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Our Last Minute Adult Costumes: Pregnant Skeleton and Matching Husband

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My husband and I usually scrape up scraps of something to wear as a costume before going to any Halloween party each year.  We love to dress up and we love to celebrate……but any costumes for us just seem to get set aside until the very last minute.
I was thinking that being pregnant for Halloween could be a fun thing to work around.  So I googled ideas a couple of days ago……looking for something that would be easy enough to do last minute.  Then I remembered that last year, I had seen a particular homemade costume online (one was even in the virtual costume parade last year……..thanks Wendy!) and wanted to give it a try.
So, then, the hard part.
Finding a template.  Or some sort of tutorial.
Aaaaggh, nothing…….so much for saving some time last minute. ;)
So I sketched something out, tried my hand at freezer paper stenciling (now I understand the craze of freezer paper stenciling) and came up with this:
The pregnant skeleton costume.

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Complete with a little baby skeleton…….and her sweet little bow.

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No more hiding, baby girl…….we can all see you now.
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And of course, my husband wanted in on the fun. 
(Darn him for being at school while needing some photos of him in it.)
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So, we of course added his favorite thing to put in his belly.  Mmmm.
(This husband of mine is not a steak and potatoes kind of guy.  He prefers a big ‘ol hamburger.  Ha.)
So, a skeleton costume for a pregnant lady…….
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And a costume for her “wanting to match” husband……..
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Now we have a little “last minute” something to wear to our little party tonight.
It’s all the more fun to enjoy Halloween with the kiddos.
Right?

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Want to make one too?
Try your hand at some freezer paper stenciling and make a skeleton costume too…
(And depending on how detailed you make your stencils, this can become a lengthy project to cut out all of those pieces…..and then painting it and letting it dry.   Keep that in mind.)
 
 
First, I bought a roll of freezer paper (by the tin foil and saran wrap at the grocery store) and sketched each of my skeleton parts on the paper side of the freezer paper.
I looked at the adult skeleton image here and the baby skeleton image here for help. 
(I just used those images as a guide and sketched it out.  You don’t have to make it perfect……just a general skeleton shape.  Sorry, I don’t have the actual sketches to share.)
Then I used a razor blade to cut out the shapes (placing a rotary mat or large piece of cardboard underneath the paper)……making my template.
Then I placed the shiny side down onto the clothing and positioned it right where I wanted it.  Then I pinned it down while I carried it over to the ironing board………
…….then ironed the freezer paper down, without using steam.  Also, be sure to iron really well around those inner edges of your shapes…..you don’t want paint to seep under.
And if you have any extra pieces that aren’t connected to your main piece but will complete your image, make sure to position them where they need to go and iron them down too.
Then, lay your shirt down flat and slide cardboard in between the shirt layers, to keep the paint form seeping down through both layers.
Next, you will need permanent fabric paint.  I bought mine at Michael’s, along with a fabric paint brush.  They were selling it right there with the fabric paint and it has short even bristles that are nice and stiff.
Then I blotted the paint on for the first layer, making sure to get an even line of paint along all of those inner edges of the freezer paper.  Then I applied a second layer, brightening up the white paint.  (In the bigger spaces I could use brush strokes but for some of the little holes and slits, the blotting technique worked much better.)
Then I let it dry overnight (instructions said at least 4 hours) and then peeled off the paper…..leaving the stenciled image behind.  It leaves such nice precise lines.  I love that freezer paper stuff.
Lastly, I placed a thin piece of fabric over all the painted sections on the shirts and pants and heat sealed (without steam) the images right to the shirt with my iron.
(And for the baby skeleton, I just tied a bow out of ribbon, heat sealed the ends with a lighter, and sewed it right to the skeleton head.)
And that was it.
Happy Halloween!

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Comments

  2. oh i love it!! too bad i didnt do this! i am 22 weeks preggo and had NO idea what to be….. or the time.. so i settled for an indian….. :( yours is MUCH cuter

  5. So cute! Love it, next time you do freezer paper, save some time and just spray paint it… so much faster (but you do have to cover the whole area) and it doesn't wash out! Plus it dries so fast.

  6. that is the most imaginative idea for a costume i have ever seen!!! I LOVE IT!! oh and the husband one is adorable too

  7. So cute! I just saw this idea on Someday Crafts last week and thought it was hilarious! Especially your husband's:) I think the same thing would be in my husband's stomach too:)

  9. AHHHH! I wish I were pregnant, that would be such an AWESOME way to announce your pregnancy.

  11. This is fantastic! You did such a great job on BOTH costumes and yes, I agree, what a great way to announce a pregnancy if you haven't already! I'm definitely going to book mark this post so that the next time I'm pregnant and need a costume I have a fantastic tutorial (you really do write great tutorials! So detailed and easy to follow!) Thanks for sharing!
    Christine aka The Stampin' Ninja

  15. Bummer!!! I just bought myself a shirt that had this on it!! I wish I would have had this tutorial first!!! Thanks for posting though now I can make matching pants :)

  17. I think you have bugged my house. I made SAME costumes for my husband and I! (Only his has a pizza slice and donut in his belly.)
    I guess great minds think alike huh? Happy Halloween!

