Costume Contest Fun!

Every year my family has a Halloween Bash. New this year is a costume contest, which I have been put in charge of (yay!) First step was to come up with categories and figure out how to judge it. I have decided that there will be ballots and everyone will vote, and all kids 10 and under will get a prize regardless (more on this coming soon!)
I decided on 3 categories, Best Men's Costume, Best Women's Costume, and Best Couples Costume. I may do more later, but I was itching to get started.
First I scoured pinterest for prize ideas and, with a few in mind, headed off to the dollar store and wally world.

Total: Just over $8.00

 

First off I took apart the skeleton garlands and cut at the shoulders and elbows so I could bend them to my will. Then I had to search the entire house for my hot glue gun. Luckily, I found it hidden in my husbands art box.

 



Glued. Also, don't forget to glue the hip joints, they are loose.

 

 

Next, the fun stuff. I took them all outside and spray painted them gold. Yeah, I'm totally going for a Oscar type theme here.



Back and Front

 

Now is when the fun began. While waiting for my awesome skeletons to dry, I cut up the foam headstone that I wanted to use for a base. Upon figuring out that it was white inside (I should have known that.) I decided that it would be cute to have the base gold, too.

 

 Bad Plan.

 

Did you know, Styrofoam melts when you spray paint it? I didn't. So much for that. Time to get creative. I searched my house and came up with:

 

Two old crystal light containers and a plastic yard sale bowl. I knew these things would come in handy someday. Win.

 

 

Two coats of paint later and.....

Viola. Awesomeness.

 

 

While drying my new and improved bases, I made ribbon sashes for my little guys.

 

How cute is that?!?!

 

And then hot glued the little guys to their new bases.

 

I decided at this point that the bases looked a little... hmm... plain. So I improvised again.

Hooray for sharpie!

 

And there you go. Super cute, $8.00 trophies!

















An Egyptian Halloween

As fall is beginning, I have hit my crafty time of year. The girls are ecstatic... or not. Multiple costume fittings a day is apparently not their idea of fun times. The cat is also not amused; she and I have a constant fight going on about weather or not she can nap in my craft box(es).
This years costume crafts are little red riding hood, a princess ballerina, and an "ancient Egyptian princess."
Luckily this year, things have been fairly easy and cheap. In the spring I found a yard sale that was only fabric. Best. Yard Sale. Ever. I probably spent about $40 there, and all fabric was $.50 to $1.00.. Score!! Plus, a horribly stained white dress became the base for the Egyptian costume, making things go much faster for me.

 

This is the beginning of the dress, with the "new" longer skirt pinned to it.

I bought some gold fabric, beads, and gold cording, and found some blue silk material in my stash. I used some of my husband's duck cloth for the wrist cuffs and neck peice, and will for the crown.

Excuse the messy bed, that's my sewing station right now, until the kiddos are old enough to stay out of things.

 

 

I used hook and eye clips to fasten the cuffs and beaded them simply.

 

I love her face in this one. She was so impressed with her mom!

And the finished dress. Actually I think I might have to fix the shoulder of the neck piece, The way it sits on her makes it look off centered, and that bugs me so, so bad.

So easy peasy, lemon sqeezy! (Kind of. My finger still hurts from sewing beads on.) Not too bad for not using a pattern.
Stay tuned for the crown, and little red riding hood next!