11.01.2009

Sam, if you will let me be,

I will try them, you will see.
Say! I like Green Eggs and Ham!
I do! I like them Sam I Am!
Lately, Lucy's favorite bed-time book has been Green Eggs and Ham. She requests it almost every night and often I hear her reading it in bed to herself when I wake up in the morning (since she has the thing memorized).
When October rolled around I thought, I'm too busy this year. She can just be a boring princess (since I'm sure that's all she really wants to be). Of course I knew my sewing hands would look back on that and always regret not making a homemade costume. Oh, the dilemma.

Then one night, Casey had a bright idea: she should be Sam I Am for Halloween. So we asked her and she was totally into it! Okay! I was jazzed and excited, especially because I love doing ensemble pieces. So little brother became Cat in the Hat.
Once we got the hat on and situated he was a good sport and wore that thing ALL night long. Endurance.
Most of the pieces were made of felt (the favorite costume fabric-of-choice).
I glue-gunned a pipe cleaner grid inside the hat so it would stand up straight. Worked pretty good.
The green eggs and ham were made of felt also and stuffed with batting.
I knew she wouldn't hold a plate of eggs all night, so I glued them to a cardboard plate (painted white) and attached a "bracelet" to the bottom to secure it on her arm.
She thought it was great fun and wanted to wear it most of the day.
The yellow dress was made of that furry fabric; you know...the kind that gets little hairs everywhere....even in your mouth. Couldn't wait to get that part of the project cleaned up!

I couldn't find yellow fur at the store so I bought white, used RIT dye and tried to dye it yellow. It mostly died the underside of the fabric leaving the fur a pale yellow. Bummer.
So I went back to my original thought and just spray-painted the fur yellow. Hooray! Bright yellow indeed. I lined the dress with cotton so that she wasn't itchy all night. Cause nothing's worse on Halloween than a child who refuses to wear the costume you just slaved over.

The shoes are probably my favorite part. They looked so cute on her little feet.
I sewed two "shoe profile" type pieces together and lined them with white knit. That knit folded out the top and created a casing for elastic (to go around her ankle).
I sewed a small piece of elastic to the bottom to help it stay on her shoe (but I'm not sure this was necessary. They stayed on pretty well regardless).
The costumes got plenty of wear time; first on Friday night at the church Trunk or Treat:
And for a good hour Saturday night, all around the neighborhood.
I could tell Lucy was running out of steam eventually when I asked her, do you want to go to that house over there? or just go home?
I want to go home, she said.
And that's a wrap.

I do so like Green Eggs and Ham.
Thank you, Thank you Sam I Am.
For Halloweens of the past, click HERE.

88 comments:

Marie' said...

Adorable!!

Tracey said...

wow, that is the most delightful pair of costumes I think I have seen around blogville lately. Almost makes this Aussie want to celebrate Halloween!

Amy said...

So cute Dana!

naomi said...

ahh you are amazing! These are the best costumes ever. Your kids look adorable!

Moi! said...

So nice!

ApachesPrincess said...

Adorable costumes!!

megan said...

what fun!!! you did a fabulous job, as always!!!
and your kids are looking soooo old to me...is it b/c of the hats?? or are they getting bigger? so so cute

threemoonbabies said...

so creative! I love them!

Erica said...

cute, cute, cute!!! I love it.

Amber, That's Me! said...

omg- a.stinkin.dorable!

Trace and Sarah said...

How creative! You are so talented! They look fantastic!

Kat said...

Great costume! Very original.

Chris said...

What a fun idea. I love using cues from things my kids already have an affinity for. Great job.

lera said...

I love this!

Heather said...

Love this idea!!! These costumes are just too cute!

lilsprinkles said...

absolutely adorable!!! what a great idea. my boy/girl twins love that book. oh, i hope they will want to dress up as this pair next year!
jae

Linsey said...

You are fabulous and they are darling.

Jennifer said...

So adorable! Loved the post and the pics.

dietcokegrrl said...

They turned out so great! Nice job!! And I loved your idea of making the plate of green eggs and ham a bracelet! Ingenious!!