  18. No way Aubrey!!! That is too funny…..yep, we're on the same wave length.

    And how great HoneyScrap, I didn't realize there was a premade iron-on. That would have been nice and saved some time.

    And ooh, the spray paint tip. I'm going to have to try that Lori. And you can get get more spray paint for your money than fabric paint. Thanks! :)

  19. I am doing the exact same thing for my preggo baby belly too! That's how we're announcing it to all of our friends:) You'rs turned out great!

  20. I LOVE the preggers & baby skeleton!! I wish I had seen that when I was pregnant! The hubby's costume is too funny! What a great pair!!!

  22. I love this! Thanks for the great idea. I usually don't dress up but I may have to squeeze this in for myself (yes I am pregnant too) before our ward trunk-or-treat tomorrow night.

  24. That is thee cutest idea ever! I'm totally running out to buy some freezer paper and fabric paint right now!

  25. What a cute idea! I didn't dress up this year and I wish I would have done this. I'm having a boy in December. :)
    My daughter and husband were little red riding hood and the big bad wolf. I was going to be granny but I just couldn't figure out what to wear.

    justenoughstyle.blogspot.com

  30. Very cute! Love the baby skeleton! (I am realizing as a type this how weird it sounds in my head :) )
    Did my 1st freezer paper stencil for my daughter's costume last night and I too am hooked!
    Love your blog, I don't know how you do it!!

  32. That is THE CUTEST thing I have ever seen. The matching husband is absolutely hilarious!! You are so creative I can't even believe it. I want your brain. :) I missed the Halloween costume parade this year!

  33. I wanted to this idea so bad last year (I was 38 weeks pregnant!), but couldn't figure out how to paint the skeleton. So wish I had seen this last year. I went with my back up idea, I got a bright yellow shirt, put tire tracks across the tummy and on the back painted a sign that said "Caution; Speed Bump". It was cute too. Great job.

  35. What great costumes! I love the little bow on the baby skeleton – too cute! Sadly freezer paper is not something you can buy here, but next time I'm away for vacation I'll have to see if I can find some and stock up, this looks like too much fun!

  36. Adorable! I so need to do this! I love the baby skeleton idea too. Although I won't know whether it is a boy or girl until baby arrives.

  37. Oh my gosh! I need to remember this for the next time I am pregnant! I wanted to do something like this for last year, but I was to pregnant and tired!

  39. That has to be the cutest thing I have ever seen!! I love the baby skeleton with the little pink bow! Genius! Oh, and it made me smile too = )

  40. I'm 31 weeks pregnant and wish I had seen this a few days ago!!! I'm too tired now to pull it off, but great idea!!! I think my little boy would be wearing a blue tie…

  41. i haven't read all the comments so someone might have said this…this would be a cute away to announce you are pregnant or to announce what sex the baby is!
    very cute idea!

  42. I actually did something similar to this a few years ago when I was prego with my first baby. We found out it was a girl the day before Halloween and I was teaching 1st grade at the time. I actually cut out bones from fabric and hand-tacked them to a black square that tied around my tummy with ribbon. I had matching skull pj pants that I wore for our school parade.

  44. I never looked that cute when I was pregnant. I gained weight every where. That looks so cute on her little baby belly. I'm not going to have anymore kids but I love this idea!

  46. My daughter and I love it. She said it's "kinda cute, and kinda creepy" to have a baby skeleton. I agree. Great costume!

  47. So cute! That little pink bow just makes it! I hope the party you are going to has a black light! That would be fun! Or did you use glow in the dark paint?

  48. I am pretty sure that that is the cutest thing I have ever seen. Is it ok if I facebook it if I send all of my friends to your site?

  50. Hahaha. The husband one is funny. I've seen the pregnant one, but they are even better as a matching pair.

  52. Such a cute idea! I love your costumes!

    I also love the tutorial about the freezer paper stenciling. Question though, how do you remove the freezer paper once you've finished painting? Does it just lift right off?

    Thanks! You are sooo super huber creative!

  53. I wish I had seen this two weeks ago! I'm 39 weeks along now and this would have been perfect. I'm totally saving the idea though. Hopefully I can use it someday. :)

  54. Oh I so wish I had seen this a few days ago, I would love to do this! Too bad this is my last baby and I don't have time to make the costume this quickly. Oh well – I'll have to pass it on!

