Home Made Costumes

My sister is a talented mom. She makes fabulously creative birthday cakes, puts together detailed parties, and makes the kids' costumes for Halloween or dress up days at school. I thought I'd show off some of the costumes the kids have worn over the years.
I don't know what the boys were for their first Halloween, but they would have only been 5 months old. For their second, they were skeletons. Here they are sitting in the pumpkin patch the art teacher from my school made with the students. These are just white sweatshirts and pants with black bones on the sleeves and legs. The front of the sweatshirts have a cream colored ribbon making the ribs.The next year they were crayons in their favorite colors. A winter hat, a slip-over anything tube and appropriately colored sweatshirt. Easy, even for someone who isn't super crafty. The hardest part would be the crayon details. Then the baby sister came along! Now we might get some real girly costumes, like this Snow White. It was a store-bought costume from a neighbor that was too big, so many alterations went into it. It was nice that it was big because bulky clothes to stay warm could go under it. The pirate was easy to put together with purchased items, the most difficult part being finding the red & white striped shirt. The bat is another sweatshirt with a hood that has little stuffed ears sewed on, the mask and wings being added with a heavy fabric.This year, Frick was a pirate again. A little more menacing with his sword and razor stubble, though! Frack was a fireman, in another black sweatshirt and pants. Duct tape and reflective tape were used, as well a reflective letters from the hardware store on the back spelling out his name. The sweatshirt was cut down the front to make a jacked and held together with Velcro covered with electrical tape. The butterfly was a lime t-shirt over a purple sweatshirt and pants. The headband was thickly twisted pip cleaners and large sparkly pompoms and the wings were 2 layers of heavy tag board with 2 layers of tissue paper sandwiched between.The bat is back! All 3 kids wore this costume at one time or another. Frida is a real cutie in the scarecrow costume that is just jeans and a flannel shirt with patches sewn on them. She also has straw hanging out of her arms and legs, which kept falling out all night when I took them trick or treating. My sister, K, said a better idea would have been to make a bracelet of the straw on a rubber band. That would have taken a long time, I bet. This was the first year that one of the boys wanted to do the scary mask. I think all boys want this at some point. He ended up hating it because it was sweaty and he couldn't see or talk well.I liked the firefighter costume so much I asked for one for myself. Here it is on Career Day at school. My colleague Christina is a trail guide.There are lots of costumes I just couldn't find pictures of right now. The pink witch, a clown, Dracula, just to name a few. This year Frida is going to be a speed bump, which was my idea. Another sweatsuit with a hood, this time bright yellow. Paint put on a thick-tread tire and rolled over it. Simple! I've been pushing my idea for years and this year she picked it even though I haven't mentioned it in a while. K is also currently working on 12 eagle costumes for Frida's soccer team. They are in a costumed tournament, so they need matching costumes that they can wear while playing. I'll get you some pictures of that when it's done.