as soon as you can, instead of leaving it for the last minute. You will not like the idea of suddenly having to run around looking for a new costume to wear because the website is out of stock. You should rather get the costume as soon as you find it, then at least you know you have it and do not have to worry about it. When October 31st comes, you just have to get dressed and you are ready!

With Wonder Woman Halloween costumes, you are sure to find what you are looking for after a short time of searching. Even though it might not take long to find the perfect costume, you should still order it early so that you get it before the store runs out of stock and you are left with no costume for Halloween! Order your Wonder Woman Halloween costumes online as soon as you can to avoid disappointment.




I hope what I have mentioned above is helpful to you. If you want to know more about Wonder Woman Halloween costumes, I strongly recommend you to take a look of Wonder Woman Halloween costumes.




Sunday, April 15, 2012

5 Awesome Ways to Repurpose a Burlap Coffee Sack

Upcycled Home Decor

We’ve talked some about the joys of burlap before. Burlap is made from jute, a very low-impact plant to grow. Not only that, it’s pretty easy to get second hand burlap, if you know where to look. Local coffee shops, especially ones that roast their own beans, tend to be rich with big, empty burlap sacks. If you frequent a local coffee shop, get friendly with the staff and ask nicely – I bet they’ll be happy to give you a burlap sack or two!

The thing about cut burlap is that it LOVES to shed, so you’ll want to sew your pieces pretty soon after cutting them up. For extra security, use your machine’s zigzag or interlocking stitch. Burlap is normally made with a pretty loose weave, so these stitches will do a better job of catching all the loose threads on the edges.

So, now you’re all jazzed about burlap and you’ve managed to secure a some of your own – now, what to do with it? Here are some burlap craft projects to get you started!

1. Fabric box. Use Karen’s super detailed instructions to turn that burlap sack into a box for organizing your craft supplies.

2. Statement necklace. Jen over at Tater Tots & Jello shares how to make a super sweet ruffle necklace, and I’m swooning over the burlap version!

3. Lamp shade. This ruffled burlap lamp shade from Mama Says So is super sweet! Just grab a shade from the ol’ thrift store, and you’re ready to get crafty.

burlap chevrons

4. Make art! Grab your masking tape and some of the paint you have on hand, and turn your burlap into frame-able wall art.

5. Window treatments. How cute is this? Paige of Design doesn’t have instructions to make these super cute coffee sack window treatments, but it looks pretty simple. You can hang them up with a couple of hooks or even nails, and then nail ribbon to the top of the window, so you can tie them up when you want to let in more daylight. Easy peasy!

Have you guys done any fun burlap craft projects lately? I’d love to hear what you’re making in the comments!


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Friday, April 13, 2012

Reader Question: Eco-Friendly Containers for Beauty Products

Reader Question lip gloss pot

A reader wrote in recently asking about eco-friendly packaging for lip gloss. Her friend makes lip gloss as a hobby right now but is looking to produce larger batches to give as gifts and maybe even sell. At the moment, she’s using reclaimed contact lens cases (genius, if you ask me!), but as she scales up, that’s not really going to keep working for her availability-wise. Plus, she’s worried that some friends and customers might be icked out about lip gloss packaged in old contacts cases.

It can be tricky to scale your production up and keep that packaging green. Minimal packaging is always best, but when it comes to beauty products there are some things that just need a package. You can’t exactly spoon a glob of lip gloss into your customer’s hand, right? It needs a container. Good on this crafter for trying to find an eco-friendly alternative! I did a little digging and came up with a couple of sources that might work.

There are a couple of companies that offer some plastic tubes made with a high recycled content. These aren’t 100% recycled, but if you’re going for plastic tubes, these are better than the conventional ones for sure. Not every tube on that page is recycled, so make sure you read those descriptions before buying, if you’re going this route!

The other option I found isn’t recycled, but it’s still my favorite of the two. Ball makes metal tins for lip gloss that are 100% recyclable. For me, this would be the better option. New materials up front, but it’s made in the U.S., fully recyclable when it’s empty, and metal is lower impact than plastic at every point in the waste stream. You also wouldn’t have to worry about plastic leaching into your quality product.

