Halloween Party.

This year I decided to focus on the Halloween activities more than the food, just because last year they were finished with the games so fast.
One idea I wanted to use was the recycling of CD discs. I scratched the silver part with scissors, and let the kids decorate using markers.
I tied all the discs in hangers for them to hit with bean bags.
I used some cans of soup, also to make a bean bag toss. The bags were filled with pop corn, and I made a mummy with some googly eyes and a ripped shirt.
But what they played the most was this pirate ship, made of cardboard.
I cut up two windows for them to hit with the bags.
We had some indoor activities, like decorating the caramel apple. I found these fake mustaches at Target.
They also decorated their own bag with stamps.
And made eyeballs with Oreos and M&Ms.
The food I kept simple, but they looked very special with these sugar decorations and stikers, I found at Michaels.
Another Halloween is done, and it was a lot of fun.

Darth Vader Samurai costume, the video.

Darth Vader Samurai.

My son couldn't decide what to be for Halloween this year, and I have been wanted to make a Darth Vader Samurai for a long time. So I was very happy when he agreed to wear this costume.
I started with the hat, and after a trip to Michaels, I found a brown hat and black foam sheets.
I had to buy black spray paint to color the hat, after the sides were cut.
After dried, I cut pieces of foam sheets to make all the details.
This is how I made the mouth piece.
Then glued to the side pieces.
And attached to the sides of the hat, using buttons inside and outside, so it can move a little.
I hand sewed the side details of the hat and the detail for the chin.
I glued the flaps around the hat, then I attached the sides.
And the chin piece.
But I couldn't forget the detail on the top of the hat.
I used my old black skirt to make his cape, and glued to this neck piece.
For the chest piece, I was able to make this details, using a technique my husband discovered: the foam sheet is heated in the oven at 350 degrees F, and immediately placed on the form it will take, at the same time that is vacuumed.
Both parts were glued to one piece of foam sheet, to cover the entire chest. And I added a little golden piece for extra detail.
For the shoulder pieces, I used the same oven technique. First I had to make a mold using clay.
After heating the sheets in the oven, and placing on the mold, also using the vacuum, they take the shape. I used the same mold to make cuffs for the arms.

And I couldn't forget the leg protectors, using more black foam sheets sewed and attached to a belt.
He is very happy with his costume. I don't know if it will last a long time, but it was worth the work, at least for these pictures.

DIY Hologram.

When I first saw the pictures of these phone holograms, I was so fascinated I knew I had to try for myself.
I found out they are not real holograms, but It doesn't matter, the look pretty and real to me. And the kids are amazed every time we see them.
I first used the idea from a phone app called Vyomy3D. They have the instructions and the videos to play.
So following their instructions,I cut four pieces of acrylic using a CD case, in these dimensions, to use on a smart phone.
The sides were attached with a skinny piece of scotch tape.
Then just play the movie on the smartphone, and you see the reflections of the four images on the four sides of the acrylic.
It creates a 3D illusion, and images are amazing. But it was a little small to see, so I decided to make a bigger version, that I could use on my laptop. And plus, I discovered that there are a bunch of videos on youtube for this, just type hologram videos.
This time I used a plastic container, that was much easier to cut than a CD case. Then placing on top of the screen of the laptop looked way better. But then my husband remembered we had an old bigger computer screen, that could be attached to the lap top.
So this time we went bigger, and we decided to use acrylic to make it stronger. My husband had to use his power tools to cut the pieces(I increased the dimensions without using any scientific method). And bigger was better.
But still very excited with this idea, we decided to make our own images. My husband again saved the day and designed the images in the computer, and made the videos.
This Taiko is the first image he made, and we made available on youtube.
Just place the clear pyramid on the center of the four images (in the dark), and use a different size depending on the size of your screen (phone, tablet, laptop, computer screen).
Cool right?

Ultraman family.

My kids were wondering what kind of alien faces I put in our portrait for Halloween. So I had to explain to them that Ultraman was the very first super hero I saw on TV, one of the first monster/alien/science fiction related television series, created in Japan in 1966.
Growing up with my boy cousins, we played the roles of Ultraman, Ultraseven, Ultraman Leo, Ultraman Taro, monsters and aliens.
It was the first time I was introduced to the concept of aliens, space ships, and monsters. And what I call "vintage" special effects, with flying saucers hanging from a thread, and monsters with the zipper showing, were a great start to our games and imagination.
So I couldn't wait for an opportunity to make these superheroes masks.
I used silver, gold and red bags from the dollar store.
Then I cut and glued the pieces to the size of our heads.

The glue smeared off in some places, and took the shine form the paper away, so I cleaned with a Q-tip with water.
To place the masks on the faces, I gently attached a piece of scotch tape (rolled like a ring) to avoid ruining the glass.
Not many people might know who they are, the kids I am sure will have no idea where these characters came from.
But I think they are the greatest aliens with super powers of all times.
I love you Ultra family.