Chillin' Like a Villain: Disney Villains Group Halloween Costume

It's that time of year again! Long time followers of the blog know that The Harris Sisters always dress up for Halloween, and if you've missed out on our group Halloween costumes in years past, it's easy for you to catch up on all of them. So what did we choose as our sisters Halloween costumes this year?

Disney Villains

By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes . . . left to right, Misty is Maleficent (from Sleeping Beauty), Donna is Ursula (from The Little Mermaid), and Deanna is Cruella DeVil (from 101 Dalmatians).

These Disney movies are the ones we grew up watching when we were young, so we are certainly familiar with these characters! While they originally appeared in cartoon form decades ago (Maleficent in 1959, Ursula in 1989, and Cruella in 1961), they are all enjoying a resurgence in popularity thanks to recent live-action remakes.

Maleficent shows off her trademark horns, staff, and raven.

Cruella has already stolen some Dalmatians!

Ursula is casting a spell!

Maleficent got her own movie (with top billing!) in 2014 and has a sequel, Maleficent: Mistress of Evil coming out in October 2019. Both The Little Mermaid and Cruella are scheduled to come out in 2021.

The original Mean Girls are definitely having a moment:

The Devil's in the Details

• Misty crafted a staff for Maleficent out of a dowel and curtain rod finial. And she figured out how to make your own Maleficent horns using the directions in this YouTube tutorial. She borrowed a raven from Donna's Halloween decorations to use as an accessory.
• Donna sewed her purple underskirt using this step-by-step tutorial. Note: You can create your own (adult-sized) template by tracing a hula-hoop. The black overdress was a thrift store find and because it was made of jersey material, it was easy to cut 8 octopus legs out of the skirt - no sewing needed!
• The seashell jewelry that Donna is wearing for Ursula is handmade from actual seashells that have been painted yellow (necklace) and purple (earrings) and then hot glued to jewelry findings. You'll have to do a bit of planning ahead if you know you want to make these costume pieces yourself. Just be on the lookout for the correct size and shape shells the next time you visit the beach!
• Deanna's look for Cruella was mostly achieved by shopping her own closet. A black and white wig, a large emerald ring, and a faux cigarette holder complete the look! Don't forget to add a few Dalmatians as accessories for your photoshoot. The large inflatable Dalmatian was originally a prop in a Firefighter Birthday Party game.
• You might notice that we shot these photos in a bright green forest. Why so? Well, Disney villains are notorious for being introduced by the color of green! 
• We added a fog machine to create just the right malicious atmosphere. After all, these ladies are up to no good and are either cooking up spells or plotting to steal puppies while smoking cigarettes - either way, smoke, we felt, was integral!

Here's another look at the costumes:

Make sure to check out our costume section of the blog for more tips, tricks, and ideas for this Halloween!

Happy Halloween from The Harris Sisters!

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2018: Celebrating The Hocus Pocus 25th Anniversary

This year for Halloween, The Harris Sisters are paying homage to another set of sisters. We're dressing up as The Sanderson Sisters from Hocus Pocus. Straight from Salem, Massachusetts, we're giving our best impressions of Winifred, Sarah, and Mary Sanderson just in time for Halloween 2018.

Although, we might have a little more fondness for each other than the Sanderson Sisters . . .

We left you guys a few breadcrumbs on our Facebook page leading up to October 1 to see if you could guess what our costumes might be this year. The biggest clue, of course, was a photo of all three of us with a broom, a mop, and a vacuum.

That is a nod to a scene from the movie when the Sanderson Sisters have to improvise when their brooms are stolen.

We found these awesome t-shirts, which would really be perfect for a group of sisters or girlfriends at Halloween time, so we knew they would be a fantastic teaser for our costumes this year. And when you read them all together, they say "I put a spell on you."

That refers to Bette Midler's show-stopping performance as Winifred Sanderson in the movie. Kathy Najimy and Sarah Jessica Parker (Mary and Sarah Sanderson) were her back up singers and dancers. And they actually put a spell on the townspeople who were listening to the song!

Here we are doing our best impression of the pose in their big finish. "Hello, Salem! My name's Winifred; what's yours?"

While we have dressed up as witches before (way back in 2014), we've had this particular set of witch sisters on our costume wish list for a while now. And we just knew that 2018 was the perfect year for these costumes because this year marks the 25th anniversary of the release of the movie.

I know you're probably thinking to yourself, "25 years??? That can't be right!"

Hocus Pocus, now a cult classic, was released July 16, 1993. And by standard definitions that means it qualifies as a vintage movie. It actually qualified for that status when it turned 20. And you can read some interesting facts about the movie that we wrote about for that big anniversary in 2013.

