Monsters Inc Costumes

As per usual I couldn't wait for Halloween this year! I normally make our costumes in July but I was so sick with my pregnancy and couldn't find the energy to even think about it. Now that I'm into my second trimester I've been feeling much better and couldn't wait to get started (Note: I'm writing this in late August). I struggled for a long time with what to be this year.

Last year we were minions but those were so complicated to make and I didn't have the time or energy to pull off another project like that. I did love those little guys though.

I knew I was going to have a big belly this year and wanted to incorporate that somehow. What can I be that's round? I kept coming back to the idea of Mike Wazowski from Monsters Inc (one of my very favorite Disney movies). He's the perfect shape! But what could Matt be? I could've made a janky Sully costume but I wanted him to look awesome. Sulley was going to be too complicated. I thought about Roz and then I thought...Boo! So what if she's a toddler girl and Matt is a grown man? I love her purple monster outfit she wears. That didn't look too hard! I was sold. I had to wait to closer to Halloween to make my costume because I didn't know what size my belly would be but I went ahead and made Matt's right away. It wasn't too hard if you have mediocre sewing skills like I do. Seriously, I love to sew but it is not my strongest suit. This project in no way requires you to be an expert. As long as you can sew a straight line you'll be good! I got the supplies for both costumes for about $55 total at Hobby Lobby. I had a few things at home but I didn't know I needed those things till I got to the point where I did. I just kinda figured it out as I went.

After my costumes were finished and we had already worn them to our costume party on the Jr High retreat we go on every year in October, I had a great idea I couldn't ignore. It came to me while strolling thru the aisles of Hobby Lobby (where I have my best ideas). I was originally too lazy to make my dog a costume this year. I make her one every year because I'm a freak. This year I had our costumes, my daughter's nursery and countless other projects going on around me. Plus I can't stop nesting which is taking up a lot of my time. FIX ALL THE THINGS! I was going to reuse her Ewok costume I made her a few years ago. I just couldn't do it. I had to make her something. What's more perfect than Sulley!! He would be way easier to recreate on a dog than a full-grown man. It was so easy and only cost $3! I feel so much better.

Our little monster fam.

Boo Costume

Supplies:

Purple Felt (I got 4 yards which was about 1.5 yards too much. Make sure the length is as long as the person is tall plus about 0.5-1 yard extra)

Dark purple or black broadcloth (cotton) fabric to line hood (1 yard)

Off white fleece for arms (1 yard)

Off white double fold bias tape

Dark purple pipe cleaners

Thin wire

Thick wire (strong enough to hold up foam balls)

2 Foam balls

Sharpie

Purple paint

1 Piece of stiff white felt (not the flimsy kind)

4-5 Yards cotton cording (32 cents a yard in the fabric section)

Optional:
Hard hat
PVC pipe

I didn't do a lot of measuring because that's just too complicated. I like to eyeball things. I started by folding the purple felt in half and holding it up to Matt to see how long and wide to cut it. Make it nice and roomy. It's not supposed to be form fitting. So I cut the felt and sewed the open side and hemmed around the bottom. 

After that I turned it right-side-out with the seam down the middle in the back. I put it back on my model and marked where the arm holes need to go. You should pull the felt up to a little below the neck before you mark them. I used a tissue box I had in my craft room to make and cut a semi-oval through the 2 layers making it a full oval when you open it up. 

Next I sewed wire around the whole top. It's supposed to be like a monster mouth and it needs to be a little bit moldable. Otherwise it'll fall limp and won't look right. So just fold the top over the wire and sew. It doesn't have to look perfect because you'll cover it up. 

 Then I added some bias tape. I sewed it on the front side and just glued it on the back side. You won't really see it on the back and I didn't want to hand sew it. 

Next is the hood. This part was hard for me. It took some brain power. I measured how much felt I needed from the top of the body to the top of Matt's head then added a few more inches. You should cut out a long rectangle then fold it to where it looks more like a square. Sew together one of the sides closest to the folded edge. When you turn it right-side-out it should look like this.

Do the same thing with the dark purple liner and sew it inside the felt hood. You only need to sew one side (the side that will be the top of the mouth). The other side will be covered inside and it's unnecessary to sew it. After you sew the 2 pieces together on that side, fold the fabric over the thin wire and do the same thing we did earlier again. Sew the wire into the mouth-side.

