Even though we made four puffy painted pumpkins already (one for each family member), we knew we couldn’t let Clara’s first Halloween go by without some traditional pumpkin carving action as well. And last weekend’s trip to the pumpkin patch definitely got us in the mood. Here’s the queen of our world flinging her arms out as if to say “I’m the queen of the world!”
And we even gave our royal highnesss the option to choose her very own pumpkin for herself, and she quickly picked this one out:
Ok, so maybe “picking out” meant more like touching one of the pumpkins we sat her next to. But she truly couldn’t keep her hands off of that one in particular, so we brought it home for a mere $2 (she’s already thinking frugally!).
We knew we wanted to keep the carving simple, since we don’t always have time for complex around here anymore. And thinking about how Clara was getting all hands-y with the pumpkin back at the patch sparked an idea. All it took was Clara keeping her hand still long enough to get a good tracing.
Maybe “good” is a stretch, but we deemed the one of the left “workable enough.”
We traced it on cardstock, so cutting it out left me with nice template to trace onto Clara’s pumpkin.
The plan had always been to use two handprints as the pumpkin’s eyes, but the fact that the fingers made them look like feminine eyelashes was a happy accident. An accident we then ran with by adding some puckered lips for the mouth and a wavy hairline at the top. Guess our baby girl is getting a girly pumpkin!
Some careful cutting later, we ended up with this:
And with the addition of a flameless candle votive we’ve got our traditional jack-o-lantern with a first-year-of-parenthood twist. Simple, but we quite like it.
Oh, and speaking of Halloween, check out how we’re embarrassing dressing our kiddos this year for their first hurrah together.
Yup, Clara’s a hamburger (in honor of her bro) and Burger’s reprising his role as a hot dog to complete the theme. Both are store bought (Clara’s from Old Navy, Burger’s from Target). Somehow I feel like our little lady’s gonna give us a hard time about this when she’s 16…
Psst- We announced our big winner for this week’s contest at the end of Monday’s original contest post. And Ikea actually surprised us by tripling the number of $350 gift cards they’re giving away. Click here to see if you’re part of that lucky trio!
danielle says
my 15 mo old son is wearing that same burger costume! he’s a little chunk-a-munk so it fits him :) He is so proud wearing it too – running around with his arms out yelling AHHHH.
i know clara is already spoken for…but they might make a cute couple both being all burger-y and all!
VickyJ says
This reminds me of what I’ve done since my babies were small. Every year at Christmas I trace their hands on the back of a Christmas card that I received and cut it out name it and date it after Christmas, I have garlands of my children’s handprints since each one’s first Christmas. They are 27, 25 and 20, I get to do the grandkids now!
LauraC says
Love it!!!!!!! (all of it: the pumpkins and the costumes!) Clara kinda looks like a turtle on her back, I doubt she could roll over in that! Haha!
sara @ it's good to be queen says
love the pumpkin…so cute!
that picture of clara and burger is HI-LARIOUS.
kristin says
ah! so envious. i went to what i thought was a pumpkin patch last week for my lil’ guys and apparently a few years back a kid accidentally cut his mom’s finger off so the farm started collecting all pumpkins and no longer is a u-pick patch anymore. have you EVER heard of a u-pick patch where they let you head out to the patch with shears? – that surprised me most. i always thought that the farmer’s cut them for us.
clara is adorable with the pumpkin and also has great expressions!!!
Aimee@ the Functional Space says
Hey, I know that pumpkin patch you’re standing in! I took a pic of my sweet husband standing in almost the same spot a few weeks ago. Also my husband has been dreaming of a hotdog costume for our chihuahua for over a year now. He finally bought one the other day and put it on her only to find her looking so sad and miserable that we had to take it back. At least he got to see her in it for a few minutes. Love that you have a “dog” and a “burger” now!! Too cute!
Handy Man, Crafty Woman says
Cutest costumes EVER!!!!
Kerri says
What a great idea to use her hands.
And super cute costumes for both Clara and Burger!
