5 ways to celebrate National Donut Day!

5 ways to celebrate National Donut Day!

Galentine's Day party

Why we love National Donut Day

We are firm believers in the power and transcendence of creating. Okay, maybe that sounds a little hokey, but are we wrong? We wholeheartedly believe as we create with our hands we get in touch with our soul, and as we get in touch with our soul we live a more abundant life. Creating something beautiful or delicious and putting it out into the world is an act of courage and celebration, and we are BIG FANS of all of the above. The donut lassies, pioneers of National Donut Day, are perfect examples of the good and lasting impact that can come from creating. Continue reading to discover their incredible story and how you can celebrate this fantastic holiday for yourself!

The Story of National Donut Day

During World War 1, a group of Salvation Army volunteers left with the American First Division of soldiers with the directive of providing the troops with entertainment and support. After arriving at camp and inventorying their limited supplies, these women realized they had a good amount of flour, grease, sugar, and baking powder: the perfect ingredients for donuts.

They brilliantly used wine bottles and shell casings from large guns as rolling pins and put smaller shells to use by using them to cut out donut holes (innovation at its peak). They eventually fried anywhere between 2,500 to 9,000 donuts a day, supplying soldiers with a little taste and comfort of home. 

As you celebrate National Donut Day this year, we hope you take a second to remember the incredible donut lassies and their stories. And what better way to honor them and one of our favorite food groups than to create something fabulous? We’ve put together some of our favorite donut crafts and recipes here to help you have the best National Donut Day yet!

National Donut Day Crafts and Recipes

1. Donut Flower Bouquet

Donut Flower Bouquet

Our cut-and-attach donut bouquet is a cute and simple way to dress up your favorite donuts! With minimal supplies, this is probably one of the easiest bouquets you’ll ever make and the yummiest your friends will ever receive. Beware, because once you try a donut bouquet you may never return to traditional floral arrangements again. 

2. DIY Donut Rug

If you have a bit more time and are looking for a way to incorporate donuts into your decor, look no further! This donut rug is exactly what you need. If you can get your hands on an Ikea rug, spray and acrylic paints, blue tape, and a paintbrush, you’re ready to get going. 

3. Donut Garland

Can a holiday be properly celebrated without a themed garland? I mean, Donut Day is simply not Donut Day without a garland. Luckily, we’ve created a donut garland template to help you celebrate this most important holiday in the style it deserves. All you’ll need is the template, scissors, string, a needle, a glue stick, and a hole punch. 

4. Mini Baked Donuts

Before you write off making donuts as being too demanding and time intensive (oh awkward, was I the only one doing that?), check out these awesome baked mini donuts! They are just small enough to eat 5 at a time (because we know eating just one donut is like eating just one Oreo; impossible. Don’t try to tell me otherwise) and are healthier than your average donut with zero processed sugar and no frying. This guilt-free donut recipe is likely to become one of your Donut Day favorites. 

5. Donut Macarons

If you’re ready to zhuzh up your National Donut Day celebrations and are feeling a bit ambitious, these donut macarons are perfect for you! These yummy French treats have achieved mega-popularity status in the past couple of years, and this pairing of the decidedly American donut with the French macaron is one of our favorite French-American duos yet.

We are outspoken, lifelong, shout-it-from-the-rooftops advocates of the goodness that is put into someone’s life and the world at large when an individual takes the time to simply create. The Donut Lassies were champions of this and used their creative skills to lift the people around them. This Donut Day, we hope you’re able to create something fun or delicious and share it with the people around you because sharing is caring! Just be careful to save a couple (or 10) donuts for yourself.

Happy donut-ing! 

Handmade Gift Ideas for Father’s Day

Handmade Gift Ideas for Father’s Day

Father’s Day is a day dedicated to celebrating the hard work and devotion of fathers everywhere. Whether here in the States, or halfway across the continent, the men in our lives deserve some recognition. Running to the store last minute and spending $400 on a tool belt might sound tempting. Here at Lars, we offer a handmade approach without breaking the bank. Here are some handmade gift ideas to get those creative wheels turning!

Handmade Card

There’s something special about receiving a handmade card from your children. It’s knowing they did it all themselves that makes you so proud! It’s also a great way for them to express their creativity. Simultaneously, expressing gratitude for the hardworking dad in their lives. We created some printable cards to make the process a bit easier.

Bow Tie or Tie

Father's day tie and bowtie pattern DIY

Ties and bow ties are a classic gift. A classic gift made all the more meaningful when made by you! The best part is that they aren’t too tricky to make. Find your favorite fabric and get making! Here’s how to make a bow tie and a regular tie.

Sports Donuts

Father's Day Sports Donuts

If I know anything, there are two things dads undeniably love – eating food and watching a good game of sports. Why not combine the two with a delicious Father’s Day treat? Sports-themed donuts are sure to capture his heart and his taste-buds! Here’s how to make some sports donuts.

Lollipop Ribbon

LolliPOP Father's Day prize ribbons

Turn a lollipop into a winner by creating a ribbon! Such a fun and easy way to provide some sugar in an award winning form!

