Spaghetti and Meatballs Crazy Hair Day

I love costumes, but I wasn't planning to dress up for Halloween this year. Trevor didn't want to wear one, so I hadn't prepared a family costume like I usually do. Then Halloween came and I was bummed to not dress up. Around noon, I decided to make myself a quick and easy costume.

This costume takes advantage of the fact that my hair is blonde and really long right now. While it was my Halloween look, I think it's better described as a fun idea for Crazy Hair Day. Affiliate links below. 

Spaghetti and Meatballs Crazy Hair Day

Materials:

• plastic take-out bowl
• scissors
• brown fabric (I used socks with threadbare heels)
• styrofoam balls
• bobby pins
• hot glue
• fork
• chipboard
• red gingham fabric

Steps: 

Put your hair into a high, tight ponytail. Ideally, you want it directly on top of your head. Cut an X in the bottom of the plastic bowl, then thread it onto the ponytail until it is resting against your head. It should be comfortable and completely secure. Arrange your hair inside the bowl to resemble spaghetti. Pin it if necessary. I just left mine loose. 

Cut apart the brown socks (avoiding the toe seam, the cuffs, and any threadbare heels) and use them to cover the styrofoam balls. Stretch the fabric tightly and glue it in place, then trim any excess. As you can see, my first meatball (in the background) has a toe seam in it. I didn't end up using it. 

Glue a bobby pin to each meatball, covering the place where the fabric is gathered. When the glue is completely dry, attach the meatballs to your hair. Then poke a fork into your hair. I used a real fork, which was not ideal. It slumped a bit and I had to readjust it a couple of times. It's much better to use one of the metallic-looking plastic forks. 

Cut a triangle from a long side of an 8.5" x 11" piece of chipboard. Lay it on top of the checked fabric. Cut the fabric so that it extends 3 or 4" beyond the chipboard in each direction. Glue the fabric to the chipboard, then cut a slit in the fabric on the side with the missing triangle. The slit should extend all the way to the point of the triangle. 

With the slit facing you, gently slide the fabric-covered chipboard onto the top of your head. It will sit under the bowl and be very secure. Other than the fork slipping, the whole thing was very comfortable and stayed in place for the 8+ hours that I wore it.   

Steve will wear whatever I tell him to (yet another of the many things I love about him), so I brainstormed a coordinating costume for him to wear. The hay was Steve's idea. Can you tell what we are, standing next to each other and "reading" our outfit from left to right? 

We're a spaghetti western. Clever, right?! 

Hopefully I can talk Trevor into dressing up with us next year, but if not, I'm going to plan something for Steve and me. Halloween is fun no matter what, but I love it even more when I'm dressed up. 

Pez Dispenser Halloween Costume

This year, Trevor dressed as a Pez dispenser for Halloween. 

Specifically, he was this reindeer Pez dispenser. 

A perfect resemblance, no?

I made 95% of the costume during the power outage. No glue gun, sewing machine, or artificial light for me! Given the choice, I recommend electricity. Affiliate links below. 

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Pez Dispenser Halloween Costume

Materials:

• XL brown t-shirt
• Pez font
• black Sharpie
• light box
• styrofoam
• foam cutter
• silver duct tape
• red felt
• Beacon FabriTac
• reindeer antlers
• green grosgrain ribbon
• snaps
• two gold bells
• reindeer Pez dispenser, for inspiration
• face paint

Steps: 

Remove the sleeves from the t-shirt. Print out PEZ and put it under the t-shirt on the light table. Carefully trace the letters onto the shirt. (Yea, electricity!)

Cut the styrofoam so that it has the same proportions as a package of Pez. Ideally, you should use a foam cutter. I used a steak knife, which is really messy. (As an added bonus, you can't vacuum without electricity and trying to sweep up staticky bits is impossible. I shouldn't have done this indoors, but hindsight is 20-20.) 

Wrap the ends with duct tape. 

Wrap the felt around the middle of the Pez package, leaving the silver edges exposed. Glue it in place with the FabriTac. Print out PEZ in blue, cut out the letters, then glue them to the fabric. Use the Sharpie to write the other information onto the Pez package. I wrote exactly what was on the actual Pez container, except I changed the net weight to the weight of the styrofoam prop.

Measure a piece of ribbon to fit around your neck, add an extra inch, then cut. Sew the snaps onto the ends, then sew the bells to the front center.

After you're dressed, add a red reindeer nose using face paint. (Fun fact: This is the very first time Trevor has worn face paint. All his life, he has refused face paint, temporary tattoos, and anything similar. I only put the tiniest amount on to give him a red nose. He hated it, but was cooperative for the pictures.)

Due to the insanity that was our life last week, Trevor tried on his costume for the first time about 30 minutes before his friends showed up to trick-or-treat. If he'd tried it on sooner, I would have made some changes. I would have altered the shirt to make it narrower to more closely mimic the shape of the Pez dispenser, plus added a rigid piece to define the rectangular shape. Brown sweatpants would have helped the look too. But even without those improvements, both Trevor and I were happy with how it turned out. And we all had an awesome Halloween.