(Imagine me appearing, hologram-like, before you all, with a beseeching look on my face. Much as Princess Leia did in Star Wars when Obi-Won was able to disengaged the stuck holographic image from R2D2).
(and yes, I'm a complete dork for using that reference.)
Every single year in July October when the Halloween decorations appear in full force throughout our nation's fine retail establishments, I have a moment of wistful consideration: should I try and make costumes for my girls? Or shall I maintain the status quo and plunk down $50 each for some cheap plastic or vinyl crap costume that they'll wear once before a) it falls apart, b) it is coated with chocolate smears, c) the costume owner absolutely refuses to wear it again, or d) all of the above?
Since I work full-time in an office job which tends to suck every productive bone out of my body, and I don't have much time for bubble baths cocktails creative pursuits, the latter scenario usually wins.
Come the second week in October, I begrudgingly pick out some fugly princess or character-inspired costume from Target (having weeded for hours through the already picked-over selection, and removed from consideration "Candy Apple the Slutty Witch" and other similarly inappropriate selections for my elementary and preschool age girls). And really I don't give it a second thought until some adorable child in a handmade lamb costume shows up for the neighborhood Halloween party, and I wistfully eye my daughter's paper-thin princess skirt, on which the hem is already unraveling...
Sigh. The self-induced angst. Makes your heart hurt a little, doesn't it?
Anyway. This year I had a kind of salvation in the form of Mimi's desired costume theme. She has decided she wants to be Hannah Montana for Halloween (along with probably half the female population aged 6-8). As costumes go, this one's a cinch! She's already got the long blonde hair, a great pair of pink boots, and a Hannah-inspired messenger bag shaped like a guitar. I picked up the rest of her "costume" (mini-skirt, sparkly leggings and t-shirt, jean jacket) at Old Navy. We're already set, and it's barely mid-September!
Once I decided to go the handmade -- or at least self-assembled -- route for Mimi's costume (and since I'm SO FAR AHEAD OF SCHEDULE for once in my life), I decided to tackle Rosie's costume in the same way. For the last couple of months, she's been practically obsessed with Toy Story 2, so I thought she might like to be Jessie the cowgirl for Halloween. That would be easy, I figured -- blue jeans, some sort of checkered shirt, a cowboy hat, and we'd be done. *I* certainly loved the idea.
I had Mimi help me to try and get Rosie excited about the Jessie costume, but unfortunately she had other ideas:
Mimi: "Rosie, do you want to be Jessie for Halloween?"
Rosie: "No. I want to be ZURG!"
So yes, Rosie's going to be Emporer Zurg for Halloween. And people, I know you will be impressed -- I've actually started on her costume! I bought 2 royal blue long sleeved women's shirts from Old Navy, shortened the arms (and hemmed them with fabric glue) so they're the correct length, and even added a tier at the bottom kind of like Zurg has at the bottom of his robe. It looks fabulous considering I almost glued myself to the damn thing about 10 times when I was putting it together.
But now I'm stuck, and I'm not talking about the fabric glue. The only other piece of the costume which I've got is the wide black belt which sits at Zurg's midsection -- my mom lent a stretchy belt of her own for this purpose. What do I do about Zurg's shoulder pads, gloves, and cape? And what about his headgear? I have a few ideas for the cape (seems like it would be easy to stick a big-ass piece of fabric on the back of the robe), but I'm especially at a loss as to how to render Zurg's head.
Help, my creative friends! Any ideas?
Oh, if it helps, here's a better picture of Zurg (with Mimi, taken during our Disney trip last year):
I welcome your thoughts and I promise to share pictures of the finished costume at a later date, if you would be interested.
p.s., just in case I accidentally trash the whole Zurg costume with that fabric glue, I've secretly assembled all the components needed for Rosie to dress as Jessie. Us moms have gotta have a backup plan, right?
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