LAST MINUTE HALLOWEEN COSTUMES

If you procrastinated on your Halloween costume this year, welcome to the club! We always have good intentions of planning ahead a wicked sweet costume but seem to lose track of time. Below are DIY costumes that you can put together at the last minute and no one will ever know!

HOTDOG

Grab a tan dress, some felt and a glue gun

via Studio DIY


MIME

You probably have most of this in your closet!

via Brit + Co


SNAPCHAT FILTER

Cardstock, scissors, a glue gun and ribbon is all you need!

via Oh Happy Day

PANTONE COLOR

A colored dress + white fabric and black letter stickers

via Sugar & Cloth

BANANA COSTUME

Complete with banana turban

via Say Yes

If all else fails, grab a sheet, cut some holes for your eyes and be a ghost like Charlie Brown

#diyyourhalloween

DIY Mini Pumpkins (and a giveaway!)

It's just something about this time of year that makes us want to buy all the pumpkins. During October it's easy to spend more money on said pumpkins than on food. It's not sad– it's for the blog folks...

Our mission– take all the cool pinned ideas we've seen and put our own twist on them! And let's face it... no one really wants to dump out pumpkin guts, so these are all no cutting-no gluing-sewing-no crying-required.

A little bit of spray paint goes a long way. That's the easiest way to transform your pumpkin from mehhh to glam. Stick on some letter stickers, and you've reached a whole new level my friend. 

Sharpies are among the best inventions ever known to mankind. With a little imagination and a steady hand, (hold on the coffee before you do these, we learned the hard way) you'll have a killer customized pumpkin in no time at all!

We're also hosting a little giveaway– 3 lucky winners will each receive one of these customized pumpkins from yours truly, but you have to...

1. Follow us on Instagram (@rayandablog)

2. Comment on our post (this is where we'll pull your name!) 

3. Like us on Facebook! And we love your comments, so send them our way!

Got it? We can't wait to see your pumpkin makeovers, and select our winners! You have until next Wednesday, October 26 to enter!

#paintyopumpkin

THE "NOT SO FALL THEMED" PLANTER DIY

WE INTERRUPT THIS BLOG TO ANNOUNCE A DIY THAT DOES NOT INVOLVE PUMPKINS, LEAVES, GOURDS OR ANY OTHER FALL ELEMENTS. 

So, Ray found these great priced clay planter pots at this super cool organic and sustainable local plant shop called Greenology in Peddler's Village. Sidenote: If you live in Bucks County Pennsylvania and haven't been to Peddler's Village you need to check it out asap. Anyways, Ray felt inspired by the blank canvas these pots offered and ran to the craft store, actually drove, to buy supplies to transform these pots! We hope this DIY inspires you to get creative with the planter pots you may have laying around in your shed or garage to fill with a beautiful plant and display in your abode. Feel free to use rich, down to earth autumn colors for this DIY since Ray went for quite the opposite theme.

^  can you spot the dinosaur? 

M A T E R I A L S

+ Acrylic paint
+ DuraClear Matte Varnish
+ Foam brushes
+ Terracotta pots
+ Newspaper and wax paper

S T E P   O N E

Cover the table you're working on with newspaper. Your roommate or spouse will be thankful. Apply the first coat of acrylic pant with a foam brush to your planter pot. Allow about 15-20 minutes for each coat to dry. Watching The Office or another favorite TV show helps the time fly by!

S T E P   T W O

Allow to dry and continue to add three or four coats in between drying. Be mindful when you begin painting the top and bottom of the pot, it will stick to the newspaper. Placing the planter pot on wax paper prevents sticking!

S T E P   T H R E E

Examine the planter pot and use a smaller foam brush to touch up any blank areas that you may have missed. Add fun designs or patterns to your planter pot using a smaller or larger foam brush.

S T E P    F O U R

Once the planter pot is fully dry, use a foam brush to apply the Duraclear. Once it is dry to touch apply another layer and allow to fully dry overnight before planting, just to be safe.

S T E P   F I V E 

Planting time! Add your beautiful plant babies to your new pots and put on display in your favorite spot! A refreshing way to give your plants a personal touch.


We would love to see your DIY planter pot creations! Tag @rayandablog on Instagram to share them with us!

#keepitfresh

OCTOBER IS HERE

It's that time of the year again where our weekends consist of comfy sweaters, warm drinks and pumpkin everything. With the rare occurrence of Ray & A getting together lately, it was great to catch up eating brunch at our favorite hometown cafe and picking up some apples, gourds and of course fresh baked goods at our local farm. We're sharing some of our favorite October activities below!

A P P L E   P I C K I N G

Going to pick our own apples at an orchard definitely beats waxy apples at a grocery store any day. It's even cheaper as well! We're all about fresh and healthy, besides the occasional Chick-fil-A, which is essential to our diet.


C A M P F I R E S

Cool, fall nights are perfect for sitting by the campfire under the stars. Campfires are also the best time to stuff our faces with s'mores and other roasted goodies (we're healthy, remember?) Going to bed with that smoky smell signifies a great night by the fire.


R E A D I N G

Since weekends are our lounge days we're ready to dig into new reads and dive into another world. Ray highly recommends The Fault in Our Stars and Looking for Alaska, obviously a John Green fan. A wishes she had books to rave about, but doesn't read as much as a cultured adult should, so help her out and send some recommendations her way.


K N I T T I N G

Yarn, yarn and more yarn. Tis the season for knitting and crocheting! A actually just did a mega yarn haul at JoAnn and is ready for some Netflix and knit. If you're looking for some cool patterns, Pinterest is our go to for inspiration and how-to's!


What are your favorite fall activities? Share below or comment on our Instagram @rayandablog

#haveagourdfall

Fall Picks

I hope this post finds you sipping some iced coffee and not a PSL (pumpkin spice latte, for you coffee amateurs out there), but we admit, we’re as excited for fall as the next person in line behind you at Starbucks.

Summer was kind of a blur between work, weekend outings, and planning for Ray’s wedding (which is in THREE DAYS!!!) Though we’re still trying to squeeze out the last few moments of summer, we’re already looking forward to some fun fall activities. We’ll share some of our top picks with you:

1. Apple picking! Pumpkins get all the credit this season, but don’t forget about the apples! Apple picking is just as fun and rewarding as rolling that big ‘ol pumpkin down a hill, and many local farms and orchards have festivals this time of season. Last year we headed to Tabora Farms to get our apple fix, and we definitely plan on heading back this year!
   
   
2. Fall Mountain Getaway We do love a good city adventure, but we’re country girls through-and-through. There’s nothing quite like being in the mountains during the fall season, surrounded by millions of shades of red and orange. Oh yeah, and campfires with lots of s’mores!
   
   
3. PSE (Pumpkin Spice Everything) I mean, we can’t resist, so might as well give in to the popular culture on this one. Grandma’s pumpkin pie will always beat that latte, so no worries Grandma.
   
   
4. Get our your Knitting Needles! Let’s face it, all season is knitting season, but there’s something about knitting under your cozy blanket (that you knit last year) with a cup of hot tea while streaming Netflix. Join a knitting circle, find some new patterns, and indulge on some new yarn, because ‘tis the season!
   
   
5. Harry Potter Festival (right here in Philly!) Septa will be transforming into the Hogwarts Express to take guests into the Chestnut Hill section of Philly for a weekend of Potter-themed festivities, including a Quidditch tournament.

To get you in the spirit of autumn, here's a free printable for you, or set is as your wallpaper. Did any of your top picks make our list? Got some more? We’d love to hear them– comment below and let us know how you’ll be kicking off your fall season!

#fallingforfall