My Completed Costume

Well,  I finished all our family costumes late Thursday night.  Friday, Lydia had 3 costume events to attend, one at 9 am, one at 3pm, and one at 6pm. Thankfully she got a nap in the middle (I would have liked one too!) I was in my costume (and super high teal heals) from 8 am until 9pm.  Fortunately, my costume (and my feet) held up well because today I will be in costume from 2pm until whenever a Zombie Prom finishes.  What I never thought about was how Lydia's dress would look after en entire day of candy eating, apple bobbing, and pumpkin painting. That is important, because the first Halloween event for today is that we are scheduled to have pictures taken.  Next year I will have to plan that better.... and as long as I am planning for next year, someone remind me that Zombie Prom would be a FANTASTIC Witches Brew theme!

Anyway, now that I think I have gotten all the stains out of Lydia's dress, it is time to show off mine! My costume, as usual, was part of a package deal with my sister's costume. I started our costume creations, as usual, at the thrift store. I found a polka dot dress that I thought would work for Jen and then worked on finding coordinating colors. The general idea was to do a mismatched gaudy version of Cinderella's step sisters in orange pinks with hits of lime green and red to make it funky. I bought the dress for Jen for $10, a green sweater for me for a couple of dollars, and a polka dot shirt the same colors as the dress.  I bought several sheets and drapes in the right colors, but ended up not needing them.  I had a green sweater already at home for Jen, so that was my initial idea; green sweaters and funky orange skirts. 

I did some work on my skirt last week.   It started out as a curtain panel and a shirt. I cut the top (arms and neck part) off of the shirt and used the tube as the under skirt. Then I sewed elastic into the curtain so it made a long skirt. I used safety pins to scrunch up the skirt and later decided to add a ruffle to the bottom edge. For some reason (maybe because there wasn't much to make) I just couldn't get going and waited until I had less than a day to finish it.  So I drew a plan for the costumes, starting with the parts I had and adding details to make the drawings look good.  Pretty soon I knew what I needed to do and I set out to add some ruffles and final touches to our outfits.  I was happy that, in plan at least, the costumes referenced each other without completely matching 

I finished both costumes at about 11pm, WAY passed my bedtime, but I am SO glad I added those last few details.  Here is a picture of my skirt. I was able to wear the tank top and the waist band that were originally intended for the circus wedding.  They even inspired the use of the red and white fabric for the ruffle, and I am SO happy with them. In the meantime, a good friend borrowed the ringleader jacket and Lydia's top hat for her costume and she ROCKED them! (I think I have just about costumed the entire 37918 zip code!)

Here is a good shot of my makeup and the edge of my teal tank.  I sewed some of the red strip to the top of it as well.  I did my make up extra heavy (super fun!), added a mole, and piled my hair on top of my head and I was ready for an entire day if being Cinderella's "ugly" step sister.

This picture was taken at the end of a really long, really rainy day, so everything felt a little flat. It does show Jennifer's costume.  I just hiked up her skirt with a safety pin and sewed ruffles onto her slip.  She added a sweater and I pinned on teal sleeves that I cut off an old dress.   You can see the professional pictures with Lydia, Jennifer, and myself in them by clicking here.  You can see prior Halloween photo shoots here, here, and here.

Here is a picture of myself with PJ.  This may be our only Halloween photo as he is preparing for a big car show and may not be able to join us for our photos.  I hate my knees.  Just a thought.  I might have to get new knees before our pictures on Saturday.  Just a thought.