It's the most wonderful time of the year- the time when it's completely appropriate for a grown woman like me to prance around dressed like a Disney character, when you walk up to strangers and ask for candy and they give it to you, when my husband consents to wear something that looks slightly ridiculous but perfectly adorable as part of a group.
I'm talking, of course, about Halloween! I just finished this year's costumes (well, technically I have one more accessory to whip up for mine, but it will be done in time for the Renaissance Faire this weekend) and if you follow me on Instagram, you may have seen a peek on my Stories.
But that's not the costume we're talking about today.
I want to share with you the tutorials for how I made last year's costumes! I shared several pictures on social media last year, but it never made the blog. So what was the Geek family dressed as last year, you ask?
Paw Patrol is on a roll!
Miss Chief was just shy of 4-years-old and Ryder and his team of pups were her obsession of the moment. (Paw Patrol is still a big deal in our house though- and we told Santa how much we love these pups so hopefully the love doesn't fade any time soon!)
Today I want to take a look at that high-flying pup, Skye!
What you need:
-pink hooded zip-front sweatshirt that fits your Skye
-cardboard
-pink ribbon
-silver duct tape
-pink duct tape
-pink skirt
-tan fabric
-cotton balls or pillow filling
-pink goggles
-Skye pup tag (I found this at the costume store, but you can easily make one with some cardboard and paint)
For reference, here's what this good pup looks like in flight:
She wears a pink zip-front sweater vest, a pink pilot's cap, goggles, a collar with her pup tag, and her pup pack with expandable wings.
1. So the first thing you want to do is disassemble your sweatshirt. remove the sleeves and the hood; keep the hood, ditch the sleeves. Put the hood on your little pup's head and approximate where you would place pigtails; mark the spots, then remove the cap and cut 2" slits where you marked. (Or a little larger, it doesn't really matter.)
2. Now you need to make the pup pack. My measurements here are entirely random; essentially, I disassembled a cardboard box I had lying around (it was either from Amazon or Pampers, who knows) and made it work. Basically, you need 3 pieces- 2 for the wings (one longer than the other) and one for the pack itself. My base unit here is the pup's little body; the height of her torso (measured from shoulder to hip) and the width of her torso (measured from shoulder to shoulder). Make a mock-up out of newspaper first, if you want, to make sure the proportions are going to work.
3. Now you need to color the cardboard. I simply wrapped everything in duct tape- most of it silver, but then I used a pink sparkly duct tape for the pack and the edges of the wings.
4. Now assemble the pup pack: first, arrange the wing pieces with the longer one on top and the centers aligned. Then overlap them by 3 inches or so- this adds a little strength to the whole arrangement, so it's less likely to buckle and tear where they are attached. And of course attach them with duct tape! Next take the pack piece (the one that's entirely pink) and fold the top and bottom sections (just a few inches). It'll basically resemble a box that has only 3 sides. Now, lay the wings inside the box, with the box centered, and the folded pieces cradling the top and bottom of the wings. Once again, take advantage of your duct tape to attach everything together.
5. To finish the pup pack, you need to add straps. Measure 2 pieces of pink ribbon that can attach to the top folded section of your pink box, go over the pup's shoulders, and then attach at the bottom folded section of the box. Once you've got the pieces of ribbon cut, attach them with- you guessed it!- the duct tape, shoulder width apart. (Remember the pink box should be on the outside when your pup is wearing it; looking at her from the back, it should appear as though the wings have extended from the sides of the pink pack.)
6. Next, you're going to make the pup's tail. She has a tiny cone-shaped tail, so cut out two vaguely tail-shaped pieces of your tan fabric and sew them together, leaving the base open. Turn it right-side-out and stuff the tail with pillow filling (or cotton balls). Take your pink sweatshirt-that's-now-a-vest and fold it in half to find the center line of the back. At the very bottom of this center line, cut a slit that is the same height as the base of your tail. Squish the base of the tail closed and sandwich it in the middle of this slit, then sew it together.
7. Finally, create the pup tag collar with a piece of ribbon. The pup tag came on this weird rubber choker at the costume store; I removed it and slid it on to some pink ribbon instead, and safety pinned the ends of the ribbon because hey, I had a 3-month-old baby at home, don't judge me.
