Halloween 2016

I promise that Halloween isn't the only thing I do all year. I need to start photographing and posting a lot more again! But let's just get that rolling with Halloween.
You know I loooove making costumes. So when A said she wanted to be a snow leopard, I explained that this would probably mean just getting some snow leopard pajamas and wearing the shoes and matching hat that she already owns. She didn't like that idea (thank goodness). So after jumping around a bit, we settled on a Waffle Love Food Truck! Now, if you aren't local, let me just tell you that Waffle Love has my heart. I love good food. Really good food. It makes me happy. And they make the best waffles you've ever had. Plus, they have really great designs on their trucks! So it was a fun project. Looooong. But fun.
Blah blah blah, on with the photos!



If this had been it, it would have been a super quick costume. But wait, there's more. Their trucks are hand painted by the owner. And they are a work of art. A work of art that I got to copy!



See what I mean?
And of course we had to go see the real Waffle Love truck and get some waffles. They were so sweet. They took her picture, gave her a free waffle and a shirt and hat, made her feel like a celebrity. When we left she said, "This is turning into the best day of my life!"




I even copied their menu onto her costume, colors and all.

And the other side:



Now for the process:
The real beauty of this costume is how little it cost (in dollars, that is. It cost a whole lot in time!) The box was a bike box (we own a bike store so that was as easy as could be). I cut out the front corner and taped the pieces back in to make the hood and windshield, nothing too complicated. I also cut the box down a bit so it would be TOO big and heavy for her. Then it was just a single coat of household primer paint and onto the sketching. (We had gone for waffles and taken our own photos, so that's what I worked off of). I did have to buy about $7 worth of paint (it's all hand painted), but the rest I already had, left over from years past, and mostly college. The wheels are cardboard as well, I just spray painted them (had that on hand already too). So if you calculate in the materials plus the free waffles and shirt and hat she got, we actually came out ahead! Ha ha!

It was a lot of work, but it was worth it to see how much she loved it, and how much it made her day! And theirs too!


Next up: Dori.
R is a princess girl, through and through. But since she dresses up as a princess almost every single day, I wanted something else for her. When she saw the movie Finding Dori with her Nana, she couldn't stop talking about Dori. I can't walk through the grocery store without her asking for Dori fruit snack, and Dori noodle soup, and Dori stuffies, etc.

So I turned to my other favorite costume making material. Felt. It's not expensive, it's easy to work with, holds it's shape, no hemming edges required, and you can even glue it if you don't want to sew.

The eyeballs are fleece covered styrofoam (leftover from some picture frame packaging I had recently bought). The iris and pupil are felt, just glued on. I built a bit of internal structure framing for it using a bicycle helmet and some strips of left-over foam core I had on hand.

Oh, you're wondering how she see's? Details, details. Sometimes I almost forget to plan for those sort of things. But here it is.

Not the best picture, but you get the idea. Probably could have been better, but whatever. It worked. Sometimes you just have to say "good enough" (like when it's time to walk out the door for trick-or-treating!).

Happy Halloween once again! Pin It