Customizable Portrait

We’ve made some impressive crafts over the years. This one takes the cake! It’s perfect to do with your kids.  All you need is to cut, arrange and glue to make a customizable portrait of your father/grandfather/uncle. You can get the templates and tutorial here.

Origami Gift Boxes

These Origami Shirt Gift Bags are a creative way to box up some goodies. Just fold the shirt, put some small treats in, and you’re ready to go! Here’s how to make the origami shirt bags.

DIY Picnic Tote

DIY picnic blanket

This is for all the nature-loving dads out there! Try your hand at a DIY Picnic Tote. It doubles as a picnic blanket and a blanket perfect for late-night stargazing! I personalized mine by putting my dad’s face on it–hahahaha! Find out how I made it here.

Handmade gifts are a perfect way to show your dad you love and appreciate him on Father’s Day. Go ahead and send this post to someone who could use it;) Ha!

Do you have a go-to handmade gift idea for dad? I’d love to hear about it! Leave me a comment!

Try other Father’s Day projects

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Printable milestone cards for baby

Printable milestone cards for baby

I really wish I had had this when my babies were brand new–I love it so much! I asked our designer, Garet to share some thoughts about the blanket design and the milestone cards.

Design of the Blanket

The design of the Lars x Clementine Kids collection is inspired by garden flowers and nursery rhymes. Designing the florals for this project came so naturally and feature some of my favorite flowers: the delicate, yet wild poppy; the beautiful garden rose; and the whimsical blue bell.

I was specifically drawn to the daffodil that was presented in the design brief for the collection. I love how daffodils cheerfully emerge at the end of a long winter, reminding me that Spring and sunshine is coming. For me, daffodils symbolize how I feel in the early stages of motherhood: the gloomy weeks struggling with baby blues and sleepless nights, brightened by the first smiles of my newborn, signaling to me that there are happy days (and eventually some more sleep) ahead. 

You’ll spot daffodils in every piece of the collection, from the quilts to the art prints.

Used for Milestones

I remember showing an early iteration of the quilt design to Brittany and the Clementine Kids team. In their notes they both mentioned that the composition of flowers make a great backdrop for baby milestone photos. That was unintentional on my part, but serendipitous nonetheless. I can’t wait to take pictures of my daughter on the quilt! The head fits perfectly on the blossom placed right in the middle! 

I am a longtime fan of Clementine Kids. I added their Huckleberry Quilt to my baby registry a couple of years ago for my daughter Zoe. Zoe is my first daughter and as a new mom, I didn’t expect to receive enough baby blankets to tell my own rendition of the princess and the pea. Who needs a closet full of tiny swaddles and quilts? There were so many!! I was a bit picky selective with what I chose to keep. They had to fit my criteria of beautifully designed and well-made. There were only a few that made that cut, including some handmade, heirloom quilts from my family and the huckleberry quilt from Clementine Kids. 

My daughter Zoe has slept with her huckleberry quilt everyday since she was born – she’s now 3 years old! That quilt has been with her for all of her big milestones and is still in great condition. These are some of our favorite quilts ever, and I feel so lucky that I got to work on this special collection for Lars x Clementine Kids.

Used with Maeve

The Lars x Clementine Kids collection is sentimental to me because of the timing of the project. I first heard about the project around the time I found out I was pregnant with my second daughter, Maeve. I was over-the-moon excited, especially because I was already such a fan of the Clementine Kids brand.

It also happened that finishing the artwork for this collection was one of the final things I turned in before going on maternity leave. It was really sweet to imagine wrapping my baby in the quilts that I was helping to design. Such a dream come true to snuggle M in the quilts now! I’m so excited to see Maeve grow with her Lars x Clementine Kids quilt.

You can find the printable milestone cards in our shop here!

Lime Ricki launch party

Lime Ricki Launch Party!

We held our launch party the day the collection debuted. The event captured the energy we’ve been experiencing behind the scenes. This collection has been over a year in the making and we had to make it FUN and celebratory especially since we can see people again!


This is Lauren and Hannah from the Lime Ricki creative team. They are full of beautiful ideas and ensured a really wonderful collection. So appreciative of their guidance on this whole thing! 

Photo booth station

Here’s me and Jenny, who is on my team, showing off the cute cards we made for the night. We had our popular Blixen pattern on the back and the Lime Ricki team had collected a bunch of cute washi tapes and stickers where you could make your own cute frame. It turned out so well!

Jenny was the running heartbeat of this collaboration. She kept everything on time, in motion, and super smooth. I’m so lucky to have her!

Floral window display

Earlier that week we installed the 2D paper flowers we had made for the photo shoot. All the sisters came down to install it with us because they have that all hands on deck mentality. I love how it turned out!

We also placed some around the store. We also included some of our photos from the shoot around the store. LOVE them!

Live models

We had a few models walking around the shop during the party to show off the collection including the one piece Blixen, which is now almost sold out!