Glass containers are also pretty good from an environmental standpoint. I had a hard time finding recycled glass containers, but glass is a pretty low impact material, as these things go, and a lot of glass contains recycled content, even if the seller doesn’t mention it in the listing.

I’d love to hear from other indie cosmetics makers out there! What do you do to keep your packaging as eco-friendly as possible?

[Image Credit: Creative Commons photo by stevendepolo]


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Thursday, April 12, 2012

TV Themed Halloween Costumes For This Year's Fun


Are you stuck for ideas for Halloween costumes this year? A bit sick of the usual vampires and spooks that are offered as Halloween costumes? I don't blame you. There comes a time when you want something different to dress as when having Halloween fun at parties, at home or at club events. How about dressing up as a character from a TV show?

Halloween costumes based on TV shows are a great way to have fun at Halloween and bring some great originality to the events that you are attending. Let's face it, Halloween parties always go better when the costumes worn by people there are creative, imaginative and that look superb. TV costumes are a brilliant way to make an impact at Halloween this year!

There are some superb TV shows that you can dress as characters from. The beauty of TV themed costumes is you're not limited to just the main character- you can choose anyone! Just make sure that the TV themed Halloween costume that you choose is easily recognizable by as many people as possible, so don't go too obscure!

Think about the possibilities. How about a character from the legendary Star Trek universe? How about The Doctor, or any of the other famous characters from Doctor Who or Torchwood? What about Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Angel, True Blood, The Sopranos, Big Bang Theory, LOST, Heroes or any of the other hit shows that are keeping people glued to their TVs all over the world?

Many of the best TV themed Halloween costumes are easy to find at your local party supplier or costume shop, and an even larger range is available on the internet. Have a look around at the Halloween sites and retailers online and you'll discover a huge number of TV themed Halloween costumes to choose from.

How about dressing up as characters from fun shows like Spongebob Squarepants? The options are limitless. You could even dress up as a kids TV character - how about Power Rangers Halloween costumes? Plus, if you get a basic costume from a retailer online or in a store, you can further improve your costume with accessories you make yourself or items that you already have at your disposal! Have fun and Happy Halloween!




Andrew is a music and pop culture journalist and SF author. Want more great Halloween costume ideas? How about Batman and Joker Dark Knight Costumes for Halloween this year? There are many more to choose from!




Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Expensive Halloween Costumes - Are They Worth It?


We are only a couple of weeks away from Halloween now and the panic to be the "best dressed" is on. One way of ensuring an impressive costume is to look for expensive Halloween costumes, this at least will set you apart from the people wearing their fifty buck outfits and ensure you get all the attention you want.

Of course in this current economic downturn not everyone will be able to fork out hundreds of dollars on expensive halloween costumes but for those that are in a position to do so, the rewards become even bigger because there is even less chance that someone will have the same costume as you.

So where can you find these exclusive Halloween costumes? You could simply go to the normal costume stores either online or locally and search by price or you can actually save yourselves some time and effort by searching for specific sites that deal with unique costumes.

Just go to the Google search page and type "Expensive Halloween Costumes" or "Unique Halloween Costumes". You will see tons of results but just narrow it down by looking at the web address and choosing sites that specifically target these type of Halloween costume.

Two years ago my boyfriend bought a truly amazing Dark Knight Costume and he was definitely the most impressive looking male costume i saw that Halloween and not just because I am biased! He is wearing it again this year as we are in a different city so although it did cost a couple of hundred bucks it is not a one off use.

Now many of you may say that buying an expensive halloween costume goes against the whole spirit of Halloween and that you should make your own. Unfortunately not everyone has the "talents" required for this and more importantly the time. So if you are interested in seeing some truly amazing costumes then take a look at the links in my resource box below.




If you want to stand out from the crowd this Halloween then check out this great Expensive Halloween Costumes full of unique Halloween costumes or this other great Expensive costumes site.




Sunday, April 8, 2012

Men's Fancy Dress - 3 Awesome Examples of Halloween Costumes For Men


Men's fancy dress costumes come in so many styles and genre that it can be quite a chore searching for and deciding on an outfit that is best for you. Halloween costumes for men can either fall in the traditional scary category of outfit, such as zombies, skeletons, vampires, etc., or those type of generic costumes that you will be able to wear at fancy dress parties all year round.

