More Halloween Pics

I know you have already seen the boys' Halloween costumes, but since yesterday was actually Halloween, I thought I would share a few more pictures of the boys in their costumes. Our church has a Trunk or Treat so we headed there for some candy grabbin' fun.

I added a couple of things to Benjamin's fire engine since it's first outing last week. A fellow blogger mom made a fire truck for her son and I noticed that it had a cute little fire hose. So cute. Why didn't I think of that? So, I headed to the plumbing section of the local home improvement store and bought some 1/4 inch white tubing (not sure what it is used for) and this little brass nobby thingy (don't know what it's called or what it's used for). I glued the nobby thingy to the white tube and ta-da, we have a water hose!

And what fire engine is complete without a dalmatian (or in Benjamin's case- 2 dalmatians). He carried those puppies around all night.

Enjoying a sucker.

My boys.

Don't forget to check out the new wheelchair costumes blog. Let me know if you have a creation you would like to share.

Want to know how we made Benjamin's fire truck? Click HERE.

Want to know how we made Caleb's Dry Bones costume? Click HERE.

Wheelchair Costume Blog

With Halloween coming up quick, I have seen more and more amazing wheelchair costumes. We started transforming Caleb's wheelchair into part of his costume way back in 2008. In those days there wasn't a lot of online inspiration. It was hard to find other crazy individuals who tackled the creative task of incorporating a wheelchair (or walker) into a Halloween costume. Well things have certainly changed in recent years and wheelchair costumes are all the rage right now. With the rise of wheeled costumes, I thought it would be neat to have a blog to show off these wonderful cardboard creations. Sooo, I introduce to you my newest blog: Wheelchair Costumes! Yay, I'm so excited!

Obviously it is a work in progress and there are only a few costumes on the site right now. I imagine this will be an ongoing project and I will continue to add more and more costumes as I receive them. I want it to be a "how to" blog so that it can be used as a resource for those crazy folks who decide to make a creation of their own.

If you have any wheeled awesomeness you want to share on the new site, let me know (there is an "e-mail me" button on the costume site). Walker costumes are great too, I would love to have some of those to show off. Get them to me!

Caleb's Dry Bones Costume: How we made it

Leave it to Caleb to choose an obscure character from Mario as his Halloween costume of choice. Dry Bones. You can't buy a Dry Bones costume. It doesn't exist. There are costumes for Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, Yoshi, Waluigi, Wario and even Toad. But not Dry Bones.

"Who is Dry Bones?" you ask. Well the older folks out there might remember Dry Bones in his original form from Super Mario 3:

That's vintage Dry Bones right there.

He's basically a skeleton Koopa Troopa

(can I just say how much I LOVED Super Mario 3, man that brings back memories)

Dry Bones has changed quite a bit over the years. This is modern day Dry Bones...driving a car.

You can see how I had my work cut out for me in trying to make a Dry Bones costume! I scoured the internet looking for some other crazy moms who attempted to make a Dry Bones costume. I found one. I actually emailed this mom who made her son a DB costume several years ago. She gave me some basic direction on how to get started and I just went with it.

What you need:

Black shirt (long sleeve)

White felt

White beanie cap (I found one at Walmart for $1.50)

Black felt

Orange Felt

White foam board

Primer Paint

Black Paint

Something to use for a shell (you'll see what I used in a minute)

Here's how you do it:
I found this printable for Skeleton Arms. I used it as my template. I cut 4 bone shapes out of white felt. These will go on the sleeves of the black shirt.

Then I cute a bunch of white strips of felt to put across (horizontally) the front of the black shirt. Now I don't sew so I bought some of that iron on "no sew" adhesive. I attempted to iron on the felt bones and strips to the black shirt...I got poor results. Not sure why it didn't stick well, but it didn't. So, I had to hand sew (no sewing machine in this house) the parts that wouldn't stick down. 

I should mention that you can also add "bones" to a pair of black pants for a full outfit. I didn't do this with Caleb because I knew no one would be able to see his pants with his wheelchair costume on. Why make something that no one is going to see right?

