As October approached I was in full swing thinking of costume plans for my kiddos & furbabies too. So, I started thinking ....hhmmm....Planet of the Apes came to mind. I have always adored the lady ape in the movies as a kid and so I brought that one to the dinner table. Do you hear the silence, maybe a cricket or two? Yeah, that's what I heard too.
My next attempt was me remembering how much I loved Wonder Woman. I spawned this idea after daydreaming on Pinterest and seeing an apron made like Wonder Woman's costume. How great would that be that I could be a modern day Wonder Woman mom? I think I fit the image, I'm a mom of 2 kiddos, check, wife, check, volunteer, check, full time student in college, check...let's just say the checks kept coming and I got a little tired and took a nap.
Third time is a charm. I should have thought of this one before. I went to the dinner table and asked everyone what they wanted to be. My hubby bubby was silent (it is his way) and my 12 year old son-shine wasn't sure if he wanted to trick or treat since he is soooooo old and in junior high. It was then that hope sprang from my darling 18 year old, baby girl, Emily. She said, "Its my last year here to be a kid and so I want to be Dorthy like when I was little. Dale you are going because you aren't any where as old as me and you like candy. The dogs can even be characters". Ahh, yes I see the rainbow at the end of the woods!
So, this year, we are going to pass out treats at Echo Church for their Trunk & Treat bash. I have vowed to make out car the bestest in the whole parking lot and we will all be dressed in our Oz finest. I'm not sure what the costumes will end up looking like, if the boys will ever decide on a character, but we know have a plan. Next week, I will be sewing for all my Oz folks. I will take pics and show you not only the process but the final results.
For now, I will show you some of the costumes that I've been working on for friends via pics:
Is that a octopus attacking the son-shine?? No way, it is the great big purple octopus that I made for VBS this past July...the pic is just too good to not show of Dale. He had to remember that even when the weight of the world is on your head & shoulders that God is with you.
Here's my darling girl. She had to go & sing at the Renaissance Festival this year and came home from school super excited. I was excited too because I got to make her a beautiful dress. We wound up deconstructing an ivory wedding dress that we got for $12.99 at Goodwill....score! I made the sleeves from a formal coverup a friend has given me. Her headpiece is made from a headband with vintage wedding lace and vintage necklaces that we hot glued on. Can I get a praise Jesus for the power of the hot glue, peeps?
A friend of mine came to me after church on Sunday and was thrilled to ask me if I could help her style like Michael Jackson for Trunk & Treat at church. I was all too happy to oblige. I pondered what to make the jacket out of for that whole Sunday. The next day I had a volunteer meeting for Lay Clergy in my town and walked past a red leather jacket at their thrift store. After the meeting I asked the gal in charge of the store if I could come and buy the coat in the morning. Miss Bobbi is a gem and held it for me until I could get in and get it scooped up.
The next day I cut the lower half off the coat to make it shorter. Sewed up the bottom and got out some rhinestone & metal studs and went to work on making the shoulders with some black pleather. After punching the studs through the pleather & bending back each one to stabilize it I knew I had a winner. I then sewed on the shoulders and added two black zipper to either side.
Let's just say the gal from church thought it was totally awesome....maybe a little more than the son-shine.
My friend's darling daughter wants to be the Queen of Hearts for Halloween and shouldn't she be able to...she's a cute little sophomore in college? So, her mama and I cooked up a scheme right then and there at JoAnns and bought pleather, lace, and great heart trim.
Once the darling girl was home for a weekend we ventured to the artroom where I fitted her in the pleather & sewed it to make sure it was just snug enough. I then stitched on all the great black heart trim and made it go around the torso in a V shape. On the tops of each V is a black pleather heart that I cut out and stitched on to.
We decided to go classy & sassy with the crown and make it out of black elastic, upcycled black lace and the remaining heart trim. I love, love, love it all!
The funny thing happened when I asked my darling baby bird to pose for a pic. I asked her to try it on she said sure. Then she took one look at it and asked if my friend knew I made this for her daughter? I told her she sure did and even bought the fabric for it all. So, my girl of grace took to slipping it on...doesn't she have the most precious smile....lol.
Finally, I had to throw one out to the dogs. This is our darling boy, Blue, who we just adopted from the Kansas City Pet Project a little over 2 months ago. I have been taking and upcycling men's dress shirts to give him a more sophisticated look....I think he rocks it!
The men's shirt collar is super duper easy peasy. You find a funky or cool men's shirt (from your hubby or son's closet or a thrift store). Next, you take a super sharp scissors and cut the collar from the shirt. To make sure the ends don't fray I took and used the zig zag stitch on my sewing machine along the raw edge. The end result is pure bliss.
I will vow to you all that I will be taking more pics of the process of how I make things for future blogs. Plus, it is so much fun having the kiddos try on things and getting their wonderful expressions.
May you all be blessed by the Lord until the next time we meet in the Mamasunbear2 art cave!
