Conference moira::parenting

    
    
    Weeellll, ALtho I am QUITE against TV violence, i have to admit that my
    3.5 yr old has watched the turtles at any oppty since she was about 2..
    usually works out to about 1/2 hour per week, since we don't allow or
    build in much TV time.
    
    I guess I rationalize it (and yes, I'll admit it as such!) that because
    they aren't people and most of the villains aren't people, it's more
    easily identifible as make-believe.   The good guys don't use guns, and
    they do address, via master splinter, *some* moral questions.
    
    My vote would be to set limits on the time spent, watch for negatives -
    like solving problems with sword bashing vs words, or wanting pizza for
    breakfast, and otherwise not worrying TOO much about it.
    
    Jamd

    Adrienne,
    
    GIVE UP!  you can't win.  I too don't have a clue where this kind of
    Idol worship came from, it started when he was just barely 3.5 and has
    gotten progessively worse!  I swear he got "hooked" on the turtles by
    osmosis!
    
    I have given in only a little, but unfortunately you can't control
    Christmas and birthday gifts, which tend to be very "turtly".
    
    If it helps you any, costumewize, AJ was a Ninja Turtle last Halloween
    and I bought the basic costume at one of the little temporary booths at
    the Mall, I think it cost me more or less $20.  I went to the fabric
    store and bought blue ribbon on the scrap table to make a headband, arm
    and leg bands, and even one to cover the cast he was sporting at the
    time on his hand.  His request was to be "the blue guy", and the
    costume came with red accessories.  It was a pajama material, but so
    far it just hangs in his closet.  There were a couple varieties of the
    costumes, some a little more expensive.  I did feel the $20something
    was a bit pricy for one or two wearings, plus being a one piece it was
    difficult the day he wore it to school.
    
    This year he has already requested to be a dalmation.  I've go mixed
    feelings on that, since the basis of the costume is WHITE!  My son has
    the same attitude as Pigpen of Snoopy fame!
    
    Lyn 

    Ah yes....Halloween.  We tried (successfully) not to have a turtle last
    year.  My 7 yr old was a bunch of grapes (purple balloons attached to a
    green sweatshirt and pants.  He loved it!!  (In his mind he was a fruit
    of the loom guy!!)  My other son wanted to be a cowboy with his new
    western gun.  Who knows what this year will bring.
    
    For a turtle costume - we used the green outer clothes -
    sweatshirt/pants and the corresponding color bands.  As they got older
    they had to have the turtle shell - I took a piece of poster board and
    let them paint it they way they wanted it then I cut a large oval and
    clipped the sides part way in and stapled it in a concave (or is it
    convex?) shape.  Then we put a small pillow on the back with the shell
    over it and tied the whole thing down with dad's belt.  BIG HIT. 
    Personally, I prefer home made costumes to thse store bought ones - I
    think having the kids make their own is half the fun of halloween!  I
    never bought a costume - we've always used what we had around the house
    (even as a kid).
    
    -sandy
    

	There is quite a discussion on homemade halloween costumes in
        the crafts notes file.  Crafts is at DPE1::CRAFTS.  
	Dir/title=halloween will find it.

	Come to think of it, there may be a topic on child crafts
	as well.  

	Karen

	

    re: turtles
    
    Adrienne,
    
    My sympathies...we went through the exact same probnlem last year.
    Nick, who'll be 4 in late Sep, suddenly discovered TMNT's last year
    without any obvious exposere...he never saw the movies or TV shows,
    didn't have any TMNT clothes or toys, etc... yet somehow he decided
    that's what he wanted to be for halloween.
    
    I don't know where you're located, but I'm here in E.Mass, and we have
    discount salvage stores called Building 19. Last year in early fall,
    they carried a 'generic' turtle costume for approx $5. It included a 
    plastic shell (front & back), a black sash belt, a red mask and a
    couple of plastic weapons. Nick wore it over a two-piece hooded
    sweatsuit that he already had, so although it wasn't 'official' TMNT
    gear (and at that age, he didn't know or care about that :^), it was a 
    cheap way out and looked great. Unfortunately, he's since either lost
    or broken every piece (except the weapons, which I keep 'losing' but he
    keeps finding...:^), so all I can offer you is my sympathy, and a
    promise to keep my eyes open for similar offerings.
    
    Freddie
    
    P.S. No such problems for Nick this year, since we'll be in Disney
    World for Halloween....Without rat-holing, anyone know if they do
    anything special for Halloween? I'd hate to be surprised and
    ill-equipped...Thanks in advance.

