Weeping Angel

Any Whovians out there?  If so, this Halloween costume will either thrill you, or totally freak you out.  :)  I went as a Weeping Angel this year!  I'm not sure why I went to such effort for a costume that like 2 people at the Halloween party actually got.  But, the rest of them either thought I was a statue or the Statue of Liberty (which, IS a weeping angel, if you've seen the latest Doctor Who episode!), which I guess is close enough.

If I were a really on-the-ball blogger, I would have had this costume done in September and blogged it the first week of October (and would now be posting Christmas tips).  But, I'm not.  I'm a busy mom of three who got all the costumes done just in the nick of time.  :)    I've got a few more in the pipeline for...when I get to it.  (Just keeping it real, people, just keeping it real.)  :)

I had a few Facebook friends tell me they couldn't look at my pictures (or look away, if you know what I mean), as it was too freaky.  Can't say I blame them.  Weeping Angels are, in my opinion, the scariest Doctor Who villains.  

I've never done full Halloween makeup before.  It wasn't as bad as I thought it'd be (and I didn't break out after, either!).

I used this tutorial as a jumping off point.  I wasn't going to go quite as gung ho as she did, as this was just for a few hour church Halloween Trunk or Treat.  But, it gave me a few ideas as to how to execute the costume.  

I used foam poster board to do the wings.  I cut wing shapes out of the foam board, and used the extra left over to cut "feathers" out of.  I hot-glued the feathers to the wings.  

 

  I used duct tape to tape the wings together, looser on the outside and tighter on the inside (if that even makes sense...), so they'd stay in a partly closed position.  

I then spray-painted them well, duct tape and all. 

I then added some elastic to them so I could wear them (in the same manner as the costume/little kid fairy wings you can buy).  I should have used heavier elastic, but all I had on hand was skinny little stuff, and by that point, I was ready to just.be.done.already.  :)  By the end of the night, my wings were pretty droopy (see picture above--I had to keep remembering to pull them up) because the elastic over-stretched.  Eh.  It worked out fine for one night.  

I used gray tights as long gloves, just like the original tutorial did.  I probably could have just bought gray winter gloves, as it was rather cold the night of the (partly outdoor) party, and I wore a grey long-sleeved shirt over the long "gloves" for warmth.

For the dress, I drafted a yoke for the top, then draped about 2 yards (1.5 maybe? Bad blogger...no good records were kept!) of fabric, gathered well, and attached it to the yoke (both in front and in back). 

 

I sewed the sides together, leaving the arm holes very large (and sleeveless) because I was just too lazy to bother with a zipper or anything.  I wanted this quick and easy and able to slip over my head!  I then tied a grey ribbon around the waist and we had a dress!  I duct taped (yes, sewing blasphemy, I know) a hula hoop to the hem, to give me a statue look.  

The wig was one of my favorite parts.  I sewed grey yarn to a...ahem...pantyhose cap, then braided and twisted the yarn into an angel-esque hairstyle.  I added a ribbon headband and everything.  Bobby pins don't really work with a yarn wig, of course, so I secured the bun with a few stitches.  

It was a very fun costume to wear, even if only a select few knew what I was.  I knew what I was, and my Doctor Who fan family members knew who I was, and they had a great time with me as I pretended to be a Weeping Angel and tried to "get" them.  :)  I had a seriously fun time wearing this costume and fully embracing my nerdiness.