Sew more bias tape on the side you just hemmed with the wire. Again, I sewed the bias tape on the felt side and hot glued the inside. 

Next I sewed the hood onto the body. This was complicated to get into my machine but it can happen. I had to sew part of the mouth closed on each side because it gaped open a little too much. 

Try it on your model! He was engrossed in a show and didn't stop watching the whole time. 

Don't worry, we'll get rid of the pointy top. Next I freehanded some teeth onto the stiff felt and cut them out and glued them inside the mouth. 

I got a package of foam balls that came in 2 pieces. I painted 2 of the pieces purple. I traced circles in the middle of the other 2 halves with a sharpie then glued the 2 together. I cut a strip of the dark purple fabric and hot glued it around the middle to cover the seam.

For the eye stems I cut 2 pieces of the thick wire and wrapped 4 pipe cleaners around each one to cover up the wire. I then hot glued the ends not covered by the pipe cleaners and stuck them in the back of the eye balls.

To get rid of the point on the hood I just pulled some of the fabric through the inside and used a rubberband to tie it just like you would a pony tail. For the hair I used the cording. I cut the pieces to my desired lengths and just hot glued them to the top on top of where the point was. I then cut 2 little holes big enough to stick the pipe cleaner-covered wire through. 

And now we're at the very last part: The arms! These were pretty easy. I measured the arm holes I had made on the body and cut 2 long pieces out of the off white fleece to fit in there. I free handed them to make a point at the end. I just sewed them up and turned them inside out. I then sewed them to the body. This was also kinda awkward to get to my machine but it worked! 

After I got to this point it looked alright but I knew my dad could make it awesome. So I gave it to him and showed him a picture of the actual Boo to show him what it was supposed to look like. He used PVC pipe to make a mouth shape and I hot glued it inside. He also got some super sturdy wire and now the eyes stand up perfectly. Lastly, he got a hardhat and took out the inside. He used tape and glue to install it into the head of the costume. It's adjustable so anyone's head will fit. This way it won't flop everywhere and it keeps the eyes standing up. I'd love to give you more details on this part buttt I wasn't there. My dad is just basically a genius. He's so creative and handy. Blows my mind.

This took me 2 half days to make from start to finish (and my dad a little bit of time). Not so bad! And way cheaper than to buy an adult-sized costume like this. I didn't look for one but I'm sure it's available somewhere.

Pregnant Mike Wazowski Costume

Now it's October! I'm officially in my third trimester (27 weeks) and I just finished my costume. Probably the first time I've made my costume at a normal time. Halloween is in a little over a week! Cutting it close by my standards. Matt and I are Jr High leaders at our church and have a retreat this weekend with our kids. There's always a costume party and I love to whip out my costumes then. Like I said before, I wanted to wait on making my costume because I had no idea how big I'd be. I wanted to make sure the shirt fit and Mike was the right size against my bump. It ended up being so easy to make and only took a few hours. I love how it turned out.

Supplies:
Lime green fleece (1/2 yard is plenty. I got way too much because I was originally going a different route and Mike was going to be much bigger)
1 piece black felt
1 piece pink felt
1 piece white felt
1 piece blue felt
Few pieces of cardstock
Hot glue gun
Long-sleeve plain black tshirt (30% off $8 at Hobby Lobby)
Black pants
Blue hard hat (optional)

I found it easier for me to trace out all of my designs on paper before cutting them out of the fabric. Fleece is hard to cut out if you don't have a shape traced onto it.

I found a bowl that was the perfect size for my belly and traced it onto some paper. I folded it in half and drew on it to make it a little more domed at the top (more like the shape of Mike). I cut it out while it was folded to make it even all the way around. Then I traced it onto the fleece with a sharpie and cut it out!

I then traced a smaller circle (with my circle cutters but you can use anything that's round and the right shape) onto the white felt for the eye. I made a smaller blue circle then free-cut the smallest black circle that was the pupil. I hot glued it together and then onto the body. 

I free-cut the horns as well. I doubled the white felt then cut so they'd both be exactly the same. I hot glued them onto the back of the head.