    RE: 5
    
    try CLOSET::DISNEY 
    
    

    re .5, call 1-800-WDISNEY, IT'S THEIR INFO LINE
    
    

And then there was the year my 3 or 4 year old wanted to be a horseshoe
crab . . . try finding that one!!

BTW he was great!!!  :*)

    Here's how to possibly change a TMNT worshippers mind regarding a
    turtle costume.  Find a box large enough to surround a body.  Cut 
    armholes in the 2 upper corners and cut legholes in the bottom panel.  
    Cut a headhole in the upper panel.  Now decorate the box as desired.  
    Hopefully the kid will tire of wearing a box after the initial adrenalin 
    rush.

    I'd just go with the turtles .... but of course both of my boys were
    turtles a few years back.  
    
    It was *EASY*, and could be warm if you needed it to go OVER their
    coats or whatever.  I just bought green sweats, made some strips of
    material for bands, which were just tied at the ends, then took some
    yellowish/brown flannel I had, made two roundish shapes, attached them
    at the shoulders, and belted them around the waist.  Looked GREAT!
    
    The dalmation I made for my boyfriend last year was a *HUGE* hit!  Take
    a gray sweatsuit and turn it inside out.  Buy Elmer's **SCHOOL** glue
    (It washes out!), cut some spots from black felt, and glue wherever you
    want.  Add a tail, with spots, that gets sewn onto the butt.  I also
    made some mittens from white flannel w/ black spots, some "sleeve" type
    things that just sort of sat over the top of his shoes (picture an
    elephant foot) and a hood with big floppy ears.  Some clown make up for
    the face, and the whole thing looked really GREAT!  And the best part? 
    WHen halloween was over, soak the suit in the tub, pull off the spots,
    turn it right side out, and voila, you have a gray sweatsuit.
    
    Have fun!  I *LOVE* Halloween!
    
    Patty

    There have been SO many turtles around at Halloween every year for the 
    past (how many, 5?) years, there MUST be some parent around who would
    be _thrilled_ to get rid of their child's outgrown costume so you don't
    have to buy or make one!
    
    -Tracy 
     
                                      

    I agree, I will not let either on my son's be a turtle.  Last year at
    school there were nine turtles in Jeffrey's first grade class.  I have
    made all of this Halloween customs.  He will be seven this year.  And
    it seems that every year they get harder.  The first year he was a
    clown,  the second year he was a tiger, actually he was a tiger for
    two years, then he was a bumble bee and last year he was a shark.  This
    was the hardest costum that I did.  But everyone liked this one the
    best.  He actually had a fin in the back and the hood had eyes and
    teeth.  It really was great.
    
    If you can sew, you really can make some great one.  The way that I got
    Jeffrey to change his mind from being a shark was to take him to the
    fabric store and show him all of the patterns. 
    
    This year he wants to be something from X-man.  My husband said
    absolutely NOT.  So who know what Halloween will bring.
    
    
    Lillian

I'd like to do something with our little guy for his first Halloween...he'll be
about a year old by then.  The bumble bee sounds like a great idea.  How did you
do it?

I figured I could get black sweats and use yellow electrical tape to make the
stripes.  The part I can't figure out is the head.  It's got to be something
he'll leave on for at 30 seconds.  Any ideas?

>>The part I can't figure out is the head.  It's got to be something
>>he'll leave on for at 30 seconds.  Any ideas?
    
    black pipe cleaners taped onto a yellow sunhat?
    
    	Monica

    It may not be worthwhile to rig up a costume for your child's second
    birthday.  Your child may not want to wear it.  My daughter refused to
    wear her costume and had no interest in going trick-or-treating.  She
    was okay for a little while helping me answer the doorbell and give
    treats.  Then she had a major temper tantrum in her high chair.
    
    This year should be better.  -;)
    
    Laura

    
    For my son's first halloween I made a cute chicken in an egg costume. I
    made a yellow one piece suit, (you could use a sleeper) and out of felt
    made an egg shell (two halves). the bottom piece was held up with
    suspenders and the to piece was tied on like a hat. it was super simple
    to make and I got the pattern at the house of fabric in Worcester. My
    son was the cutest little chicken. My husband and I went as the farmer
    and the farmers wife and we carried lukas around in a backet. 
    
    I have lent the costume to friends since and it is always a great hit.
    

