Costume Design

Countless individuals around the world indulge daily in movies. It seems that our species can't get enough of action, drama, horror, romance, comedy and thrills. A major part of this industry revolves around creative costume design. Take a moment to imagine all the thought, work, effort and miniscule details put into some of the wild and beautiful costumes for major feature films. Just to give you a basic example that most people will be instantly familiar with, what about "The Lord of the Rings?" This is an excellent example of amazing costume designs for film.

More than likely you've enjoyed the intricate and amazing costume design found in certain feature films. Some that tend to steal the spotlight are "Batman," "Spiderman," "The X-Men" and "Harry Potter." There's even a chance that you craved a moment in one of these fascinating get-ups. You would only be human if that's the case. Wouldn't it be great if you could dabble in costume design and extravagant apparel on your own? You could purchase a few supplies, a sewing machine and get started immediately. Okay, so maybe it's prudent to do a little bit of research and homework regarding costume design prior to hopping behind the sewing machine. It's wise to begin with a basic book on costume design. You'll likely need to acquire a few tools and supplies to work with within your home. However, you might be astonished at how quickly you become accustomed to superb costume design clothing design. You never know; you could end up becoming a famous designer.

A wonderful place to begin your costume design journey is with basic Halloween costumes. If you have a child, then you already have a willing model to design costumes for. Needless to say, it's pretty awesome as a child to have a Halloween costume custom made for you. This way no one has exactly what you do. Try a beautiful princess dress, a ghoulish ghost outfit, or even a horrifying werewolf costume. Watch to see how your costume design skills are honed after a few tries. For those who do not have children, you can always create a unique get-up for yourself to wear.

The Top 10 Halloween Party Ideas For Children Of All Ages

Planning a Halloween party can be a very fun thing to do.  Whether you will be hosting adults, children, or a mix of both, Halloween parties are fun and exciting to have and to attend.

To help plan your Halloween party, and have it be the event of the year, here are some ideas to get you started in your planning:

Halloween Party Idea #1 – The first thing you need to do is to decide on a budget for your party and if you will be having adults, children, or both in attendance.  Once you have made these decisions then it is time to start planning your event.

Halloween Party Idea #2 – Food and drinks are always a big part of any Halloween party.  Here you can be very creative with items such as 'scabs" other wise known as dried cranberries.  Items such as bleeding cupcakes or things which look like eyeballs are generally a hit.  Or you can go with a more traditional fare of cookies and candy.

Halloween Party Idea #3 – For beverages for your party you can make a great slimy punch out of lemonade, sugar, meringue powder, and seltzer water.  To this add some green food coloring and stir.  The mix will be slimy and frothy.

Halloween Party Idea #4 – Always a fun idea at Halloween parties is the addition of dry ice to beverages.  This will make them send off fog and is always a hit with both adults and children.

Halloween Party Idea #5 – Decoration for Halloween is fun.  You can make tombstones in the yard with simple Styrofoam cutouts and even hang lights and ghosts in your trees.  Inside your home you can decorate with spider webs and other spooky items which you can purchase at any local store during the Halloween season.

Halloween Party Idea #6 – For a Halloween party you want your home to be dimly lit but not too dark so that people are tripping over things.  Also a fog machine or cauldrons with dry ice in them can give a great effect.

Halloween Party Idea #7 – Music is always nice for a Halloween party.  However, rather than have it playing in the room your guests will be in, try setting your tunes in a near-by room so that people can still talk and enjoy themselves.  If you have a adult party use scarier music than if you are hosting children.

Halloween Party Idea #8 - Playing games is always a hit at any party.  A fun game for adults is charades using scary movies and themes.  For children, bobbing for apples can be fun if the weather and space allow for it.  Also, contests for the best costume always go over well.  (Let your guests know this on your invitations.

Halloween Party Idea #9 – If you want to amaze your friends, you can write secret messages on your drinking glasses.  To do this, take a mixture of dish soap and water and write messages with it, using your finger, on the outside of some drinking glasses.  Once you are finished place them in the freezer to frost over.  As your guests drink, and the glasses warm, your messages will come into view.  This is always something people will be amazed at and talk about for a long time to come.

Halloween Party Idea #10 – One of the best things you can do while you are planning any party, especially one for Halloween, is to go online and search for creative ideas.  You will find a wealth of creativity to help you make the most of your party experience.