The mouth was a little time consuming but not hard. I doubled the black felt (again to make it totally even all the way around) and cut out a mouth shape. Then I cut lots of little white teeth. I free-cut one then used it as a template to cut out the others. I then made the tongue and glued it down. I glued the teeth on top. After all of the teeth are on, flip the mouth over and trim off excess white that's hanging over. Hot glue it on the body.

The most intimidating part for me was the appendages. The arms and legs. I used a picture of Mike I found on Google (shown a few paragraphs up) as a reference for this part. I drew 1 leg on cardstock and cut it out. I traced it on the felt, being sure to flip it over for the 2nd one. I cut them both out. Then I cut little toe-nails and glued them on the feet. Then I traced another leg onto cardstock and cut it out. I glued those cardstock legs on the backs of the fleece legs to make them more sturdy. I wanted them to dangle but without the extra stiffness they will curl up and be floppy. Then I glued the legs to the body.

The arms were harder because I didn't want them exactly the same. I drew them on cardstock as well being sure to make them the same size. I traced them on the fleece and cut them out. Be sure to trace them with the cardstock flipped over (the side without your markings). Otherwise they'll be backwards on your body. You want the side without the sharpie to show. I then cut fingernails for the waving hand and glued them on the back of the hand where you can just see them peeping over the fingers (since the palm of his hand is what's showing). The other hand is in a fist so you don't need nails.

Next I put on my shirt. I thought it looked better with a belt because it made my belly look more round and defined. So I put on my skinny belt below my bust and pinned Mike in place.

I took off the shirt then just hot glued him in place around the edges (leaving the legs to dangle).

I found the blue hard hat at Habitat for Humanity Restore on Winchester in Memphis (love that place...so many weird treasures). Super random find. I went there looking for a chandelier. The hat was $5 and perfect for my costume! I printed off the Monsters Inc logo that I found on Google, glued it to cardstock and cut it out. I then hotglued it onto the hat! Finish off your outfit with black pants and shoes. And there you have it! Mike Wazowski!!

Sulley Dog Costume

Supplies:
Blue tshirt (always on sale 30% off $3.50 at Hobby Lobby)
1 sheet purple felt
1 sheet stiff white felt

I can't really explain in detail how I made this. I hate measuring and dogs are hard because they don't stand straight up. So I started by putting the little blue shirt on Elphie and pinning where I thought I should cut or sew. She always just stands there and often falls asleep. She loves me.

I then sewed up the sleeves making them smaller and cut the excess off the bottom.

Then I cut it down the middle on the part that would be on her belly (won't be seen). I put it back on her and pinned it again where it needed to be stitched up. I cut off a lot excess so it wouldn't be hanging down on her under-side.

Once the shirt fit her nicely I cut out lots of purple dots. I traced circles onto the felt using my circle cutter templates and I cut them out. I didn't want them all perfect circles so I just used my markings as a guide. Then I glued them on!

I got my stiff white felt and cut out one spike for the back. I used that to make 3 more so they'd be the same. I just hot glued them on the back.

Lastly, I got the excess material I cut off of the bottom of the shirt to make her head piece. I just cut a strip and hemmed it. Then I made sure it fit snuggly but not too tight and sewed it up. I cut out 2 horns from the stiff felt and hot glued them on.

She was so excited about Halloween she could hardly stand it. This project only look like an hour and was $3. Totally worth it. Love this dog.

These costumes weren't at all hard to make. Let me know if you decide to try them! I'd love to see some pics!! I seriously can't wait to dress up our daughter next Halloween. She'll be 9 months old. The possibilities are endless!!! Happy trick or treating!

Gender Reveal Party

As I've mentioned before, we found out a little over a month ago that we're having a GIRL!! We were shocked. She's the 2nd girl in 5 generations of Hedgepeth men. The first one is Matt's sister who was number FIVE. We just thought we'd have a houseful of boys. I've always wanted a little girl but didn't think it'd happen for a while or possibly ever. I love little boys so I was perfectly happy with that option as well. God had different plans!!

Matt and I decided to find out our baby's gender before everyone the night of our ultrasound. We wanted to have that special moment with just the 2 of us. So we had our ultrasound and had the tech write the gender on a card I gave her and she put it in an envelope. We went downtown that night. Before our reservations we went to the rooftop of the Peabody and we opened it together. Well, Matt opened it upside down so at first we just saw blank..but then I saw pink! I thought I was seeing things. The tech wrote "It's a Little Girl" in pink marker. We were in complete shock. I think I said "I can't believe it" 100 times that night. Matt wanted a girl too so we were both so excited.

