Thursday, October 29, 2009

Ant on a Picnic Table



Done! With time to spare. Yes, I am awesome. :)

Brighton and I started searching for costume idea about two months ago. Somewhere (sorry, I don't remember where) we came along an idea for an ant on a picnic table. "Mom, look! That's so creepy! Ants all over! Can I please be that for Halloween?" No gore. No mask. I can probably make it. Alright, it's a go!





The costume itself wasn't hard to make, but it did take a while to find the supplies.
(1) A box just the right size. It's only about 4" deep. The cloth hangs over longer. Brighton still has full use of his arms.
(2) Fabric. Easy peasy.
(3) Tiny ants. After striking out at several toy stores, I finally just bought some off the internet.
(4) Toy food. Thanks, Target.
(5) Helmet. This is a bumble bee hat that I painted black and bent the antennae to look a little more ant-like. I found it at Michael's.
(6) Black balloons and pipe cleaners. Easy to find as long as you shop well head of Halloween.

The table is stablized with cereal boxes duct taped to the bottom. Brighton carries the weight of the costume on his shoulders, but there is a cereal box pressed against his chest and a box against his back to keep the table from wobbling too much. Again, his arms are free to move as needed.

The picnic food and ants are all hot glued. I suggest using traditional fabric as opposed to a vinyl table cloth because the hot glue was able to seep through the fabric, securing the food to box itself, not just to the tablecloth. I think the costume would come apart more easily if the tablecloth, weighed down with toy food, slid around.



Tomorrow Brighton has a school party, then we're going to a freind's party. Saturday is trunk-or-treat at the church, followed by trick-or-treating around the neighborhood. Phew! Hope you enjoy your weekend also!

1 comment:

  1. Great Idea!! Love it!! Brighton makes a GREAT ANT!!

    I remember having box costumes as well. I love that he has full movement of his arms, I didn't and carrying that bag of goodies was the scary part for me. ;)

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