Halloween In Las Vegas

Halloween in Las Vegas is where the ghosts hang out or so it is said. To see the scary side of Las Vegas, take the haunted tour. It begins at the Greek Isles Hotel and Casinos. It is located right off the strip. You can go and visit the haunting grounds of Liberace, Elvis, and Bugsy Siegel. The tour lasts about two and a half hours. You will find out many dar secrets of Las Vegas. According to a paranormal historian, there have been about forty places where paranormal activity has been recorded. The tour itself includes the "Motel of Death" where many celebrities have died, and Tupac's murder site. You can also listen to stories of Elvis sightings at the Hilton and hear Liberace play the piano for restaurant patrons. Also on or near Halloween, there is a Fetish and Fantasy Ball. It takes place at a different hotel every year. The ball includes erotic stage performances, fire performances, laser and light shows, a DJ, walkers on stilts, and of course, a costume contest. They give prizes in the sexiest, naughtiest, and scariest costume. Early bird discount tickets are available through paypal right now. Performers will be announced for the program as they sign up. So check the site daily to see what is happening. Monster Mayhem is also a big happening in Las Vegas. There are seven haunted houses in which all kinds of ghouls wander around in. There are crypts, creepy catacombs, and fog filled pathways. The houses take about ten minutes to walk through so you need to allow at least a hour and a half to get through all of them. The Boneyard is another scarefest. It is an above ground graveyard with corpses and lurking ghouls. Take your time walking through this graveyard.

Scary Halloween Classroom Games

Most children love all things Halloween. As adults, we assume it's because Halloween means candy and children generally love candy. But many children love more than just the abundance of candy at Halloween time. They really get into the ghoulish aspect of the holiday and delight in the displays of goopy brains and squishy body parts.

Halloween games, therefore, can be really fun and goopy, if you wish. The kids will go with it, don't worry.

First up, a brain game. There's a fun game on store shelves where you pick through a rubber "brain" to figure out what's in it. You can create this easily yourself. Make some jello and fill it with a variety of items, like gummy worms and other gummy candies, some small candy and trinkets and other items. Tell the children to root around in the bowl of jello (call it a "brain" if this will get the kids more interested) to figure out what's in it. It's goopy and messy and kids love it. Best yet, color the jello black so it's too dark to see what's inside and it looks more like goopy brain matter (the way kids see it, anyway).

In that same, or similar vein, kids love the spaghetti game. Be sure they are wearing a smock over their clothes or are wearing play clothes before playing this game. Make a big bowl of spaghetti and fill it with all kinds of items, like plastic bugs, gummy worms and other items that might feel a bit strange. Make the children feel around in the bowl of spaghetti and identify the items they feel. Once they are done and cleaned up, have them list as many items as they can remember. Whoever gets the most items listed (and right) gets a prize. Spaghetti, anyone?

Another similar game that's always popular is to take a cardboard box and paint it black, both the inside and outside. Carve a small hole in the top, really just large enough for the children to get their hands into, and fill the box with a variety of items. They can be related to Halloween (like a small pumpkin) or not (wrapped Tootsie rolls or a tiny toy Hummer car). Have the children guess what's inside the box and award the box itself to the child who guesses the most number of items correctly. To make this goopy and silly, be sure to include some items that might feel like body parts or brain matter.

Kids love creating silly fictional stories, often with absurd plotlines. Halloween is the optimum time to let them run wild with their imaginations. Have them spend a bit of time writing out the scariest story they can think of. Some children might need some direction not to make it ridiculously grotesque, so use caution with these children in your clarification of this assignment. Once the stories are written, have the children hand them in and then have a guest reader for each one of them. Each child will come to the front of the class and read the story with as much dramatization as they can muster. Once the story is read, everyone has to guess who wrote the story. The writer should play along, otherwise everyone will know it was their story! The winner is the child who wrote a story so intriguing and unusual that nobody knew it was his or hers!

Kids love the word find games when you give them a word or words relating to a holiday or something else and have them find words within those words. In this case, give them Halloween-related words and ask them to find as many scary words as they can. For example, you might give them the word "Halloween" and see how many scary words they can make from the letters. Or you could give them a series of words and let them rearrange the letters in all of the words to create scary words, or even create a story from the scary words. Put a time limit on this game and award a prize for the child who creates the most words in the least amount of time.

Boo Activitys

If you want to get your neighbors in the Halloween spirit, be sure to engage them in a little game known as "Boo!" It's a popular game in some parts of the country, while in others, nobody has heard of it.

You might live in a neighborhood where you think nobody will participate in a round robin type of event as this, but you might be surprised. Sometimes during the holidays people will step up and get involved where before they wouldn't. It's possible, anyway.

