Katniss was a hit!

I wanted to share with you  how my costume turned out! I did end up making a mockingjay pin, but found out that they will soon release pins as part of the movie promo, so I may end up buying one then!

I decided to go for a mid-battle look so I could cover my face in dirt and blood (just a little more halloweenish to me).

Movie Monday: The reveal

Today's movie Monday is a special one! I am finally revealing my costume for this year.. dun dun dun... Every year I start a list (usually on Nov. 1) of costume ideas, but I don't make any final decisions until I have that moment when the costume idea really hits me and I just can't think of anything else. This year I was starting to get nervous because it was mid September and I hadn't had that moment yet (it usually happens around July.) But there I was looking at upcoming movie trailers and it hit me, I wanted to be Katniss Everdeen.

If you don't know who that is, you are missing out, she is the main character from the Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins. They are making the first book into a movie next year and I couldn't wait to be one of the first to attempt to copy their take on the book.

Here is what I am going to need:

• Cargo pants in a earthy color: I found a pair of olive green cargo pants at a thrift store for 8 bucks
• Black boots
• Black jacket
• Black T-shirt
• Bow and Arrow
• Long braid
• Mockingjay Pin

I have found most of the items, but have not found a Mockingjay pin yet, which is probably the most important part of the costume! I am thinking I am going to make one! Wish me luck! Now I just need to find someone to be my Peeta...

Have you found all of the parts to your costume? Only 2 weeks left! 

Spooktacular Spotlight!

Well I know it may sound super conceited to do a spotlight on myself, but I thought it was only fair to let you know why I love Halloween so much and why my blog is dedicated to costumes!

Part of my love for Halloween comes from my birthday being days away from the lovely holiday. This time of the year always was full of excitement and cherished memories. I also have always loved clothes and getting dressed up. This is only enhanced with Halloween; you can be anything or anyone you want to be! The older I get the more excited and into halloween I become, last year I even had two different costumes!

I can't remember ever having a store bought costume, my mom, or grandma, or I would always make them. Making costumes adds an additional element of fun to Halloween, I love collecting item, making things and putting it all together for the big night!

I can't say that I have a favorite costume because I have enjoyed being everything! I just get so excited for every costume that it is my favorite of the moment! I also look for opportunities to dress up in costume throughout the rest of the year! Any occasion for a costume is a good day in my book!

May the force be with you! Throw it on Thursday style!

This throw it on Thursday is going to be a little different because it is geek week! I have been a Star Wars fan for pretty much my entire life. I grew up watching the old ones as a kid, and was one of the first in line to see the new ones! Star Wars is probably the nerdiest part of my life and I am not one bit ashamed of it. So for today I thought I would give you an explosion of pictures of different Star Wars Halloween ideas! Enjoy!

padme amadala - my own image

Gizmodo via pintrest

Pintrest

Geeks are Sexy

Pintrest

Pintrest 

As you can see there are many ways to make quick and easy star wars costumes! All it takes is a little creativity! What Star Wars character would you want to be?

Try it on Tuesday: Geek Week

Beam me up Scotty!

Welcome to the first day of Geek Week- Halloween Style! 

Today's costumes are all about Star Trek! I was a big fan of the 2008 remake of Star Trek so today's costumes are modeled after that film, and only simple modifications would be needed to become your favorite character!

 These costumes are fun and on the easier side to make!

Here is what you need: 

• Yellow, red or Blue dress: I made mine by finding a HUGE plain red dress at the thrift store, I took it in  and cut off the bottom and the sleeves and BAM- the dress was almost done, I put on a turtle neck underneath and made the patch out of felt and silver fabric glued together. (you can also by one)
• Ear piece (if you want to be Uhura): I made mine out of an old airplane headphone piece and a piece of a toy glued together and spray painted silver
• Black tights or leggings 
• Black boots

my earpiece

The men: dreamy right?

What you need:

• Black pants
• Black shoes or boots
• Yellow, red or blue long sleeved shirt with a patch (made with felt/fabric)
• Phaser- I found cheap ones on line or you can make your own! 
• Add the details to make the character come to life like spock's ears and hair! 

Geek Week

I am officially labeling this week as Halloween 

All week I will be doing perfectly nerdy and fabulously geeky costumes for all of the people like me who secretly (or not so secretly) like all things geeky! 

Freaky Saturday: Girls Costumes

image from Country Living

Well this week I was so excited it was Friday that the day came and past without me noticing I hadn't blogged yet! So today is a special Saturday Poll result post!

This weeks question was: What will be this years most popular Halloween costume?

25% of voters said that Classic Halloweens will be big hit!

13% said a decade costume will be the thrill

56% and the clear winner is Princess power!

and 6% said it would be something else!

Thanks for voting and have a spooktacular weekend!

On a separate note check out one of my favorite fashion bloggers take on halloween costumes this week! What I Wore

Weekly Poll Girls's Costumes

Throw it together Thursday : Baby Face

Want to know what is one of the quickest costumes to put together? A Baby.

