Halloween 2012: A World of Pure Imagination

I love making Halloween costumes. I really do. Something about it gets me so excited. I know when I have more kids I may not be able to handcraft everybody's costumes like I've done so far, but in the meantime, I am enjoying every minute of Halloween-costume craftiness. Previous years here, here and here. 

***For previous Halloween Posts, see:
Halloween 2009: Where the Wild Things Are
Halloween 2010: UP
Halloween 2011: Deep in the Hundred Acre Wood
Halloween 2013: I've Got No Strings
Halloween 2015: The Force Awoke

I also know at some point Calvin will realize that children generally choose their own costume for Halloween. So far, he thinks that Halloween is where Mommy chooses something and makes a neat costume for you to wear. We are going with that as long as he'll let me.

This year, we are Willy Wonka and an Oompa Loompa. Thanks for Amberlyn for taking the pictures! Here is an inspiration picture:

Calvin as Mr. Willy Wonka:

Willy Wonka Costume - $14 total

Tuxedo Jacket- $4 (DI Thrift Store)

Fabric Spray Paint in Lavender - $3 (Hobby Lobby)

Vest- $0 (had on hand)

Purple embellishment for vest - $1.49 (Joann Fabrics)

White shirt - $0 (had on hand)

Dress pants - $0 (had on hand)

Shoes - $0 (had on hand)

Cardboard for hat - $0 (had on hand)

Fabric for hat - $2 (Joann Fabrics)

Fabric for bow tie - $1 (Joan Fabrics)

Ribbon for hat and bow tie - $0 (had on hand)

Dowel for cane - $1 (Hobby Lobby)

Drawer knob for cane - $1.49 (Hobby Lobby)

I painted the Jacket and added decoration on the vest with a hot glue gun. The bow tie is made from a long strip of fabric and tied pretty. Besides that, all I had to make was the hat and the cane. The cane is just a painted dowel with a fancy drawer pull on top of it. The hat is the only thing I made from scratch. Here's how it went: 

I started with a priority mail box and formed it into a circle, cutting strips at the top and the bottom. The top strips got folded in to form the top of the hat, the bottom strips were folded out to form the brim.

I hot glued a circle of cardboard on the top to make it solid. and the edge of a paper plate around the brim to do the same. Then I bent the cardboard to shape the brim.

I began covering the hat with the fabric using Mod Podge, beginning with a circle on the top.

I just painted the hat with Mod Podge and kept covering and pressing down the fabric as I rotated the hat. Calvin took this picture!

Lastly, I put a ribbon around the bottom edge, covering up the ugly seam I had. That's it!

Next is our little Oompa Loompa!

Oompa Loompa Costume - $15 total

Brown turtleneck - $3.88 (Wal-mart)

White bias tape for stripes - $1 (Wal-mart)

Heat N Bond Transfer Paper - $0 (had on hand)

Fabric for pants - $2 (Joann Fabrics)

Velcro for suspenders - $1 (Hobby Lobby)

Tights - $2.88 (Wal-mart)

Brown fabric marker for tights - $1 (Hobby Lobby)

Big Buttons - $1 (Hobby Lobby)

Pom pom balls - $1 (Hobby Lobby)

Felt for booties - $0 (had on hand)

White cream makeup for eye brows - $1 (Wal-mart)

Kool-aid for hair dye - $.25 

To make my Oompa Loompa, I added stripes to a turtleneck shirt using white bias tape using Heat N Bond transfer paper. You could also sew or hot glue these on as well. I drew stripes on the tights with a brown fabric marker. I tried to find some white pants to begin with, but couldn't find any so I decided to just make them.

I used a pair of shorts that I knew fit him well and turned them inside out to make a pattern from them. Then I added the triangle sides to my pattern, cut everything out and sewed it all together!  

Here's the shorts before I added the suspenders. I just hot glued the buttons on the front and back of the pants after I sewed the suspenders on.

To make the shoes, I covered existing booties with brown felt.

 I love these brothers.

Other Halloween Years:
Halloween 2009: Where the Wild Things Are
Halloween 2010: UP
Halloween 2011: Deep in the Hundred Acre Wood
Halloween 2013: I've Got No Strings
Halloween 2015: The Force Awoke