8. To dress your pup, have her put on her pink skirt and vest. Put her hair in pig tails, put the cap on her head, and pull the pig tails through the holes you cut. (Those pig tails are going to stand in for her ears!) Put the goggles on her head, the collar around her neck, and put on the pup pack like a back pack. Paint her little nose black, and you're all set!
What are you going to be for Halloween this year?
Much love,
The Geeks
I'm talking, of course, about Halloween! I just finished this year's costumes (well, technically I have one more accessory to whip up for mine, but it will be done in time for the Renaissance Faire this weekend) and if you follow me on Instagram, you may have seen a peek on my Stories.
But that's not the costume we're talking about today.
I want to share with you the tutorials for how I made last year's costumes! I shared several pictures on social media last year, but it never made the blog. So what was the Geek family dressed as last year, you ask?
Paw Patrol is on a roll!
Miss Chief was just shy of 4-years-old and Ryder and his team of pups were her obsession of the moment. (Paw Patrol is still a big deal in our house though- and we told Santa how much we love these pups so hopefully the love doesn't fade any time soon!)
Today I want to take a look at that high-flying pup, Skye!
What you need:
-pink hooded zip-front sweatshirt that fits your Skye
-cardboard
-pink ribbon
-silver duct tape
-pink duct tape
-pink skirt
-tan fabric
-cotton balls or pillow filling
-pink goggles
-Skye pup tag (I found this at the costume store, but you can easily make one with some cardboard and paint)
For reference, here's what this good pup looks like in flight:
 |
| via Paw Patrol |
1. So the first thing you want to do is disassemble your sweatshirt. remove the sleeves and the hood; keep the hood, ditch the sleeves. Put the hood on your little pup's head and approximate where you would place pigtails; mark the spots, then remove the cap and cut 2" slits where you marked. (Or a little larger, it doesn't really matter.)
2. Now you need to make the pup pack. My measurements here are entirely random; essentially, I disassembled a cardboard box I had lying around (it was either from Amazon or Pampers, who knows) and made it work. Basically, you need 3 pieces- 2 for the wings (one longer than the other) and one for the pack itself. My base unit here is the pup's little body; the height of her torso (measured from shoulder to hip) and the width of her torso (measured from shoulder to shoulder). Make a mock-up out of newspaper first, if you want, to make sure the proportions are going to work.
4. Now assemble the pup pack: first, arrange the wing pieces with the longer one on top and the centers aligned. Then overlap them by 3 inches or so- this adds a little strength to the whole arrangement, so it's less likely to buckle and tear where they are attached. And of course attach them with duct tape! Next take the pack piece (the one that's entirely pink) and fold the top and bottom sections (just a few inches). It'll basically resemble a box that has only 3 sides. Now, lay the wings inside the box, with the box centered, and the folded pieces cradling the top and bottom of the wings. Once again, take advantage of your duct tape to attach everything together.
5. To finish the pup pack, you need to add straps. Measure 2 pieces of pink ribbon that can attach to the top folded section of your pink box, go over the pup's shoulders, and then attach at the bottom folded section of the box. Once you've got the pieces of ribbon cut, attach them with- you guessed it!- the duct tape, shoulder width apart. (Remember the pink box should be on the outside when your pup is wearing it; looking at her from the back, it should appear as though the wings have extended from the sides of the pink pack.)
6. Next, you're going to make the pup's tail. She has a tiny cone-shaped tail, so cut out two vaguely tail-shaped pieces of your tan fabric and sew them together, leaving the base open. Turn it right-side-out and stuff the tail with pillow filling (or cotton balls). Take your pink sweatshirt-that's-now-a-vest and fold it in half to find the center line of the back. At the very bottom of this center line, cut a slit that is the same height as the base of your tail. Squish the base of the tail closed and sandwich it in the middle of this slit, then sew it together.
7. Finally, create the pup tag collar with a piece of ribbon. The pup tag came on this weird rubber choker at the costume store; I removed it and slid it on to some pink ribbon instead, and safety pinned the ends of the ribbon because hey, I had a 3-month-old baby at home, don't judge me.
8. To dress your pup, have her put on her pink skirt and vest. Put her hair in pig tails, put the cap on her head, and pull the pig tails through the holes you cut. (Those pig tails are going to stand in for her ears!) Put the goggles on her head, the collar around her neck, and put on the pup pack like a back pack. Paint her little nose black, and you're all set!
What are you going to be for Halloween this year?
Much love,
The Geeks
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