My children often requested, shall we say, unusual costumes. Even though they loved the Saturday morning TV shows and cartoon characters, they seemed to need to go beyond the norm. Maybe that has something to do with their mother, but that's another article. There have been super heroes to be sure, but that was long ago in the days of Super Man and Wonder woman. These costumes are a breeze if you followed a good graphic for colors and special markings. You need a Cape and tights to start for superman. Add a T-shirt with an oversized S. Wonder woman wore a tank top and shorts for the basic costume. You need to add insignia and items such as armbands or possibly boots made simply by pulling men's socks over shoes and spray-painting them. Anything from Batman to Flash Gordon can begin with these basic items. The new characters that grace the screen will easily come alive with the same process. Just pay special attention to the details and color.

Sometimes my kids asked to be animals, insects, or birds. This was the toughest costume for me due to my limited sewing skills. I possess imagination in far greater amounts than actual skill so I always look for easy ways to create effects. A spider, for example, began with a black turtleneck and black tights. Old sleeves can be stuffed to form appendages such as legs, and tails. A round pillow can be attached around the waist under the shirt or on top and legs or tails attached to that. Dye everything black at the same time. Add fewer legs and red circles on the body for a Ladybug. Add yellow stripes to the body for a bumblebee. Don't forget to make a 'stinger' at the tail. Use a stocking or felt cap to attach insect antennae.

Use fake fur for the larger animals. Sometimes you can create the fur effect by using yarn in small pieces like a latch hook rug. Feathers real or made from cardboard and painted, covered or glittered could be used as we did for a peacock once. Cardboard wings can be a work of art or just resemble the shape. Fantasy animals such as unicorns should be a shiny, iridescent fabric and don't forget to attach a single stuffed horn to the matching cap. Narrow tails can be fashioned by braiding yarn. Ears can be purchased for some creatures such as mice, otherwise shape from cardboard and stuff according to the look needed for cats or bunnies for example. Tiny tots will be better off with face paint for noses and whiskers than masks. Some older kids favor masks if they want more authenticity. Our family has done many of the above examples and they got pretty good. My daughter did a terrific Taco Bell dog one year. Animals are a challenge, but fun.

When Star Wars was the rage, and it still is, we discovered wonderful effects that could be achieved in using silver and gold paint. One child became CP30 and another R2D2. Metallic paint opens a whole different real of possibilities. We found it perfect for a costume our daughter chose one year. She wanted to be the Stature of Liberty. We draped her with an old sheet, carefully folding and fastening the folds into place with staples and pins. After she removed the garment, we spray painted it with a Grey/green color. When that dried we did a light over-spray of gold? The effect was so great that we used the same color on everything. We fashioned a crown and torch from cardboard, socks for her feet, and all were a metallic green resembling bronze. She was older, but opted for a makeup of the same color. We achieved this effect by using a green eye shadow as part of the base foundation and covering her face with a gold powder. Many make up varieties are now available specifically for costumes.

Look for more ideas next week as we make our way toward the big costume holiday of the year- Halloween.

Credits: Jo Ann Wentzel