Making Handmade Halloween Costumes swells my heart

Last night I was working on my 7-year-old daughter's Halloween costume and I got to a point where I needed her to try it on to make sure that one piece was right.  Being that it was 10pm, she was sound asleep, so I laid the incomplete costume out on the kitchen table with a note on it asking her to try it on for me.

This morning I stepped out of the shower to see a wide-awake, very excited little girl in an incomplete Princess Leia dress standing there beaming!  I am by far NOT a morning person but seeing her in that dress, with an ear-to-ear grin was a great start to the day.

Backing up a little.... last weekend, we watched the original Star Wars and both of my kids have become obsessed.  Being that, in the same weekend, we put up the Halloween decorations, they both decided that their costumes needed to be Star Wars related.  I sat down with my kids individually and sketched out the costumes and measured them and talked about ideas on how they should look. Then I took them each to the fabric store to pick out the materials.  They are so excited about Halloween right now and I'm happy that the excitement isn't just about candy.  It is wonderful to hear their ideas and see their creativity blossom.

I know that not everyone can sew and I know that even some who can, don't have the time or desire to create a one-of-a-kind, complex, completely-overboard-with-detail costume like I have a tendency to want to do, but that planning time and putting the whole thing together has been priceless for me as a mother and a crafter. 

Here are a few that I've done in the past and had a really great time with.

(The Jesse costume is actually up for auction right now on eBay if you are interested)

 I have no idea why I don't have a picture of Lily and I together in our Strawberry Shortcake costumes, but we were so cute! That's her and here was mine.

 I'd made this princess Aurora costume for her 2 years before this picture was taken.  The year I'd made it, she ended up sick on Halloween and because it is kinda stiff and itchy, she refused to wear it.  You know how it is when you don't feel good... you need to be comfortable.

These pumpkin suits were the result of me over-booking my time.  That year I had zero free time for any complex sort of costumes.  Thankfully they both loved them anyway.  Probably because they were so involved in the making of them.  I laid out fleece and had them lie on the floor and I cut around them.  They placed the face pieces where they wanted them stitched and helped me pin them.  Plus, they were comfortable.

I'll share more pictures when I get this year's costumes finished.  But for now,..... back to sewing.