Whatever type of men's fancy dress outfit you decide upon for Halloween, there are actually specialist websites online that specialise in Halloween costumes for men to help take the headache out of the abundance of choice that is out there.

To help you further, I have selected three genres of Halloween costumes for men that you may want to consider for this year's party, together with an actual example of a men's fancy dress costume for each genre.

Idea One: Traditional Mens Halloween Costumes

The traditional mens Halloween costume is the type of scary outfit that guys have always worn to the Halloween parties or to take the kids Trick or Treating. They are the Frankenstein outfits, the Dracula costumes, and more recently the Lord Voldemort outfits and the Joker costume from the Batman films. A great example of an outfit in this genre is the zombie doctor type of costume, which is based around a set of green surgical scrubs, with decaying body parts poking out of the chest and the knee, together with a terrifying looking zombie mask.

Idea Two: Generic Mens Halloween Costumes

The generic mens Halloween costume has become more and more popular in recent years, taking over from the scary type of outfits. These type of outfits can be worn more than once a year and so offer much better value for money. These costumes cover just about every genre out there, but the mens pirate fancy dress outfits are perhaps the most well-known. The mens pirate fancy dress costume became incredibly popular following the success of the Pirates Of The Caribbean trilogy of films and are usually based around a brown jacket and matching trousers, a white frilly shirt, black boot covers, a belt and of course a pirate's hat.

Idea Three: Novelty Mens Halloween Costumes

If you are looking for a really original outfit then perhaps a novelty mens Halloween costume will be your best bet. These types of outfit can take all kinds of form, such as the classic emu type outfit with false legs, the EVA moulded costumes and of course the man dressing up as a woman type of outfit. However, the must have novelty mens Halloween outfit this year has got to be the men's morphsuit costume, which is basically an all-in-one body suit with attached head, feet and gloves, which is available in a range of different colours.




Where can you find mens fancy dress costumes like these?

Men's Fancy Dress Costumes features all of these Halloween costumes for men plus many, many more.

A Word Or Two About The Author

Dan Fresh is a lifelong fancy dress aficionado who regularly writes for the popular Fancy Dress UK website.




Friday, April 6, 2012

How-to: Craft DIY Wax Seals Using Crayons and Stamps

DIY wax seal crafted using a crayon and metal stamp

Our poor old crayons have a hard life with us. Just this week alone my daughters made recycled crayons in skull and LEGO silicone molds for a birthday gift, got out the power tools to experiment with drilling on some big crayons, and used up all the candles in the house making encaustic art with crayons.

As the three of us sat at our big living room table, the kiddos melting crayons all over artist’s canvas, me working on an altered book for an anniversary present for my husband, I took a second look at their pools of molten wax and my little clay stamps, and all of a sudden I had another recycled embellishment for my book.

Whether you’d like to use a wax seal on a letter, a gift, or your own altered art, this candle + stamp method is just as quick and easy as using traditional sealing wax supplies–and it’s cheaper!

melt the crayon with a candleIf you’ve ever used my encaustic crayon art tutorial, the beginning of this project will look familiar. Take an unbroken crayon (it’s longer, so that your fingers can grip it better away from the flame), remove the wrapper using an X-acto knife to slice the paper, and light a candle.

Hold the flame to the tip of the crayon just above the point where you’d like your wax seal, and allow several drops of melted crayon to puddle on that spot.

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Thursday, April 5, 2012

Cool Halloween Costume Ideas For Going Out


Whenever October rolls around, the hunt for the best Halloween costume ideas starts among every individual who desire to participate in the festivities. Of course, the main aim is to look your best in whatever costume chosen, be it as a scary creature of the underworld, a sexy vampire, or a sassy princess in full regalia.

Here are a few of the most fashionable ideas for costumes during the Halloween season. These ideas can be altered to fit the wearer's age, style and preference. For example, the superhero costumes can be made sexier to fit the adult female while the kids can have loose-fitting costumes to allow for greater physical movement.