My kids were 6 months old at their first Halloween, so I made their costumes.
I got a pattern at one of the fabric stores and used the same pattern to 
make both costumes. Jessica was a pumpkin where the bib was the pumpkin
face and her hat was the pumpkin stem.  Brad was a court jester with one
of those pointy collars with bells on the ends, and a hat with those
droopy ears with bells on the end.  He was still in the hospital at the
time, so I brought his costume in the night before and let the nurses dress
him the next morning so he could be in costume all day. Then we brought
Jessica in that night for our nightly visit and got pictures of the both
of them in costume. The kids thought we were nuts, and had these really
cute, confused looks on their faces.  And the doctors and nurses thought
I was nuts to go through all the trouble, but it was their first Halloween
and I figured they should get to dress up.

Last year, I bought another pattern that had costumes for the 2 of them.
Jessica was Little Red Riding Hood and Brad went as a little elf.  The
kids had a ball, and I really enjoy making their costumes. 

Cathy

For Evan's first Halloween, we put him in a Disney sweatsuit that had a
Mickey Mouse hood on it.  It wasn't elaborate, but it worked great,
and the hood couldn't be thrown off since it was attached.

       Carol

For my son's first Halloween (he was 4 months), I made him a cow costume (it
was actually "The cow that jumped over the moon" - I was the moon) that was
adorable and easy (I guess you could make a dalmation the same way...):

	white terry sleeper
	black felt - for spots
	white felt - for "beanie" hat, ears, tail
	bit of black yarn - for tail fringe (optional)
	black & white thread (or glue would work, I suppose)

Cut out some irregular cow spots from the black felt and sew/glue on the sleeper.
Cut out 4 big triangular sections from the white felt for the hat and sew to-
 gether (I used one of his "beanie" type hats as a guide for size).
Cut out 2 "ears" of white and 2 of black felt (refer to a picture/toy of a cow)
 and sew/glue on top of felt hat.
Cut out 2 strips of white felt, roll them to look like horns, then stitch onto
 hat (kind of have to wing this one until it looks right).
Cut out 1 strip of white felt for the tail, attach some black yarn to one end
 and then sew onto back of sleeper.

Last year he was the "Energizer Bunny" which got lots of laughs (and fit his
personality to a "T"). Obviously, you could skip the drum and make a plain
bunny...This was the only "problem" - if he didn't have the glasses or the
drum on, people mistook him for a girl - yikes! 

	pink sleeper
	white felt - oval for the belly
	velcro - enough for 4 2-inch strips (for 4 "corners" of oval)
	bunny ears (I bought the "headband" kind for $5 at a drugstore)
	black sunglasses (children's)
	drum or hand-made one:
	  big cookie tin (i.e. the kind butter cookes come in)
	  white posterboard, duct tape (to attach it)
	  white felt (to cover the sides of the tin to cover the tape)
	  about 3 ft. of cord to make shoulder straps for the drum
	  red, black, and blue markers and a steady hand to draw the ENERGIZER
	  logo on the "top" of the drum and the drum "string" lines on the sides
	drumsticks - we used 2 sticks with styrofoam eggs stuck on the ends
	  (only lasted one night though)

Cut out the oval from the white felt.
Attach the 4 "top" pieces of the velcro to the 4 "corners" of the oval, about
  1/4 inch from the edge of the felt.
Line it up over the "chest" of the sleeper and mark the 4 spots for the bottom
  pieces of the velcro, then sew/glue these onto the sleeper (do 1 at a time
  to ensure they line up properly)

Put it all together and you have one cool-looking bunny!  Both of these took
minimum sewing expertise, little time (well, the drum was a bit more involved,
but I got my husband to do the assembly), and minimal expense for materials
(both sleepers can be reused, although I kept the cow intact since it was
so cute!). I admit, though, that even a 2 or 3-yr-old would have their own
ideas for costumes and might not appreciate the humor in these.

So far, we've avoided all interest in Ninja Turtles, and I think this year he
wants to be a motorcycle rider (at 2yrs 2 mos.he is a motorcycle FANATIC!).
Anyone have a size 4 black leather jacket they want to lend me? HA!

It's great to see the ideas in here...

-Cori  

    I did a skeleton for Dirk one year for his end of school year party.  I
    bought black tights and long sleeve t-shirt and some black cotton
    exercise shoes.  Then I bought white iron on fabric interfacing and cut
    "bones" out and ironed them on.  I painted bones on the sshoes and
    found a beige swim cap for the head.  I used a white piece of cloth
    with holes cut in it for the face and blackened his face underneath. 
    It looked real neat.
    
