Crafting for Halloween

Wow! I can't believe I've been M.I.A. for two weeks! Between Halloween, the recent time change, and the chilliness of autumn, I just can't seem to get motivated. I hope this is a temporary setback-my art show isn't getting any farther away! In my defense, I did spend a week and a half solid constructing my Halloween costume. Since that definitely fits into the "crafting" category, (do I have one of those?) here's what I accomplished, with the help of Mario and Luigi, of course. I present: Mario-Kart Princess Peach! The photo was taken with a cell phone so it is a bit grainy, but you can get the gist of the costume. It included a Kart, a pink ball gown, a bejeweled crown, and various props, such as stars (for an extra boost of energy and invincibility) and turtle shells (for knocking down the competition).

The cart was made from 1.5" foam insulation which we glued together using some industrial adhesive and dowels. The pieces of foam were all sanded down, glued together, and spray painted with a special latex paint that doesn't dissolve plastics/foam/etc.

I made the dress by making a pattern from another ball gown I happened to own already. You can't see the whole thing, but there's a 1' wide magenta stripe at the bottom and a huge magenta sash around the waist that ties in the back. The skirt poofed out about a foot from my body in all directions, which was great for "watching my step"; let's just say, I tripped more than once. It was labor intensive to make and caused me way more stress than I'd like to admit. The easiest part of the costume was the crown, which I made by gluing two pieces of poster board together with Elmer's glue and securing with a rubber band until dry and as solid as a rock. I spray painted it with gold spray paint, hot glued jewels onto it, punched a few holes at the bottom edge, and bobby pinned it to my wig.

Since Peach hasn't had much of a make over in the past few decades, I updated her look for personal reasons. Gone is the Farrah Fawcett feathered mullet hair and high-necked poufy sleeved princess dress. I'm sure only die-hard fans would even have noticed of the changes I wrought. I thought it was much needed and it suited my style a lot better.

Creating your own Halloween costume is a great way to be creative and original for one of the best holidays of the year. Depending on your costume, it's also an excellent way to recycle and to support your local thrift stores.