owl costume

i hope everyone had a happy halloweeeeen! thought i’d share with you a little mother-daughter creation: N’s halloween costume!

by “mother-daughter,” this time i actually mean myself and my mom (N’s gwee!) N expressed that she wanted to be an owl this year for halloween… and that they are her new favorite animal now, trumping the fox?!? whaaa? of course, she does have owls all over her bedroom and her shower curtain and bathroom is covered in them, so this isn’t outta no where.

N's felt owl mask

i remembered how awesome all of my halloween costumes were as a kid because my mom made them all! i feel like such a loser that i usually go the pottery barn kids route each year, so when i realized that my mom was visiting us in cali a few weeks before halloween, i jumped on the opportunity to enlist her help with making this costume (and learning more about this sewing machine thing-a-ma-jig collecting dust in my guest room closet.) i was inspired by the artful parent’s post on making bird wings (which was inspired by ones she’d seen on prudent baby.) i figured these would work well for a little owlie girl on halloween night, right? so first, a trip to joann’s fabrics was in order so we could choose fabrics and a color scheme, based around N’s fav color (which is still purple, to my knowledge.)

then we measured N’s wingspan arm length, and i cut a pattern for the wings and “feathers.”

next my mom and i got down to business with a whole lot of tedious (but easy) tracing and cutting. (sorry for dark photos. most of this work was done at night after the little one was asleep.)

the sewing began. (and my mom showed me again how to wind my bobbin and thread my machine. somehow i do not retain this information, no matter how many times i’m told. probably because once it’s done, i don’t touch the machine for a year or more in between lessons.)

costume contains lots of love

the sewing continued and messes were made.

i created a mask out of felt while mom diligently sewed.

we also created an oval patch covered with the “feathers” that we tacked onto one of N’s shirts.

in the end, it was all worth it. my little lady was the cutest owl in town on halloween night!

 

Related posts:

  1. boo branch
  2. good gourd!
  3. halloween art round-up
  4. gluten-free gingerbread cookies
  5. felt leaf garland

11.01

2011
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  • http://www.thechocolatemuffintree.com/ Melissa @The Chocolate Muffin Tree

    Wonderful costume!!! My daughter would absolutely love an owl costume! It would be so fun to play in too! We made a costume (no sew) and C was a Chocolate Chip Cookie!

  • http://www.artfulparent.typepad.com The Artful Parent

    Great job on the owl costume! Looks awesome!

  • jen

    thanks so much melissa and jean! means a lot coming from you both!
    and thank you, jean, for the irresistible wing inspiration! if you recall my comment on your blog entry about these wings, when N saw maia’s wings on my computer screen, she said, “I NEED THOSE!” and has not let go of the idea since that day. i’m thinking that is one reason why she wanted to be an owl for halloween. :) and now we have fun wings for dress up time, too! cheers to november!

  • http://www.blogfork.blogspot.com karol

    Absolutely adorable. Fabulous mother/daughter team work!

  • http://www.cygnetsmall.wordpress.com molly

    So, my blog has a post with the owl costume that looks almost exactly like yours! (Yes, same inspiration — thanks Jean.) Great work to you (and your mom), looks like it was well loved.

  • Heather N

    What a great costume! I, too, have a sewing machine that is collecting dust. Unfortunately, my mom does not sew either. I think I will check out the library and see what books and resources are available. You have inspired me (again).

  • http://artandsoulcounseling.com sabrina

    LOVE IT LOVE IT! Hoot-hoot – keep her from flying too high! :) Looks like she is having a blast wearing it too! We’ll have to send you a photo of Sophie in her blue crayon costume that Kyle Daddy made. Hugs, S

  • jen

    thanks everyone!
    molly – post a pic on my facebook page! i’d love to see your wings!
    heather – check out youtube as a sewing resource. they have awesome tutorials!
    sabrina – i can’t wait to see the blue crayon!!!!

  • http://TinkerLab.com Rachelle | TinkerLab

    the wings are RAD! given my costume design background, i can only imagine the hours of love that went into this. it’s a costume she’ll treasure for life. good job!!

  • http://www.pinkandgreenmama.blogspot.com pink and green mama MaryLea

    Adorable!

  • http://jeandear.blogspot.com Jean Marie

    This is so awesome! Great job!

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