Speaking at the event

Jennifer, one of the three sisters who runs Lime Ricki, talked for a bit about the collaboration. She runs the financials of the company.

Then I spoke about the collaboration. I talked about the power of collaboration–how there’s a magic that comes from working together.

Jenny!

Look at this packed house!

Daughters of the owners in the house!

The bandanas arrived just in the knick of time!

The Lime Ricki team HAND STAMPED each of the 100 gift bags we handed out that evening. I still can’t believe it!

 

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Goody bags

They were filled with so many goodies: Scandinavian candy from Sockerbit, the best out there, a bandana from the collection, hair accessories, and more!

We stocked the Limericki store with some of our own products like our journals, notebooks, hair accessories, and stickers. You can find it in their shop! 

And here are some of the wonderful people who showed up!

My mom and sister 🙂

And my friends from my neighborhood–so sweet of them to come!

What a tremendous night it was–good people, good energy, trying on suits, having fun TOGETHER! I couldn’t have asked for anything more. Oh wait, I could have! One person missing from the event was Garet from our team who is located in North Carolina. She designed all of our prints and did a wonderful job. We missed you Garet!!!

Ok! That’s it! The suits are going quickly so I’d jump on it now!

Easter Crafts

Our Favorite Easter Crafts

We have so many Easter crafts that we’re just thrilled to share with you this year. Many of them are brand new, too! Need a new Easter Basket? We’re here for you. How about a fresh spring wreath? We’ve also got you covered in that department. Without further ado, here’s the list of our favorite Easter crafts!

Wreaths

I love a good wreath. And spring wreaths are some of my favorites! They’re a must have when talking about Easter crafts. This year we have a brand new Palm Leaf Wreath you’re sure to love. It’s delicate, colorful, and festive. Just the thing to celebrate Palm Sunday, Easter and spring all in one go! If you’re feeling more into eggs, try our ever popular Easter egg wreath, or this sweet Honeycomb Easter wreath. Both are lovely and sure to put a little spring in your step. Also, you can’t go wrong with a simple floral theme. This Daffodil Wreath is very appropriate for the season, as is this Lemon Wreath!

A floral Easter wreath hanging on a pink wall next to a white door. A wooden mushroom is also on the porch.

Easter Baskets

You can’t have Easter crafts without Easter baskets! And we have a brand new one for you to try this year. It’s our DIY Easter Basket, and the best part is that it doesn’t require any sewing. Another clever no-sew Easter basket is this Paper Easter basket. Just download, print, cut and assemble, it’s that easy! If you want to sew an adorable bag that doubles as an Easter basket and will be around for years to come, try this carrot shoulder bag! The bonus is it packs up easily and is equally cute.

If you’re looking for inspiration on what to fill your basket with, look no further than this Easter Basket choose your own adventure. We help guide you through the steps to picking your perfect Easter basket, along with everything to put inside it, like this Paper carrot treat box, carrot surprise balls, or this DIY stuffed bunny. You can also make some of these Danish Easter letters to tuck inside.

Easter Egg ideas

As it so happens, we have a lot of Easter crafts that have to do with eggs. Are you really that surprised? I mean, what’s Easter without at least one little nod to an egg or two. Just yesterday, we release the most lovely nesting Easter eggs! We love the little twist on original nesting dolls. Also try these Easter egg columns, which are a lovely way to decorate your home this Easter. Don’t forget about these Honeycomb Easter eggs, either! Make them into a wreath or decorate with the individual eggs. Either way they’re lovely!

Another fun variation on decorating Easter eggs are these dried flowers on Easter eggs, as well as our Pysanky Easter eggs (here’s the E-book of the Pysanky eggs, the profits of which will be donated to the Ukrainian relief effort). If you’re into more decorating, try our DIY pom pom Easter eggs! Or if you’re having a party, you’ll definitely want to take a look at our Easter egg name tags, Easter egg cupcake toppers, and Easter egg runner.

Felted Easter Eggs

New this year is a tutorial from Jessica Peterson all about felted Easter eggs. They’re a new classic! All the supplies are listed here

For Kids

If you have kids, you’ll love these Easter-themed toys, accessories, and activities. First stop: these fun bunny party hats. Having a new baby this spring? You won’t want to miss these adorable DIY Baby bonnets! Or these Easter bunny twist ties.

Need a craft to do with your kids to keep them busy and happy? You’ll love these Easter Egg coloring pages, the profits of which will be donated to the Ukrainian relief effort. Then there’s our DIY stuffed bunny, which is a sweet little Easter toy. Plop it in your child’s Easter basket and you’re all set!

 

Easter printables

A great way to get crafty is with some printables, and we’ve got some great ones!

These Easter egg coloring pages featuring pysanky are great for older kids.

Along with our chick and bunny paper dolls and matching color pages.

Paper crowns

One thing is for sure, if I had a little girl, I’d be making a paper crown floral crown.

And we’ve got a few to choose from! These pretty blue, red, pink, and white flower crowns.

