Snow White and Belle: Mummy and baby cosplay at Newcastle Film and Comic Con

 

Hello all! Since Halloween this year was a quieter affair I wanted to share with you the fact that I did wear a costume with my little one but it was a bit later than I had originally planned (I have another ready for when we get some snow eventually but you'll have to wait for that!).

We went to Newcastle Film and Comic Con which was a quieter affair than its London counter part, and certainly a lot quieter than MCM. Having said that it was a nice excuse to get out and about with the little miss and get dressed up.

My costume was the same Snow White one I made for world book day back in 2015 and this is the third time I have worn it so it has really been worth the time and effort it took to make it (I did iron it I promise but it creases like a nightmare!). The costume Elizabeth is wearing was brought back from Disneyland Paris by some of our friends - I haven't dared make any baby clothes yet as she is growing so fast I want to make her something that will last longer than a couple of months. Forgive me if I'm biased but I think she makes the cutest little Belle!

 

 I didn't buy much while I was there, but one stall gave me a great deal on a few bits of nerdy jewellery. I got a Nuka Cola bottle cap necklace, some atom earrings (great for when I go back to work!) and this poison apple necklace.

One thing I will say is that Elizabeth certainly seems to know what to do when the camera is pointed at her - such a little poser!

 What costumes have you worn this year? Do you make costumes for your little ones if you have 'em?

Parent and Child/Mummy and Baby costumes for Halloween or Fancy Dress

Okay so with Halloween only a few days away I have started thinking about costumes again and it occurred to me that this year I have a whole new person I can dress in a costume. Is it terrible that I am really excited to dress my little bundle in all kinds of matching outfits with me? Probably...

I don't have super exciting plans, by that I mean I'm not going to any parties, as I'm away with my family staying in a little cottage in rural Northumberland. We are going to spend the evening playing games and watching movies. However, that doesn't mean that I won't have a silly outfit to wear. I'm also going to North East Comic Con in November so I will be cosplaying there with the little 'un so I have spent far more minutes of the last few weeks thinking about costumes than I really care to admit.

A few years ago I did posts on science themed costumes and couples costumes, so this got me thinking, what were good options for fancy dress if you have a baby or toddler? Could they be at all adapted for family costumes?

Star Wars

By far the most popular choice I seemed to encounter was for the Star Wars fans. Most people who travel with a youngling tend to have a baby/toddler carrier so an interesting option is to pop a Yoda hat on your baba and you can dress as your own character. In theory it should be Luke in his training outfit, but if you want to be someone else then why not! I've also seen really cute baby crochet Leia buns so your baby could be Leia too!

Star Wars is really easy to adapt into a family theme as there are so many interesting and unique characters to choose from.

Image property of Star Wars and Disney

Labyrinth

One of my favourite ideas, probably because I've loved labyrinth since I was a very young child. Buuuuuut I would be lying if I said I didn't have a bit of a Sarah phase in my teen years. This would be a great costume of you are short for time or cash, you simply need a stripy sleep suit for your little one and a pair of jeans, baggy shirt and waistcoat that could easily be find in vintage shops or on ebay. If you wanted to step up your game to you could also have ago at a Jareth outfit or even Sarah's crazy prom dress.

Image from Labyrinth Wiki

Flintstones

They are the modern stone age family after all. I've seen some okay looking Flintstones costumes online (although not in real life) so you could be Fred, Wilma, Barney or Betty and your little one could be Pebbles or BamBam. I also feel this would make an excellent vintage costume instead with a blue or while 50s/60s dress and a cute baby romper, although this would be a little bit harder to source.

 

Image from Flintstones Wikia

Nintendo

If you're wanting to do something a bit different (but not that different) you could go for Nintendo characters. With Mario Kart 8 having lots of baby characters it would be very easy to dress your little one as a baby Mario or Luigi with dungarees and a coloured t shirt or vest. Luckily it it's really easy to find grown up dungarees at the moment too so it would be easy to dress up as either of these too. You can also go a bit more hard core too if you wanted to make our buy a princess dress.

I've seen some really cool looking Pikmin hats on etsy too so you could always have your baba as a little Pikmin.

With Pokemon Go being so popular a duo of Ash and Pikachu could be an option too and since there are nearly 1000 pokemon now so you have rather a lot of choice.

Image from Mario Kart 8

  

DC/Marvel

DC and Marvel are on fire at the moment so there are tonnes of ready made baby and children's outfits out there. Places like Mothercare do lovely little baby onesies and it could be a quick and easy outfit for baba and there are so many adult superhero fancy dress costumes that you won't have trouble finding something to match.

