Becoming Glinda The Good Witch - Homemade Halloween Costumes

I can't remember the last time I dressed in ALL pink. I'm guessing it's been at least 30 years, maybe longer. There are only a handful of people who could get me in all pink, luckily Molly is one of those people.

When Molly approached me about going as characters from the play Wicked this Halloween, I immediately knew who I'd pick - Elphaba. Unfortunately, the acorn doesn't fall too far from the tree and when Molly assigned the roles mine was as Glinda the Good Witch, or "Galinda, with a Ga" for those who have seen the musical. 

We had two versions of Galinda to work with, so we decided to combine them.

Galinda in the play primarily wears pink in the beginning then transitions to blue in the later acts. She is the Good Witch of the North afterall with blue representing winter! (Image Courtesy of Today's Tix)

Molly and I decided that if I wore blue too many people would think I was the tooth fairy or even trying to be Elsa from Frozen. Molly and I also had a debate about whether or not Glinda has wings (I am firmly in the camp of her not having wings since she travels by bubble) and these would make me seem like the toothfairy or the Blue Fairy from Pinocchio, so we skipped them. (Image Courtesy of Vocal Media)

The basis for my crown was this tutorial here 

The supplies I used were two sheets of square glitter scrapbook paper ($1.99 a sheet at Michaels Craft Store). I managed to get stick on velcro to adjust my crown from the dollar store as well for $1.50, and uses a stapler to connect my sheets of paper. My gemstone stickers were $3.00 total so I could get sheets in pink and clear. The adhesive from the stickers alone were not enough to stick to the gritty, sandpaperish texture of the sparkle paper, so I secured them on using a glue gun. 

Using the velcro to adjust the crown to him my head really helps keep it in place!

I purchased my wand for from Value Village for $2.99. My necklace and earrings are my own. For my bodysuit, I got it on sale from Ardene for $13.93, during a 30 percent off sale. The most work intensive part of my costume was making a floor length tutus. I spent some time searching thrift shops for a cost effective skirt or dress I could layer, but didn't have any luck. Any grown-up sized tutus I found were quite short and didn't fit the bill. I used this tutorial to create my tutu. Even though I had a 30 percent discount from Michaels, I still ended up spending roughly $35 on pink tulle.In retrospect I should have probably bought a crinoline underskirt instead and simply dyed it pink, but I can reuse my tutu for other projects down the road. I am wearing a pair of light coloured leggings under my long tutu to keep warm and avoid any potential see-through costume issues. 

All together my costume cost just over $60. I will wear the bodysuit again as a layering piece in my fall/winter wardrobe.

Happy Halloween from these two witches! To view my How To Wicked Witch of the West Costume Click here.

Becoming "Wicked" - Homemade Wicked Witch of the West (Elphaba) Costume

The summer before lockdown I took Molly to see the play Wicked, presented by Mirvish as the main part of her birthday gift. Instantly she was in love with the other side of the story surrounding The Wizard of Oz.

This year when she told me she wanted to be Elphaba AKA the Wicked Witch of the West for Halloween, I knew we'd have fun with it.

Image Courtesy of Wicked Wiki

First we looked for a black dress. When we couldn't find one that would work, we spotted this pink one from Value Village for $4.99. Next we dyed it with some fabric dye which I bought for $3.99, by soaking it for two hours. We also have enough fabric dye left over to use for a future project. 

We opted for a larger sized dress so it would be longer on Molly

While the Wicked Witch of the West isn't known to wear the Ruby Slippers or the striped socks (they belong to her sister), Molly and I felt they were iconic enough to the story of The Wizard of Oz that we wanted to include them in her costume. We found the cosy socks from Dollarama for $1.50. We bought the red slip on shoes for $6.99 from Value Village and spent an additional $2.00 on sticky gems to affix to them to make them really sparkle.

These slippers will be great for Molly to wear post Halloween too.

After Molly and I attached the gems.

Look complete - Magic Ruby Slippers & Iconic Black and White Socks

Next we bought a witch hat from Dollarama for $1.50, as well as some green gloves for $1.50 and I painted on black nails with some black nail polish we had on hand. We were able to get a broom from Spirit Halloween for $5.99, and some green face make-up from Dollarama for $2.99. I added some of my own lipstick to make Molly's lips stand out once I applied the green makeup.

Molly was feeling "Wicked" once we put her look together.

The total cost of the costume was roughly $31.45 plus tax and included several items (shoes, dress, and socks) that will get reused aside from dress-up wear. Added bonus,

Molly & Jack together before their class Halloween party

What are you and your family dressing up as for Halloween this year?

Behind the Mask

We thought we had an epiphany moment the other night when Jack announced that he wanted to be Peter Pan for Halloween.  Then he quickly took it back and acts like we're insane every time we bring it up by saying, "No, I don't want to be Peter Pan." and laughing.  I strongly suspect he's messing with us.

Here's the thing: Chris and I both love Halloween and we're very excited to share our enthusiasm with the minions, but we're hitting some road blocks with the boy child.  In order to avoid permanently scarring him with respect to Halloween I have been researching costumes that meet (or mostly meet) his detailed specifications: No masks, no hats and limited costuming to go over his clothes.

A very sick Bam Bam who never made it Trick or Treating circa 2012.

Here are 6 simple, affordable costumes that we're pitching to Jack for Halloween, (all of which he'll probably reject):

Knight Costume: I really think he'd dig this costume because he'd get to carry a sword and he'll even match Molly in her dragon costume.  The big issue is the eye poking, dragon/Molly slaying and tears that will follow with the eventual confiscation of the sword.  
Props required: Crested shirt, boots, cape and sword.

Prisoner/ Jail Bird: This bright costume will keep him visible to cars at night, but may result in several conversations about what a prisioner is and why someone would go to jail.  We could, unintentionally, be glamourizing a life of crime to Jack in a pivotal point in his life that we are then forced to discuss at a therapist's office for years.
Props required: black and white or orange jump suit, possible hand-cuffs, ball and chain.

Scare-Crow: I'm pretty sure we have most of these supplies, but Jack will likely rub the nose paint everywhere and refuse to wear the hat, but then I guess he's a farmer?
Props required: Overalls with patches, plaid shirt, hat made from burlap sack, face paint for nose.

Skeleton: We had to remove a print of Jack and the Bean Stalk (it's a cartoon of a little boy and a bean stalk)  from the nursery because it scared Jack, so I'm not sure how dressing up as a skeleton will work.
Props required: Black outfit and white construction paper (we actually have a skeleton hoodie, so we'd just need to make the pants) This Martha Stewart Idea on creating a skeleton costume only using a black and a white t shirt is amazing

Pizza: This is Jack's favourite food and my vote for most likely candidate. 
Props required: Bristol Board, various coloured construction paper, pipe-cleaners, fabric and glue, string and a little imagination.

Caterpillar/Butterfly: Jack talks about Caterpillars and Butterflies a lot...this could be what we're looking for.
Props required: Striped clothing and cardboard wings.

Minion Molly on her first Halloween.

If anyone has any other ideas or strategies I'm listening....Otherwise we may be heading out in a Batman raincoat....and I guess that wouldn't be terrible.

To read about Halloween stories to get you and your kids in the mood for everything October click here

To see some easy Halloween decor/crafts that even uncrafty me could pull off click here