All you need is this:

• PJs- the weirder the better. My personal favorite are the footy pajamas
• Bottle or pacifier- the bigger the better
• Perfectly rosy cheeks- a little blush or red makeup will do the trick
• Pig-tails or other baby like hair

Easy as Pie! 

Spooktacular Spotlight: Katie's Creations

Katie has been a friend of mine for a long time and I must say that she is always so creative! I was so excited when she said she would help me out by answering a few questions for me! Her costumes are always top notch and I can't wait to see what she has in store for this Halloween! 


HG: What has been your favorite costume that you have worn?


 I would probably say last year as Alice was my favorite costume only because I had the best props ever. The mad hatter and the white rabbit. It is fun for me to dress up in groups.

HG: What is the best costume you have made?

I think the coolest costume I made was when my husband and I dressed up as King Leonidas and his wife. I made his helmet and shield out of cardboard and tape and spray painted it antique gold. It looked awesome. Unfortunately I do not have any pictures of it.

HG: How long have you been sewing?

I have been learning to sew probably for almost 5 years. I still feel like a novice though.

Katie made this mermaid costume for her niece. Isn't it adorable!

HG: What is your favorite part of Halloween?

My favorite part of Halloween is definitely dressing up. It is so fun to wear something other than everyday clothing. 

Katie and her husband as Aladdin and Jasmine!

Try It On Tuesday: The Classics

You don't have to be something super inventive in order to have a great Halloween costume, sticking with the classics can be just as fun! Here are a few great classic ideas I have found!

Scarecrow

White Ghost

Bats

Mummy

Gray Ghost 

Click on title to take you to their original web site for directions!

images via pintrest and Martha Stewart

Movie Madness Monday: Harry Potter Part 2

Magical Monday readers! Hope you had a good weekend! As I promised I will be showcasing Harry Potter costumes for boys!

Of course the logical option is to be Harry! He is brave, strong and smart a great character to want to be, but if you want to spice it up alittle here are a couple of other options!

For those of you who have an inclination for the dark arts, perhaps you want to be a Death Eater (Tom Riddle, Snape, Malfoy ect.)

What you need:

• Black pants, and Black Long sleeved shirt
• Black tie or ascot
• Black Shoes
• Long black cape or cloak
• wand
• Dark Mark
• hair or wig to match your character, long blond for Lucius Malfoy, Greasy Black fro snape, Bald for Voldermort ect

You can't deny that Dumbledore is pretty awesome for his age, He is AWESOME. If you want to be equally awesome this Halloween try out this costume! 

What you will need:

• Long regal looking robes, purple, silver,grey or deep blue are great options
• White wig and beard (if you already have this then you are golden!)
• Wand
• Matching Hat

Happy Haunts! 

Freaky Friday with Bob Hope!

Hello fellow Halloween lovers! Here we are again! Friday! The thoughts of weekend plans are overcoming all desire to finish my school day, but not before I get my fill of Halloween happiness first! I have the official results from Yesterdays poll and here they are!

65% agreed with me in thinking that this years must have costume for boys is going to be a Superhero.
15% Think that magic will win and Harry Potter costumes will have another year at the top
10% voted for infinity and beyond and thought Toy Story Costumes will the the hot item
and 10% thought a cartoon costumes will be filling the Trick o' Treating streets!

Thanks for Participating!

In other news, I found this really interesting article about Trick o' Treating at BOB HOPE's house. How cool would that be, not only did you get full sized candy, but also cool Bob Hope swag. what a cool man! Check it out here!

Weekly Poll Boy's Costumes

Spooktacular Spotlight Wednesday: Shan's Closet

This week for my spotlight, I chose someone who has helped me make many a costume. Please welcome
Shannon Cheek! (internet applause)

Shannon has been sewing since she was 8 years old and makes everything from beautiful wedding dresses to fun everyday wear to perfect quick and easy costumes. When I asked asked her what her favorite costume was she had a hard time choosing (don't we all) but she loves to do movie themed costumes.


Her favorite part of Halloween is the costumes and she loves to help other people make their costume dreams come true!
A couple of her favorite costumes she has made include:

The Red Queen from Alice and Wonderland

Jane Austen Costumes 

She has also made some of the cutest Disney Princess costumes I have ever seen! 

Try it on Tuesday: Princess and Superhero

This week I wanted to focus on costumes that would be very "of the moment." Popular movies and trends are a great way to pick out a costume! For this weeks Try it On I thought I would focus on one of this summers biggest superheros: Captain America and the most resent loveable Princess: Rapunzel from Tangled.

Captain America

found this picture on instructables via pintrest

When I found this picture of a homemade Captain America Costume it made my heart sing. They did a fantastic job! What a great example of how a DIY costume can turn out even better than the store bought version! 