This printable spring crown.A printable flower crown in purple, yellow, pink, white red, and blue being held up by two hands.

And another handmade paper flower crown perfect for spring.

Easter paper flowers

While we’re on the topic of paper flowers, these Easter lilies are a favorite of mine. I think I’m going to try and make them again this year.

Easter Egg Column People

A new favorite of mine are these adorable Easter column people. I think they’d make a great tablescape!

painted Easter egg columns perched on colorful books against a yellow and pink background.

 

Paper shamrock decoration

Paper shamrock decoration

I have a tendency to go hard on making a tree for every occasion and I thought these paper shamrock decorations are perfect for branches. That said, I think they’d also be lovely strung together on a garland or, like mistletoe, hung up as a single. You can decide!

Here’s how to make a paper shamrock decoration

What you’ll need:

Instructions

  1. Start with your template and cut out 6 of the clover shape, you can either do this with scissors or a craft cutting machine! 
  2. Starting with one of your shapes, fold right in half. You’ll want to fold so that the rounded edges are not interrupted if that makes sense, fold where the divots go the deepest. 
  3. Unfold, turn, and fold in half again so you have perpendicular folds through the center! 
  4. Now, make another fold in the middle but this time diagonally so that it intersects the middle of the folds you already made. Unfold!
  5. Now you can place your fingers on the diagonal fold you just made and pinch in a little bit so they collapse into each other and hide behind a heart shape! They should look like little baskets or cups. 
  6. Repeat on each of the 6 pieces you have!
  7. Now you can glue each of the sections to each other! 
  8. Apply glue on the face of a section and put another one on top, repeat till you have a stack of all your glued pieces! 
  9. Now you can open it up and make it into a circular shamrock shape! 
  10. Cut a few inches of ribbon and glue each of the edges together making a loop.
  11. Insert this loop in between the two ends of the clover and glue together to secure!

You can make as many as you like, whatever size, color, or pattern you want. They’re so customizable which I love, and all together you can make a beautiful St. Patricks day scene. Tag us with #LuckyLars so we can see your projects! 

How to play with patterns

How to do play with patterns

I knew I needed to start fresh with Jasper’s room in order to transform it into something that felt new. So, I began looking into peel and stick wallpapers that I could put over the existing wallpaper. Maybe you know by now, but I’m a huge fan of Spoonflower. If you’ve used their products in the past, they’ve really focused on the quality of their products and their their peel and stick and it’s better than ever. I found a number of great options that would make it feel a bit more feminine and aligned with the look I was going for. Here are all the ones I was considering.

Peel and stick pattern wallpaper

I had done a thin blue and white stripe in our old bedroom from our old house and LOVED the feel, but wanted to try a different scale so I went with a bigger stripe from Danika Herrick.

The peel and stick could have stuck to the previous wallpaper so Pat adhered it to the carpet to take off some of the stick, before applying it to the walls. It worked beautifully! It stuck well enough and was a breeze to take off too (video forthcoming!).

Pattern Play florals

I wanted to play a bit with patterns so I scoured the Lucas du Tetre shop. They have amazing bright florals and they block print in India so it’s a really great look. Of course I went bananas trying to figure out how to get it to work with our Clementine print and ultimately, I decided to use their blue flowers print as curtains for the bed. Because they didn’t have curtains ready made so I used two table cloths, one for each side and they worked beautifully! All to show that a little creativity can go a long way! I added in their orange and green striped pillow too and somehow it works well with a lot of prints.

I knew I didn’t want to go too crazy with all the patterns–I still wanted our Clementine print to shine, so I toned down some other things like adding in more neutral pillows.

These green floral sheets were a great find in a smaller scale from the curtains and I love how they played together.

In fact, I found a ton of really great ditsy patterns that would work with the look. I’ll share them here:

Clementine Kids Floral Artwork

The artwork from the collection stood out beautifully on the blue and white stripes. I especially love the goose on that dark green. It is great mixed with all the other colors. Here I got it in the 18×24″ frame in the alder wood. 

And the daffodil is such a great pop of color and simplicity. I got it in the 24×36″ size in the white frame.

I adore the mixed bouquet piece. Here it’s in the 18×24″ in the alder frame.

Sol used to live down the street from us and play with Jasper and Felix at the park every day. We miss her, but thankfully she still lives down the street. She’s the best!

How to achieve pattern play in your own space

  1. Bring in patterns in different scales–big, medium, small
  2. Look for patterns with different colored backgrounds and business.
  3. Make one pattern a hero and let the other ones support. Here the hero is blanket (yay!) and curtains support it as well as the stripes.

Share your pattern play with us!

I’d love to see how you’re styling your Clementine pieces. Tag us with #LarsXClementine so we can all see your spaces!

Would love to hear your thoughts about the room. Would you ever try and do some pattern play? It can be a little much for some folks, but pure happiness for others.

You can find out Clementine Kids collection here.

Our new baby nursery collection!

Baby nursery collection

When we set out to design our new baby nursery collection with Clementine, they referenced some of my really old work as inspiration. Remember this oven mitt from like 2011?!?! Ha! I guess it made a lasting impression!

