Halloween Costume Idea: Mrs. Scissorhands

Halloween is a great opportunity to express some creativity.  It is one of those times when just about anything goes and it really allows you to think out of the box.  If you have a bit of imagination you can really make a great costume for a fraction of what you would pay for a pre-made one and it usually looks cooler.  

This year I saw a costume online for Mrs. Scissorhands.  Unfortunately the costume was $40 and it didn't even come with scissor hands. 

So, I decided to make my own.  

I just happened to be cleaning out some drawers and came across a skirt/dress that was given to me.  It was black and I thought I just might be able to make it work for my costume.  

I cut the skirt portion off and flipped it upside down to make my top for the costume.  I sewed on some strips of leather fabric for the straps that came from a skirt my sister bought at a yard sale for only $3.

The top wasn't quite fitted so I made a cut down the back and sewed some fabric on both sides to reinforce it.  Then cutting slits down both sides so that strips of fabric could thread threw... essentially making a corseted top.  

For the bottom I borrowed my nieces tutu and a black skirt from my sister.  

Then after checking my closet and some thrift stores I had about 5 belts to go over my top.  

I put on some tights and cuts some holes in them. 

My shoes were an awesome find at a consignment store clearance sale only $1.90?!?

For my scissor hands I cut out pieces of card stock covered them in Silver duct tape ($4) and colored the handle part black.  Then I attached the scissors in pairs with one of these... 

So I ended up with 6 pairs of scissors... 3 for each hand.  I did one pair for each hand with a bit longer length just to make it interesting.  

I just attached these to my hands with more of the silver duct tape.  It made it a bit difficult to eat but by the end of the night I was a pro, the scissors are very forgiving and flexible with the duct tape. 

So for the cost breakdown: 

Top: free

Straps: $3

Bottom: Borrowed= free

Belts: $4

Shoes: $1.90

Duct Tape: $4

TOTAL COST: $12.90

Hair: The night before I put my hair in 3 sock buns...

One on top of my head and one on each side. I didn't need to do the back because first of all it's too short and second of all I kind of have a naturally curly mullet... but only in the back of my hair.   

 *I call it my secret mullet ; )  Lucky me!*

If you don't have the built in secret mullet you could have added an additional sock bun OR just curled your hair.  

I wore the sock buns all night and all day.  When I took them out I had these awesome crazy curls.  A bit of back combing, some hair spray and a few clips and bam huge hair : ) 

It was really the easiest part of the costume.  

Makeup:  I used a black eyeliner to get a nice shape and then smudged out the edges and added some black shadow to add some subtle shimmer.  Under the eyes I did a dark brown shadow and just smudged it out.  My lashes pretty much disappeared at that point so I decided to do them white.  Where do you get white mascara you ask?  Well some mascaras come with a primer that is usually white... I just used multiple layers of the primer and wha la white lashes that really stood out against the black shadow.  I did some dark shadow under my cheek bones for some definition and then more black eye liner for my lips.  I was really impressed how well my lips stayed even with eating and drinking at the party.  

Here is the costume all put together: 

And a few more fun images. 

*This is my sister with her amazing Werewolf hunter costume.* 

Coming up on the next blog post.... The dead doll costume! Spooky! 

The Great Failure

Recently I've been having many conversations with women about how difficult it is to be a mom.  The constant struggle of trying to keep the house together, the kids alive, the husband happy, the laundry done, and looking beautiful during all that.... not to mention all the others things but I don't want to bore you.  Then, we are constantly bombarded with images of all these amazing ideas on Pinterest of perfect mommies making beautiful food, having super organized homes, and children that are surprisingly clean and stylish.  In the midst of all this I find myself feeling like a failure on a daily basis, and in talking to other women about this subject I have found that I am not the only one in this boat of failure.

I began to think about the things that make me happy and bring a bit of light to my dark world of failure.  I am a photographer and I LOVE photographing people, I think photos are priceless treasures that capture moments in our life that will never happen again.  Being honest with myself I also enjoy when people compliment me on my work.  It brings a smile to my face and makes me feel great!  As a mom, I feel like it's almost wrong to take such praise when I have failed day after day in house work or disciplining my children but the other day I realized why these small moments in my life are so important.

If you don't read any other part of this blog this is what I really want to share....
"The reason we need to do things we are good at is so that we can be reminded that we are not failures." 

We all have something we can do well... some of us can run fast and long and that makes us feel good. Some of us are creative and can make things that people rave over.  Some of us are just amazing at throwing a party that people talk about for years.   We all have something that we know deep inside that we do well and when we choose to take the time to do those things in the midst of giving everything we have to our families it keeps us from flipping out.... literally.

I'm not suggesting we give up on our families or being an amazing mom, I'm just suggesting that we pay attention to when we need to give ourselves a reminder that we have amazing beautiful wonderful gifts inside of us that need to come out.  I've told my husband many times that I don't want to get lost in the world of taking care of everyone else and end up not even recognizing myself.  In turn he has supported me in my creative endeavors and moments of being myself.  I don't think it is fair to us or our families for them not to see who we really are... honestly what is that teaching our children?

I would love to hear what some of the things are that make you feel good about you, or that make you who you are... please leave them in the comments, you might just remind someone else of something they love that has been lost over the years.

*Why not end this post with a hilarious picture of me taking pics in the dark morning hours with my snuggle bugs?*