Maleficent Doll Costume

Here's an update with a project I've been working on: transforming Elphaba into Maleficent.

This tutorial for a Maleficent cosplay was helpful: http://www.breannacooke.com/how-to-make-maleficent-horns/

I still had a lot of fabric from about a year and a half ago, when I got this sparkly, scaly black cloth for Elphie’s Gamora costume. 

I thought it suited Maleficent nicely.

I made a robe that fastens in the front with Velcro. For the ragged purple trim, I cut up strips of fabric and touched the edges with FrayCheck.

The more challenging part was the headdress. The route I took was a helmet. Here I followed the lead of Evil Ted Smith's video "How to Make a Foam Helmet Tutorial." Here's Elphaba in the midst of having her template constructed.

After getting that template, I put together a simple helmet of craft foam and tape. The horns were made of foam.

One of the tutorials I looked at used electrical tape to cover the horns and get that textured look of the lines on Maleficent's horns in the Disney cartoon. However, I wasn’t able to get good electrical tape and so I decided to go for papier mache.

I was not sure if the soft, floppy foam helmet would hold its shape while I was applying the paper strips, so I pressed Elphaba into service as a model.

Very carefully. With layers of a towel, cling wrap, and tinfoil.

She survived.

While all that was going on, I thought of adding a felt inner layer to the helmet. I used the helmet patterns to quickly sew up an inner cap.

Since Elphie was busy, Larkin modeled it.

Once the paint was complete, I glued the inner cap to the inside of the helmet. And voila.

 She is the mistress of all evil!

As a result of the stiff papier-mache and the skullcap, the helmet is a little tight, but that snugness also means that it stays well on Elphie's head.

All she needs now is a staff and possibly a raven. As we're going towards Halloween, I'm hoping to see some little ravens I can pick up at a dollar store or craft store. I also want to find a stone or bead that will look perfect for her staff.

A Valentine's Gift

Karol is ready for his date, with some pure white lilies and the biggest box of chocolates he could carry. Seriously, those chocolates are like the size of his hand.

Larkin appears, radiant in a sparkling silver dress and pearls.

The evening goes perfectly. Afterwards, they eat all of the chocolate.

The Review

Larkin's dress is Springfield, I think - I found it at a yard sale. Karol's tux is from the My Life As line, my usual stop for cheaper doll clothing. It was the only one left on the shelf and I couldn't bear to ignore it and regret it later when they all sold out. I have done that before.

Here's the official stock photo of a doll wearing the tux:

"Look at me! Here I am! Love me."

The outfit includes a white shirt, checkered bow tie and pants, and a dark blue jacket.

It's definitely cheap for a reason. The shirt fabric is very thin. I noticed many loose threads clinging to the outfit. On the hanger, everything was anchored together with those little plastic ties, which left small holes in the fabric.

Karol looks pretty dapper. But wait, what's that?

... white Velcro. Both the shirt and the jacket fasten with Velcro. This is a trend for My Life As clothes. You can see it very clearly from most angles, and it's even worse because it's white on a dark jacket. I think they could at least have used matching Velcro.

As it is, it limits the amount you can do with the jacket.

The jacket has faux pockets, with flaps that you can lift. Underneath is white fabric, shown here:

 Here he is sans jacket and tie. The bow tie also fastens with Velcro, but in the back.

Merry Christmas from the Doll Family

All the dolls get to gather around the tree for their gifts. There's plenty of stuffed wrapped up . . . and is that a Radio Flyer wagon?

 The angel on top of the tree is tipping a little. (Have to work on a better rig for next year.)

"A pair of French-to-English dictionaries! Merci!"

Elphaba got an tablet.

 Jocelyn unwraps a present...

It's from Tonka Tinys! The bin even tips up like a real truck.
Molly got a smartwatch. It's anachronistic, but hey.

I guess it's time to put away the Advent wreath and get out the Nativity set... and some hot cocoa and candy canes.

The candy canes are Christmas ornaments - they came with glitter but it strips off easily. The tablet and watch are from the My Life As line. The tablet comes with several cardboard inserts that can be swapped out.

My brother got the dictionaries for me at a yard sale and I love them. They're from 1961 and are part of a pretty extensive line. "Langenscheidt's Lilliput Dictionary." THEY'RE PERFECT.

The wagon was my own yard sale find. It came new in box and had to be assembled. And there's someone on the box who looks a little familiar...

 So Karol got one new shirt for that photoshoot, and then for Christmas he got another new outfit - from, again, the My Life As line.

It velcros open at the back, with a hole in the hood. You have to slide it over the doll's head. If the doll has long hair, it can either stick out through the bottom of the hood, or be pulled out to go over the shoulders.

Looks pretty good on Karol. I was a little afraid I couldn't get it on since his head's so big. He does look a little silly with the hood up, but it fits!

Review: Friendly Witch Outfit

When I got Elphaba, I knew one thing: she needed a broom. I think she's spent more time as a space alien than a witch, but she still needed a broom.

Then I found out that American Girl has offered witch costumes in the past!

The Friendly Witch Outfit was available from 2008 through 2009.

The Witch Costume was available 2013 through 2015.

Both outfits come with that same model of broom. I think the boots are the same too. After looking at both of them and comparing the prices on the secondary market, I opted for the first one.

The dress has sleeves puffed at the shoulder and a layered tulle skirt. It comes with pointy-toed boots that velcro at the back, a curved hat, and long striped socks.

The broom is hard plastic and surprisingly heavy. You could use it as a bludgeon.  The details are great - wood grain on the handle, detailed straws even on the bottom. I love this broom.

Due to Elphaba's variations from AG dolls, there are some slight measurement discrepancies. The shoes were very, very tight on her, and the broom handle does not quite fit over her four fingers. 

But still, Elphie finally had her broom!

Here she is in her original outfit - dress, shoes and hat - with the broom.

I actually got this back during the summer. Now that it's fall, I decided to break the dress back out for a cold-weather look. (That's another nice thing about it - it's very versatile. It doesn't have to be a witch costume.)

This time, rather than risk damaging the boots, I paired it with her original Mary Janes. I feel like the collar of the dress seems a little plain, so I added a scarf.

And that brings me to another find: Dunkin Donuts. They offer little lip balms shaped like coffee cups, and they are both adorable and perfectly to scale. Now Elphie can have pumpkin spice.