Next I cut out 2 black felt circles and 2 smaller orange felt circles for the eyes. I sewed those to the white beanie.

For the shell I found a Captain America shield at Party City. I found the last shield in stock. The price: $15!! How these people can charge $15 for a round piece of plastic is beyond me. Anyway, it was my lucky day because the straps on the back of the shield were broken. So I did a little wheelin' and dealin' with the manager and got the shield for half price. I still think $7.50 is ridiculous for something that probably cost 4 cents to make but I had to have something.

I took Captain America's shield home and gave it a makeover:

I primed it and then painted it black.

Next, I cut out a bunch of hexagon shapes from white foam board and glued them all over the black shell.

And that is how you make a Dry Bones costume! Hopefully this post will help some poor mom years from now who has a kid that wants to be Dry Bones for Halloween. Your welcome.

Now for the wheelchair part of the costume.

What you need:

Cardboard, lots of it

Spray Paint (we stuck with black and white)

Hot glue gun

Whatever decorations you want to add.

I'm not going to give step by step instructions on how I made the wheelchair part of the costume. There really isn't a rhyme or reason to the madness. Glenn just brings home a giant cardboard box, I cut it up and then just play around with the pieces until they resemble a car.

This is what my living room looked like last Friday night. 

Somehow I turned all that cardboard into this:

I used black and white checkered Duck Tape for the stripes.

I used Glow-n-the-dark Duck Tape for the Dry Bones emblem (I cut it out with an exacto knife)

I got a sytrofoam cone and painted it silver, added red tissue paper for fun.

If you are familiar with Mari Kart you know you get items (shells, banana peels, stars, etc). I printed the star out and added it to the back of the car. I thought it added a nice touch.

At the last minute I decided to do something with the wheels. I bought black posterboard, cut big circles to fit on the hand rims and I added more bone shapes (cut from white paper) as the wheel spokes.

And there you have it. It looks hard and time consuming but it really wasn't.

I'm kinda proud of it. This may be my favorite wheelchair costume yet.

Benjamin's Fire Engine: How we made it

As promised, here is how I made Benjamin's Fire Engine costume.

What you need:
Box (I used a diaper box)
Red Spray Paint
White Paint
Black Construction paper
Mini Flash lights
Reflectors
Ribbon
Hot glue gun
And whatever else you want to use to decorate your fire truck

Here's how I did it:
I took an old diaper box and cut it so it would lay completely flat. I also cut off all but 2 of the closing flaps. I kept 2 of the small folding flaps to be part of the truck. I sprayed on some primer, it just helps the spray paint stick better.

After the primer dried (this stuff dries pretty quick), I painted one side of the box red, and the other side black. Then I hot glued it back together to make the box shape and glued the 2 flaps down on each side. See photo below.

And that my is your engine. All you have to do is decorate it.

I painted half of the front, top, and sides white and added black squares of paper to look like windows.

For the ladders, I cut up some wooden skewers we already had in the house. I hot glued them to look like a ladder and then I spray painted it silver. There are probably a million ways you could make a ladder, probably a million easier ways to make a ladder. This is just how I did it.

For the headlights, I found some small flashlights on clearance at Walmart. They were perfect.

I just cut 2 circles out of the front and hot glued the flashlights in place. The working headlights were Benjamin's favorite thing about his fire engine. 

We bought some reflectors at Walmart too (found in the car section) and Benjamin added those to his truck. 

For the yellow stripes on the back, I just cut pieces of scrapbook paper and glued them in place. You could probably use reflector tape but I was trying to buy as little as possible. I just used some sticky letters on the back for "McLelland Fire Dept." I bought the US flag stickers at Michaels.

I bought some black paper plates at Target for $1 and used those for the wheels.

The front bumper is actually a tin foil box that I wrapped in foil and glued to the front.

I glued 2 strips of ribbon to the inside of the truck to be the "suspenders" so Benjamin could just wear it.

And that my friends is how you make a fire engine. Easy as pie.