  56. ahhhh hahahahaha I LOVE it……
    this is just awesome,Thanks so much for sharing this…
    Happy Halloween!!!!

  60. That just makes me want to be pregnant again. That is awesome!!!! I think it would be a fun way to break the news to family and friends :)

  62. you dont know how happy this makes me! We just had our first ultrasound of our baby yesterday and wanted a fun way to break it to my family when we get together for Halloween. I saw this type of shirt a couple weeks ago and thought this is how I want to do it. I didnt order it because I wanted to wait. I was wondering if I was going to be able to make this. THANK YOU!

  64. This is so awesome! I loved it when I saw it in the costume parade and I love how your husband went in on it too! Totally cool! I wish I can be pregnant during a halloween so I can do it as well!

  65. i don't do the whole halloween thang but these would have to be the best costumes I have seen and the fact I read a shitload of US blogs means I have seen millions!!!!

  66. I don't celebrate halloween but I want one of these shirts. I'm expecting a girl too and this is so so cute.

  68. GaMtnScrap- Yes, just peel up the freezer paper after the paint has dried. It peels up pretty easily. And thanks, I added that to the tutorial. :)

    And I know, I wish I would've decided to do this earlier…..ah well, at least I got it done 24 hours before our party and not 5 minutes before like we normally do. Ha.

    Ashley

  71. That is so stinkin' cute! It makes me want to be pregnant just so I could wear this costume! (And I HATE being pregnant!)

  73. this is ingenious! Too cute. Very comfy too… especially love the baby girl skeleton. cute cute cute!

  75. I love it!!! Makes me want to be pregnant..not really.(I have six). Another cute idea. Your amazing!

  76. Love, Love, LOVE it!!! What a cute idea…I ALMOST wish I was preggers just so I could borrow this idea…ALMOST. =)

  78. Fantastic! I saw the iron-on one on another blog…but its too late to order it. Your baby is super cute! I'm staying up late tonight to use the roll of freezer paper I bought a while ago…now I have a great reason to try it out. Thanks!

  83. That is the cutest idea ever!! I probably say that to you about every idea, but that's because they just keep getting better and better! So fun!

  85. I did the same thing (freezer paper skeleton) for my 4yo son but stenciled and painted both the front and back. Then after the first 2 layers of paint were dry, I topped it off with a coat of glow-in-the-dark fabric paint. He was so excited and it really glows, from both sides…much safer for trick or treating! Here's a link:
    http://bubbaandpooks.blogspot.com/2010/10/boo.html

    Oh and Familyfun.com has skeleton bone printouts you can use for kids-sized templates.

  87. I took the "last minute" part literally. I started this (shirt only, with no arm bones) 5 hours before I needed it. Thank you so much for all your inspiration!

    BTW, I posted a pic of my shirt in your Flickr group :)

  88. Kendra, so cute!! I just added your picture to my halloween picture post today too. Thanks!! And good job pulling that off last minute. It looked flawless! :)

    Ashley

  90. I love this more than words can express! Really- it is possibly the best costume I've ever seen! Love it!!! And I love your hubby's, too- so clever! :) Happy Halloween to you and yours.

  92. Sooo great! when i saw this.. I HAD to make one too! (I am 6 months preggo)..
    well, luckily i sorta had all i needed here in the house, and made it in about 5 hours..on and off…
    wore it out and about last night, and got great responses! although… some people seemed to look and whisper.. not sure whether i was preggo or not i think..ha! (considering i had my 10month old in my arms as well)
    Thank you so much.. i will post a pic to your flickr group as soon as i can today!

  93. That is SO STINKING CUTE! I'm definitely keeping this in mind if I'm ever pregnant on halloween. :)

  95. This is what I planed for me Halloween too! My hubby is the artist in the family so he sketched the bones a few weekends ago when he had the time. I didn't want to paint my shirt because while it wasn't expensive I wanted to be able to wear it again, so we traced the bones on contact paper and just stuck them on. It turned out great and we got TONS of "oh so cute!" and "you made that!" Now I just peel off the contact paper and I still have my black maternity shirt.

  96. You are a so talented. I almost wish I was still pregnant so I could make that costume (ALMOST). I would like to make a tutorial request. Those modest undershirts
    (kind of like a sports bra)that make lower cut shirts more modest but can also be worn when prego because they're not full shirts…I would love a tutorial on those. I can't find one anywhere online. Okay, that's my request. Keep up the great work!

  97. Very cute. This is how we announced we were expecting last year, complete with a bow too, because we had just found out the day before it was a girl! I took a much harder longer way of making them. Hand painting by eye. I chalked on my outline first, then painted to that. Total time was about 3 days straight of labor, funny pun. The little preggy skeleton is catching on, so glad everyone is having fun making them!

  100. This has got to be the cutest thing ever! So creative.. and the bow just tops it off!