Halloween

Well, better late than never. This is another of the Halloween costumes I made for my step-son after my "frugal awakening".

It's not the best photo (and clearly I should have washed the window first), but this scarecrow outfit was a relatively successful and inexpensive costume.

These were old jeans that may or may not have already had holes at the knees, but I added patches anyhow. I found bits of rope to tie around his waist, ankles and wrists. I remember we visited the fairgrounds to find some straw to glue here and there, mainly sticking out of the front of the flannel shirt, which was a charity shop find. 

For me the most fun part of this costume was the birds (a blue one on his shoulder and a red one on the hat) and the hat. These were also charity shop finds. The hat was actually a straw basket thing intended to cover a plant pot (was that ever a thing here in Britain?). I just turned down the top edge and flipped it over to be a straw hat. 

The costume was a success in that it was comfortable enough for him to wear all day at school and it kept him warm when he went out to trick or treat.

We're not participating in Halloween this evening. I've taken in my (uncarved) pumpkin from the front porch; it was actually purchased for making pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving. We will be hiding at the back of the house, pretending we aren't home. Hopefully my observation that most kids haven't yet worked out what 'trick' means will still hold true.

On a slightly different note, I've just finished reading Better Than Before, a book by Gretchen Rubin (The Happiness Project author) about habits and how we form them. Each chapter begins with a quote. I found some of them rather disturbing / motivational. So I will leave you this slightly scary thought:

"All our life, so far as it has definite form, is but a mass of habits -- practical, emotional, and intellectual, -- systematically organized for our weal or woe, and bearing us irresistibly toward our destiny."
                      --William James, Talks to Teachers and Students

I set the alarm and went out for a run the next morning, something I've not done in ages.

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween

My computer has been in the repair shop and I can't tell you how relieved I am to have it back! I probably need to replace it, but hopefully it will last until after the holidays. Honestly, I felt as though I'd lost one of my arms when it was away. 

I'm not a fan of Halloween in the UK. I think they should stick with Guy Fawkes Night. Bonfires are outlawed now for safety reasons and so it has become Fireworks night. They set off fireworks over here with the least of excuses, and of course have to practice/use surpluses for weeks before and after. I'm just glad I don't have a nervous dog around like some of my neighbours.

Anyhow, I do like to remember some of my frugal / creative successes of the past, even if I'm happy not to remember most of the other stuff back then. This is my first frugal Halloween costume. I started with 'What do I have already' and 'What would Johnny like?'. I had a room full of stuff to consider and the film Captain Hook had just come out. Can't say I ever saw it, but it was the 'thing' just then.

What I had:

A not-very-old beautiful red coat that the moths had got to. I couldn't bear to throw it away, but it wasn't really wearable either. Couldn't afford to have it fixed.

Mom's sewing boxes full of gold and silver rick-rack trim

An old white blouse of Mom's with a 'secretary bow'

My workout pants (black lycra)

An old black belt

The hook from a hanging shower gel bottle

Liquid eyeliner

Aluminum foil

Black felt




What I bought: 

A black wig for a witch and I cut out the white streaks and cut it off to a blunt shoulder length cut ($1)

A plastic sword ($1)



A library book showed how to make a tri-corn hat with a wire clothes hanger and black felt and boot covers from black felt. Living in Salt Lake City / Mormon country where they have large families has loads of advantages and this was one.

I heated a large needle and poked holes around the shower gel hook covered with aluminum foil and stitched it to the end of the left sleeve of the red wool jacket.

The jacket was loose and slipped over his head. I covered the front, neckline and sleeve ends with a bunch of rick-rack and other bling. This was also put on the hat and the tops of the 'boots'.

The blouse was silky and I cut it down just so it would act as a liner between him and the jacket. It would also keep him warm when out trick-or-treating.

I painted him  a curly mustache with eyeliner.

He wore my work out pants, black trainers and the shoe-cover boots.

And of course he got to flourish the plastic sword and his 'hook-hand' so he loved it.

I loved that it cost $2 instead of the $60 I spent the previous year for a Mutant Ninja Turtle costume. And feeling that I'd finally used some sort of creative process that I always wished I'd inherited from my Mom. I felt she would have been proud of me.

