halloween anyone?

I know, it's still July, and HOT and school is just starting, but for those of us not planning to rush out to the costume mega mart, it's getting to be time to think about HALL-O-WEEEEEEN...

I've made several costumes for Raine, and I'm planning to continue the tradition this year. I've even come up with an idea. Well, actually, it is a group of ideas. Lets start at the beginning, shall we? No, no, not that beginning... the beginning of the idea factory. What would Raine like to be for Halloween? Her favorite things are: dinosaurs, bionicles, and Spore (the computer game). I made her a bionicle costume last year, which I thought turned out pretty good. There was one problem with it, though. It was appliques onto a sweat shirt and sweat pants. For anyone who doesn't live here in the southern end of NM, it can still get plenty warm in October. Last year she just about melted in her costume.

So, what to do? Of course I asked her what she wanted, and she tells me about different Spore creatures she would like a costume of. The creature part stays fairly consistent, but the appendages and accoutrement change and shift, mutate and recombine. See, in a way, that makes sense, because the part of Spore that she likes best is basically building the creature. You put different heads, and claws, ears and noses, fangs and antennae on the things. You change the color, and the texture, and even decide whether you want wings. And you can pretty much change it at any time.

So. my thought is this. Build some pieces. None of the pieces would have to take that long to create, and if I stick to a couple basic colors, then she can mix and match them like crazy. Also, not as much to grow out of. The costume pieces can last for as long as she wants to dress up in them (unlike the dinosaur costume I didn't make, but she loved... until she couldn't put the hood up without getting a wedgie. I think it will be fun to play with pieces and parts for her, and for me, too. A chance for me to play with some embellishment techniques and textures as well. Maybe some reversible pieces, as long as they don't get too many layers, and then become too hot to play in. Some need scales, and some feathers, and I'm thinking vests and hoods for the garment pieces. Now I just need to be on the lookout for cool looking socks and gloves to go with...