Nota Supermom says
Very cute! We’ve started cutting the opening in the bottom of the pumpkin instead of the top. It gives it a clean look.
Rae says
Being as handy as you are, next year you ought to look at carving with a dremel tool. My husband started doing this a few years ago and gets some really great, intricate details, and fast! There are pictures of three of the five he’s done this year on my blog, I’d love it if you’d drop by to see.
Loved you on the Nate Show. Must have been a crazy trip!
YoungHouseLove says
Ooh great tip! We’ll have to try it!
xo,
s
alyssa says
Oh my gosh their costumes are SO cute!
Reenie says
OMG!! How stinkin’ cute are those photos!!! Love the one of Clara on John’s lap. And the costumes are adorable!!!
Snickrsnack Katie says
My doggy is a hotdog for halloween, too!!!!
Alisa says
lol! My son, 26 months, has the same costume as Clara! My husband saw it on-line and HAD to get it (by HAD I mean he called the local Old Navy and put one on hold). We tried to talk his big sis (10 years) into being a milkshake or fries, but no luck on that one – Burger is much more cooperative ;)
Rachel in NC says
That is the CUTEST pumpkin I have ever seen! I am totally stealing this idea if I ever have a little girl. :-)
Sarah S says
Love the pumpkin. It came out so cute! And Clara’s and Burger’s costumes crack me up. She might not appreciate it at 16, but I bet she’ll like it at 26! Burger, on the other hand, looks like he’ll never appreciate it. :)
Karla @ {TheClassyWoman} says
Love the costumes and that pumpkin idea with the hand prints is super cute! You guys always leave me wondering what you’ll think of next. You’re both just so darn creative!
Lauren says
Love the pumpkin and the costumes! I was totally expecting for Clara to be dressed up at french fries which of course would still fit right in with her brother Burger. Maybe next year?? ;-)
Jessica says
I have to agree with some others about this being among my favorite posts. The pumpkin is just adorable, and the costumes, oh my gosh, too funny!
Kay says
What made the King and Queen of DIY store-by their Halloween costumes? It’s a little ironic!
YoungHouseLove says
I’m no seamstress! Until you can make costumes with iron on hem tape I’ll stick to shopping at budget friendly places like Target and Old Navy for ’em (which is totally our MO when it comes to hunting for house deals too). Too bad Home Depot doesn’t sell costumes…
xo,
s
Sarah@StyleandCentsability says
The costumes are awesome!
Thought you would like this DIY halloween project!
http://styleandcentsability.wordpress.com/2010/10/25/diy-halloween-decor/
Tristan says
Phew, I nearly wore my hamburger, now I will have to change!
Sara @ House Bella says
Oh no, Burger and Clara are too cute for their own good. Absurdly adorable.
Zoe says
This is adorable! So nice to see you guys outside for a change! Queen Clara looks like a very happy girl! Happy Halloween!
!!!!! (just a few extra exclamation marks for good measure!) !!!!!
Ellen says
I just have to say, your family is ridiculously cute. I mean really.
Kim says
To make a pumpkin last longer: You can stash it in the fridge when you don’t have it lit, during the day for example. Then you can bring it out each night for lighting.
Erin K. says
Love the pumpkins, LOVE the costumes, love your creativity!
JAG says
Is Clara sitting up already? She is so cute!
YoungHouseLove says
Yes she is! Mostly unsupported (although we did prop her up with some of those pumpkins just in case). Our big girl!
xo,
s
Momnivore's Dilemma says
Lol.
I bought the same costume on clearance at Old Navy, but I converted it to a chocolate chip cookie with the help of a my fabric shears and a lil brown acrylic.
See it here:
http://momnivoresdilemma.blogspot.com/2010/10/twas-night-before-preschool-halloween.html
YoungHouseLove says
So cute Momnivore’s Dilemma! And thanks to everyone else who shared costume and pumpkin links!
xo,
s
Julia says
What a great carving idea. You guys are great!!! Are pumpkins really only $2 in your neck of the woods? I’m in New Jersey and pumpkin picking is an expensive outing out here. You can easily spend over $10 at a local farm for a medium sized one plus a dollar or two per person for the hayride to the patch. This year, I took my kids to Produce Junction (a discount produce chain) and we “picked” a much more affordable $3 pumpkin from a bin.