Image from Pinterest

Disney

In a similar vein to the super hero option the Disney store (and others) have loads of baby costumes and they have even more for little girls and boys so you are completely spoilt for choice! While it is tricky to find a good quality adult Disney costume they do exist and you could always do a disneybound type casual costume if its easier.

Some of my favourite examples at the moment - Donald/Micky/Minnie, Belle, Snow White and other Princesses

Image from Disney Store UK

There are just too many to choose from!! Hopefully I've given you some inspiration - Happy Halloween!

A #MeMade Snow White cosplay costume for World Book Day

So kicking off Me Made May, which I am not officially part of but would like to dabble in, I have a cosplay costume to share with you.

I really love Disney, like love Disney, but lets face it Disney is a bit of a Marmite, the people who love it, love it and the people that hate it, hate it. I have found that Disney is popular in cosplay circles and I can completely understand why. The dresses! Who wouldn't want to try and make those beautiful and sometimes rather offbeat ballgowns.

When I was a little girl I was lucky enough to go to Disney world in Florida and I can very vividly remember the moment a lady ran up to my Mum saying 'Oh wow, you look just like Snow White! That pale skin, that dark hair!'. My Mum was flattered and a little embarrassed and as the years went on we both got older and I started to look more and more like she did on that day (although a little rounder...).

So when it came to choosing a costume for World Book Day back in March I decided that I wanted to dress as Snow White. Because she was one of the original fairy tales committed to writing by the Brothers Grimm, but also because I wanted to make a costume my Mum might one day be able to wear so she can be Snow White again.

This was the first Disney costume I have made completely and 100% from scratch but I did have a little help in the form of Simplicity pattern 2813 Snow White and Cinderella.

Firstly I would like to say that this is the greatest pattern I have worked with so far. I WISH I had known of its existence when I made my Princess Daisy dress (although that still somehow turned out pretty well).  It had really comprehensive instructions and was really straightforward to follow despite containing some really complex elements. Well done Simplicity!!

This costume took a lot of fabric and as I decided to make it in a better quality cotton it was not cheap to make, but I am feeling like it will be a great costume to wear again and again.

I started off making the bodice that was not only fully lined but also had interfacing around the collar, these were two new skills I learnt just for this costume but interfacing makes SUCH a difference I could not believe it (that's the white stuff poking out at the seams)!

I also learnt how to applique the design on the sleeves using wonder webbing and a new zig zag stitch on my sewing machine, which was fairly simple, however what was not simple was the white collar.

I SPENT 3 HOURS ON THE COLLAR!! It has two layers of stiff interfacing, an attempt at machine overlocking and strategic velcro attachment so that the collar would also stand up AND be detachable. It was very hard work, but I was so pleased with the finished effect.

Also how much do I love my swirly fancy fringe in this picture!!

And here is the final outfit, including the hair bow, that I also made myself :)

And here is a quick selfie I took with my wig on before heading off to work.

Annnnnnnd here is the final thing, complete with apple! I really wasn't pleased with the make up as I had to keep it fairly toned down for work, I am looking forward to wearing it again, and since I have had my hair done, I wont need to wear a wig - YES!

Sad news is that I didn't win the staff competition this year, but I don't think it would have been very fair to win two years in a row.

But I did get some very weird looks on the train!

The best part of the who day was when I walked past the nursery near my work and one of the staff came running out to ask me to say hello to the children. It was adorable!

What do you think of my costume? Do I make a good Snow White?

Review: A Rapunzel dress for World Book Day (even if it is the Disney version...)

I have always been a big fan of fair tales, whether that come in the form of a Disney Movie, or the original word of mouth tales recorded by the Brothers Grimm. Something about those fantasy worlds always thrilled and excited me. The adventures of unfortunate Princesses were always the ones that really got me particularly excited. I think fairytales have an important place in European literature as they are often a gateway for many children into the world of reading and (feminism issues aside) the value of these stories cannot be underestimated.

I think that's why I am drawn to these characters for World Book Day (March 5th in case you were wondering) and I don't think there is anything wrong with using the Disney versions of these characters for fancy dress as they are far more recognisable. This year my work is having a 'Girl Power' theme for World Book Day and I have been thoroughly exploring costume options.

The costume website All Fancy Dress very kindly offered to help me out and sent me a Disney's Tangled Rapunzel costume to check out. The costume is made by costume manufacturer Rubies and is officially licensed by Disney so I had high expectations. In the interest of fairness in this review all pictures are taken with the dress completely unaltered - this is literally how it came out of the packet.

The costume arrived in a packet that was similar to most other fancy dress costumes (it also arrived the next day after it was ordered so I can highly recommend their quick service) and it consisted of the dress only. All other accessories such as the wig, hair flowers and frying pan are my own.

