Realizing that Halloween is just around the corner, I began to think back to some of the past costumes that my kids have dressed up in. I would have to say some that of the cutest costumes were the ones that I ended up making. Understandably so, when you hear of a mom making their kids costume, you tend to think of them hauling out the sewing machine or worse, the dreaded needle and thread. Even though I learned to sew at a young age, It’s not something I can say that I find enjoyment in. However I can say that I appreciate the knowledge that was passed down to me from my mother. It is a good skill to have but just too time consuming in my current busy mom life. With home, kids, work and some type of special occasion always creeping up around the next corner, who has time to sew? Not me, that’s for sure. I need something a bit less time consuming, durable, and fast drying. Yep, you guessed it, hot glue. My faithful little glue gun has assisted me through more than a few costumes over the years. Hey, I figure the creativity doesn’t have to take a hit just because I didn’t sew it. Actually it just requires me to think outside the box. Take a look here at one of the costumes that I achieved with hot glue.
My son requested to be Mario Raccoon one past Halloween. For the overalls, I purchased blue material by the yard and assembled the overalls by hot glue. The gloves, those are actually Mickey Mouse gloves. The big buttons, those were made from bright colored cardstock, then glued on with hot glue. The shirt was probably the part that gave me most difficulty. Finding the right color and in long sleeve. The hat was a news boy hat, painted to be red. I applied a small felt patch to the top and painted an “M” onto it. The Raccoon ears and tail, those also sent me on a hunt. I ended up finding a stuffed animal raccoon at a consignment shop. I did wait for the kids to go to sleep, before I began my disassembling of the poor little stuffed animal raccoon. Once I separated those pieces I just stuck them on in the coordinating areas with hot glue. For the candy bucket, I ended wrapping the bottom part of an old Easter basket. For the top part I used half of a paper mache balloon. I covered it with green material (held on by hot glue) and drew the turtle patterns on with permanent marker. The whole costume came together nicely.
O.K. I don't know why I never thought of hot glue gunning a costume!!! My daughter wants a halloween party for her 5th birthday and I'm now starting to think about it......There's just so much info out there to weed through to come up with the perfect ideas. But I can hang on to using hot glue for a costume. MUCH easier than sewing which is what I always think about. Thanks for sharing!
Posted by: Holly | August 14, 2009 at 08:36 PM
This is a great article!
A great place to share your birthday party planning ideas and tips is at www.Best-Birthday-Party-Ever.com
They have monthly contests offering great prizes in exchange for quality ideas and they’re also a great free resource for people to go and get ideas for their own party.
Be sure to check them out!
Posted by: Moe | January 10, 2010 at 03:43 PM