"My Dear, John Deere Costume"

Costume Instructions

Costume Materials
The only thing store bought was the green spray paint and the mini-touch lights that served as WORKING bright headlights. The costume was made with 2 boxes and cardboard for wheels. The inside seams are fortified with tape and more cardboard. The smoke stack is a paper towel tube. The paint is John Deere green! The lettering was traced from stencils. The back which is not pictured, has 2 real reflectors and a bright orange posterboard triangle like found on a real tractor. To keep it from wanting to tip forward, my husband used a small pillow and duct taped it inside the larger box so it served as padding to Owen's stomach too. The straps were made of John Deere fabric we already had left over from Owen's John Deere themed birthday party. The straps were anchored inside the larger box and then the costume was simply lifted over Owen's head. An old piece of window screening served as the grill in front. Owen wore bib overalls, thermal shirt, and JD hat to look the part.

Costume Instructions
This costume is truly a labor of love. All totaled it took around 6 hours but this was spread out over 2 weeks and had to be redesigned several times. The paint had to dry, the glue holding boxes together, wheels, lettering and stripes had to dry. This was a family project and we loved every minute of it. Not sure how we will top it next year but I'm sure Owen will have an idea or two.