As far as the overall look the dress has the right colour and style to match Rapunzels dress, I appreciated little details like the netting on the sleeves and the lace decoration on the waistline and neck. There is a mix of fabrics used, most of the dress is made form that light weight satin-type fabric that so many costumes are made from. It is cheap fabric, but to get a princess dress made in anything else would cost a lot of money so I don't mind, I think the shiny-ness works as an advantage on a gown like this anyway as it makes it appear more full.

Surprisingly I found this dress very comfortable to wear and I thought it fit quite well. I ordered the medium or 12-14 as I had read reviews saying that the bust was ample and the dress was quite a large fit. I found that the front of the bodice fit very well and there was a stretchy panel on the back to accommodate larger sizes. I found that this bunched up around the waist a little bit but it was a fairly minimal problem. In an ideal world I would like something much more sturdy in the bodice and waist, but without having a costume specially made you will probably never find that in a fancy dress costume. 

I would have liked to see the waist lace going all the way around the back too...

In side the dress and attached to the waist is a mini petticoat that is about 8 inches long. It has a lining inside with a netting overlay to give the dress a bit of fullness on the hips. I am not entirely sure what this added to the dress as Rapunzel isn't especially noted for curvaceous figure and her dress is one of the more slim line of the Disney Princesses (not counting Elsa of course!). I am also a woman with a very ample set of hips so I really didn't need any additional full ness so I am considering taking this out for future use of this dress but it really is a minimal issue and could be done very easily.

That grass was COLD!!!!!

 Overall I am pleased with the general look of the dress and for a fancy dress costume you can get away with wearing straight out of the bag £35.99 isn't too bad a price.

I did notice that the official picture of the costume the bodice looks a lot longer and I found the bodice to be quite short in real life. This is something that isn't a problem for me as I have quite a short torso but perhaps it is something to bear in mind if you are longer in the body.

 I used the blonde wig form my Princess Zelda costume and applied some hair flowers of my own. I know that this wig is no-where near long enough to be like Rapunzel's, but I think it is long enough to give mostly the desired effect... I hope at least!

At the time of publishing All Fancy Dress had sold out of Rapunzel costumes, but did have several other Disney Princess, like Snow White and Cinderella. They also have a dedicated World Book Day section with plenty of suggestions for both adults and children - and their quick delivery means that you still have time to get a costume before World Book Day on the 5th of March (you know you want to!!!)

Wednesday Addams at Beamish

Blimey I am sooooooo far behind on blog posts! I've been so busy I can't even believe it. But I though it was about time I posted some of the photographs from my little excursion to Beamish at Halloween.

Beamish is such a great place! It is full of historical buildings, people in costumes and ways to role play at going shopping in the 1900s. I went on school trips there when I was a kid and I have very fond memories of those visits.

During my trip home for the holidays Beamish was having some special late night openings where you could dress up and visit the attractions in the dark as well as see the place decked out in spooky decorations.

I needed a light and easy costume to wear as I was travelling light so I opted for Wednesday Addams. All I needed was a black dress with a white peter pan style collar and a black wig that I could plait. Some pale makeup and a black lip completed the look.

I was really grateful for the black coat with its big shawl collar, it really kept me warm during the night.

I really enjoyed getting to see the old fashioned town all lit up in the dark. It looked amazing! And riding the trams in the dark through the fields was a awesome mix of scary and fun.

The staff there were brilliant, they really went all out to decorate all of the areas and to play their spooky parts in the different shops and houses.

I loved the printer that photo-bombed our picture (this is me, my dad and my husband)!  

It was such hard work to keep my serious Wednesday Addams face going throughout the night.

When I was a kid, one of my favourite things about Beamish was the old fashioned sweet shoppe. What was really amazing was that they were hand making toffee apples especially for the occasion. They really looked like something out of Snow White all red and shiny like that. Yummy.

And here is my husband dressed like H. P. Lovecraft while eating a toffee apple...

 Mind you, speaking of tasty treats they had some safe to eat creepy crawlies to try. They had worms  and locusts among other things and while my dad crunched his way through various things it took all my courage to try a mealworm (it had a pretty nutty flavour). Ewwww!

aaaaaaaaand..... I couldn't resist taking a moody photo in the grave yard:

 In one of the sections they also had some live owls for you to meet and greet. This one was a 2 year old screeching owl from the tropics, although I have forgotten his name :(

They were so cute!!!

 So the dress I wore was a vintage late 50s early 60s dress with a pleated skirt and peter pan collar. I got it off eBay a few months ago for only £14.00. It is such a versatile dress and it is especially good for costumes. Its definitely one of my favourites, it fits like a dream and I really love the subtle print design to it.