    I went once myself as a Medusa to a party and my boyfriend went as a
    roman soldier turned to stone.
    
    Then, I once went to a costume party when I was nine and a half months
    pregnant (slightly past my due date).  I went as a "fallen angel" and
    Jurgen was the sailor who'd done me in.  One guy kept telling me all
    night how he thought my costume was "disgusting" until someone quietly
    took him aside and told him that I was REALLY pregnant.  Then he
    couldn't stop apologising :-)
    
    Cheryl

    ...who says Halloween is just for kids??.....
    
    KB
    

We've been asked by our daycare provider's daughter to save all of our
empty cereal boxes for her.  She's going to use them and some plasitic knives
for her Halloween costume.  She's going as a...




















	Cereal killer.  :-)

    BAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!.
    			    .
    			    .
    			    .
    			     thump
    
    I love it!  Hope it's OK to steal the idea one of these years!
    
    Leslie

    I remember hearing of a woman a few years ago who went
    as a gypsy with wings....she was a gypsy moth.
    
    Noranne
    

    Well, there's been no activity in here yet for this year ....
    
    What are your kids going as?  We're working on a Green Ranger (Of
    Course!), and a soldier.  We think that Jonathan (he's 1) will be a
    mouse, but not totally sure on that one .... any neat ideas to keep a
    mouse WARM?!  
    
    For the green ranger, starting with sweats, and then adding to the
    sleeves and pants a section to look like the diamond things on Tommy's
    outfit.  Tuck the sweatshirt into the pants, add a wide white belt (I'm
    still stuck on what to do for the "Morpher"/belt buckle - any ideas??).
    The Gold shoulder-thing will just slip over his head, and gold bands
    along the biceps, sewn onto the sweatshirt.  The 'helmet' will be a
    hood - keep him warm and still let him see.  He was okay with having
    his face 'naked', since he doesn't care for masks or makeup, so the
    hood will just have to be that much better!  White gloves, "The Tommy
    Flute!" (good thing he already has that!), and I think we're done.
    
    However, he keeps insisting that there's some boots around that LOOK
    like the boots that the rangers wear -- anyone seen them?  I've seen
    regular snow boots w/ the power rangers on the side, but he insists
    that that's not what he's talking about.  
    
    The soldier was just as tough .... there is no camoflouge (sp?)
    clothing for sale in Nashua!!!  I finally managed to find some pants at
    Rich's last night, and added a black shirt, and a denim vest that's
    quilted-black in the back, and DARK green denim in the front w/ oodles
    of pockets and things to hang stuff off of (just don't tell him it was
    in the GIRLS dept!).The last camoflouge helmet there was, at Toys-R-Us,
    and some fake "Military Gear" (weapons, canteen etc), and we're mostly
    done.  We're going for the "Middle of the swampy-woods look" - what
    else might a soldier in battle have/need? He has black high-tops for
    shoes, is that close enough?  
    
    How on earth do you make a "mouse" for a kid that won't let anything
    stay on their head?  Or any ideas for a 'topless' (no head-gear)
    costume for a baby?  That's EASY?!??  This green ranger is taking it
    out of me (-;
    
    I'm just going as the "Weary Mom" .... I think I've got that look down
    pretty good (-;
    
    I'm also curious .... for those of you w/ kids in school, what do you
    do with/for costumes, so that they're cool enough to go to school, and
    yet warm enough to withstand Halloween night??  In the past, we've
    always used sweats as the basis for the costume, so I've been able to
    make two 'tops', one that fits (for school), and another that's large 
    enough to fit over their winter coat (for Halloween night).  How do you
    keep your kids warm??
    
    Trick-Or-Treat!
    Patty

Lauren also doesn't like stuff on her head so last year she
went as an M&M.  There actually is a pattern for this but it
looks pretty simple.  My friend made it and used a satin like
red material for the "candy" and white felt for the M&M.  She
must have used some pretty stiff batting because it kept it's
shape.  Halloween is pretty cold here so Lauren wore black sweats
with long underwear underneath.

I've also seen a pretty cute pumpkin costume that doesn't require
head gear.

This year Lauren is going to be a bee.  The costume is finished
and I'm giving her plenty of time to get used to it.  Last year
a freind of mine put a lot of time into making a Ninja costume
and finished it a few days before Halloween.  He refused to 
wear it so she whipped up a dinasour costume using green sweats
at the last minute.