Our designer, Garet, got to it! We wanted something playful, floral (of course), vibrant, and reminiscent of being wrapped up in an English garden. We went oversized for a playful, whimsical feel.

Garet was pregnant with her second child, Maeve, at the time,

Floral baby quilts

My favorite of the bunch is the muslin quilts. I’ve been using their quilts since Jasper was born (remember their classic clementine pattern?!) and we still love using it!

We did a baby sized quilt in the oversized florals.

Adult-sized muslin quilts

As well as a grown-up sized blanket. I’ve been using mine ever since we got our samples and it’s perfect. Great weight, soft, cozy. Because of the extension of length, there are more flowers at the bottom

The opposite side is a lovely periwinkle blue. It’s even better in person! 

Nursery artwork

In addition to bedding, we have three prints to add to your nursery. This adorable goose on green (it looks more black in this photo).

And the bouquet of mixed flowers, and the single daffodil on pink. They have several different sizes as well as framed options. 

Baby Milestones blanket

My FAVORITE part about the baby quilt is what can be used for. It was designed so that the baby can go right on the middle flower with the head on the pink bloom.

Is this not the cutest way to keep track of baby milestones in the photos? I’m thinking of making some printable cards to go with it to indicate the months.

Baby crib sheet

We made a coordinating pattern to go with the big florals. This little goose sheet set is so sweet.

I don’t know about you, but you can never have enough crib sheets.

Muslin swaddles

Of course, every new mom needs a stash of swaddles–ever the perfect baby shower gift! It comes in the oversized flowers and the goose pattern. They come in a bundle here.

I’m very excited about this collection and I hope you are too! I think it would be the perfect stock up for baby showers if not for yourself!

What’s your favorite piece?!

You can shop the Lars and Clementine Kids collection here.

Alice in Wonderland Family Costumes

Costume Inspiration

For years now, I’ve had my eye on this amazing vintage fabric, illustrated by Charles Voysey. The fabric features beautiful, classic illustrations of Alice in Wonderland characters. The colors and way in which he depicts the characters is stunning, and I couldn’t get it out of my mind. Then I thought–why not make this stunning fabric into our family costumes?! An excuse for my children to dress up as a walrus and card-wearing rabbit was an opportunity much too good to pass up. That’s how these Alice in Wonderland family costumes were born.

How to Recreate Alice in Wonderland Family Costumes

These costumes aren’t exactly what you’d call “simple” or “quick”. That said, they’re stunning, and so worth the time, if you plan ahead. Here’s how to recreate these Alice in Wonderland family costumes:

Walrus

I had my heart set on a walrus costume for either Jasper or Felix this year. Jasper’s getting to that age where he’s a bit more opinionated when it comes to costumes, so since Felix didn’t object, we decided the walrus was best for him. Here’s how to make it:

Hat

First, I have to give credit to the mastermind behind the paper mache, Carrie. The job she did on that paper mache walrus and rabbit was too much! Here’s what to do for the walrus hat:

  1. The paper mache hat is the most important part of this costume. First, make the cardboard understructure, using our photos as a reference. We used gaff tape to stick the cardboard pieces together because it’s amazingly sticky.
  2. Once the pieces are cut and assembled, you can add a few layers of paper mache. To make paper mache, add one part flour to two parts water, mix, then heat in the microwave or on a stovetop until it thickens just a bit. You don’t want it too thick, just enough so it’s not like water anymore.
  3. Once the paste is made, rip up strips of newsprint, dip into the paste, and apply until your walrus is fully coated. Let dry completely (this can take at least a couple days, so plan ahead)!
  4. When your walrus is fully dry, go ahead and paint in the details and add finishing touches, like fur.
  5. To attach the hat to your child’s head, tie a piece of string to either side of the head and tie around your child’s chin.

Walrus outfit

For our walrus outfit, we went the simple route and bought a walrus jumpsuit so we could focus on that paper mache showstopper hat. We found ours here. We also found some clothing (courtesy of my sister!) that was perfect for it–check out your local thrift shops for options.

Rabbit

We decided to have Jasper be the rabbit, thinking he’d be content with the choice if he got to wear an awesome paper mache hat. Well, content is a relative term–at least we could take the photos before he changed into his spider man costume. Ha! Here’s how to make the rabbit portion of our Alice in Wonderland family costumes:

Rabbit hat

  1. First, cut out and assemble the rabbit understructure, using our photos as a reference.
  2. Next, follow the instructions above to add the paper mache to your rabbit understructure. Tip: we found that, once coated in paper mache, the ears started to sag a bit. To help with that, prop a cardboard box up behind the ears to keep them from falling backwards as they dry. Once dry, they’ll stand up fine with the help of the stiff paper mache.
  3. When the paper mache is dry, paint the rabbit and add any embellishments you’d like. We painted some thin, floral wire black and turned it into whiskers.
  4. To attach the hat to your child’s head, tie a piece of string to either side of the head and tie around your child’s chin.