The wig was a long black wig that came of ebay, it was around £12 from China and does actually have a fringe but I pinned that out of the way for Wednesday, although this was not ideal.

Dress: Vintage 50s/60s

Wig: ebay via China

Tights: Atmosphere

Shoes: Doc Martens

Last but not least I couldn't help but want to take a Halloween picture with my black cat Chloe.

Beamish are also doing some Christmas evening special events. I really wish I could go as I enjoyed this one so much, but I live too far away :(

Do you have any exciting plans for Christmas?

Sailor Neptune cosplay costume review from CosplaySky.co.uk

If you've followed any of my cosplay posts you will know that I like to make costumes, but that I also sometimes like to buy ready made costumes.

I've wanted to make a sailor fuku costume from Sailor Moon for some time but I really wasn't sure I had the skill level to make one. Now there are many cosplay costume shops online and largely they are based in China and when you order online it can be really difficult to know exactly what to expect.

That's why when Cosplay Sky agreed to send me a Sailor Neptune costume to review I jumped for joy! The costume retails at around £30 which is pretty cheap for a cosplay costume (although it is not currently listed on the site).

Lets start with the basics, how does it look?

I should probably start by saying that Sailor Neptune is my favourite scout/senshi so I know her costume well.

Here is a picture of the costume from the website. Generally the accuracy is pretty good, there are no stripes on the collar and the sleeves are the correct style. However the colour of the bows are a little too bright and the star on the neck isn't quite right, but generally its good.

What about in real life?

When the costume arrived I was pleased to find that it was rather like the picture, the colours and style are pretty much the same and the fabric is as expected given the shine you can see in the web picture.

I would say that the white lycra is a little thin on the main bodice section, but the skirt rolls and sleeves make up for this. I am planning on wearing a vest underneath to make solve this issue.

I still think that the colour of the bust and butt bows is a bit off, but lets face it, you can see this colour is exactly as shown in the picture so you do know what you're getting.

What about the quality?

I was actually quite impressed with the quality, the skirting is crepe back satin and the collar and bows are interfaced. As I said the lycra is a little thin, but this is a minor issue.

The costume arrived clean and well packaged and I couldn't find any loose threads which is a bonus. 

I would say that the stitching around the collar and sleeves is excellent, but some of the pleating around the skirt is uneven, but its not really noticeable when worn. An added bonus is that the inside seams are all overlocked so you don't get any fraying, but this does mean there is no extra fabric to work with should you order a size too small.

The fit

I have read mixed reviews about Cosplay Sky, several people have stated that the sizes were too big and that the costume didn't fit right. Especially when  sending custom measurement.

I sent my measurements so the costume was made for me and I was delighted to see that it fit exactly as I expected. As far as I could tell the bust and waist were as ordered (give or take 0.5 of an inch) and with stretch fabric this isn't an issue.

I also ordered a skirt length of 19 inches. Now this is WAAAAAY too long for a Sailor Neptune costume so I was very interested to see how it turned out. The main reason I had for doing this was that I don't really like my legs so I wasn't sure what length would be most flattering and this way I could alter the length myself to make sure it was just right.

And guess what, I measured the skirt and it was exactly 19 inches - so no complaints from me!

The accessories

The fuku came with several accessories, the bows, gloves, tiara and choker. I found that the gloves were a little too long for Sailor Neptune, but I wore them rolled down so it wasn't a problem. I also found that the choker was too big, but I fixed this with a small stitch to the back. So no problems there.

The bows however, I didn't like. I thought that they were somewhat squished and the top section was way too small compared to the bow tails. They looked okay pinned in place, but I wanted them to be a slightly more accurate colour so I decided to make two new ones in a darker blue and a more even shape. The bows I was sent are completely passable if you're not able to sew, but if you're looking for something a little more 'perfect' then you could change these. Making the bows is quite a nice little sewing project for a beginner by the way.

Here is the finished version with the switched bows and the altered skirt length:

The chocker and the tiara were pretty good in my opinion. Aside from that stitch in the too big collar they were fine. I made a new gem for the necklace out of craft foam to cover the star but again, you don't HAVE to do this.

Neptune Tiara Action!

And here are the gloves:

Clutching my home-made deep aqua mirror. To make the mirror I used the main body of a mirror I found at an antiques fair, its so like Neptune's I couldn't not get it! LUCKY!

I used painted craft foam and hot glue to make the backing. Its not exactly perfect, but I think it has the right effect. I've recently been experimenting with Worbla so I may re-make the mirror back with moulded thermoplastic, but we shall see.

And a closer view of the finished mirror:

What do you think?

I'll be wearing this costume to MCM Expo in a few weeks so I will follow up with more pictures then!

Do you have any plans for dressing up on Halloween?