Mademoiselle Butterfly

Butterflies have always been excellent Halloween costume ideas mainly because the wings can be personalized in terms of size, shape and colors. You may find yourself meeting others wearing butterfly costumes but you can always do something to make your costume stand out. For example, instead of the just the wings in glitters, sequins and sparkles, your dress can also be outfitted with the same materials for a unified butterfly look.

Superhero Costumes

Anybody can be a superhero during Halloween. Kids can be any superhero they want to be including Spider-Man, Batman and Superman for the boys and Wonder Woman, Super Girl and Liberty Bell. Search the Internet and the comic books for inspiration as to the superheroes that your kids can become for a day.

Space Invader

Yet another popular Halloween costume idea is the space invaders, extra terrestrials and aliens. You can let your imagination run wild with the ideas for the costumes with accessories like laser guns, outlandish headgear and extra arms and legs. Most online sites selling Halloween costumes offer these alien outfits that you may then alter to suit your idea of a scary space invader.

Magician Costume

Now you see him, now you don't. This is the idea behind the magician's costume with the long cape to cover up the face and body when desired. The costume can even be recycled for a Dracula costume next year. For example, the cape and suit can still be the costume but your child can have Dracula's makeup and he can put on a set of fangs.

Prince and Princess

In any list of Halloween costume ideas, the prince and princess outfits for the little boys and girls in the family are almost always included and for good reasons, too. Halloween is not just about being scary to others but it is also about make-believe and being a prince and princess in America is definitely a fairy tale.

The great thing about prince and princess costumes is the wide variety of choices available. Little girls can wear gowns in various designs along with tiaras, scepters and other accessories fit for princesses while little boys have bright buttons, rickrack and even swords to make them look like true princes.

Other Halloween costume ideas include little lambs, spring chickens, vampires, werewolves and witches. Your choices are virtually limitless and that's what makes Halloween such a fun tradition in our part of the world.




Finding creative ideas for Halloween, homemade costumes, makeup, party decorations, games and crafts by going to this Halloween costume ideas website at HalloweenForAll.com.




Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Review: The DIY Chewing Gum Kit from Glee Gum, and a Cautionary Tale (Involving Second-Degree Burns)

gum made with the Glee Gum DIY chewing gum kit

As a dedicated D.I.Y.er, I’ve successfully brainwashed my children to the point at which, when my five-year-old wanted to try out chewing gum for the first time, her question to me was not “Will you buy me some gum?”, but, “Can we make some gum?”

Hmmmn…could we make some gum? Turns out we could! I purchased the Make Your Own Chewing Gum kit from Glee Gum, and within hours after its arrival, we were chewing away. It turns out that DIY chewing gum can be a surprisingly eco-friendly project (hint–it’s the chicle), but be warned: in the process of making this chewing gum, I got a really, really, REALLY bad DIY chewing gum-making injury.

DIY chewing gum kit from Glee GumCommercial chewing gums generally contain a lot of unhealthy ingredients, and some may be 100% non-natural, but gum, REAL gum, has chicle as its primary ingredient.

Chicle is the boiled-down sap of the sapodilla tree, which resides in Central American rainforests. Chicle is sustainably harvested by tapping the tree throughout its lifespan, wherever it lives in the rainforest. The entire process is done by cooperatives of workers–these chicleros are making a living from the rainforest without decimating it.

Whenever you buy commercially-produced chewing gum that contains chicle, whatever other freaky ingredients it contains, you’re at least supporting real workers doing eco-friendly work in a commercially-viable and intact rainforest. However, if you make your own chewing gum–which is shockingly simple!–you’ll be doing that AND controlling the ingredients.

The DIY Chewing Gum Kit comes with all the ingredients required to make chewing gum–chicle, corn syrup, flavoring, and confectioner’s sugar–as well as the instructions and a plastic tray for heating the chicle (more on that plastic tray later). But if you instead purchase the Chewing Gum Refill Kit, which we did, you’ll still get the instructions, the plastic tray, and the chicle, but you can substitute your own kitchen ingredients. For instance, we used organic confectioner’s sugar in our gum, and although we did use corn syrup and Kool-aid in our first batch, for the next batch we’re trying out brown rice syrup and herbal flavorings.