And Owen looks so old to me in those pictures!

Tiphaine said...

I am - again - speechless in front of your ideas.....
Can't wait to see what you'll do you SYTYCC !!!!

www.d-un-bout-du-monde-a-l-autre.com

KellyH said...

These costumes are super cute!!!

tammiemarie said...

amazing! The best costumes I've seen this year, with great photos to boot.

amy said...

Oh my heavens... these costumes are perfect!

me said...

absolutely precious and amazingly creative!! this year we ended up with store bought. i was a little sad. i am looking forward to the years when they want to be a washing machine or something not able to be purchased on a hanger!

Suman Family said...

sooo cute! miss those little faces. i wish we could have been together to trick-or-treat. i bet the kids would be about the same pace.
anyways, love the costumes! very creative!

Becky said...

they both look so cute. Her shoes, that bow tie -- too much!

Ashley said...

SOOO cute! This will be great year round when reading the book!!!

Jean said...

GREAT JOB!!! Those fluffy, fuzzy shoes are the best! And I love her eggs and ham bracelet-plate. They both look awesome.

Cassandra said...

What a fantastic idea! I'll have to resort to some Dr. Seuss for future ideas!

Visible Voice said...

Love love LOVE! Such a great idea.

Amanda said...

That is just too precious!!! What a great idea...

The WoodLand School said...

Marvelous costumes! I love the photos and your narrations too. Great work :-)

Saunja said...

Oh, those costumes turned out so so so cute. Love them! Love those kids inside the costumes even more!

prenticefamily said...

Oh, so brilliant and adorable!!!

Nicole said...

OH MY!!! Dana, this is so adorable! You never cease to amaze me! I wished you & I lived closer, especially during the holidays with all your fun projects.

The kids look adorable! I can not get over the first picture. With those hats on & looking just at their faces Owen & Lucy look like TWINS. Their little faces are so similar. It is so cute! They are definitely brother & sister. CUTE!

Kayli said...

Absolute brilliant adorableness. Happy Halloween!

nilly ofan said...

the costumes are so pretty and fresh.

Kristine said...

Oh my. I am blown away. That is so brilliant. And architecturally a triumph too, looking at the interior shot of the hat. That gets my vote of best Halloween costume, by far.

Paige said...

So cute! You are really so clever & talented! Thanks for sharing the pictures!!

Stephanie and Carlos said...

Truely awesomefullness!!!!!

xo Steph

Pippi creates said...

What amazing costumes and such attention to detail. These are gorgeous! I hope they get many wears!

Katie said...

These are adorable! My mom was in down visiting this weekend and mentioned that what was originally the "Halloween Fling" at my Elementary School, later turned into the "Fall Fling," is now something even less offensive to the non-Holiday celebraters- a "Literacy Party" or something like that- and now instead of a costume parade it includes a "Storybook Parade." While I still miss the ol' Halloween Fling, I did think this Storybook Parade was a good idea. After all, Halloween is a bit of a strange holiday. It all seems to have a bit more of a point to it when you try and get a good book in there. This is all a very long-winded way of saying that I think it's great that your children dressed up as story book characters instead of just Disney promotions. And they look adorable! Great job! :)

Erin said...

Such wonderful costumes. Very, very cool. :)

Jill said...

Awesome costumes! So clever.

beautifulladybird said...

Dana

These are amazing!!!!

katie

Heather said...

You are a goddess.

Jenn said...

You are so incredibly creative. These are darling!

Mauri said...

So darn cute! I love Dr. Seuss, these costumes are so much fun! I might have to steal your idea for a future Halloween. :)

Sew Much Ado said...

Love the costumes! So, I just checked out the first weeks entries for SYTYC, and let's just say although it's annonymous, I think you're gonna win! I have a feeling I know which entry was your's, and it's so adorable!

Jade said...

oh no you didn't!!!! you are amazing. have i told you that lately???

Kym said...

They are soooooooo adorable! What great fun!
x K

Hannah Stevenson said...

HOLY CUTENESS!!! Love them!

jessica said...

Dana, what amazing costumes! Absolutely gorgeous.