What you need: 

• Blue pants and sweat shirt/jacket
• On the jacket you can sew or iron on ( wonder-under is great for ironing projects) red and white stripes around the bottom half and a white star on the chest. 
• You can make the shield by painting a Frisbee (or plate etc.) and attaching a handle on the back. 
• Helmet- you can find a plain helmet and paint or use a large sticker to put an A on it
• Utility Belt- you can take an old belt and sew on pouches made of cardboard or fabric
• The details are what make any costume AMAZING- the brass buttons up the side ( you can just sew on faux buttons) the gloves and matching book cuffs, and the cap/mask. 

It is hard not to love the wide eyed, long haired, fun loving Princess, which is why it makes sense that even though this movie came out last year it is still on everyone's mind for  this years Halloween costumes! 

There are a few ways you can do this, If you are a seamstress (or even know someone who is) I would recommend making it from scratch! There are a ton of halloween patterns at your local craft store so you can check that out! 

If you are not a seamstress, and let's be honest, sewing takes time, you can simplify the costume!

Here is what you will need:

• Purple dress or skirt
• Long-sleeved purple shirt- make puffy sleeves with ribbon or fabric
• Purple vest - you can add ribbon to give it the corset look
• Long blonde hair - you can buy a wig or make a yarn wig yourself (like this) or you can do the short brown hair look she has at the end of the film!
• To top it off carry around a frying pan! It will complete the look and add a bit of humor value!

For this week's poll question I want to know :
What do you think will be this years biggest Halloween costumes?

MEGA Movie Madness Monday: Harry Potter

Have you ever looked out the window, hoping to see a snowy white owl holding a envelope announcing
your acceptance into Hogwarts?

My love for Harry Potter goes back to when I was eleven and picked up the first book. Immediately I was engulfed in the world of witchcraft and wizardry, I constantly was looking out the window hoping that an owl would show up with my very own Hogwarts acceptance letter. Needless to say, with the release of the last and final movie, fans everywhere were ready to dress up and go all out! Well at least I was. These costumes would be great for Halloween this year!  

If you have a flair for the dramatic, and love a little craziness in your life then perhaps you are a Bellatrix. This costume can be done so many ways and can wow the crowd.

What you need:

• v  Black, black and more black
• v  Long black skirt
• v  Lace or fish net shirt
• v  Corset or vest
• v  Crazy wild hair
• v  Wand
• v  Dark mark

The key to this costume is your attitude. Walk around like you are the world’s best death eater and people will crumble before  your feet.

Maybe  you are not the crazy type but like to take control, and love the color pink, in this case Professor Dolores Umbridge is who you want to be.

What you need:

•  Pink suit--preferably tweed. You can find one at your local thrift store. You will be surprised how many pink suits exist. I sure was!
• A broach--steal one from your grandma if you don’t have one!
• Cat collar ( this was easy to make- we took a sleeve of an old pink sweater and filled it will batting, added some ears and  eyes and voila! Insta-cat)
• Wand- once again twigs are great
• Locket necklace- Once again ask your grandma if she has one you can use!
• Sickly sweet smirk and a hatred for young wizards

• 
  

If you aren’t feeling evil this Halloween you could be the nicest wizard around. Luna Lovegood. Everyone loves her quirkiness and you will have the most adored costume for sure.

What you need:

• v  The Hogwarts Uniform- Black or Grey Skirt, White shirt, Grey/blue sweater, Blue and silver tie
• v  Go the extra mile and wear a Black cloak or scarf
• v  Radish earing – you can make them out of fun foam clay or buy a pair from etsy 
• v  Butterbeer Cork necklace- This is a piece of cake to make: take a cork drill a hole through it
• v  Spectrespecs- I found this great tutorial here 
• v  Missmatched shoes
• v  Fun loving quirky personality

Tune in next movie monday for a cast of Harry Potter costumes just for boys!

Freaky Friday!

Happy Friday!

Isn't there something fantastic about Friday. I love the energy and excitement you feel as the weekend sneaks up on you.  This week I asked you guys how early you start getting ready for Halloween! Here are the results (drum roll please..)

15% of you said that you prepare starting Nov. 1- for the next year! I was so happy to hear this. I always have a running list of what I want to be next year too!

15% of you get Spring  Fever and start planning about 6 months in advance!

50% start planning when the weather starts to cool off, about 1-2 months before Halloween

and 20% are procrastinators and put off the planning until the night before!


Thanks guys for all of your awesome feed back and I was glad to see that a lot of you are planning RIGHT NOW! hopefully I can help!

Planning can cause the munchies so here is a fun Halloween treat to virtually snack on!

Poisoned apples!
These are so easy to make:

• Take your favorite kind of apple and throw in a stick from your back yard

• Cover some in chocolate by melting both milk and white chocolate and drizzling it onto the apple

• Candy the rest by melting Redhots, water and corn syrup (recipe here) and dipping the apples in! 

Happy Haunts!