For the record, I’m all for store-bought costumes at Halloween. We’ve had many at our house. But this year, I got inspired to create. My son said he wanted to be Fire Man, and my daughter instantly said, “And I can be Water Girl!”
And I just thought those were such rockin’ superheroes for my kids to have invented, I wanted to do them justice. Plus, it got my brain rolling. How would you make a fire wand? Or water hair?
Creativity is so much about solving problems. Having limitations — as I try to remind myself daily — forces you to think about how to work around them. Limitations like, for example, not knowing how to sew.
And, at the same time, enthusiasm can push you past those limitations. I really wanted to make a flowy dress for Water Girl so she would look like water as she moved. And so I just decided to make her a dress and not let the fact that I have never done that before stop me.
I just figured it out as I went along and bulldozed over the difficult parts, and — voila! — I can now add make a water dress to my list of crazy, unmarketable skills. 
As well as make water hair.
And, of course, attach fringe to anything and everything.
12 Comments
October 23, 2009 at 2:16 am
That looks great! What a wonderful costume! I can’t believe you’ve never made a dress before it is awesome.
October 23, 2009 at 6:47 am
You are my hero! Looks fantastic.
October 23, 2009 at 12:28 pm
This is beyond fantastic. Will you post pictures of Water Girl and Fire Boy together please?
October 23, 2009 at 1:59 pm
That is SO awesome. When my daughter was four, she said she wanted to be a “girl super hero,” so we put together something. No sewing, but it was fun being creative and coming up with a “Super Amanda” costume: http://jennifersnapshot.blogspot.com/2006/10/dog-superhero-and-really-useful-engine.html
October 23, 2009 at 2:20 pm
Cute, cute! I love that big A!! I bet she loved zooming around in that!! The Really Useful Engine is adorable, too. And, of course, the dog costume gets me thinking about what we could put on the cat…
October 23, 2009 at 11:37 pm
What an enchanting costume to get to wear!
October 24, 2009 at 12:11 pm
Oh my God, that’s gorgeous. You are a wonder.
October 25, 2009 at 9:41 pm
That dress is so awesome!! I love it, and I can’t believe you’ve never sewn before!!
I was actually walking around a fabric store this weekend and all of the material is so pretty I had so many ideas, I’ve never sewn either. So I of course walked out with nothing in hand, but I might have to give this sewing thing a try. I have so many images in my head, and of course I have not found anything like what I want in the store.
Absolutely beautiful! Do we get to see the fire man too?
October 25, 2009 at 9:45 pm
nevermind! I’m so sorry I found the fire man
October 25, 2009 at 11:34 pm
I should confess that I have actually sewn before–just not clothes! I used to be a quilter. And I’ve always been kinda crafty. I have a sewing machine that I’ve used for lots of crazy projects. Just never clothes! Though now that I’ve tried it, it’s not that hard. My brain’s already churning with ideas for cute girl dresses…
October 29, 2009 at 4:26 am
Beautiful and Wonderful! I never would have known that you hadn’t sewn a dress before. It turned out fab!
October 31, 2009 at 6:45 pm
I think YOU, my friend, are the superhero in this story!