I have to say that from then on I thought Halloween was probably the most fun about step-parenting I could possibly have.

Happy Halloween

This is the first Halloween costume I ever made. It was our first year in Salt Lake City, so my Aunt Rita wasn't near by to save me. Mom was gone. I had to come up with the goods on my own.

My first mistake was to ask Johnny what he wanted to be (I later learned it was best to rummage through my fabric stash and make suggestions based on what I already had). 

My second mistake was something to do with cheap fabric. I don't recall what was wrong with it, but it didn't work out and I literally made two Ninja turtle costumes, one that worked and one that didn't. Total cost about $60. in an already very stretched budget! My third mistake was to hang on to the thing instead of selling it on or giving it away so someone else could get some use of it.

Still, he was very happy with the thing and I felt I'd started to acquire some of my Mom's skills.

Happy Halloween

This photo is from 1990, the year my Mom died. My first Halloween without her to help with costumes. Lucky for me, my Aunt Rita was also a great sewist and she loved kids, particularly adorable 4-year-old ones. 

He doesn't have a pumpkin on his head - it's on the fish tank behind him...

She and her husband, Jack, had attended a Halloween costume party the year before, dressed as leopards. I have to smile at what sort of 'discussion' it must have took to get Jack to do that. He never really had a chance, though, Rita just didn't do 'no'. She loaned us those costumes and let me tell  you I looked great with a black nose and whiskers (and piles of eye make-up). I know I have photos somewhere, but they were pre-digital and while I may have scanned them, I haven't got all my photos scanned / organised. I'm getting there.

Rita pointed out that baby leopards have different spot patterns than their adult parents, so it didn't matter that she couldn't match the big costumes exactly. I don't know if that is true about leopards, but it sounded good to me. This was the last year I attended a Halloween party as part of a trio. Thereafter, costumes were just for the kid.  

Wearing 'onesies' is somehow popular here in Britain amongst the 20-somethings at university. I've not worked out what that's about, but I can tell you they are very comfy, at least from what I recall...

Happy Halloween

Halloween costumes are so easy when your mom is an avid sewist and loves making costumes. 
 

That face paint never stayed put for long!

 

 



The first year she had a step-grandson, she made Three Bears costumes. This year (1981) we were clowns.

 

 



Wearing bells is so fun!

 

Never mind that they were only worn twice, she loved making these outfits.  If I'd been smart, I would have passed them on or sold them the next year, but by then Mom was gone and I wasn't thinking very straight about anything, much less things she'd made.
 

Edited to exclude that other clown...

 
 
What are you going to be this year?

Happy Halloween

As part of my photo scanning process (stalled, but not forgotten) I found this photo of me at age four or five, dressed as a 'bride doll'.  Given the fact that I've been a 'bride' three times now, I think it's an absolute hoot that I started practicing so early, but I do remember that I had an actual bride doll at that age.  She was far more elegant than any I find on the internet just now, or perhaps I just remember her that way.

The headdress was made using a sort of choker-style cloth necklace Mom had that was beaded with costume pearls.  She somehow stuffed netting into it to shape the veil.  She was good at things like that.  They call that 'up-cycling' now or something, don't they?  Then she whipped up a top from some white taffeta and threw together a net skirt.  I think the waist line was pretty itchy, but it was just for one evening, after all.   When ever it was time to get 'gussied up', Mom's stock hairstyle for me was the dreaded Shirley Temple curls.  I hated them then, but they make me laugh now.

Try not to eat all your Halloween candy yourself!!

Happy Halloween

 

I think Mom really enjoyed making these costumes this first Halloween we had Johnny, who was 2 and a bit at the time.  He sure enjoyed wearing his, too, though the face paint was apt to get smeared pretty quickly.  There was a Papa Bear outfit as well, but you'll have to take my word for it. 

Do you see good costumes on Trick or Treat night?

Happy Halloween

Little Bo Peep - 1959 - Pink net skirt and hat, cerise velvet* bodice and trim, crook is net-wrapped concrete rod, Lambie-Pie* was gift from family friend.

*50 years on, I still have Lambie-Pie and swathe of cerise velvet.

Happy Halloween!