Tune in next time when I'll show you how I made Caleb's Dry Bones costume. :)

Halloween 2012: Cardboard creations

I know Halloween isn't actually until next week but since Caleb's school had a "Trunk or Treat" last night, you folks are getting to see my cardboard creations a bit early. We started transforming Caleb's wheelchair into cardboard costume magic when he was 3 years old. You can check out the costumes of Halloween's past by clicking on the links: 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011. This year Caleb chose a very obscure character from Mario Kart...Dry Bones. Here is what Dry Bones looks like:

My initial thought when he requested Dry Bones was..."Ummm...I don't know how to do this". He picked a character that doesn't have a costume hanging on the rack at Walmart. This costume doesn't exist. So I had to make it. I think I'm actually more proud of the fact that I made the costume he is wearing than I am over the wheelchair costume itself. I'll share how I made the costume on a later post, for now I'm just going to share some pics of the  finished product.

Caleb originally wanted Dry Bones to be riding a motorcycle but that seemed impossible for me to create out of cardboard. I got a headache just thinking about how in the world I could make a wheelchair look like a motorcycle. It was tall order...so Dry Bones is driving a car. I can make a car out of cardboard, I have experience with that.

The cutest Dry Bones ever.

He won "Best Costume" at the event.

Dry Bones' shell. I'll share how I made that too.

 I told him to give me a scare Dry Bones' face...

...this is what I got.

I assumed that all the kids would know exactly who Caleb was and wouldn't need to ask. Well, I learned that kids today aren't playing nearly enough video games because Caleb was asked several times who he was supposed to be! What! This is clearly Dry Bones people, how do you not know this? Although there were a number of dads that knew exactly who Caleb was. Apparently the dads play more video games than the kids do. It was funny because I could tell Caleb was getting tired of saying "I'm Dry Bones" because at one point he looked at me and rolled his eyes in exasperation because he had been asked "Who are you Caleb?" one too many times. So funny.

And now for Benjamin's cardboard creation. I thought it would be fun to put something special together for Benjamin this year. He is getting older and I wanted him to have something of his own. Caleb's costumes always get so much attention...I wanted Benjamin to get a piece of the action too. Plus he is getting old enough that I felt like he would appreciate and actually wear a costume. So I transformed an old diaper box into a fire truck.

He was so proud of this thing. So proud.

Showing off the back side of his fancy fire engine!

I even added working headlights (that was his favorite part).

He got a fair amount of attention as well.

The boys will get another opportunity to wear their costumes next week. I'm hoping the costumes hold up!

I'll do another post in a couple of days to show how I made these costumes. I think people see them and think I spent weeks on them and that it is really hard...but it's really not that hard and I really didn't spend too much time on them. I try to keep it fun for me and not make it a huge job that robs the projects of fun. I promise these weren't that hard to make at all. I'll try to get the "how to" post up over the weekend for you folks that want to see how these were made.

Superman Wheelchair Costume: Here's how we did it

So, I'm trying to go back and share how we have made Caleb's wheelchair costumes. I featured the Front loader/Backhoe costume last week. This post is about the Superman costume we made in 2009, Caleb was 4 years old and absolutely adorable! Seriously, I have the cutest kids.

Out of all the wheelchair costumes we have made, this one was probably the easiest. At least I say that now, although I probably didn't think it was easy at the time. I also have a very vivid memory of getting a very nasty burn from a certain hot glue gun while making this costume. Oh, the things I do for my kids.

You need:

A very large cardboard box, the box we used was big enough to surround Caleb's chair completely.

Poster board

Fluffy stuff, like the stuffing for pillows

Blue spray paint

Silver spray paint

Superman costume

And of course, a hot glue gun

Here is the basics of how I made it:

*We used the four sides of the box, we cut off the top, bottoms and all but one folding flap. We kept one folding flap of the box in the front. We cut a half circle out of it so that it would sit around Caleb (see picture). Paint the box blue for the sky.

*I cut very basic building shapes out of poster board and then spray painted them silver.

*I used double sided sticky squares (used for scrapbooking) to attach my building shapes to the box, that gives it a more 3-D look.

*Glue some fluffy stuff for the clouds.

*We cut 2 circles out of the back of the box and stuck superman's legs through the holes to make it look like he was flying. I think we shoved some styrofoam in the legs to keep them straight and added some fluffy stuff to make them look fuller.

*The box fit all the way around Caleb's chair and we attached it with twine. We ran the twine through the box and attached it to Caleb's back rest bars. 

*Because the box surrounded the wheels, Caleb couldn't push himself, so we did all the pushing that night. He was only 4 at the time so he didn't mind it.

And that's about it. Hope that helps someone!

Front Loader/Backhoe Wheelchair Costume: Here's how we did it.

I'm pretty sure everyone on the planet has seen this photo of Caleb when he was 3 years old. This pic is absolutely everywhere right now, and I mean everywhere. As far as I can tell, the comments are all positive and none have been with ill-intent, so that's good. Anyway this was the first wheelchair costume we made for Caleb, way back in 2008. I thought I would share how we made it and the materials we used, just in case some other crafty parents out there want to give it a try. I know when I set out to make this costume I scoured the internet looking for ideas and inspiration for wheelchair costumes. It was slim pickin's back then and most of my searching was futile. Things have definitely changed, I am seeing more and more wheelchair costumes these days and I love it. This is a recent article with the top 20 wheelchair costumes (Caleb is on here twice, I think this article is why the above photo is viral right now).

Anyway, it's been awhile but I'm going to try and remember the materials used to make this costume.

You need:

Yellow spray paint

Black spray pain

5 gift wrapping paper tubes (paper towel tubes aren't long enough)

cardboard

white poster board

Hot glue gun (that baby is your friend)

zip ties

Here is the basics of how I made it:

The big yellow circles covering the wheels is white poster board that I spray painted yellow.

The sides of the front loader and backhoe are cardboard, painted yellow.

The scoop part of the front loader and backhoe are poster board because is it flexible enough to form the scoop.

I spray painted 4 of the gift wrapping tubes black, 1 I painted yellow.

The canopy is a lid to a copy paper box, cut at an angle.

The front loader is hot glued to 2 wrapping paper tubes. I zip tied the front loader to the foot plate of Caleb's chair.

The canopy is hot glued to 2 wrapping paper tubes and then zip tied to the back rest bars on Caleb's chair.

The yellow wrapping tube is used to attach the back hoe, I cut it in 2 pieces to fit over Caleb's handle bar. I think I used a small brad to attach the two pieces together so the backhoe could bend.

And that's it. It is actually a pretty easy costume to put together and you really don't need a lot of supplies. Let me know if you have any questions.

I'll do a "how to" for Caleb's Superman costume next time :)

Halloween 2011 and some random stuff

Now that "Faces of Spina Bifida" is over (until next year), I guess I better get back to blogging about my own kids.  Warning:  This post is going to be long with LOTS of pictures.  So brace yourself.

Both boys had Halloween parties at their schools.  I had fun visiting Benjamin at his preschool.  He looked so big sitting at a table with all of his friends.

He was eating this giant "bat" cookie with black icing.  Seriously, the cookie was the size of his head.  I have a totally unrelated Benjamin story to share.  It's just one of those things that I want to remember so I figure that sharing it on the blog is the best way to record it.  Last week the boys and I were outside playing in the back yard.  Benjamin goes inside by himself to get his cup.  He locks the dead bolt, from the inside, leaving Caleb and I in the backyard.  So picture me freaking out and yelling at Benjamin through the door to turn the lock and open the door.  Well he just stands there and grins at me.  Keep in mind that I have bread baking in the oven and stew stewing on the stove!  I start to panic and then remember that the front door is opened but the storm door is locked.  I know Benjamin can unlock the storm door. So I jump the fence (Caleb found this to be quite humorous) and run around to the front of the house to the front door.  Thankfully, Benjamin was able to unlock the storm door and let me in.  Good grief.  Never a dull moment folks.  Anywho...let's move on.