For anyone interested the bee costume was a McCall's pattern - very 
easy.  I have not sewn anything in years (maybe 10) and this was
both quick and easy for me.  This same pattern has a pumpkin,
rabbit and others  If you are contemplating making a
costume due to cost - I'm sure I could have bought this cheaper.

    
    My daughter, Anna, 3 1/2yrs, wants to go as the "goblin with the coat" 
    from the movie "The Princess and the Goblin". I've got some ideas in my
    head as to how to make her costume I just need the time to implement
    it. I'll whip up a cape from some cheap/warm black fabric (she's small
    enough I can use remnants), black pants and a purple (I think)
    turtleneck will finish off the clothes. Then I'm going to take a pair
    of fancy gloves she has and glue on long Lee-Press-On nails to give her
    long gobliny fingers. I'm going to make some kind of tie on hood that
    has pointy ears and a tuft of hair on the top. Tie on feet (Goblins
    have only two toes you know) like I've seen in the catalog and we're
    done. Sound good?? I hope so.
    
    The baby, Lara, 8 months @Halloween, is kind of going to be a pumpkin.
    I have an orange one-piece long-sleeved fleece coverall. The wrist and
    ankle bands are black. I've put on some fabric appliques
    (trick-or-treaters in the front, pumpkins carved to say BOO! in the
    back) and embellished with fabric paint. I'm going to make her a simple
    tie-on pumpkin top like you see with the infant pumpkin outfits and
    she'll be done.
    
    I've also bought orange canvas tote bags (small ones) with black
    handles that I put fabric appliques on (TRICK OR TREAT on on side, and
    a bunch of pumpkins on the other) and will embellish with paint.
    
    Now if I just had the time to finish all this.....
    
    Patty (The other weary mom....)
    

    My son Lee is 3.5 and he is going to be Batman.  I had a hard time
    finding the gray leggings and black briefs to top them off.  I'm making
    the cape and hood and emblem... He has a Batman figurine from McDonalds
    and he wants to look just like it so I don't have many choices...
    
    He of course wants his baby brother Kyle to be Robin and I couldn't
    pass up the idea (it'll be too cute) even though I already made a 
    baby jester type outfit that Lee wore as a baby.  Robin will be similar
    to the Batman costume.  Green leggings, red turtleneck, yellow cape.
    I know Kyle won't go for the eye mask that Robin wears so 'I' decided
    that as a baby, Robin probably wore a red Hanna Anderson Pilot hat :>}
    I'm sure Lee will call me on it though...not authentic.
    
    
    				Mary

    re .28 ... doesn't Robin have yellow 'underwear' over his leggings too?
    
    For the 'tie-on' feet mentioned previously, I have to make dinosaur
    feet one year, and rather than ties, I used elastic that went around
    the bottom of the shoe, the 'feet' part just covered the top of the
    feet - this way he could put them on/off easier at school.  
    
    Oh yes - I by far could have bought my costumes cheaper than what I
    paid for the clothes etc, but the other advantage is that they can WEAR
    most of the stuff when it's not halloween.  On 'accessories', or things
    that can ONLY be used for halloween, it's probably pretty even to what
    a costume would cost.
    
    I love hearing all the ideas!  These sound GREAT!!
    
    Patty

    re .28 - I tried to talk my son into being Batman (He's almost 4) 'cuz
    I thought it would be really cute for his brother to then be Robin
    (he just turned 1) - BUT - Matthew could not be talked into it.  He
    wants to be Superman.  I'm finding that this is a really easy
    costume to make, and may even make my little guy a Mini-Superman!
    He won;t wear anything on his head so that limits the ideas for him.
    
    Lila
    

Patty,
    My 4-year-old also will be a power ranger (the red one, Jason).  How
    he got the idea, I don't know, because we don't have a TV, and power
    rangers are (in theory, at least) on the list of forbidden topics at
    his preschool.  But anyway, red power ranger is what he insists on.
    I got a pattern that has transfers for the Tyrannosaurus on the belt
    and shirt.  They had quite a few patterns left last weekend (I got the
    last red one, but I saw several for green, blue, yellow, etc.).