The instructions are simple: heat the chicle, knead it with the ingredients, and chew! The instructions warn that the chicle is very sticky when it’s gooey, which is why the kit provided us with a microwaveable tray. I don’t usually use the microwave to heat plastic, and my instinct was to grab a thrifted china bowl that I could re-purpose if I couldn’t clean it, but after many years of kitchen disasters, I now try to follow a recipe to the letter at least the first time that I make it.

However, as we were kneading the corn syrup and sugar into the chicle at the pace of two small children, it cooled down and got stiff again, so stiff that we could no longer knead it. The instructions didn’t mention this, but I figured that I could probably just pop it back into the tray and microwave it a little more to soften it again.

And that’s how we came to the point at which, as I was carrying the freshly-microwaved plastic tray of my chicle, corn syurp, and sugar mixture across the kitchen back to the table where my children waited, the plastic tray’s bottom melted away and and entire batch of molten sugar, syrup, and gum poured out and landed on my bare feet.

Just so you know, the instructions told me that the tray would melt if it got too hot, but not being a plastic-microwaver or a candy-maker, I didn’t realize that the tray could melt nearly a minute after being removed from the microwave, and I didn’t realize how hot sugar and syrup can be even if it doesn’t look that hot. Thanks to the second-degree burns on my feet (not to mention the fact of the chewing gum now fused to those burns)–yeah, I have one more reason not to microwave plastic now, and I may never get up the courage to make that popcorn ball recipe that I have pinned for next Halloween.

Fortunately, the batch that did not melt all over my feet was perfect: chewable, flavorful, definitely able to be modified to use better ingredients, and my empowered little children have a little more proof that they can make what they want instead of buying it.

So, words to the wise: absolutely make your own chewing gum, because it’s totally worth it if you don’t seriously injure yourself in the process, and to avoid seriously injuring yourself, dispose of that disposable plastic tray (paint palette? Seed starter?) and pick yourself up a beater china bowl from the thrift store.


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Monday, April 2, 2012

Old Frame + Scarf = A Masterpiece

DIY Scarf Wall Art

A long time ago, I found this ugly picture frame at a garage sale for $3.00.

DIY Scarf Wall Art

I used it for another project and spray painted it silver. Since then, though, I’ve changed things around and have had the frame in the back of my closet. Then, my amazing friend Erin went to Amsterdam and brought back a beautiful scarf for me. I can’t make myself wear it — not because I don’t love it, but I’m so afraid of ruining it. After seeing this project from House and Home that upcycles old handkerchiefs into wall art, I thought, “Hey… I could do that with my scarf and old frame!”

1. A picture frame. Look for ones at your local thrift store or at garage sales! There’s no reason to buy a new one when you can upcycle an old one!

2. Spray paint. You will only need spray paint if you decide to spray paint your frame. If you can, use a low VOC spray paint– it’s more eco-friendly!

3. Something to attach your scarf to your frame. I used tape, but you could use tacks or staples.

4. A beautiful scarf or handkerchief.

1. Spray paint your frame. This is how my frame looked after I spray painted it:

DIY Scarf Wall Art

2. Once your frame is dry, turn it over. Attach your scarf to your frame. If there is an image on your scarf (mine had a peacock) make sure you center it within your frame. If you use a frame that still has the glass/backing with it, you can just insert it in like a normal picture. However, mine didn’t have that, so I taped it to the back of the frame. I taped it instead of stapling it because I didn’t want it to damage the scarf. Here is how I taped it:

DIY Scarf Wall Art

I just taped my way around the frame, making sure that the scarf was pulled tightly on each side. (Side Note: make sure you get the wrinkles out of your scarf before you put it on your frame.)

3. Add a picture hanging mount to the back of frame, if you need one. Mine looks like this:

DIY Scarf Wall Art

Find the middle of your frame, and then nail it onto the frame. Now it is ready to hang up! Here it is all finished:

DIY Scarf Wall Art

I love how the silver sequins from the scarf match the silver frame! Do you have a favorite scarf or handkerchief that you could use as wall art? I would love to see it– share a picture of it on our facebook wall or share a link to it in the comment section below!


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