I always enjoy going to Caleb's classroom and seeing how he is interacting and getting around.  For their Halloween party, the kids went around to different centers.  

They got to plant pumpkin seeds.

Benjamin played in the dirt planted some seeds too.

Coloring.

Being silly.

I watched how much harder Caleb has to work to get around the classroom. It isn't easy navigating his walker through tables, chairs, kids, toys, etc.  He struggles and stumbles....but he does it.  He gets to his table, he gets to his seat, he gets to the centers, he gets to the carpet, he gets to his locker.  He gets there.  And while it was painful to see how hard he has to work to do those things that are effortless to every other child in the class, I was proud of him.  He gets it done.

This past weekend we took the boys to see Granny and Paw Paw.  We decided to take Izzy too because we thought she might like getting some fresh country air.  Paw Paw and Granny have a dog, Nikki.  Nikki is a super sweet dog but she is HUGE compared to our little pup Izzy.  To say that Izzy was intimidated would be quite an understatement.  I don't think Izzy could have gotten her ears down farther or gotten her tail any further between her legs!  She was definitely nervous around this big dog, who really only wanted to play.

Izzy kept going to Caleb for protection, which made Nikki more curious.  Caleb got knocked over a couple of times (gently), he was having so much fun with these 2 dogs all over him.  Izzy just kept trying to hide behind Caleb.  It was hysterical.

(love this picture)

(sniffing an orange bush)

During the dog chaos, Benjamin decides to just head for the gate.

I guess he thinks he can just sneak out whenever he wants.

And steal Bubba's walker whenever he wants. 

We went to Chipotle for dinner over the weekend.  Glenn and I love this place.  The boys find it too spicy but they love being able to eat outside.  I love that I can get a burrito the size of my head...and yes...I ate the entire burrito.  Don't judge me, it's delicious.

 The boys running around like maniacs.

 Checking out the fountain.

 Pretending to play baseball.

And still running around like a maniac.

And finally, HALLOWEEN!  To be honest, I really did not want to do the whole Halloween thing this year.  I didn't feel like buying costumes.  I didn't feel like taking the boys out on a school night.  I really didn't feel like spending hours transforming Caleb's chair into something awesome.  I secretly hoped that Caleb wouldn't realize Halloween was coming and we could just forget the whole thing.  Then one night at dinner Caleb says: I want to be Batman for Halloween and I want my wheelchair to be the Batmobile."  Well great.  I still didn't want to do it.  We didn't have big plans for Halloween so I just didn't feel like putting forth much effort.  But I did it anyway, because I love my kids and I wanted to make them happy.  I knew Benjamin wouldn't care but it seemed to mean a lot to Caleb.  So I had Glenn design the batmobile.  I did all the painting, gluing, and finishing touches.  And here is our version of the Batmobile.

 (pretty awesome right?)

We took the boys to a "Trunk or Treat" at our church.

 Benjamin was pretty fascinated with the Batmobile.

Gotta have the flames coming out of the exhaust!

He loved that mask!  He pretty much refused to take it off.  I'm certain he would have slept with it on if we had let him.

Caleb with 2 of our favorite friends, Ruby and Lily.

I know you are asking:  Where is Benjamin?  What was he dressed as?

Well, Benjamin is in the very fun stage of not wanting to do, wear, play, eat, anything I want him to.  Just this morning the child refused to have milk in his cereal, so he ate his cereal dry, with a spoon!  So, I decided not to spend any money on a costume that I would be willing to bet my right arm he wouldn't wear anyway.  I decided he could be a construction worker since we already had most of the things needed for that.  He had a hard hat and a tool belt with tools and he refused to wear either one, although he did carry around the hard hat!  And that is why I put this on the back of his hard hat-

"Hard Headed"

Despite not being in costume, Benjamin had plenty of fun finding rocks in the parking lot and putting them in his hat.

So that is about it.  The Batmobile was a huge success and Caleb had a lot of fun. And really, this wheelchair costume wasn't terribly hard.  We are pretty happy with how it came out, although I still think Mario Kart from last year will always be my favorite.