Halloween 2010 (1.0) - Totoro!

For the longest time I have been planning on paying hommage to Hayao Miyazaki's genius in the Studio Ghibli produced MY NEIGHBOUR TOTORO (1988)! I started with a romper base and somehow created this in about an hour and a half. Considering I didn't even have access to my pins, I'd say I did a pretty awesome job! I also added a headband I'd created with a small glitter foam leaf on the side to protect me from the rain ;) And of course, I compensated for the lack of clothing by wearing giant boots! I needed to keep warm somehow..

Photo Credit: TM 2010 Matt Demir. All Rights Reserved.

My friend Sam loved the costume so much that she decided she needed to keep it for herself:) It looks awesome on her! These photos are too cute, she even has a Soot Sprite from the movie <3

Photo Credit: TM 2010 Trevor Kai. All Rights Reserved.

In case you have not experienced the joy of My Neighbor Totoro (Tonari no Totoro) here is a clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWMEBbkxsq8&feature=related

Halloween 2010 (2.0) - Chucky.. also known as "The Lakeshore Strangler"

My second Halloween costume undertaking this year was Charles Lee "Chucky" Ray who is also known as "The Lakeshore Strangler" by horror aficionados :) I unfortunately had to miss the Zombie Walk earlier in the month, breaking my yearly tradition so decided to console myself by morphing into a character that still haunts many. I did all the f/x makeup from scratch, using a combination of scar wax and liquid latex for the base, adding color. After sealing it, I manually sewed in the stitches with a needle and fishing line.

I made a shirt from scratch after realizing that rainbow striped long sleeved shirts are impossible to find! Who would have thought. I screened the "Good Guys" logo on a pair of overalls and found a pair of red kicks that I added the white stripes to. After that, all I needed was a nice sharp knife and a switch blade... Oh yes, and a creepy frozen smile that I kept on throughout the night..

Hi. I'm Chucky, wanna play?

Photo Credit: TM 2010 Matt Demir. All Rights Reserved.

Photo Credit: TM 2010 Kat Sylvester. All Rights Reserved.

Halloween 2009 - Vampira & Absinthe/Green Faerie

Long awaited Halloween costume post! I unfortunately only have full costume photographs of my second costume, The Green Faerie, or Absinthe Faerie. My first costume was Vampira, cult goddess and horror movie host from the 50s! I got a corset made specifically to use with this costume and although it was insanely late on delivery, it thankfully fit and worked with the dress I made.

For the Absinthe Faery I used green powder over the entirety of my exposed skin which took quite some time as I had different shades for contouring. I didn't want to make myself look completely flat, especially on the contours of my face. Additionally, I had elf ears which were somewhat a pain because it turns out they are quite impossible to do the initial adhering by yourself. This is a two person job! Luckily I got some help last minute for which I was very grateful.

The dress was actually two separate dresses, the top layer made of a two-toned voile that I frayed around the edges. The under dress was made of green satin.

I was extremely excited about making the wings! Instead of doing the typical wings with straps, I decided to experiment with a version that was strapless. It stays on with a reinforced circle of metal wire that slides between your bra band and your center back. It was amazing! I was worried it might not stay in there but it didn't come out once. And I also had the ease of just plucking it out from my back when I was navigating through extremely busy areas.


The wings themselves were made of green tinted cellophane. After cutting out the wing shapes I wanted, I took two different gauges of wire and made veins running through them, using the largest pieces to adhere them to the circle base. Then, I ironed the top and bottom wing pieces together and to finish, repeated ironing with a textured piece of fabric on top so they would have a discreet pattern across them.