Wicked Witches

I covered the costumes I made for my coworkers, but never showed off what I came up with for myself! I didn't sew anything for myself, most of my costume was stuff I already had. Every year I end up buying a witches hat because I've lost the one I bought the year before. This year was no exception. Somewhere in my house I must have a stash of 80 hats *sigh*. This year I was disappointed because the only hat I could find that had hair attached had purple streaks in the hair. I wanted all black. This turned out well though. The cape I have in my collection is black velvet on the outside but purple on the inside. It tied nicely with the hat. Then when I wanted striped socks I found some grey and purple ones. Purple turned into an nice accidental accent :D

My makeup was so much fun to do. A bright green base, I outlined wrinkles, lips and brows in black. My prosthetic nose had yellow highlights on it so I added yellow to cheekbones, forehead, and chin to match. I got some odd looks from passing cars for sure :)

Not only did I do my outfit as the Wicked Witch of the West, I also did the Wicked Witch of the East. She was easy enough, an extra pair of striped socks stuffed with some red sequined slippers we sell at the store. I just tucked the free end under the checkout counter. Looks like she got the table dropped on her.

And a shot of all of us together. I had no hand in the Tin Woodsman or Glenda the Good Witch but they did well by themselves. I loved doing this and hope next year we do something new. Maybe Disney Princesses. Something for an ensemble to do that is mostly women.

Zombie Fest

2011

My hometown does Halloween right. For 3 years now they have done "Nightmare on Chicago Street", a full blown, post-apocalyptic zombie fest! The first year I went as a lab tech who got too close to her test subjects:

Photo courtesy of the Death Maidens 

Grrr, Arrgh!

Very simple makeup with store bought lab coat and missing eye prosthetic. I had the scrubs from when I did a phlebotomy rotation in college. The store bought prosthetic was a pain, because it was made from black latex and no matter how much makeup I used, I couldn't get it to blend in with my skin tone. I made the lab badge and even had a clip board of test results of the zombie virus. Carrying around a clipboard made people keep thinking I was part of the event staff though.

2012

The next year I wanted to go as a Plants vs Zombies character. I even found a real life traffic cone in my backyard blown in from a nearby highway. What I soon discovered, tho, is real life traffic cones are heavy and uncomfortable to wear on your head. Scrapping the idea with just hours to go before the event I had to fashion one out of construction paper. Turned out fine, if a bit childlike. I made it up with face paint tho. I think I might have a bit of a hidden talent when it comes to costume make up. Shirt was from my own wardrobe, coat and tie stolen from dad's closet.

Dad rocking his Jack the Ripper outfit.

They had a real life Plants vs Zombies game that year with
paint ball guns and plywood zombie targets.

2013

And this past year I decided I wanted to go as a gas mask zombie from the episode "The Empty Child" of Doctor Who. The dress and cape I have in my Civil War collection even tho the episode takes place in WWII. The apron, hat and gas mask I made the day before. I love the mask, but it has some problems I need to correct. First and foremost, it fogs up as I breathe and I can't see out of it. The second and minor problem is that it isn't screen accurate. The snout is too long and I think shortening it up might fix the fogging problem. The metal rings around the eyes and snout are canning jar lid rings. The lenses are 2 half spheres that when put together make a plastic tree ornament. The picture is blurry but I'll try and get a better one of the mask. Despite the problems, I'm super proud of it.

Sorry for blurry pic

My costume and a frame from the episode I took
the idea from.