Do you remember what you were doing in the early 1990s? Casting spells and cooking up potions like these gals?

The Devil's in the Details

• We purchased our Sanderson Sisters costumes at Spirit Halloween. But if you are crafty, you might be able to sew or modify a Renaissance or colonial costume to recreate the look. Just remember the characters' signature colors: Winnie wore green, Mary wore red, and Sarah wore purple.
• They did not have the Winifred wig in stock at the time we purchased our costumes, so Donna substituted a Red Queen wig from Alice in Wonderland.
• Misty used purple clip in hair extensions to get Mary Sanderson's signature color streak.
• Donna used a large green necklace from her costume closet to mimic the jewelry that Winifred wears in the movie. If you don't already have a green necklace that will fit the bill, make sure to shop your local thrift store for this piece.
• We completed our look with striped socks and boots. We actually had both the socks and the boots in our closets, so make sure to shop your own closet to see what you might have to accessorize these costumes!
• We used a plastic blow mold cauldron as a prop for a few of our photos and a broom, a mop, and a vacuum for our teaser photo.

We have a feeling you're going to see A LOT of Sanderson Sisters this Halloween because of the 25th anniversary, but even if you don't dress up like one of the sisters yourself, you can always celebrate by watching the movie again! It's on the list of our Top 25 Kid-Friendly Halloween Movies, so make sure to check out all of them!

Happy Halloween from The Harris Sisters!

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One Man's Trash: Vintage Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck Pull String Toys

Have I got a blast from the past for you!!  Actually two of them.  My favorite father-in-law sent me home with these vintage Chatter Chum Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck pull string toys a couple weeks ago, and it was like taking a walk down memory lane.  He bought them while out rummaging around recently and wondered if we would want them for our vintage toy collection.  

They are both from the Mattel company and dated 1976, which makes these prize toys 42 years young this year.  Amazingly, they both still work.  They just needed a little cleaning, but now that that's all done, these beauties are back in business. 

Here's a look at some of the details from Mickey Mouse.  Made in Hong Kong, 1976, by the Mattel Toy Company.

And on the inside of his ear, he is labeled "Walt Disney Productions", which would have dated this toy to somewhere between 1940-1986, if he had not been otherwise dated.  In 1986, Walt Disney Productions officially changed its name to The Walt Disney Company, as it operates today.

As I mentioned, both toys are in great shape and still work well.  It appears that the more you pull on their pull strings, the more they have to say.  In some cases, pulling the string out to different lengths appears to generate different phrases.

The Mickey Mouse toy says:

• See you real soon. 
• Here I am, Mickey Mouse. 
• That tickles...  Hahaha!
• How 'bout some cheese, please?
• Mouseketeers have big ears.
• M-I-C-K-E-Y
• Oh, boy! Hahaha!
• Are you a Mouseketeer too?

The Donald Duck toy says: 

• Sneezes (achoooooo!)
• Hello, hello!  Hahaha!
• I'm Donald Duck!
• Oh, boy!
• Uh oh! Hahaha!
• Oh my goodness!

What my father-in-law didn't know when he gave these to me is that I have a special connection to one of these toys.  I actually had the Mickey Mouse pull string toy when I was a little girl.  I remember it well.  I played with it all the time, and I still remembered a lot of the little phrases that Mickey said.  In fact, Harris Sister Donna and I both had one of these, so there were actually two of these in our household way back when.

And wouldn't you know, we have a picture of the two of us with our Mickey Mouse toys, taken on our second birthday.  Here we are with our Mickeys.   That's me, Deanna, on the left, and Donna on the right. 

All I can say is - It's a small world after all.  It's a small world after all.  It's a small world after all.  It's a small, small world.  

One Man's Trash: DIY Vintage Pillowcase Dress

Well, little Miss Lexi has recently had a birthday, so it's safe to post this year's birthday craft project for you to see!

I usually hand make a gift for her, and in year's past, it has always been a crochet project. 

In today's edition of One Man's Trash, I wanted to share how to sew a pillowcase dress from a vintage pillowcase.

If you've never seen or heard of a pillowcase dress, you can often find these little dresses in boutiques, but they're also very easy to sew yourself.

The inspiration for this project was a set of three vintage Bambi pillowcases that I found at my favorite thrift store. Vintage sheets and pillowcases are easy to find at thrift stores, but these are by far the cutest I've seen.

While Bambi was released in theaters in 1942, it appears that these pillowcases, which are marked Walt Disney Productions, are from the 1970's and were made by Sears Roebuck and Co.

Even though these pillowcases are approaching 50 years old, the colors were still vivid and they feature Bambi, his mom, and his forest friends Thumper, Flower, Owl, and more. This find was too good to pass up!