The game goes something like this, and then will be described in more detail later. You print up a few poems and instructions on colorful paper (likely, orange). You get a treat bucket, or bowl or something and fill it with candy. You can also "Boo" people with candles, Halloween socks, and really whatever your imagination comes up with. You "Boo" two people at a time, leaving the items anonymously on their doorstep. You leave it with the instructions and the poem and hope they "Boo" other neighbors. Once you are done, you tape up a large "Boo!" on your door so neighbors know not to hit you up again.

Specifically, here's how it's done. Start this game around the very end of September or very beginning of October. If you want until everyone is decorated for Halloween, you're probably too late. You want this to spread around the neighborhood and that takes time, so you want to start it right as the season starts (or a little before, perhaps) and just as people are starting to think about Halloween. If you start too early, however, you might be out of luck as far as being able to purchase items goes.

So, it's the right time of the year and you're ready to go. Find a "Boo" poem and photocopy it. There are many variations of the poem. Here is a sampling:

"Boo! To our good friends on the street; Our homes' locations made us meet; You now have been Boo'd, but who would we be? We'll never tell, it's a secret, you see. We placed these goodies for you and yours; Then we ran fast, after knocking the door! Happy Halloween!"

Or it might be a big longer, something like this:

"The air is cool, the season fall Soon Halloween will come to all; The neighbors are after things to do In fact, a neighbor brought this to you; "Boo" is a sign of friendship power Just hang it up and watch it double by hour; On your front door is where it works It wards off solicitors and scary jerks; The treat that came with friendly note Are yours to keep; enjoy them both; The power comes when friends like you Copy this and make it two; Then others here among our friends  Will give warm fuzzies that will not end; We'll all have smiles upon our face No one will know who "boo'ed" whose place; Just one short day to share your Boo You must be quick so they don't know who; And don't forget a nifty treat Like something cute or something sweet; Please join the fun, let's really hear it And spread some "Boos" and neighborhood spirit!

 Be sure to include a cute graphic of a ghost or something else that looks like it might say "Boo!" You might want to include some details on the flyer about what should be done next, in case you think the poem itself won't be clear enough. Then attach the poem to the goodie bag, basket, whatever you have created, and run out one night dropping your goodies on peoples' doorsteps. If you are just getting this started in your neighborhood, be sure to do more than 2 houses. You might find that some people don't participate and in that case, you want to have "Boo"ed enough people that you will get adequate participation.

What you're striving for is a neighborhood full of "Boo" doors by Halloween night!

Halloween Pregnancy Ideas

The minute you begin your pregnancy everything is changing, your body, your clothes sizes, even your looks. But that doesn't mean you have to skip out on your favorite holidays, like Halloween.  Being pregnant doesn't mean you can't dress up.  Whether you are buying your costume or making them yourself, you can have fun. There are many costumes you can buy for couples or just for yourself. The Pregnancy couple may want to go as a baker and an oven, or an egg and bacon bit. Both outfits are really cute and creative, you can even make them at home if you chose too. 

If you want to get really creative you can make your own costumes, here are a few costumes that you can make just using your belly and normal clothes are:

The eyeball-  This is something my husband created, all you need is a little facial paint and black clothes.  This is something even a person that can't draw can have a little bit of fun with.   Wear all black clothes on Halloween and paint your belly white, make the center of the eye whatever color you desire and don't forget the red veins. Make it scary or cute, whatever fits your desire.  Have a bit of fun and show off that tummy by keeping the shirt up or wear a shirt that shows your tummy.  My husband got a kick out of this one and was so excited that he got to do the artwork.

If you want to dress up completely but not stand out, try going as a human pumpkin. Wear a tiny green cap or make one out of felt and all orange, if you can cut a slit in your shirt for your belly to stick out. Now, paint it orange and decorate your pumpkin.

A pea is another simple costume you can make and stay warm. Go find some green jeans or sweats and a green sweatshirt. Keep the shirt up or cut a hole in it to make your little pod stick out and paint it all green.

If you aren't feeling up to having a full body costume, you could always just paint the belly and proudly show it off. After all, how often will you be pregnant?  Think of anything that is round:  basketball, volleyball, soccer ball, a bowling ball, etc

Don't forget witches were mothers too, so if you've always dressed as a witch for Halloween you don't have to stop the tradition. This year go as a pregnant witch or maybe a witch holding a pumpkin. Use that belly!

A Bun in the oven- Get a medium or small box, cut it out so that you can wear it over your shoulders. Make room for your head to slide through. Decorate it with paints like an oven. