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2008-halloween-costume-contest
Trick or Treat Triceratops
- Contest Photo by: hotwifecoolmom
- Rancho Cucamonga, CA
Description
Everything my 4 1/2 year old son Josiah does these days has something to do with dinosaurs. So when he told me he wanted to be a triceratops for Halloween I wasn't surprised! I was, however, a bit unsure how I was going to come up with a costume that met the expectations of my aspiring paleontologist! As we were making the costume together he knew exactly how he wanted the costume to look and would say things like, "Mom your making the frill too little...where is the neck going to be... I think real triceratops had longer horns...no, mom, triceratops only had 3 claws not 4"! All my hard work was rewarded in the end when he said, "I look exactly like the real triceratops. Now everyone will think he's not extinct anymore!" He hasn't taken it off since except to sleep!
Materials
Sheet of foam core board
14 wooden triangles
2-3 yards of fabric
1/4 yard white fabric
1/4 yard contrasting fabric color
2 12 inch Styrofoam floral cones
1 6 inch Styrofoam floral cone
felt
3 inch Styrofoam ball cut in half
2 yards 1/2 inch upholstery foam
14 wooden triangles
2 7 oz packages model magic air dry clay
1 20 oz bag Polyester fiberfill
Velcro (the larger the better)
Sweatshirt
Pants with belt loops
1 pair knit gloves
Hot glue gun
14 wooden triangles
2-3 yards of fabric
1/4 yard white fabric
1/4 yard contrasting fabric color
2 12 inch Styrofoam floral cones
1 6 inch Styrofoam floral cone
felt
3 inch Styrofoam ball cut in half
2 yards 1/2 inch upholstery foam
14 wooden triangles
2 7 oz packages model magic air dry clay
1 20 oz bag Polyester fiberfill
Velcro (the larger the better)
Sweatshirt
Pants with belt loops
1 pair knit gloves
Hot glue gun
Instructions
Cut the basic frill shape from a sheet of foam core board. Using a hot glue gun adhere the fabric to the front of the foam core covering over the edges onto the back. Decorate with felt designs.
Cover the 14 wooden triangles with a contrasting fabric and glue around the outside of the frill to look like spikes. Cover the back of the foam core board with fabric and cover up the bases of the triangles and adhere the fabric to the foam core with a hot glue gun.
Cover 3 Styrofoam floral cones (two 12 inch and one 6 inch) with white fabric. Use hot glue gun to glue onto the face in appropriate places to look like horns.
Cut a 3 inch Styrofoam ball in half and draw black eyeballs on the ball. Glue onto the face. I also glued two small fabric covered foam pieces behind the eyes to look like eyelids
Cut out a chest decoration from felt and adhere with hot glue to a sweatshirt.
To make the tail, cut out a large fabric triangle shape and glue a hem up the side to close the side of the tail. Stuff with fiberfill stuffing and then seal the top of the tail closed. Attach a piece of adhesive Velcro to the top of the tail and to the inside of a pair of pants where the tag normally is. Use a belt on the pants to support the weight of the tail.
Use model magic air dry clay to make the hands and feet. Mold claws on the ends of the hand and feet molds. When the hands and feet are dry cover everything but the claws with the same fabric as the tail and frill. Glue the hand molds onto knit gloves with the fingers cut off. Attach the feet molds to child's shoes using Velcro
As long as they promise not to pretend to eat their little sister let them growl to their heart's content!
Tips for Taking a Great Photo:
- Avoid clutter. Keep the background simple -- your costume is the star!
- Daytime, natural light is best. If your area is bright enough, try taking the photo without the flash.
- Upload a horizontal photo. If you crop the image on your computer, make sure you keep a landscape 4:3 aspect ratio.
- For best results, make your image 1200x900 (or "save for web").
- With a digital camera, you can take as many photos as possible and choose the best one. Have fun!