Shirt

The easiest option here is to buy a shirt with puff sleeves for our child. We couldn’t find one that would arrive in time, so we DIY’ed a shirt instead.

Collar

For the collar, we used crepe paper, string or yarn, an embroidery needle and the same technique as for our vintage clown costumes. Easy!

Cards

  1. For the cards, cut eight pieces of cardboard that are each 6 ½” wide and 9 ¾” tall. 
  2. Once they’re cut, paint them all white. We used white house paint and a large brush to speed up this process. We also painted them at the same time as Paul’s cards.
  3. When the paint is dry, use the cricut to cut out the card shapes using the templates. Tape in place on the white paint.
  4. To attach to each other, use ribbon and staples. For attaching the front and back, again, use ribbon and staples.

Feet

For the rabbit feet, all you need is some white faux fur. Tear it down to the size of your child’s shoe and safety pin some elastic on to hold it in place.

Brittany’s Outfit

I’m not sure of the official name of Brittany’s character, since we based the costumes off illustrations instead of the book’s official character names. That said, we’ll call her a knight. Mostly we had to make this costume because the outfit was just incredible. Here’s how to recreate it:

Cardboard Skirt/Hat

  1. Using our photos as a reference, cut out and assemble the shapes for the cardboard torso, skirt, and hat pieces.
  2. Now paint them, using our photos as a reference.
  3. Oh, and that makeup?! Have fun with it.

Pants/Tights

For the pants and tights, we used a mauve pair of sweats, cut off and gathered at the knees, and these golden yellow tights

Blouse

The next element of Brittany’s outfit was the blouse. We needed to find some great puffy sleeves, which we found here. Then we cut out fabric embellishments and appliquéed them on with a simple zig zag stitch around the edge. See our photos for the shapes we used!

Shoes

The shoes needed to be vintage-looking, sort of like pilgrim shoes. Brittany happened to own just the pair already!

Paul’s Outfit

Last outfit of our Alice in Wonderland family costumes to complete was Paul’s. His character was a card man wearing an all-blue outfit/hood. This was a simple costume to figure out! Here’s what we did:

Blue Outfit

For the blue outfit, we bought a simple blue sweatsuit with a hood. We found our’s here and here.

Cards

  1. To make the cards, cut two large pieces of cardboard. They should be the same size, big enough to cover the torso all the way to the shoulders and down to the knees.
  2. After cutting the cardboard down, paint them both white. We used house paint and a roller to speed up the process. Note: if you’d rather, you can also use white foam core or mat board and skip the painting.
  3. Once the paint is dry, cut out the card template pieces on the cricut with black cardstock and glue or tape in place on top of the white paint.
  4. Last, attach the two pieces of cardboard together using ribbon and staples. We also used gaff tape for extra support.

Shoes

The last essential element of Paul’s costume were the shoes. Like Brittany, he needed some classic-looking shoes. We ended up using some simple, black ones Paul already had. We’d also recommend checking your local thrift shop–there are often hidden gems there.

And that’s a wrap! What do you think of our Alice in Wonderland costumes?

More Inspiration

Loved these Alice in Wonderland family costumes and want more costume ideas? See these classic Halloween costumes for kids! Also see our vintage clown costumes, Barbiecore costume, wild things costumes and Campbell’s soup cans. Then check out our blog archives for tons more costume ideas. And see this post for tons of last minute Halloween ideas from our shop!

Easy Halloween Ideas From Our Shop

My Ideal Halloween

My ideal Halloween is playfully spooky, crafty, and (above all) easy, and there’s no such thing as too many easy Halloween ideas. If you’re looking for a fun, simple way to celebrate the season without turning your home into a Spirit Halloween storefront, read on for easy Halloween ideas!

Easy Halloween Decorations

This Haunted House makes a perfect Halloween centerpiece and conversation starter. You’ll make it from recycled cardboard boxes, which is a win for Planet Earth, and it’s beautiful enough to come back year after year, which is a win for you! Check out our blog post on it here.

Cardboard Haunted House for recycled holiday decor

Garlands are another classic when it comes to Halloween decor. Try this fun new Halloween garland featuring the Halloween shapes you’ve been missing. If you love the spooky aspect of Halloween, check out this Vampire Teeth Garland. It’s creepy without being too macabre, and oh so easy.

DIY vampire teeth garland

Another slightly spooky and impeccably easy decor idea is this wooden transfer plaque template! I’m all for riding the line between pretty and creepy at Halloween, and these really fit the bill. Find the tutorial here.

wooden cross sections of branches with spiders and bugs transferred onto them hanging from maroon ribbons.

This painted pumpkin face template makes for such a fun, easy DIY! Give your porch some whimsy this Halloween by painting these sweet characters on your pumpkins. Read the tutorial here and get painting!

painted pastel pumpkin faces against a pink background

How many times can you say “pretty paper pumpkin project?” Whatever your answer, you should check out this template for rainbow paper pumpkins, along with this tutorial blog post. These make a beautiful, refined, seasonal table setting, they’ll look great for all of Autumn, not jus Halloween. A Thanksgiving comeback, anyone?

orange, gold, and yellow paper pumpkins on a table setting.