    However, that's the easy one.  His big brother wants to be Pumbaa
    (from Lion King).  I haven't seen any patterns that are even close, so
    it's improv time.  I have a plan for the body (basic jumpsuit with
    pillow stuffed in front, plus mane and tail, black felt for hooves), but
    I have no idea how I'm going to do the face.  Face paint plus a pig nose,
    maybe.  (Oh, also need tusks, hmmmmmm...)  I wish he wanted to be Simba -
    much easier!

		cheryl

    My 4 year-old daughter is going as Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz.  I'm
    going to make her a blue gingham jumper and she can wear that after
    Halloween.  I bought cheap white sneakers and glued red sequins on them
    for the ruby slippers.  (She LOVES them!)  All that's left is to braid
    her hair, and carry a dog stuffed animal and a basket.
    
    My 4 month old is going as the Energizer Bunny.  I got him a pink bunny
    pram suit and I'll put him in shades and he'll carry a drum.  He
    actually will be in a stroller at daycare, so I think this is doable.
    I'm sure he'll never forgive me for dressing him this way! 
    
    I just love Halloween and making creative costumes.
    
    judy

    For the Green Ranger Morpher belt buckle:
    
    You could just use some black felt and yellow fabric paint to
    paint the morpher symbol.  I am using the pattern so had an
    iron on but painting it shouldn't be too hard.
    
    My son, 7, is going to be green ranger.  The pattern is pretty
    easy except for the gold sheild that is quilted.  I used 
    gold foil fabric for this and am putting this off until the
    last minute because I know it is going to be frustrating trying
    to machine quilt it and still have it flat.  Should be interesting.
    
    Nathan has never been more excited about Halloween.  
    
    Also,  I didn't read all the replies about boots.  I haven't
    seen real ones that look like ranger boots but the ones from
    the pattern are pretty easy.  Just cut the "boots" from felt
    and use "Wonder Under" to attach the green triangle shapes.
    
    Pam

    Well Alyssa will be 1 year plus a week this halloween and she is going
    as a cow.  She has alittle moo costume that she'll look adorable in,
    but we are just going to go to grammies and her uncles' house this
    year.
    
    I'm looking forward to making her costumes when she gets older - it
    sound like alot of fun - a mother/daughter bonding thing!
    
    
    

    This year Russell (4) will be a Mutant Turtle.  My sister-in-law gave
    him the costume from one of her kids during the summer, and I've been
    hearing about it ever since.

    Last year he went as a dog - it was really simple to make.  Buy an
    inexpensive sweatsuit in the base color of the dog.  Then buy felt in
    the color of the spots.  I let Russell help me trace the spots out.
    Turn the sweatsuit inside out.  Instant fur!  Tack the spots all over -
    Presto! instant dog (this also works for Cows, and maybe even some
    dinosaurs).  A little face makeup and he was all set.  The best part
    was when Halloween was over, I took the spots off and he had an extra
    sweatsuit to play around in.

    	marianne

    
    For attaching the spots, that makes it even simpler, and more for them
    to "help out", you can use elmer's SCHOOL GLUE (it has to be the SCHOOL
    glue, because that washes out - the regular glue doesn't).
    
    Glue them on, when done, soak it in a warm tub to remove the spots, and
    toss it in the washer, and you're done.
    
    Thanks for the ideas for the morpher buckle!  That sounds simple
    enough!
    
    Patty

Boy, you all have one on me - MAKING Power Rangers costumes - I'm impressed!
I had hoped to avoid this latest "rage", but when my 3 yr-old son was shopping
with his dad while on vacation, they came across the costumes at Kaybee, so they
came home with the red suit & mask... Oh well, at least it'll be EASY this year!

My daughter will be 1 yr. on the 27th, and the plan for her is to be a black
kitty cat (she LOVES cats, so it fits her). I was going to make the ears and
tail from felt, but came across a little assessory bag at K-mart for $2.99 that
had the ears (headband type), tail, and bow-tie, so I couldn't pass it up. Now
I just have to get a black leotard/tights or even sweats and then draw some
whiskers & nose on her. Should be pretty simple.

I did the Energizer Bunny too for my son when he was 18 mos., and the cow
(jumped over the moon) when he was an infant and both were pretty easy and cute
(and reusable). Also did the M & M, from the pattern, which was straightforward
but still time-consuming. It did look great though, and solved the problem of
troublesome headgear and makeup...

It is fun to hear all the ideas and to reminisce about Halloweens of the past -
I think this holiday brings out the kid in all of us (except for maybe those
expletives putting together the costumes ;-)!

