Homemade Halloween

It was a homemade Halloween this year. Most of the costumes my kids have worn in the past were store bought. For several years, we had princesses and either a prince, or a ninja, or a teenage mutant ninja turtle. More recently, the girls have gone with more dark characters, like a dead softball player, or a witch.

Well, this year we had quite a variety. And, they were all homemade. Some more successful then others, but the kids loved it.

My oldest made her own vision a reality of the Black Swan. I think she just wanted the opportunity to do the make up. But after spending an afternoon tying tulle strips to an elastic band, she probably had second thoughts. And, after spending an hour hot-gluing feathers, I know I did.

Our Pixie was a bit easier. She cut and tied the tulle for her own skirt (with a bit of help from grandma one evening). She was soooo lucky to have had her allergies flare up today causing quite a bit of sneezing, hence the red nose. But cute as ever!

Finally, the Mummy. I really didn't think it would take 4 yards of muslin to created this monster, but sure enough, it did. In my effort to age the muslin by wetting the strips and drying them, I actually made a hug mess. They turned into one big ball of fabric tied up with strings, and practically undryable. After it finally dried, I spent free moments at school separating the strips and hot-gluing them end-to-end. Such fun! And it still didn't cover him totally. After he spent a few minutes running through the house, most of the wrapping on the legs had slid down and sagged. He really needed a second layer, but no time for that, we had some candy to gather. So a few more dots of hot glue and they were off.

All in all, a fun Halloween, just wish we had been able to start it all earlier. Next year, I'll have to start in September!

Did you make costumes this year ? I'd love to hear about them.