Good vs. Evil

So I’m sure you all have seen me on Instagram and Facebook posting bits and pieces of Cody’s “Vector” Costume. I’m pretty proud of it. As I think I should be. I’ve come a long way in the costume making area.
My few attempts turned out good but only because they required little or no talent. Take for instance my “Wilma” (basically a long white tube top dress), and Chris’s “Fred Flinstone” (an oversized Orange potato sack with black blotches and a blue tie). I also made Clay’s “Bam Bam” little one shoulder sheath out of a pillowcase, but I don’t know that it was anything to be proud of. After the “Bam Bam” semi fail, I was discouraged. So I gave up. Clay always wanted to be a super hero anyways, and I was NOT about to try and make that myself. If I can’t make a Bam Bam costume (let’s face it, Bam Bam is always half naked) then there was no way on this earth that a super hero costume of any sort was going to come out recognizable. So the next year Clay was Spiderman, the year after that Batman, and the year after that Leonardo (the blue Ninja Turtle). I will admit, being able to just go to the store, pick out his size, pay for it and leave was/is very stress and hassel free. But somewhere deep down inside I was disappointed in myself. One fail and I give up? That’s not me…and that was last year when I decided to make Perry. Remember?

I think he turned out great! And so I was officially hooked again.

This year was no different. Clay wanted to be Spiderman or Batman…Again. I refused. He had to choose a different super hero. So he chose Captain America. I promptly went to the store snatched up his size and a shield and within 5 min Clay’s costume was done. Lame! But if that's what Clay wants, whatever.

I had other plans for Cody though. I wanted him to be something original; a costume that stores don’t mass produce in every size possible for children and adults. Plus I knew that this was probably going to be my last year that I get to choose what Cody is going to be for Halloween. My last chance, before he is infected with the Super Hero virus like his older brother (and probably every other little boy starting around the age of 3 and up.) His costume HAD to be good. So I went on the opposite end of the spectrum, and chose “Vector”.

He is one of the villians in the movie “Despicable Me”. He’s a crazy goofball, running around in an orange tracksuit, addicted to Girl Scout cookies and stealing things of great value. Spot on. Thus began my costume making.

I had loads of orange fleece left over from Chris’s “Fred Flinstone” outfit years ago. Again, perfect. No cost.(Wish I had documented, in pictures, my progress, but I didn’t.) I laid a pair of Cody’s sweat pants and sweatshirt on the orange fleece and based my pattern off of those. I added a zipper ($2)and then attached a light linen(?) string (less than $3)on the edges of the suit to mimick an actual track suit. I also fashioned a collar with a small piece of white ($6 for half a yard-WAY more than I needed) and orange fleece, then inserted a piece of cardboard (from a diaper box)to help the collar stand straight up. The jacket and pants couldn’t have turned out more perfect if I’d had a professional make them for me.

Next was his shoes. I found his white/blue Adidas shoes at Kid to Kid for $7. I cut orange stripes the same size as the blue stripes on the sides of the shoes and hot glued them on. Presto, Vector shoes!

We can’t forget Vector’s hair. He is rockin’ an old school “bowl cut”. The outfit just wouldn’t be the same without the hair. Cody needed a wig…but it needed to be a hat/beanie to keep his ears warm. So I made a beanie out of the white fleece, and sewed massive amount of thick brown yarn ($5)to the middle of it. After I finished sewing, I stuck it on Clay’s head and gave it a haircut. So freaking funny. Now I just have to convince Cody to keep it on for more than 60 seconds. Ha!

Sadly the above pictured wig never made it to halloween night. I washed it and ruined it. So I had to make another one. This time I got smart and used a brown beanie. It turned out really good too.But I'll show ya later.
(Vector also wears glasses. I know for a fact that Cody will not keep a pair of glasses on, so I think we’ve decided to paint ($1)them on his face. )

Last but not least, Vector carries a variety of guns in the movie. He has a Piranha Gun, a Squid Launcher, and a Shrink Ray. So Cody needed a gun. But which one? Well looking at stills from the movie, the Piranha Gun looked like I was gonna need a lot of eyeballs and sharp teeth, the Shrink Ray has a ton of detail on it, so the Squid Launcher it was.

Having decided to make the squid launcher I needed to make a squid. I made him out of some old red fleece in my scraps bin and googly eyes ($1). I can’t get over how well it turned out! Proud, proud moment for me.

And of course Clay had to have one too. So now we have two squids, just in case. :)

As for the gun, I constructed it out of the white fleece, a 2 liter soda bottle (not counting it in my cost because we would have drank the soda regardless) and an “L” bracket($2). I also added a small voice recorder ($8) that says “Squid Launcher, Oh Yea!” when you press the button.

Total for the outfit? $35. Minus the fact that I didn’t need near as much white fleece as I thought…so I’m rounding it down to $30. Which isn’t bad considering Clay’s was $25. Once again Cody’s costume is amazing. If I do say so myself.

By the way, I went as Edith, one of the orphan girls on Despicable Me.(the one on the left)

Clayton at his school Halloween Parade.

My dad dressed as the Hulk to go trick or treating with Clay.

Unfortunately I think Cody may have his own opinion on what he wants to be next year...so I may or may not be making another totally rad costume. :(