Pirate Princess, Paper Dolls, and Shaving Cream Fun!

Have you ever seen a pirate princess? If not, here's your opportunity. This is Emory's Halloween costume. She loves the Backyardigans when they pretend to be pirates. When you ask her what a pirate says, she replies, "Arrrgggg......" So cute. I found this PINK skull and crossbones fabric and just had to get it for Emory since she is such a girly girl. I don't know that any pirate ever wore pink, polka dots, and eyelet, but this one will. I had the eyelet fabric in my stash. I used Simplicity 3680 View E. I changed the skirt. I made it in two layers, but with smaller zigzags at the bottom. I aligned them so that the polka dot zigzags peek through the zigzags of the skull and crossbones. I made the belt and scarf reversible. Otherwise, I followed the pattern. Smokey (University of TN's mascot) looks a little uncomfortable wearing this girly outfit, but he was my only model available.



Jenna's paper doll set is in progress. She has a UT cheerleader outfit, a swim team swimsuit and shorts, several of the dresses that I have made her over the years, some of her Halloween costumes that I've made, some outfits I just made up, and of course there are shoes, a purse, a tiara, etc.... I need to color the rest of the outfits, cut them out, laminate them, and attach magnet strips to the backs. I found this great notebook with pocket pages that is perfect for keeping all of the outfits safe and secure.

I was in charge of games at our youth back-to-school kick-off party last week. One of the activities was to see who could make the tallest shaving cream hairdo! They had a ball with this one! We played tag with a twist. Each of them had a strip of towel hanging from their pocket. They had to steal each others' towels. Whoever had the most at the end, won the game. Another really fun activity was to blow bubble snakes. I got this idea from a Disney Family Magazine. I cut the bottom off of plastic water bottles. I used a rubber band to attach a square of terry cloth to the opening. Then the kids dipped the terry cloth end into water then into dishwashing liquid. Then, they just blew into the bottle. It made the coolest really big bubble snakes. The winner was the one who made the longest snake. We also had a pudding eating contest. Another fun game was one in which they made a circle (we made a circle of girls and one of boys) holding hands. They have to move a hula hoop around the entire circle without using hands or letting go. They did it so quickly that we then did it with 2 hula hoops in each circle. I didn't have my camera. A gentleman in our church sent me these and a few others, but none of any of the other games.