DIY Felt Flamingo and Peacock Costumes

     For Halloween this year, we have a bit of a bird theme going on this year. One child wanted to be a peacock and the other a flamingo. I love how creative they were in their choices so using a little bit of creativity and about $10 of supplies for each costume, I made each girl their respective bird costumes using a LOT of felt and a few other things.

    When my daughter told me that she wanted to be a peacock for Halloween I knew that I had my work cut out for me but I was excited to try. This costume is not for the faint of heart. It is time consuming but the supplies cost me less than $10.  I saw some amazing ideas on Pinterest using real feathers but the costumes must have cost a fortune and I really don't think that is necessary for Halloween. Really time-wise it didn't end up being too bad because I just threw on a show on Netflix and binge watched. The great thing about this costume is that it can be worn like a cape (feathers down) or like a backpack (feathers up) so your child is comfortable during their Halloween activities. 

     My youngest wanted to be a flamingo which I knew would be a fun costume to make. The flamingo costume was even easier and took far less time!  We added a flamingo head wall hanging from Hobby Lobby that my girls wanted for their bedroom (we just tuck it up under the tutu and tie it around her shoulders with ribbon but it isn't necessary to have this part of the costume.) 

Supplies needed for the Peacock Costume

1 1/2 yards green felt

Stretchy elastic (for straps--enough to create two shoulder straps and possibly two wrist straps and for headband)

Royal Blue Felt

Aqua Felt

Tan Felt

Dark Thread

3 Sheets Plastic Canvas

Ribbon + Velcro for cape straps

1/2 Yard Fabric (Doesn't matter what kind, it is to secure the plastic canvas to the peacock costume.

2 Small "peacock" feathers + Black Peacock Head Feathers (I bought all of mine at Hobby Lobby)

Peacock Costume Simple Instructions

-Measure the length of your child from their shoulders to their waist. Also measure their wingspan with their arms out.

-Using about a 1/2 yard of the green felt (give or take, it depends on how long and wide you need your base piece to be.)

-Trace peacock feather parts and sew them together, offsetting the layers slightly so each shows, with royal blue on top, aqua, tan, and green. I made about 120 of these. Trim excess thread.

-Starting with the curved part of the base, sew the feathers onto the base in rows. 

-Trace the plastic canvas to fit the curve of the base. You may have to sew a few sheets of plastic canvas together. 

-Cut a piece of fabric to the same measurements as the curve plus a half-foot to create a pocket for the plastic canvas. Sew the plastic canvas inside of the pocket.

-Attach straps to the feather side so that your child can wear the feathers like a backpack.

-Attach ribbons with velcro to the bottom to create the "cape" version for the feathers. 

-I attached two pockets on either side of the peacock costume to hold dowels to help the tail stay up. We haven't actually had to use them though because it stays up on mostly by itself thanks to the plastic canvas. 

-To create the peacock mask I looked at a few pictures of peacocks (both real peacocks) and peacock masks on Pinterest. I then just sketched this mask that I thought might work well enough. On the part where there are feathers sticking out from the side I added actual peacock feathers as well as some black peacock looking feathers on the top. Basically I just cut the different colors for the mask and leveled them. I used the fancy stitch options on my sewing machine to make some cute patterns. Next I measured my daughters head and attached the elastic.  

Supplies and Instructions for a Simple Flamingo Costume

Wings + Mask

1/2 yard hot pink felt
2 squares shiny salmon sparkly felt
1 1/2 yards light pink felt
Elastic for wrists and shoulder straps and headband
Small piece of black felt for Flamingo Eyes and Nose
Pink Feathers (Optional, I just had them sitting around)

Tutu
1 yard hot pink felt
1 yard light pink felt
1 yard other pink felt
Elastic for waist

Simple Instructions
-Cut out the base for the wings (from 1/2 yard of light pink felt) in whatever shape you desire that generally looks "bird shaped." I measured my daughter's arm-span before doing so as well as the length between her shoulders and waist.
-Cut out tons and tons of feathers (about 1 yards worth) from the light pink felt + hot pink + shiny felt.
-Starting with the bottom of the wings (curved part) attach the feathers in layers using a sewing machine.
-Attach either a ribbon or elastic shoulder straps and wrist straps
-To make the mask I just looked at pictures of a flamingo and layered the feathers in levels then added a beak and eyes and the elastic.
-The tutu is so easy, measure the waist and sew the elastic together.
-Using a paper towel roll, put the elastic band around it and then loop pieces of felt through. (Cut the felt the length and width you wish the tutu to be, generally based on how tall your child is.)