If you're not an accomplished seamstress, this is the perfect starter project for you. I do not consider myself a seamstress by any stretch of the imagination, but this dress was easy to sew!

Materials You Need for a Vintage Pillowcase Dress

• 1 vintage pillowcase
• 76 inches of double fold bias tape in a matching or coordinating color
• thread in a matching color
• 12 inches of 1/4" elastic
• trim (if desired)
• cutting mat
• rotary cutter or scissors
• straight pins
• 1 safety pin
• iron
• sewing machine

Once you've gathered all of your materials, it's easy to sew the entire dress in one afternoon. 

I used this Vintage Pillowcase Dress Tutorial (which includes a pattern for the arm holes), and the process couldn't have been easier.

And the bonus for this particular pillowcase is that the vintage Disney graphics look adorable on both the front and the back! So charming!

And here's a few photos of Miss Lexi wearing her new (vintage) dress. Just too cute!

And Thumper approves too!

Notes:

Wider bias tape will be easier to use if this is your first pillowcase dress.

If you think this project can't be easier and you want to make a few more to donate, Little Dresses for Africa is accepting donations of pillowcase dresses.

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One Man's Trash: Vintage Disney Halloween Record

Well, the calendar says it is September now AND we are also past Labor Day, which is the unofficial start to fall time.  That's good enough for me.  Time to start getting into the Halloween swing of things.  And what better way to start than with a brand new edition of One Man's Trash.  

And what a score I have to share with you.  Take a look at this vintage Disney Halloween record.  I just so happen to have a two year old who has recently discovered (and fallen in love with Huey, Dewey, and Louie). And she also is starting to understand what Halloween is too!  (We've been talking it up a lot lately!) In any case, this darling record was a no-brainer when I discovered it at a little antique shop a few weeks ago. 

The record itself is in great shape, and dates back to 1974.  It contains Halloween songs and stories, as shared by the great Disney company.  To be honest though I would have still bought this just for the album cover.  It is darling.  Great vintage graphics and in very good condition. 

The cover noted that there were two bonus masks inside.  Yeah right, I thought.  Now that would be too good to be true.  But alas...

They were there!  They were paper masks on each side of the interior record cover.  No one ever cut into them, so they were still there, and in perfect condition!  Double score!  The first mask is a Jack-o-lantern. 

But the second mask- oh that second mask!.  I am in love with this vintage Witch Hazel mask.  She sure is a beauty!

So how much did I pay for all this gorgeous vintage Halloween goodness?  One dollar!!!  Yep, I also couldn't believe my good fortune.  It was meant to be.  And I couldn't resist checking to see what similar records are selling for.  A quick search today shows upward of $25 for this exact record in far lesser condition.  

So there's a little look at my most recent vintage score.  And just in time for Halloween, which is right around the corner.  What vintage treasures have you been finding lately?

Pumpkin Decorating Party

We Walkushes have thrown a Pumpkin Carving Party for 13 years now. Our annual party was supposed to have happened this evening. But, as luck would have it, Aidyn woke up with a high fever that we didn't want to pass along to all of our guests (I mean, what a horrible way to celebrate Halloween).

So, instead, I sent an email first thing to cancel the party and made a doctors appointment. When we arrived at the appointment, we were utterly surprised to see that they'd been decorating pumpkins themselves and boy do they look professional. I thought I'd share them with you! Many have no carving involved and would be easy for kids to help with. Take a look!

Both Olaf and Sven were there. Olaf is three pumpkins stacked and painted. He has twig arms, felt and pompom features, a scarf, and googly eyes:

Sven is a squash and a pumpkin with felt features, eyelash yarn hair and eyebrows, and twig antlers:

Their other Disney pal, Nemo, was also there. His fins looked like they might be made of modeling clay:

Other character pumpkins included Cookie Monster, M&Ms, and Mario. Cookie Monster was painted blue and had ping pong ball eyes. His mouth was carved and stuffed full of cookies. :-)

The M&M display included one large pumpkin painted like the M&M mascot (note: she's dressed like a bunny for Halloween!) and 6 mini pumpkins painted like regular M&Ms.

The Mario pumpkin was hand-painted and probably takes a little more skill than most people have! (Certainly more than I do!)

Finally, here were a few non-character pumpkins that you just won't believe. Here's a witch's cauldron display:

And a giant caramel apple:

And my personal favorite, a box of Dunkin Donuts made with mini pumpkins. I literally did a double-take on this one (Why are there doughnuts on the pumpkin table???):

The pumpkins that the doctors, nurses, and other support staff used for the competition were grown at The Farm at The Children's Home of Winston Salem:

A BIG THANKS to Ford, Simpson, Lively, and Rice for knowing how to put a smile on a kid's face even when he's feeling yucky! Really, hands-down the BEST pediatricians around even when they're not professionally painting pumpkins.