-Cori

    re: Red Power Rangers
    
    My wife decided that she could make such a costume using a red sweatsuit, 
    with white felt diamonds, a wide white belt and using his own white
    skeakers coupled with some white leggings she uses at the gym. She
    thinks it'll be easy despite the fact that neither of us can sew worth
    a darn (groannnn). I'm in charge of cutting the diamonds, whichshe
    plans to stick them on somehow...any suggestions? double-stick tape, glue, 
    etc? (heck, i'd use my staple gun before attempting to sew it on.)
    
    Also, in an earlier reply, someone mentioned getting some sort of
    pattern for the Tyrannosaurus belt buckle. Where did you find it? How
    do you use it? (i.e. is it something that needs to be sewn? or is it
    along the lines of transferring a drawing?) I'm in charge of most of
    the 'detail' work, and am desperate for ideas/hints/pointers... 
    
    Thirdly...saw an ad for a red PR sweatsuit at Kid's-R-Us. Unfortunately, 
    the ad mentioned sizes up to 7. Anyone seen such a thing in a size 10
    or 12? (Nick's a *big* kid...48" tall, 70 lbs, just turned 5!)
    
    Thanks in advance
    
    Freddie

    Would it be appropriate to use this note, rather than the "for sale" or
    "where can I find" notes, to discuss trading/borrowing halloween
    costumes? or borrowing a costume in exchange for sewing/decorating
    services?
    
    For example: I need to do two things...
    
    	- Make a costume for Nick (red Power Ranger costume).
    	- Decide on and either make/buy a costume for Christopher's
    	  daycare party.
    
    	I'd be willing to trade the use of one of Nick's old costumes
    	for help with either of the above.  
    
    What do people think about the idea? 
    
    

    Freddie,
    
    We looked for the Red Power Ranger sweatsuit at Kids R Us
    in Natick last week and came up short for Steven's size.
    
    Then we found one at Sears in the New Natick Mall.  They
    didn't have many, you'd probably need a size large, we
    got a medium for Steven (almost 5, 42lbs).  He's been wearing
    it ever since.
    
    Definitely call first, the mall grand opening is tomorrow.
    
    	Linda

    As a suggestion for the white diamond and other white stripes for the
    Power Ranger costumes...  last year we used white first-aid tape.  Just
    cut the diamond out of fabric or felt or whatever and we taped it on
    with the white tape, looked pretty good I thought.  We also used the
    tape for the stripes on the rest of the costume (sleeves and legs if I
    remember right?).
    
    It's more expensive then regular tape but was much easier than sewing!
    Oh, it comes off easy too.
    
    

For attaching the diamonds, you can use this powder adhesive/iron-on stuff -
available at fabric stores. Very easy to do. I used it to attach a felt M on
the M & M (fabric) costume.  I'll see if I can find the bottle to give you a
name.

RE: Costume swapping - good idea for you folks who are "geographically
convenient"! The hard part is that many of us try to reuse the components...
Good luck implementing it though.

-Cori

    
    For 'attaching' things, use Elmer's School Glue - it works great on
    felt.  I made a dalmation w/ it a few years ago (adult size), and it
    was easy, and easily removable.
    
    For the 'detailing', one of the replies suggested getting black fabric
    (I believe the background is black), and then use gold fabric paint,
    and just draw it on.  If you can draw at all, and can get a decent
    picture what it's SUPPOSED to look like, you should be able to do this. 
    Trace it on the fabric first (chalk or crayon or white pencil should
    work well), then just 'fill in' the gold.  I *THINK* I've seen the
    fabric paint in a pen-type applicator, that you shake it, and then
    write with it.  Try a large crafts store, such as Ben Franklin's or
    Michaels - where are you located?  Also most fabric stores have a
    decent selection.
    My other thought was to try to use one of the power coins (I think
    that's what they're called) for the belt buckle, but we haven't been
    able to find a power coin for Tommy )-:  Back to the fabric paint.
    
    The power rangers stuff really isn't that hard if you can figure out
    the 'head'.  We're making a hood, and *MAYBE* I'll have a piece that
    will be the 'face' that can flip up on top of his head when he doesn't
    want to wear it.  Or maybe we'll skip the 'face' altogether, and just
    do the top/sides of the helmet.  Decisions, decisions ....
    
    Since our costumes are usually made from sweats, and turn into 'play
    clothes' afterwards, I can't think of any I'd have to swap .... might
    have some stuff for a devil - I know that I at least have a little
    pitchfork, for a little person (I'd guess it's about 2-2 1/2 feet
    long).  There MUST have been a hood/ears with that - let me know if
    you're interested, I can check it out.  Home made, of course.
    
