DIY with mama saigh: Last-minute halloween costumes.

This week, I was back on The Jason Show with some last-minute Halloween costumes for all ages, that you can make yourself using things you probably already have at home.

Let's start with our little LEGO...

DIY LEGO COSTUME

Adorable Emma, modeling our LEGO costume on The Jason Show.

All you need for this costume is an empty cardboard box, 6 empty plastic fruit cups, super glue, and paint. Since your subject is going to wear the box, start by cutting a hole for the arms, head, and a large enough opening for the lower body to fit through the bottom of the box.

Next, super glue the empty plastic fruit cups in two straight lines on the front of the box, so they look like the knobs on Legos. Once those dry, paint the entire box and cups one solid color (red, blue, yellow or green work best). Let the costume dry, and then put it on your subject. Ta-Dah!


DIY SPIDER COSTUMES

This costume is super easy to put together. Both mom and baby wear all-black outfits. Then, simply stuff black knee-high dress socks with tissue paper, newspaper, etc. (use what you have).

Once stuffed, pin all the knee-high socks (spider legs) onto a black baby-carrier. If you'd like, place cotton cobwebs on mom and baby.

For the spider hair-do, use a bun-form to put hair in a bun. Then, stick 4 black pipe-cleaners behind and through the bun to look like spider legs. Finally, use tape to stick two larger googly-eyes onto the bun. Ta-Dah!

DIY DINOSAUR COSTUMES

This is another easy costume that you can make at home using a hooded sweatshirt, and Scotch-Brite Sponges (yellow and green color). All you do is cut the sponges into triangles and do a quick stitch on each end to secure them onto the hood, and down the back of the hooded sweatshirt. For the baby dinosaur costume, I cut the sponge in half, and then into smaller triangles.

Smaller/baby dinosaur spikes: Cut #1

Smaller/baby dinosaur spikes: Cut #2

For the bigger/grown-up dinosaur spikes, make sure you cut all the sponges in the same direction.

Final step for both size dinosaur spikes: Stitch onto hooded sweatshirt at both ends of each spike.

DIY "THROWBACK THURSDAY" COSTUME

Grumpy Brecken (LOL!) modeling our Throwback Thursday costume today on The Jason Show.

DIY "BREAD WINNER" COSTUME

Collette modeling our Bread Winner costume on The Jason Show today!

WIN tickets to dr. seuss’s "how the grinch stole christmas".

Head on over to our Facebook page to enter for your chance to win 2 tickets to The Children's Theatre Company's performance of Dr. Seuss's "How The Grinch Stole Christmas"! Contest ends November 7th at 7:59 a.m. (CST).

CrockToberFest.

Up until about a month ago, I had never heard of CrockTober, or CrockToberFest. One of my neighbors told me about this type of get-together, where neighbors, friends, and family gather to eat, drink, and share crockpot/slow-cooker recipes. Every person or family shows up to the CrockToberFest get-together with a crockpot/slow-cooker dish to share. Guests can also print out their crockpot recipe on cards for others to take home.

This week, I was back on The Jason Show with a couple crockpot recipes, that you can make for your next CrockToberFest get-together!

The first recipe was given to me by another mom, who makes this dish for her husband's work pot-lucks all the time. This Buffalo Chicken Chili is a two-time cook-off winner at her husband's office! I tweaked it a little bit, to make it work for me.

CROCKPOT BUFFALO CHICKEN CHILI

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground chicken
15 oz. can of white navy beans (rinsed and drained)
2 cups chicken broth
14.5 oz. can of fire-roasted tomatoes (drained)
3/4 cup buffalo wing sauce
1 pkg of ranch dressing mix
2 cups frozen corn kernels
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp celery salt
1/2 cup fresh cilantro
1 tsp salt
8 oz cream cheese

Toppings:

Blue cheese crumbles
Chopped cilantro

Combine all of the ingredients in the slow-cooker (except the toppings and cream cheese) and cook on low for 6 hours. Make sure to mince the ground chicken up with a fork before you turn the crockpot on. Otherwise, you'll have a big block of cooked ground chicken in your chili. Once the chicken is cooked through (about 4-5 hours), toss in the cream cheese and let it melt. Stir often until everything is creamy and blended (about 6 hours total). Serve in bowls, and top with blue cheese crumbles and cilantro.


SPINACH ARTICHOKE DIP

Ingredients:

1 cup mozzarella cheese (grated/shredded)
6 oz Neufchatel cheese
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
14 oz. can of artichoke hearts
1 clove of garlic
2 cups fresh spinach leaves (chopped)
1 tsp black pepper (ground)

Combine all of the ingredients in a mixing bowl, and mix well. Then dump into a crockpot, and cook on low for 3-4 hours. Turn crockpot down to "warm", and serve with crackers, ciabatta bread, or veggies.


AUTUMN VEUVE CLIQUOT SPRITZER

Ingredients:

Ice
Lime zest
Fresh cranberries
Veuve Cliquot Rose Champagne

Fill a large wine glass with 5-6 ice cubes, lime zest, a handful of cranberries, and champagne. If you want the best champagne, always go with the Veuve. Another one of our go-to's when it comes to wine: Black Box. My number one wine choice is always a beautiful bottle of a Marlborough New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, such as Matua or Grey Rock. But a glass of Black Box Red Blend on a fall evening is pretty darn good! Plus, one Black Box holds 4 regular-size bottles of wine. Yes, please!