My 2013 Halloween Costume!

It's finally time to reveal my costume!!  I decided to stay true to my red hair and pick a character from a TV show that I'm obsessed with.  I had a few Halloween parties on the agenda this past weekend and was furiously trying to get everything finished just in time. I used two pieces that needed a little bit of work - this bodysuit was thrifted...

New Dress A Day - DIY - Halloween Costumes - Vintage Bodysuit

...and this lovely lace robe was a swap party score!!

New Dress A Day - DIY - Halloween Costume - Vintage Slip

Somehow at the swap party, I failed to see this lovely spottage action.  Who's got two thumbs and isn't afraid of that spot??

New Dress A Day - DIY - Halloween Costume - Vintage Slip

THIS GIRL!!

It's time to get cracking because “winter is coming.”

I started off costume prep by getting rid of this spotted area on the lace robe.  It's weird because this wasn't just a discoloration, but a hardened bit of something that got stuck to this piece.  Texture wise, it felt just like pockets do when gum is left in them when they go through the washer.  Super weird, right?

New Dress A Day - DIY - Halloween Costume - Vintage Slip

I decided to just follow the hem and trim off about five inches from the bottom.  The weird spot was gone in no time!

New Dress A Day - DIY - Halloween Costume - Vintage Slip

With the robe tweaked, it was time to dye!!  The character I'm dressing up as wears more muted tones and earth colors, so I decided to go with a shade of dark green.  I was super excited to dye both pieces because there are so many different bits of fabric that will take differently to the color.

New Dress A Day - DIY - Halloween Costume - Vintage Slip

I added them to my washing machine...

New Dress A Day - DIY - Halloween Costume - Vintage Slip

...and out they came, dyed to perfection!!

New Dress A Day - DIY - Halloween Costume - Rit Dye

Now that dyeing was complete, it was time to work on my headpiece.  I found this wreath at a Salvation Army for $1.25.  I loved the paper flowers and it felt perfect for the vibe that I was going for.  I was originally going to make my own, but when I saw this one I just knew I could make it work!

New Dress A Day - DIY - Halloween Costume - Salvation Army Wreath

Because it was too big for my head, I snipped the wire base of the wreath in half and adjusted it to fit me.  I overlapped each end of the wreath, unraveled the thinner bits of wire wrapped around the whole thing (you can see this thinner wire below) and rewired them on top of the layered bits to hold them together.

New Dress A Day - DIY - Halloween Costume - Salvation Army Wreath

Now it was time for my main piece of flair...my husband!!

New Dress A Day - DIY - Halloween Costume - Tyrion Lannister Poster

OK, if you haven't guessed by now, I'm working on an epic Game of Thrones-inspired costume, going as Sansa Stark.

New Dress A Day - DIY - Halloween Costume - Sansa Stark

Now I really wanted people to get who I was, so I bought a poster of Peter Dinklage's character Tyrion Lannister (Sansa just married him last season as I'm just an episode watcher and haven't dug into the books) and began to work on him, to make him totable for the evening!

I took an old cardboard box and cut one of the sides off from it.

New Dress A Day - DIY - Halloween Costume - Cardboard backing

I trimmed the poster to fit the square, coated the cardboard box with spray adhesive, and then affixed my man!!

New Dress A Day - DIY - Halloween Costume - Elmer's Craft Bond

To make him comfortable to carry all night, I turned him into a shield of sorts with some duct tape!  Perfect for my arm to slip in and carry throughout the evening.

New Dress A Day - DIY - Halloween Costume - Sansa Stark

Because she just got married, I ended up adding some white tulle and hand-stitched it to the back of my headpiece to create a veil.

New Dress A Day - DIY - Halloween Costume - Floral Veil

Ready to see the entire look???

New Dress A Day - DIY - Halloween Costume - Sansa Stark

I paired my dyed pieces with a pair of comfortable vintage boots and a fabulous gold brocade skirt that I bought a while back at Goodwill just to have in my collection.

New Dress A Day - DIY - Halloween Costume - Sansa Stark

I'm really glad I talked myself into buying it years ago because it was the perfect complement to the ensemble!

New Dress A Day - DIY - Halloween Costume - Sansa Stark

Is it weird that I totally want to wear this headpiece out and about??  I'll just remove the veil for everyday wearing :)

New Dress A Day - DIY - Halloween Costume - Sansa Stark

I feel like a part of Winterfell.

New Dress A Day - DIY - Halloween Costume - Sansa Stark

Oh, and I can't forget my "raven" ring accessory.  We'll just pretend he's got three eyes.

New Dress A Day - DIY - Halloween Costume - Sansa Stark

There were SO many amazing costumes, but this one really takes the cake.  My pals TJ and AHJ really knocked it out of the park.  How 'bout some DIY Ghost Shark and Sharknado action?  Both stellar Syfy movies from this year.  I was secretly hoping that the real Ian Ziering would be at one of these shindigs just for photo taking purposes...I mean he is local and I do see him at my gym from time to time...

