Costume How-To: Part 4

Bella loves music and singing. Therefore, it was no surprise to me when she fell head-over-heels in love with Gnomeo and Juliet this summer. Don't get the connection? Let me tie it together: Elton John and Lady Gaga, baby.

Bella can (and does) sing every song from Gnomeo and Juliet but the Elton/Gaga duet "Hello, Hello" is her absolute favorite. After her 15th viewing of the movie, she looked over at me and informed me she'd be "that Juliet ninja" for Halloween. I may pride myself on putting together a good costume, Ninja Juliet wasn't in the cards.

Instead, we went with a good ol' fashioned gnome. And Bella loved it.

Juliet the Gnome

Here's how we did it:

• Must have: Red pointy hat. (A friend who can sew had some red fabric and whipped one up for us, but you could do it with a sheet of red felt. Our cost: $3)
• Red ankle-length skirt. (I tried to find one in the stores, but couldn't. The same friend who made the hat also made a basic skirt. Our cost: $5)
• White tee shirt. (I couldn't find a collared shirt like Juliet wears, so I settled for one we already owned that had some ruffles on the sleeves. Cost: $0)
• Black shirt you can cut up. (Found on clearance at Wal-Mart. Cost: $1)
• Strip of red cloth to go under the black shirt. (Found in my closet. Cost: $0)
• White apron. (A family friend had one that she altered for Bella. Our cost: $0)
• Black shoes. (Found in Bella's closet [after lots and lots of searching]. Cost: $0)
• Red blush/lipstick. (Borrowed from a friend. What kind of woman doesn't own red lipstick? This kind, apparently. Cost: $0)
• Gold embroidery thread, black sewing thread, and a needle: (Found at Wal-Mart. Cost: $2)

Optional accessories:

• A rose like Juliet is supposed to hold.
• A green frog for "Nurse"
• A blue gnome to represent Gnomeo (Javi refused to participate in this.)

To create the costume:

• The only handicrafting you have to do is turning the black shirt into Juliet's vest. I cut the sleeves at the seam and then cut a scoop neck in the front (leaving the back intact).

• Use the gold embroidery thread to sew a box, an X inside the box, and then put little knots outside each corner of the box.

• Use the black thread to attach a strip of red fabric (or felt) to the inside of the shirt so that it peeks out of the front.

• If using red felt for that hat, create a cone shape and secure with a safety pin or a few stitches.

• Dab on a little red lipstick on the child's lips and make two red circles on her cheeks. This is optional and didn't stay on very long for us.

Now all you have to do is put it all together and you have this look for just $11:




This was Bella's official costume, but she did some other dressing up around town including an overly jeweled Queen and a gnarly pirate:


And I couldn't let Halloween pass without sharing this little bit of love from Javi's third Halloween. Can you spot my big football player?


See previous costume posts here: Pippi Longstocking, Sir Javi, and Pirate.