YoungHouseLove says
Since we went the weekend before Halloween and only wanted one pumpkin they just charged us $2 (and the hayride out to the field was free!). People were paying $20 for “all you can carry pumpkin picking” which was actually amusing to watch since people were trying to carry eight or nine of them to score a deal. Funny.
xo,
s
Amanda says
I left a comment on the wrong page! Sorry! I love your cute costumes!!!!
Jenny @ Simcoe Street says
This is way too cute!!!
Newlywed and Decorating says
I love the hamburger and hot dog picture! So adorable!!
ginastorm says
Clara & Burger’s costumes are just too adorable!
Melinda says
Clara is always so happy and smiling! You can just tell through looking at pictures of her that she’s surrounded by love and a happy home life.
Love the pictures, pumpkins, and (of course) the cute wittle costumes! :)
Jessica Coates says
LOVE the costumes! Do you know if Bower Power is down? I haven’t been able to get on their blog for a while…
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Jessica,
No idea- so sorry! Maybe try Katie’s Facebook page for answers or to contact her?
xo,
s
Tiffany says
You guys did a great job!
I carved my baby’s hand print and his name First Halloween last year. It was cute!
Tra J. says
Love the pics! What a beautiful family.
Beeya says
Sooo Adorable!!
Clara puts the C in cute.
Rebecca Torres says
awwwww loooove the costumes on the kidds. 2 much! I have become addicted to your site. as many other have as well. you guys are awesome! You have inspired me to start blogging! I have been doing a little diy here and there myself and while it is not on the scale you guys have.. i plan on doing more of that soon! wish me luck!
nomfundo says
that is just wrong
marlena says
Hi guys!
Her face(on first photo) says everything and it make me smile when I’m looking at her, she is so cute!
All of kids that I know on their first Haloween went to farm with pumpkins to make a photo with them, my aunt did the same with her little onces and they really loved it. I don’t know who was more happy to go there but I guess it was my aunt hehe.
I love costumes of your kiddos and now Im wondering what costiums are going to wear parents?
Maybe French Fries and Ketchup ? hehe,
Happy Haloween!
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Marlena,
We’re just going as “mom and dad” this year- although that’s a big change from last year so we’ll take it!
xo,
s
sue says
I don’t know…I might have to call someone, that lovely little girl looks to be in terrible danger, dressed like a hamburger, next to that dog! My goodness, what are you thinking?
So, so, adorable, thanks for the chuckle. I can’t believe how big Clara is, choosing her pumpkin. I have such a smile on my face and plan to forward that picture to friends and family.Just too sweet.
tarynkay says
You guys should be fast food workers for Halloween!
Josh G. says
I absolutely love this idea…you guys are so creative :D
Megan says
You guys!! My little guy Dylan, born 2 weeks after Clara, is going to be wearing that exact costume for Halloween this year! (The hamburger, not the hotdog…) Isn’t it the cutest? I’ll post a picture of him once I’ve got him all dressed up.
:)
Meaghan says
Hahahah! I LOVE the costumes! Hilarious. :)
Clara is a cutie- I really love the expression on her face when she’s sitting on John’s lap having her hand traced. What a GREAT idea, by the way. I may steal it. :)
Suzie @ cupcake monkey says
Clara appears to get cuter and cuter…if that is even possible!! That pumpkin is awesome! What a cool idea!! Having a little one at Halloween is the best!…Love their costumes!
Autumn says
Love the costumes! My 4 year old son is a hamburger this year, too! :)
YoungHouseLove says
We’re loving how many little people (and dogs) are going as burgers and hot dogs this year! So funny.
xo,
s
katie kirby says
Oh my goodness how adorable are these images!