If you’re in a pinch and looking for quick decorations, don’t forget this post about last minute Halloween decor!

Easy Halloween Costume Ideas

There’s something to be said for a super intricate, detailed costume for sure. But even if you don’t have the time and energy to become a perfectly accurate storm trooper, dressing up doesn’t have to be out of your reach. Lots of our costume templates just require some simple clothing, some paper, and a prop or two. No professional costuming degree necessary!

Our Ruth Bader Ginsberg collar is maybe our simplest costume for adults. Just cut it out (a cricut or other cutting machine is helpful here), put it over a dark dress, and pull your hair back. Voilà! You’re ready to advocate for your sisters.

A white paper lace collar on a black background.

If you’ve been a Lars reader for more than about a minute you’ll know that I love flowers. So of course I wanted to dress up as a bouquet! Ha! Practice making some paper flowers for this Sweet Pea Paper Flower Bouquet costume (and read the tutorial here).

Brittany wearing a bouquet costume with paper flowers and a white paper wrapper against a green backdrop

Group costumes are always so fun, so pair your bouquet costume with greenhouse garb for a friend! This greenhouse costume uses cardboard and iron-on flowers, and is sure to turn heads. You can find the tutorial here. Speaking of group costumes, you really don’t want to miss our Andy Warhol Campbell’s soup can team costumes, or our Wild Things costumes. They’re some of my favorites, and they’re great for any size group!

a white woman with brown hair wears a green dress with iron on flowers, a greenhouse hat, and yellow clogs. She's holding flowers and a watering can.

Family Costume

Another cute Halloween costume for a pair of friends would be our beehive and picnic costumes. Both use an iron-on technique to make easy halloween costumes that are as cute as a bug. Find the tutorials here.

Brittany wears a gingham red dress with ants ironed onto it and holds a rattan picnic bag. a white woman wearing a yellow dress with iron-on bees, black gloves, a bee headband, and black shoes stands in front of a blue background.

This constellation costume with iron-on stars is absolutely dazzling. Honestly, you might as well break it out all year round because it’s that beautiful.

a blonde woman wearing an off-the-shoulder black jumpsuit with silvers stars all over it, sparkly makeup, and a spangled headband against a periwinkle background

For a subtle Halloween look, just print off our Pumpkin Crown and wear warm autumn tones.

Printable Pumpkin Crown

Easy Halloween Costumes for Kids

Brand new this year are our classic Halloween costumes for kids! We give you options for a witch, bat, and pumpkin. Not only are they simple to make in a pinch, they’re adorable and you’ll be glad you tried them out. One of our most glamorous costumes with templates in the shop is our sun, cloud and rainbow set. This makes a great baby and mom costume, because you can add sun rays to a baby bonnet. I love how our model matched the baby’s outfit to her sling! With this costume you can invest as much or as little as you want. Just want the Sun and Rainbow headpiece? No problem. What about the Cloud Bag and Cloud Earrings? Done. Just want a sunny baby bonnet pattern? Your wish is our command. Make the costume just how you like it with this tutorial.

Rainbow costumeRainbow and sun mommy and me costume

This Giving Tree costume is another easy Halloween idea that you could make in a flash. And who doesn’t want to reference a classic children’s book in their costume? Find the tutorial here.

A mom wearing a green outfit with leaves and holding a felt apple bag stands next to her child in red overalls. They're dressed as the Giving Tree.

If you have a gaggle of children to costume, consider our Three Blind Mice baby costume pattern or our Crayon Hat template. Both are simple to put together and oh so sweet. For more kids costume ideas, see this post!

3 blind mice diy costume for kidsFour kids wearing crayon halloween costumes in orange, red, blue, and green.

Halloween Party Supplies

Even though gathering in big groups for Halloween parties is starting to look less and less likely (again 😔), you can still throw a Halloween party for your family, roommates, or pod! This Halloween Party Suite includes printable invitations, placemats, party tags, and place cards. Talk about easy Halloween ideas!

Halloween themed place cards.

Paper party goods with a halloween theme on a black background. They're orange, yellow, black, white, navy, and peach.

And for a party favor, try these printable poppers or printable Halloween candy gift boxes.

Halloween party poppersPrintable Halloween Candy Gift Box

These Halloween coupons make a fun halloween activity for your family. They’re a great way for parents to get their kids to relinquish some candy in return for fun activities.

halloween coupons in pink, red, blue, and black.

These illustrated Halloween cards are another great party favor because you can attach them to treat bags, trade them, send them as cards, or just hang them up.