Do It Yourself: Harry Potter Owl Costume

    I've mentioned multiple times that my daughters are big Harry Potter fans. Even my two year-old requests "Potter," before her nap. When I asked my oldest what she wanted to be for Halloween her immediate response was Hermione Granger (with Bellatrix Lestrange as a close second...she likes that Bellatrix has curly hair). The Hermione costume was simple enough -- I shortened an old graduation robe, picked up a Gryffindor patch, tie, and wand, and voila -- Hermione Granger costume! 

     With Hermione's costume finished, I decided that Hedwig the Owl would make the perfect costume for my two year old. She is great at running around and saying "whoo, whoo" and she makes a really cute owl.  The owl costume ended up being really simple, very cheap (I used stuff that I had at home and spent a whopping $4.00 on a yard of white felt), and relatively little time (it took about two-three hours to make and I watched a movie during this time so it really was a great way to spend time).

Materials needed for this project:

-White fabric for the wings and owl body

- 1 Yard white felt

-Elastic (for cape arms and wrists, as well as headband for the mask)

-Ribbon for shoulder straps

-Velcro (for owl body)

-Glue, thread, scissors, etc.

-Cardboard (to make a feather template)

OWL Cape

Step 1. Trace "feather" shape onto 1 yard of white felt and cut out the feathers. I ended up using the full yard for my two-year-olds costume, you may need more or less felt depending upon the size of the person the costume is for.

Step 2: Create the backing for the owl cape by measuring the arm span of the person you are making the costume for and then cutting out a half circle that is roughly that width. 

Step 3: Starting with the bottom of the cape, attach feathers to the cape row by row using either glue or a sewing machine. I sewed mine on because I want the costume to be durable for my active toddler. 

Step 4: Attach elastic shoulder straps and wrist straps near the top of the cape, you can easily do this by attaching them between the rows of feathers (making sure to move the feathers on the other side out of the way before you sew.)

 OWL Body Instructions
1. Start with a rectangle of fabric, measured according to the person you want the costume to fit. Leave enough room for it to wrap around their back and attach with velcro. The length can be cut as desired. I made mine tunic length but shirt length would also work.
2. Attach velcro to each end of the fabric as well as straps, I used ribbon and measured my daughter according to how I wanted it to fit.
3. Sew or glue feathers onto the front center portion of the fabric (the part that will show while they wear the costume, the back will be covered by the cape.) Always start with the bottom row and work your way up.

For my OWL mask, I must confess that I winged it and created it little by little based on what I thought an owl should look like. I didn't take pictures as I went so I created these illustrated instructions when I was done. 

The Harry Potter-Camping-Princess Birthday Cake

     We are celebrating a big birthday at our house this week! My daughter is turning five and she is thrilled about that fact. For her birthday cake she requested a Harry Potter-Camping-Princess themed cake, I'm not really sure how she dreamed that one up, but her wish was my command. I think the combination came from the fact that she has been obsessed with Harry Potter for the past few months. She listens to the audio books on repeat, thinks that she is going to Hogwarts when she is eleven, sometimes likes to wear her hair like Hermione, and she has requested a wand for her birthday. 

     When I first thought about how I would put this cake together I looked on Amazon for Harry Potter Action Figures and found that the prince range per character varying from around $10-$149. Etsy also had some cute options for Harry Potter peg dolls but the cost of a complete set varied so much that I decided that I should just make my own. They're not perfect by any means, but I don't think they were a fail either...although my daughter commented that Lord Voldermort looks like a Chinese guy.  It is relatively easy to guess the characters, and I spent less than $10 to make most of the characters. The peg dolls were from Amazon but you could order those anywhere. 

    To tie the Harry Potter, princess, and camping concepts together I made a very simple castle (since princesses and witches and wizards all reside in castles) using different sized round baking dishes. In the last book Harry, Ron, and Hermione camp for a portion of the book and so I decided to have them camp on the lawn in front of Hogwarts. To make the "tent" I hot glued some BBQ skewers together and then glued some fabric to the wood.