    Patty

    
    If anyone wants a power ranger plastic helmet, they are available
    at a place called the Halloween Outlet on Park Ave in Worcester.  I
    got the green one last week.  They are 14.99.  But they are a full
    helmet.

    re: red power ranger...
    
    Thanks for the ideas. I'm willing to try anything, as long as it
    doesn't involve needle & thread. He's got some PR coloring/activity
    books...hopefully I can copy the belt buckle from there.
    
    BTW, thanks for the earlier tip regarding Sears. However, we called
    two stores (Salem, NH & Burlington, MA) and were told that the largest 
    they carry, when they're in stock, is size 8.
     
    Re: the helmet...
    
    Kathy stumbled across one early last month at Wayside Bazaar, in Reading, 
    MA. At the time, it was priced around $5-$10, and is the type that encloses
    the entire head rather than just the face. I'll need to make some 
    modifications to it in order to accommodate Nick's glasses, but that
    shouldn't be too difficult. 
    
    
    
    

    My 2 have to be power rangers this year: son 5yr must be Jason (red)
    and my daughter 2 1/2 must be Kimberley (pink).  I dont sew very well
    and instead bought over sized zip up pajamas from Claverts ($9.99)
    which I am painting.  For the helmet, I'm making those out of paper
    mache using a balloon that's close to their head sizes.  My son is very
    excited about painting his own helmet.
    
    Rhonda

    For those of you who sew, I have a book here called "Jane Asher's Fancy
    Dress".  It's got some GREAT costumes for kids and adults.  Here are
    just some of them:
    
    Kids:  
    "Pixie on a toadstool":  looks like the girl is actually sitting on a 
    toadstool until she moves and you see that her legs are actually the
    base of the toadstool.
    
    Dragon:  Really nice made with metalic green fabric
    
    Princess:  Looks like an old victorian princess.
    
    Pied Piper:  Looks like an elf type costme with strings hanging off the
    back and rubber mice attached to the strings. (-:
    
    Clown:  Very nice
    
    Humpty Dumpty:  Made out of lamdshade card.  REALLY cute!!
    
    Ladybug:  Adorable!
    
    Catepillar: another one .. adorable! (-:
    
    Unicorn:  Looks pretty simple to make
    
    Butterfly:  A bit more complicated.. but VERY nice
    
    Tortois and the Hare
    
    Milkmaid, Alice, Bo-Peep, Miss Muffet (basically all the same costume
    with a little variation)
    
    Minnie Mouse
    
    Baby Witch
    
    Bat
    
    Baby Ghose
    
    Headless Ghost
    
    Mermaid
    
    Good and Bad Fairies
    
    
    Adults:  
    
    "St. George":  a knight sitting on a horse.  Same effect as
    pixie on a toadstool.
    
    Soda Fountain:  Thi actually looks kind of easy.  It's mainly
    bubblewrap.
    
    ALL of the zodiac signs:  Cute ones are Gemini (two people in the same
    LARGE clothes.  Must be VERY good friends. (-:), Cancer (a crab),
    Taurus (looks pretty easy.  Black pants, leather jacket, and a "bull"
    head piece to make) and Leo (very complicated lion costume).
    
    Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde:  AWESOME!!  And not too difficult to make.
    
    Pair of the Same Suit:  Two people.  One wears the pants up to their
    neck, the other wears the jacket down to their ankles!
    
    Last Minute Joke costumes:
    
    For a man... "First Class Male".  Draw a big stamp on a cardboard, put
    a string on it and hang it around your neck. (-:
    
    "The King and I" .. wear a crwon, draw a big "EYE" on cardboard and put
    a string on it and hang it around your neck.
    
    "Video Pirate" .. attach video tapes to your body, wear a patch,
    handkerchief, and carry a sword
    
    "The Last Staw" .. wear a shirt with a front pocket and put a straw in
    it! (-:
    
    There are others.  If anyone wants the directions to make any of these,
    send me mail and I'll send them to you.
    
    Holly
    

Hi,

We are looking to rent/buy a Carmen Miranda costume for a 7 year old girl.
We need the costume by May 15th for the International week that is happening
at our daughter's school.  If you know of such a costume or any other costume 
that could represent Carmen Miranda, please let me know as soon as possible. 
We live in Nashua, NH but can travel some distance.  We have already tried
all the local costume rental stores with no success.

Thanks,

    --Cida Zereb
      DTN: 381-0669