New Dress A Day - DIY - Halloween Costume - Sansa Stark

Smoke machines just don't allow for awesome iPhone photos at the end of the night either...

New Dress A Day - DIY - Halloween Costume - Sansa Stark

I think this year's costume went off without a hitch!  Unfortunately I did not run into any Jon Snows, however I did see a Khaleesi from afar!  There were a ton of super heroes, lots of Orange is the New Black convicts, and more than one Mike Tyson.

New Dress A Day - DIY - Halloween Costume - Sansa Stark

The best part of my costume is that I will be wearing all of these pieces again!  That bodysuit, since is has underwire, is going to be a staple layering piece in my wardrobe.

Happy almost Halloween!  I'm loving all the submissions that keep coming in from you guys, so I'll post a few more before Thursday to give additional ideas for those last-minute costumers!!

LaToya's NDAD Creation: Halloween Edition

My costume is coming tomorrow, but here's a little teaser of some of the supplies that I was using... New Dress A Day - DIY - Halloween Costume - Dyed Lace

The floral piece was a wreath that I found at a Salvation Army and reworked into a headpiece.  You'll see the full rundown tomorrow, but today we've got the fab LaToya and the costume that she DIY'd

I love the latest Star Trek movies and was inspired to recreate the Lt. Uhura costume (played by Zoe Saldana) using a mix of thrift store finds and stuff I already had in my closet!

First was the top. I found an old Chico's shirt that I took in on the sides.

New Dress A Day - DIY - Halloween Costume - Star Trek

Chico's traveler... maybe space traveler? Then I needed a badge. I went to Walmart and got 1/8 yard of some shiny silver fabric that cost 99 cents.

New Dress A Day - DIY - Halloween Costume - Star Trek

I cut out the badge shape using my rotary cutter, added the Science and Engineering mark with a black sharpie marker, and glued it onto the shirt with some E6000 glue.

My last find were some spacey looking black boots that I got from the Salvation Army on Wednesday - that's the day almost everything in the store is half price - that ended up totaling $4.50!!

New Dress A Day - DIY - Halloween Costume - Star Trek

I swear these boots were never worn!

The hair and make-up were pretty simple. Since the shirt was short, I wore some black leggings underneath and a thin black turtleneck for the signature Star Trek look.

New Dress A Day - DIY - Halloween Costume - Star Trek

Trick or treating with my 4-year-old daughter, Maya!

New Dress A Day - DIY - Halloween Costume - Star Trek

Such a gorgeous looking costume, LaToya! I dressed up as a Star Trek-ian in high school in a costume that my mom made!  You nailed it from the amazing patch to those fabulous boots...way to go. Zoe Saldana, watch out!!

Kathy's NDAD Creation: Halloween Edition

More Halloween costuming awaits!  How about two kid-sized, sports themed 'stumes from Kathy?  They're both completely adorable and tied into sports!  Check them out...

I love your blog!!  I love taking old/outdated things and turning them into something new and “hip”.  My son has always been the kid that was not satisfied to have a regular costume.  He always forced me to use my imagination and figure out how to make his one-of-a-kind get-up!  Here are two of the most recent costumes, both sports themed!

LOOK #1

My son wanted to be a baseball.  Not a baseball player, but the actual baseball.

I took an old sweatshirt and sewed a t-shirt to the inside of the sweatshirt.  I then took red ribbon and used fabric glue to make the lines on the baseball.  The t-shirt was a size or two smaller than the sweatshirt so I could stuff the costume between the t-shirt and sweatshirt.  

New Dress A Day - DIY Halloween Costume - Baseball

This gave the 3-D effect and made it look like a baseball.  I paired it with old white baseball pants found at a consignment store along with red knee socks and his St. Louis Cardinal hat.  Total cost of this costume was $7.

The next costume...

LOOK #2

He wanted to be a football field.  (Momma’s shaking her head here…)

I took an old box and made armholes and a neck hole.  The local carpet store gave me their leftover indoor carpet that I used as the field grass.  I bought a small PVC pipe and a few joints that I painted yellow for the goal posts.  I used spray paint for the field lines and stencils for the lettering. 

New Dress A Day - DIY Halloween Costume - Football Field

The mask was borrowed, but you could deflate a football and just put it on your head.  Total cost of this costume was $9.

Enjoy!!  I guess the perks of a creative kid is forcing my creativity!!

Can I fit into that football field?  This really is so creative and resourceful!! I love that you went to the carpet store for remnants too.  There's nothing like being in a cool costume/outfit/etc and being able to tell people that you made it!  Creative kid, creative mom, creative family!

More Halloween to come...