We kept it a secret from a Tuesday to a Friday. It was so hard not to tell! We told our close friends and family at a gender reveal party at our house. I had the house decorated for a whole month before the party. Matt thought I was crazy. I was just so excited to find out what our baby was!! We told everyone by cutting a cake made my yours truly. I tried so hard to think of a different way to tell everyone but I have a cake business and it just made sense. Plus I could not for the life of me come up with something else. It worked out just great. 

Here are some pics from our party:

On the left I had pink balloons and a girly onesie hanging up and on the right I had blue balloons with a little boy onesie. I had that little table in the attic and I brought it down to cut the cake on. It'd be too cramped to have 30 people try and squash into the dining room for the reveal so we brought the cake in here when it was time.

I got the banner at Hobby Lobby. It came pre-assembled. It was on sale so it was like $2.50. It has 12 triangles which was just the amount I needed. The Lord provides!! I used scrapbook paper to glue to the existing triangles and I used alphabet stencils from Hobby Lobby to paint the letters on.

I wanted a way to display our ultrasound pics. I was going to buy little frames but then I found something better (and cheaper) amongst my craft supplies. I found these little pieces of scalloped wood. I had a little bit of chalk paint leftover from my dining room table project and painted them. I then cut out and glued scrapbook paper to it then a little painted clothespin. So easy. I hung these in my craft room to display pictures after the party. They're so easy to change out whenever you want!

I put a box under the fabric (Hobby Lobby) under the cake to add some layers to the table. I made the jars for a previous event so I already had them. I got the jars, ribbon and burlap flowers at Hobby Lobby.

 I wanted silhouettes for my table but didn't want to buy them because I'm cheap. I got the 2 frames at Hobby Lobby and went to Google images and found these silhouettes of a little girl and boy. I printed them and traced/filled them in with a silver pen I had. I matted them with scrapbook paper. I put the little girl one in her nursery!

We had lots of desserts. Cute decorated cookies, rice krispy treats, Gibsons donuts and a Katie Cake!  

This little cake banner was so easy to make. Some skewers, little cord ribbon, tiny clothespins (Hobby Lobby or Michaels), scrapbook paper, burlap (I bought these tiny triangles already cut out on the banner aisle), and letter stickers!

Also in the dining room I have this little buffet where I had pink and blue plates, forks and a little place where you could vote boy or girl. I got the paint chips at Walmart when I was doing some shopping. I got all different blues and pinks and cropped them to 3 colors each. I wrote "It's a girl" on the pinks and "It's a boy" on the blues. Everyone wrote their name on the back and put it in my little pot on the table.

We have a bar in the living room that ended up being perfect for drinks. I made little tissue balls to decorate it (see tutorial from this previous post). I had blue punch (blue Hawaiian Punch mixed with lemonade) and pink lemonade, coffee punch, milk and soft drinks. I love the paper straws I found on Etsy.

And our people! We took 2 group pics. One with those who thought it was a girl and one with everyone who thought it was a boy. I made the signs out of little flat canvases, ribbon and scrapbook paper. I used my same stencils I used for the banner to trace the letters then I filled them in with black sharpie. 

Note: Matt and I were in the boy pic because we wanted to stay true to our original assumptions. Also notice our dog Elphie in the girl pic. She walked over and got in the pic then left after it was done. Haha she's so weird.

And it is time!!

I think everyone was a little excited! I had it filmed from 2 angles. Someone filmed us and then I had my little camera on a tripod facing everyone else to get their reactions which were priceless. I took a snapshot of everyone finding out from the video so it's a little blurry but I love it nonetheless.

My mom had a huge pink bag of a lot of little clothes she made me as a baby in her car. She had a boy one with my brother's stuff too. She went and got it after the reveal. I love that my daughter will wear my stuff as well. I'm in the process of learning to smock so things are about to get a little cray cray in that department.

Here's a compiled video from the 2 different angles:

Everyone is so excited to be gaining a grandaughter/great grandaughter/niece/great niece/etc. But I think we're most excited to be gaining a daughter. We can't wait to meet and love on her in January. My due date is 100 days from today!! The countdown continues!