Tutu du Monde spider web onesie and cape

Do you remember the gorgeous Halloween-inspired tutus from Tutu du Monde that I wrote about here? Well a special package arrived for Miss 8 today and she was beyond thrilled. Sooo lucky! We took a few photos to show off the exquisite design of the black In The Web Onesie, silver In The Web mask and cape. Totally divine.

Halloween by Tutu du Monde

Spookalicious! If you're looking for the most glamorous girls' Halloween costumes ever, head straight to Tutu du Monde to check out their amazing tutus, capes, onesies, shorts, masks and hairclips in black, silver, white, and bleeding heart red.

Oobi's Halloween Spooky range for girls 3-11 years

Do your kids love Halloween as much as ours do? We're all for a chance for the little ones to use their imagination and dress up - there's so much excitement as they plan outfits with their friends and we walk around the streets chatting to neighbours. It's not really about the lollies for us, but more about having fun and making memories for the little ones.

If you don't have time to DIY, now there is an alternative to standard costumes from one of Australia's favourite kids' fashion labels, Oobi. These cute outfits and accessories are available for girls in sizes from 3-11 years and have plenty of potential for wear throughout the year. Love them!

Happy el Dia de los Muertos!

Wishing you all a happy start to the holiday season! With half of our family living in the US, we love the excitement of Halloween. Yes, it's mostly a push by retailers to sell more junk to us each year, but the kids have an absolute ball and who can deny the chance to chat to neighbours in fancy dress. Too fun!

My favourite celebration is tomorrow - the 2nd of November, when Mexican celebrate Dia de los Muertos - the Day Of The Dead. I love that normally macabre icons are turned into celebratory figures as a nation remembers with joy those that have passed.

There's something about this time of the year, which has traditionally been a time of giving thanks for bountiful harvests, that I can connect with. And adding a little more fun in our lives is something I'm happy to buy into. Enjoy!

P.S. this is my little collection of calaveras and el Dia de los Muertos figurines from living in San Francisco and New York City. And if you'd like to see my fancy dress costume from the weekend (La Calavera Catrina!) - head here to Instagram.

Images: Steph Bond-Hutkin | Bondville

Halloween lantern free printable from Sassaby

If you do no other decoration for Halloween this year, try these super-easy Halloween lanterns - a free printable download from Amy at Sassaby in Queensland. Simply head to Sassaby, download, print, and secure in a cylinder shape with a little tape. Pop in a little weight and tea light (preferably a non-flamable one) and arrange a few at your front door or gate for a little fun seasonal spirit. Easy! And a perfect DIY craft for the kids.

Image: Sassaby

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween! Did you get any early bird trick-or-treaters last night? Now that our little ones are old enough, we put a tiny bit of effort into Halloween this year. We used Pilgrim Lee's great Halloween printables for a small gathering to celebrate our friend's birthday and I baked a creepy chocolate cake, covered in chococlate-coated pop rocks and topped with a googly eyeball.

I repurposed Pilgrim's treat box into a round paper lantern (with glass and tea light inside) for the front steps, strung up the bunting, and attached the round toppers to bamboo skewers to line the pathway to the front door. I had my basket of goodie bags ready by the door.

But we only got one set of kids trick-or-treating! We might get a few older kids tonight. Did anyone come by your house? Or did you turn off the lights and pretend no-one was home?

Images: Steph Bond Hutkin

Halloween Treats

I kind of have a confession to make. I've been squirreling away three quarters of all the kids' party goodie bags this year, collecting a mountain of lollies. And now I'm going to give them away to other people's children. Oh the guilt!

We get a lot of trick-or-treaters in our neighbourhood, so this year for Halloween we are going to gussy up the entrance to our place with Halloween decorations, dress up in costumes, answer the doorbell and give out these little treat bags that the girls and I made today.

Super-easy and super-cute. You'll need some clear gift bags (from an art store), brads or stapler (I need to get a stapler...), and these editable Halloween place card printable designs from the fabulous Pilgrim Lee. Fill the bags with a few lollies. Print the designs on paper, cut, fold, and staple the folded paper to the top of the bag. You can customise your message too.

Are you taking the kids trick-or-treating? Or are you going to turn off the lights and pretend no-one is home (he he he).

Steph

Halloween Party printable pack

I am so thrilled to share with you these fun Halloween printable party pack, just released in the Modern Printables online shop, designed by much-loved Australian illustrator and graphic designer, Pilgrim Lee of draw! pilgrim.

Pilgrim's style is all about bold colour with serious retro leanings (think 70's children's books mixed with Scandinavian style).

I just love this pack that Pilgrim has designed which includes: spooky editable invitations (enter in your own info before printing for a polished, professional look), matching fold-your-own envelopes, bunting flags, cupcake wrappers, 5 different round topper designs (for garlands, envelope seals and decorating food), buffet label place cards, and cut-and-fold editable treat boxes to fill with goodies.

Here's a little photo shoot that I put together to show how the pieces look in real life.

This party kit would look great with Enticing Icing's edible fondant ghost sugar toppers, pumpkin spice cookies, ghoulish purple forest berry smoothies, and some persian fairy floss spider web on top of those dark chocolate cupcakes.

Head over to the Modern Printables shop. I can't wait to see your parties!

Images: Modern Printables