Skeleton in my Closet

I have a little skeleton in my closet I'd like to tell you about! He's been spending a great deal of time hiding in there these past couple of weeks, admiring his new, greatly adored, glow-in-the-dark Halloween costume. Yes, we are in full Halloween preparation mode around here. Chi-Chi put in his request for a skeleton costume earlier this month. I have to admit, I initially resisted his begging and pleading for a skeleton suit. Way, way, way back in July, I secretly created matching Nutcracker soldier costumes for the boys. I realize it sounds completely ridiculous, to be thinking about Halloween in the summer! Let's just say I was seizing an opportunity to do a bit of sewing on a sick day for the boys. While they flaked out on the couch with Popsicles and a movie, I stitched up a bit of fun. Ah, I might have suspected my independent boy would have his own ideas!! The Nutcracker costume will remain tucked away until December, when he'll likely be feeling a bit more inspired.

A good friend of mine gave me some tips on how to pull together a great skeleton costume. The next day I had all the supplies in place to get to work! I started by gathering a plain black t-shirt, leggings and mini-gloves. Chi-Chi tried on the pants and shirt and I marked off his joints and pelvic bone with white chalk. Once he removed the clothing, I inserted cardboard inside to prevent the paint from soaking through and to make a firmer surface for working on. I sketched out a very simplified skeleton in white chalk and then filled it in with white fabric paint. Once the white paint dried, I added two coats of glow in the dark paint. I used glow-in-the-dark puffy paint to outline the bones and add a bit of dimension. I also used the puffy paint to draw some tiny bones on the gloves. The mask was purchased at Michael's. It was a plain, paper mache style mask that Chi-Chi painted himself. He will wear make-up to his school party and the mask for trick-or-treating. I have to admit, this is the most fun I've had creating a costume. It is incredible how much it glows in the dark!!! My mind is already racing with other fun and creative uses for the leftover paint.

To top off his "look", he personally selected glow-in-the-dark skeleton fabric for his treat bag. Muffy went with a spider web design. It is available at Fabricville for anyone who might be interested. In retrospect, I might have made the bags just a bit smaller. The thought of those bags filled to the brim with candy makes me a little crazy.....considering Muffy ended up at the ER last Halloween for candy cramp overdose!!

All this skeleton talk has lead to a bit of fun, creativity and learning in the area of anatomy. This week, the boys and I had fun studying bones and creating pasta skeletons. Although I did up a little sample to get them going, I noticed both Muffy and Chi-Chi brought their own ideas and observations to the project. Not surprisingly, Chi-Chi's skeleton is working on his "goalie stance". Muffy insisted that his include a certain part of the male anatomy!!

Sweet Muffy, enthusiastically agreed that the Nutcracker solider would make the perfect costume for him this Halloween! I'll share this easy and super cute project a bit later! I'm just hoping the costume survives until October 31st, let alone the holiday season. It's certainly getting lots of use.....in the sandbox....playing hockey.....in the mud puddles. He's one busy little Nutcracker!