Diane said...

You are so talented!

I-got-the-notion said...

Cute as usual Dana!

Amy said...

So so cute!!!

-Amy
Crafting by Candlelight

Darin, Jenn and Ivy said...

Super cute! If I went by what my daughter loved she would be a shark. She's crazy. And if you made that dress on SYTYC I want one! It is too cute.

sofia's sketchbook said...

adorable pictures!!!!!
adorable kids!!!!
adorable colors!!!!

adorable genius mom!!!!!

adorable post!!!!!

Sarah Pead said...

Amazing! Amazing! Amazing! Making Halloween costumes are the best. Check out my "Twitter Bird" costume when you get a chance. It was made in only 2 hours! :)

natalie said...

So, so wonderful!!!

Emily said...

wow, that's amazing, I love your ideas I would of never thought of that one but it's definately a good one.

Rebekah Williams said...

Umm. I'm speechless. Totally speechless.

You are amazing, my dear. These are precious.

Oh, and I voted in the S.Y.T.Y.C. challenge. I think I guessed your entry (and that was my pick, of course!)

Corey~living and loving said...

oh my word. You are awesome, and your kids looked GREAT! ♥

Liz said...

You are incredible! We had a couple princess' and a cowboy. Oh well, it's what they begged for. :)

Maybe next year we will aspire to be something more creative.

Great work!!!

Liz
www.lovingthismomstuff.blogspot.com

Brittany said...

I love it! The pipe cleaner idea is so clever. The shoes are clever. Everything is clever. I can't believe you actually dyed the furry fabric! If this was your scaled-down version of Halloween... well, I guess I've seen your writing utensils Halloween. My personal favorite. I think about those costumes several times per year.

Nikki said...

AMAZING! Cutest idea ever!

remey10 said...

I love the hats. I'd wear them myself!
Your daughter is way too smart! Dr. Suess is a literary genius! Who doesn't love green eggs and ham!?

Angel said...

Those are some of the most original and fantastic costumes I've seen in years. I also really adore the picture of them sitting in chairs next to each other reading. It would make a great poster for the library to encourage children reading. Or for a calendar!

Keyona said...

You are amazing! Best costumes ever!

Deborah said...

A. DOR. A. BLE. Love it, and so envious of your energy and creativity!! What a great Halloween...

Deborah said...

A. DOR. A. BLE. Love it, and so envious of your energy and creativity!! What a great Halloween...

KS said...

SO SO CUTE! You are so Clever. I Love seeing what you come up with.

lanakae said...

brilliant!

Jess said...

Brilliant, really! Creative, and fun. I love it.

vely said...

absolutely brilliant!!!!!!

wherespooki said...

wow ... they are gorgeous ... great job!

Jean said...

The costumes turned out great and have inspired me to start earlier in 2010 so we won't have to run out and BUY them!

Pinklunamoon said...

My goodness, you really did slave over these costumes (i loved the crayola one too!), compliments to the photographer too, excellent pictures!!!

nath said...

very good!!! I've got to do a duck outfit for xmas play... that should be an interesting one...

Laurie Anne said...

A fabulous post! I was the Cat in the Hat for Halloween...My favourite read and even though my kids are 13 and 9.5 they still love to read it with me :)
Love your blog! x

Just Rhonda said...

Amazing costumes!!!! Love them!

Marie {Make and Takes} said...

These are adorable! What fun costumes. And that green eggs and ham, so fabulous!

Jackie Kersh said...

simply adorable!!!! i have costume envy.

Emily Anne said...

Cutest costumes I've seen this year. Darling!

imakestuff said...

what great costumes!!

Christina B. said...

HOW CUTE AND UNIQUE..... SO MUCH BETTER THAN ANY STORE BOUGHT COSTUME.

Kim @ Frostmeblog.blogspot.com said...

OMG! These are way too cute!

Kim @ http://frostmeblog.blogspot.com

sue said...

Awesome thanks Dana. We are having a Dr. Seuss week this week and I totally plan on making the hat. And I'm also going to try to make the green eggs and ham. That's my boys favorite book as well.