And the moral of this story is that sometimes when life hands you lemons, you're really getting pumpkins - and awesome ones at that.

For those of you interested, Aidyn was diagnosed with a simple virus (not strep and not the flu - woot!). Doctors say that he should be start to feel better by tomorrow. Yay!

31 Free Halloween Printables

Last year, we brought you a few free Halloween decor printables. Those can be found here. I thought I'd bring you even more this year. I LITERALLY could not hold out any longer. ;-) And even though the post is titled "31 Free Halloween Printables" - I've given you a few extra because you know me and Halloween.

I also have an entire Pinterest board dedicated to FREE Halloween Printables, which I will be loading up with these finds today and with others in the coming weeks. So make sure to follow it for all the latest finds. Also check out and follow my Halloween Pinterest board for awesome decorating ideas, my Halloween Costumes Pinterest board for costume ideas, and my Party Ideas - Halloween Pinterest board for seasonal party ideas.

Here we go!

Do you BOO? Your neighbors, that is? ;-) You can download this free We've Been Booed sign from Anders Ruff and start this neighborhood tradition today. (Instructions for how to participate in the fun are also included with the download.)

Love these Halloween Treat Cones, Soda Bottle Labels, and Lollipop Labels from TomKat Studio at HGTV:

A candy corn goodie box from Hello Happy Crafts (other Halloween styles available include jack-o-lantern, pumpkin, Frankenstein, bat, and skeleton):

A vintage style treat box template from Goddess of Chocolate:

Here's an adorable free Chalkboard Countdown Board from Yellow Bliss Road that's a perfect way to count down the number of days to Halloween with your kids:

If you're throwing a Halloween Party and need party printables, check out these retro party decorations from B. Nute Productions over at Catch My Party:

Or here's a pink and orange retro party kit at The Elli Blog (includes cupcake wrappers, cupcake toppers, treat bag labels, stickers, Happy Halloween banner, and more!):

Or here's a black and orange free party printable set from Print Your Party:

Check out Tatertots and Jello for these fantastic chevron treat bag toppers and mini witch hat place card template:

And here's another treat bag topper from Dixie Delights - "Bugs" and Kisses for Halloween!

Some adorable Candy Bar Wrappers from Today's Creative Blog:

Spiff up any wine for your own Halloween party or that you might be bringing as a hostess (ghostess) gift with these Halloween themed wine bottle labels from The Elli Blog. Four designs are available:

Need to head out on Halloween night and leaving some goodies for the trick or treaters? Sometimes it's a good idea to leave them a little note to remind them to be polite. The Prudent Patron has designed this "Take One Treat" sign so you're covered:

You could use this next set of vintage images for any Halloween crafting projects that you might be working on, or you could just print and frame them because they're so pretty:

A vintage Halloween postcard image featuring a witch girl and her black cat from The Graphics Fairy:

And another vintage postcard featuring a pumpkin witch stirring a cauldron from The Graphics Fairy:

A vintage Butterfinger and Baby Ruth ad by Sweet Magnolias Farm (available in three different color schemes):

An image of a sassy retro 1940's witch flying across the moon from The Graphics Fairy:

A free downloadable image of retro costumed ladies holding a giant jack-o-lantern by The Graphics Fairy:

If you're roasting pumpkin seeds this year, attach these adorable vintage design tags to bags of roasted seeds and send them home as party favors! Free printable tags are courtesy of B. Nute Productions:

Stumped for a last minute costume? Or need some cute and simple party favors, photo booth props, or a craft to keep kids busy for a Halloween party? Spoonful has got both boys and girls covered with these free printable Avengers masks, Classic Halloween Icons / Monsters masks, and Princess masks. Each one is linked separately below and includes directions for assembly:

Iron Man:

Hulk:

Captain America:

Disney Princesses:

Frankenstein:

Dracula:

Witch:

Black Cat:

Mummy:

And last but not least, we'll leave you with a few decor items. Here are three Chalkboard Printables by Classy Clutter:

Two Shakespeare pieces - thanks, Witches!

Double, Double Toil and Trouble

and Something Wicked This Way Comes

And for all you Nightmare Before Christmas fans, This Is Halloween:

And a vintage Ouija Board from Jack and Cat Curio:

And another beautiful free chalkboard printable from The 36th Avenue that's available in 4 color choices:

Hope you've found something here that you can use this season! Let us know which ones are your favorites!

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