Printable Halloween Cards

If your party is more freaky than funky, you might like this elegant invitation and Halloween dinner menu.

black and white illustrated halloween party invitation in a black decorative hadn surrounded by foliage and fruitsBlack and floral printable halloween menu

Party Food

Real talk here: what’s a party without cake? Use these printables and templates to make your Halloween cake extra fancy. The Spooky Town printable cake topper set is quaint and just a bit creepy, while this Black Birds cake topper is decidedly Hitchcock-approved. Red velvet cake makes it even more dramatic!

a colorful, cute printable cake topper set on a cake."The Birds" Cake Topper

If your fall party isn’t so Halloween-specific (or even if it is!) this Fall Leaf cake topper will add elegance and fun to the celebration.

DIY fall leaf cake topper

More Inspiration

Looking for more cards, costumes, and decor? Search for Halloween on our blog! You’ll be blown away by the years of great, easy Halloween ideas and DIYs. If you’re interested in many of these ideas (who wouldn’t be!?), you can check out our E-Book, The Halloween that Lars Made. It’s a one-stop shop for easy Halloween ideas, DIYs, and projects. Also, for more festive ideas check out this post on how to get into the Halloween spirit this year!

Vintage Clown Costumes

Classic Costumes with a Twist

I love the idea of a good, classic Halloween costume, especially with a vintage twist. If you haven’t noticed, I have a thing for antiques and all things vintage, so it comes as no surprise that Halloween would be affected by that love of old things. That’s where these vintage clown costumes come in! A good group costume is one that gives you plenty of options for characters and expanding your group, and a vintage clown just seemed like the perfect choice. I mean, the face makeup potential alone had me sold, and then add in the costumes?! I was giddy.

The best part about these costumes is that we already had the outfits, we just had to add the embellishments. Easy! Here’s how to recreate our vintage clown costumes for yourselves:

How to Make a Vintage Clown Costume

Hats

Making clown hats is super simple. All you need is a piece of poster board and this template and you’re set! Here’s what to do:

  1. First, use our template to cut out the half circle shape. 
  2. Next, roll the half circle up into a cone shape, adjusting to the width of your head. Tape in place.
  3. Now all that’s left is to add the embellishments! We used a variety (see our photos for reference), like hearts, pom poms of different sizes, and rick rack. We referenced actual photos from vintage circuses for our clown hats so they’d look extra authentic.

Pom Poms

We had some spare pom poms lying around from past projects, and we also have a pom maker. To make your own, reference this and this post.

To add them to the hats, we glued them on. For the outfits, we attached them using safety pins. 

Face Makeup

This was one of my favorite parts of the whole vintage clown costume. It made all the difference in how the costumes felt and the vibe we were going for! Again, we referenced actual vintage clown photos for inspiration, then went crazy and had fun doing our own twist on the originals. See our photos for help if you’re struggling with face makeup design ideas!

Well, that’s a wrap! What do you think of our vintage clown costumes? Are you going to don your own clown outfits this Halloween? Drop your thoughts in the comments below!

Collars

Another element that really makes these clown costumes is the collar. We used a variety of materials and a variety of colors to spice things up. Here’s what to do:

  1. For the tulle collar, use yarn to sew a loose basting stitch along 4 yards of tulle. Pull it in to gather and tie it in a bow at the back. Tip: for a fuller look, fold the tulle over a couple times before gathering, then make sure to catch all the folded layers in your gathered stitches.
  2. Next is a crepe paper collar. Fold the crepe paper like an accordion, then thread yarn through with an embroidery needle until it’s as long and full as you’d like. Tie in a bow in the back.
  3. Now for the paper collars. For this, accordion fold pieces of card stock together, gluing with the addition of each new piece of card stock. Glue the two ends together when it’s long enough. Then hole punch the folds and thread elastic through. Tie the elastic at the end, making sure it’s loose enough to fit over your head.
  4. Done!

More Inspiration

For more Halloween costume ideas, check out our Campbell’s soup team costumes from last year! Also see our Wild Things costumes, Rainbow team costumes, and Mommy and Me costume ideas from years past. Then visit our archives for tons more costume inspiration! Interested in more pom pom projects? Click here.

Barbiecore Costume Ideas

Costume of the Century

I love a good pop culture costume. Remember Jasper as Jared Leto? It turns out the Met Gala is too perfect of a pop culture feast to pass up. Well, the feast of the century presented itself earlier this year and Barbiecore made its debut. I mean, what better way to usher in the new Barbie movie than with a show-stopping Barbiecore costume?

We mixed and matched a few different outfits, and loved how they turned out. Oh, and we couldn’t have done it without our amazing model, Hannah! She even brought her own pink outfit to add to the mix, which was PERFECT.

Barbiecore from Around the Web

Since most of you are probably thinking about making a Barbiecore costume a reality, we decided to help out a bit. We scoured the internet for Barbiecore items worthy of a costume. The good news is that there is a lot of potential out there! Here are some options we found that just might be perfect for a Barbiecore costume of the century:

More Inspiration

Loved this Barbiecore costume and need more costume inspiration? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. See this roundup of our best cardboard costumes, and also check out these Mommy and me costumes! Then step over to our blog archives for tons more costume ideas and Halloween content. And don’t forget about our Halloween shop for tons more Halloween ideas!