Budget Costume

I love having the excuse to dress up a little differently and bring some fun to the day.  I like deciding what to wear.  I like having themes.  I like putting everything together to get my costume set.  I relish, for just a while, in the attention that I receive when typically I'd rather be left well enough alone. I'd love having more than one holiday each year that gives a reason to dress up in a costume.  Basically, Halloween doesn't even need candy for me to have fun because I just want to dress up anyway.

However, sometimes having this great passion for costumes conflicts with my wallet's contents.  Or time constraints.  Or both.  So, sometimes I have to get a little creative.  I think I get some of the creativity from my mom.  I remember her having to paint faces, get different things together, and spending time getting us all ready to go trick-or-treating.  I think she would have been pretty impressed with my skills.  I seriously spent $2.  I spent a lot of time on it, so I can see that if you find your time more precious than your money, you may prefer to purchase a pre-made costume.  But I really think that the effort to get everything just right made it an even more enjoyable experience for me.

Here is what I used:

What it is: black lacy Dutch bodice
What I used: Black tank top, red ribbon, white lace and (unseen) nearly a million safety pins.
Cost: $2 (for the tank top, on clearance). The ribbon and the lace were in a box of trimmings that were given to me.

I basically spent time criss-crossing the red ribbon from the top to the bottom, pinning on the sides as I went.  I didn't have  sewing machine.  The lace went on the edges of the ribbon for accent.  It took a long time, but looked better than the picture suggests.

What is is/ What I used: White blouse (Actual shirt used not pictured.)
Cost: $0 -- from my closet

What is is/What I used: Black skirt (It could have been red, like many of the images depict; actual skirt used not pictured.)
Cost: $0 -- from my closet

What is is: Dutch apron
What I used: Short cooking apron, turned down to cover buttons
Cost: $0 -- borrowed from someone who made it for a pioneer trek

What it is/What I used: Black Mary Jane pumps
Cost: $0 -- from my closet

What it is: Red riding hood
What I used: Red hooded cape
Cost: $0 -- borrowed from a friend whose kid had used it for a different costume a previous year

What it is: Basket for goodies
What I used: Produce basket
Cost: $0 -- used a basket I have at home for my potatoes

What is is: Checkered cloth covering goodies
What I used: Checkered-ish dish towel
Cost: $0 -- borrowed from neighbor


Final Costume: Little Red Riding Hood

Any PG costume suggestions for Halloween 2014?