Easy Peasy Halloween

...using stuff you already have in your closet!

Last year I was Mary Poppins for work (I work at a library), and then I was also Black Widow for going out at night (nice and warm for a chilly October night, and I had most of the stuff in my closet).

This year I'm doing two costumes again: one for the day (babysitting and work), and one for the night (going out with friends) (because how can anyone pick just one costume when Halloween's only once a year?!).

For the daytime I'm going as Cat Woman (which is essentially my DIY Black Widow costume from last year, just tweaked).  Black Widow, or Cat Woman are super duper easy to put together last minute (like even day of, easy!).  This year I'm working at my newest job, Aerie, annnnd babysitting, so I know that I'll want to be comfortable and able to run around easily (and don't forget, work appropriate).

Both costumes are the same outfit; the only difference is the change in accessories!

For Cat Woman, I just used an old, plain black cat mask that I'll wear on my head (kinda like those glasses Ann Hathaway wears in the Dark Knight Rises).

For Black Widow I switched out the cat mask for a DIY'ed belt buckle, which I made out of red and black foam, to look like the back of a black widow spider (which took all of two seconds to make!).

Black Widow/Cat Woman is made up of work out clothes; you can't get any more comfier than that (or warmer!).  And even better, they're pieces that you can wear long after Halloween's over (score!)!  All you need is a pair of black OTK (over the knee) boots, black leggings (mine are a LC Kohl's clearance find, half-leather, half-cotton find), black workout zip up, chunky black belt (with DIY belt buckle safety-pinned to the front if you're going as Black Widow) and a black utility belt I found on Amazon.  And my gloves?  They're old lacrosse gloves from high school that I spray painted black!  It definitely doesn't get any easier than that; plus, you can wear all the pieces waaaaaay after Halloween (so you don't have to feel that guilt of paying $40+ on a costume that you probably won't ever wear again)!

For Halloween night this year, I'm going as Lilo from Lilo and Stitch (I just love that movie!)!  Again, super easier than you think, to put together.

While you're probably not going to be wearing a hula skirt any time soon after Halloween (and if you are, I'm totally jealous, because it's probably a good time wherever you're going, haha), you could totally re-wear the crop top (paired with a cute midi/high-waisted skirt perhaps?).

How stinkin' adorable is this little Stitch backpack?!  My inner child is totally obsessed.  Plus it's functional for keeping all my things safe for a night out on the town!

"This is your badness level.  It's unusually hight for someone of your size."

And these flats?  I don't even have to worry about getting use out of them--I've already worn them like fifty times since I got them last month!!!

Go forth and DIY the hell out of Halloween!  :)

Femme Fatal

It's the week of Halloween, and while I have my work costume picked out ( Mary Poppins ), I've picked a second costume for the night out on the town with friends.  This time, the total opposite of sweet Mary Poppins.  I chose, Avengers' Black Widow (a strong independent woman who don't need no man and looks good doing it).

One of the perks of this costume?  Not only do you look like a smokin' femme fatale, but it's actually WARM, unlike a lot of other costumes. It's the best of both worlds really.  Plus, you can wear the pieces you buy over and over or you can use what you have in your closet (I know I'm not the only one with a closet that has a lot of black).  Because who doesn't want to save a buck and avoid frostbite at the same time?

Here's what you'll need:

• Black leggings/jeggings 
• Black boots (mine are knee-high with a heel, but in the movie she's wearing something closer to a combat boot--it's your call depending on where you're going to be)
• 2 belts (one to go around your waist--also gives you Black Widow's awesome hourglass figure, hooray!  And another that you can sling around your hips--I this SWAT belt belt from Amazon, which is also perfect if you're going out, plenty of places to put your phone, money, etc so you don't even need a purse!)
• Toy gun (I got mine at a dollar store and spray painted it black)
• Fingerless gloves (I used a pair of old lacrosse gloves and spray painted them black)
• S.H.I.E.L.D. patch (a small foam circle that I drew on with Sharpie)
• Black Widow's belt buckle (I DIY'ed one with some foam)
• Red hair spray or red wig

The belt:

• Sheet of thick black foam
• Sheet of thin red foam

1.  To avoid having to redo this multiple times, I made templates for each piece out of paper first and then traced on to the foam (measure twice, cut once as my eighth grade tech teacher used to tell us).  I made the bigger template first according to how big I wanted it simple by making an hourglass shape.

2.  Hot glue the smaller red hourglass on the bigger black hourglass, then hot glue two safety pins on the back and voila!  A Black Widow belt buckle in less than five minutes.

The S.H.I.E.L.D. patch:

• Sheet of gray foam
• black, fine-tip Sharpie

I literally cut a small circle from the foam (maybe an inch or so in diameter, its up to you) and then copied the SHIELD logo onto the circle.  And the last step?  Hot glue a safety pin to the back.  Done.

And now you're ready to kick some alien butt (or at least look good pretending).

Happy Halloween Eve y'all!!  :)