Light Emitting Pickle here to bring you the most recent open thread. First, a few words about Pickle Pony Parties:
Please do not recommend a Pony Party when you see one. There will be another along in a few hours.
Halloween is just around the corner and I’m starting to think about possible costumes. I’ve even threatened to dress up the dogs, but I won’t because I know they’ll hate it. They would look cute, though.
As a means to generate costume ideas, I thought I’d poll my fellow dharmatists on their favorite costumes. How much did it cost? Did you make it or buy it? Or was it a costume that someone else wore?
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last year we did Mario and Luigi, which was fun (and cheap) – but the best was a costume the better half did a few years back. He bought a big plastic container, cut a hole so he could wear it around his waist, and filled it with small pink balloons: voilà, bubble bath. A few props from around the house – shower cap, scrub brush, towel – and you’ve got a nifty costume for not much money.
We have no idea what we’re doing this year.
make amends for a recent sexism incident by wearing a non-gender specific whore costume.
If Wal-Mart doesn’t have any I’ll just wear a Chertoff costume.
Close enough.
make amends for a recent sexism incident by wearing a non-gender specific whore costume.
If Wal-Mart doesn’t have any I’ll just wear a Chertoff costume.
Close enough.
I saw a guy wearing white trashbags over his arms and legs. He’d painted a plastic trashcan (50-75 gal) white and cut the bottom out, wearing it like Diogones his barrel. He had white hair and makeup and wore the sign White Trash.
Perfect.
when we were kids. They were all red of course, with little red cloth helmuts she sewed with stuffed red horns on top. Very cool. I think after that, I alternated between a witch (all black) and a ghost–the old white sheet with two eye holes cut out. Actually, I think that was the perennial costume. Easy to make, cheap.
One year I made an amazing stuffed pumpkin costume for my daughter, then later lent it to someone and never saw it again.
I’ve made so many costumes over the years. Orco, from He-man, Spiderman (You used to not be able to find a thing with spiderman), Mary Poppins, ghostbusters, Rayden, etc., but I think my favorite one was when I made my Daughter into a jar of JIF peanut butter. It was easy too. Stapled some posterboard together that I had colored like a jif jar (including her weight), a couple of cloth straps to hang it over her shoulders, peanut butter on her face, and a red hat with the edges crimped made of red construction paper.
PIRATE ($?): black pants, stripey shirt (or peasant/hippy blouse), long scarf for belt, 1 large gold earing (or for my son: a canning jar ring w/rubberband (tied on) to go over his ear, tall boots if you got em-otherwise army/navy combat boots…”Aargh!”
GYPSY ($?): peasant blouse, several layers of various length gauze skirts…pin these up in various places to show layers, a shawl (‘lace’ tablecloth works!), all the tacky junk beads you can get, large hoop earrings…”I see a tall dark stranger…”
BEETLEGEUSE (appx$20-25?): get a too-big black suit from thrift store and a roll of 2 1/2″ or3″ wide masking/painters tape; ‘tape-up’ suit by laying tapes vertically evenly spaced 2 1/2″ or3″ apart; spray several light coats of really cheap white spray paint (let dry between coats) turning to do both sides; also wear a crumpled,stained white shirt & tie, combat boots untied; woof up hair as you spray with white hair paint; white face paint & black around eyes (wipe remainderof blk on cheeks for smudges); plastic bugs as props…”I’ll save this one for later”
LYDIA (appx$20-25?): from thrift store- black lace cocktail dress, large straw sunhat (blk if possible-or spraypaint), black lace gloves; also purchase 1yd of black lace material to drape over hat…”I, myself AM strange & unusual”
want more?
GHOUL: put on old torn clothes (those old gardening ones that are so comfy but you really should throw away!) rip an old sheet into strips, daub w/betadyne-let dry, rub in some dirt or use brown & blk face paint/tempra paint to “dirty” bandages…tie over clothes, letting loose bits hang…”Aaauuuu…Mmmmm…Ooooo”
for gorey GHOUL FX:in a tin piepan(throw away) mix 1cup oatmeal, 1/3 cup flour, 1/4-1/3cup cornstarch, 1/4cup water and enuff elmers glue(dries quicker/easier to peel off) or karo to make a gooey mess…leaving majority, divide sm amounts out into 3 paper cups, add 2-3 drops of food or cake color to make puss: 2green+1yellow; blood:2red+1blue; ichor:1blue+1yellow+1red; spread plain oatmeal mix on clean face and backs of hands, add blood, puss and ichor as desired
(this stuff takes awhile to dry(feels like a mudmask), allow plenty of time…you might want to do a test run to get your recipe & timing straight…it’ll peel and flake off all night adding to the effect)
GOBLIN: get clothes that really clash in muted tones> stripey knee socks, oversized below-the-knee shorts, tightish shirt, too small vest, ‘cloppy’ type shoes or tennis shoes
GOBLIN FX: buy a bald wig & elf ears, nasty looking fake teeth are also good; on a sewing machine sew seams/darts (red &/or green &/or orange)very close to the edge at random places on wig by folding here and there…these are scars 😉
carefully put some various sized safety pins & small nails thru some scars &/or in ears, add some gel blood after donning; add a gaudy gaudy earring; tan & green facepaint w/brown ‘dirt’ smudges- be sure to make-up hands & arms, also smudge bald wig w/grn&brn…& use darker under eyes & cheeks to create that gaunt look
SPIDER: black jeans, black turtleneck, tight black vest and black shoes.
get 2 pairs black childrens tights (girls large) & a bag of stuffing. cut the panty part off both pr leaving 1 to use as hood. stuff the 4 legs& sew shut, then sew to vest at side seams leaving some space between them.
cut 4 pcs fishing line or black buttonhole twist 5feet long. tie 1 to ‘wrist’ & ‘elbow’ of each bottom leg–leaving a 18-24″ space, tie to upper legs at knees and elbows–leave a 18-24″ space and tie a loop at end to put on your elbows and wrists (all your spider legs move now!)
use 1 panty as a hood w/ face in leghole. paint face/hands black.
get a pair of large black-framed glasses from the dollar store; get 2 tea strainers, cut off the hanles leaving only the round strainer parts…hot glue these to glasses frames.
if you want you can cut a red keyhole from felt or cloth & sew/glue to vest front.
When there was a big scandal with Tylenol being tampered with and resulting in death, a couple I went to university with went to a halloween party as matching tylenol boxes. One of them was doing a visual arts degree so they looked pretty authentic.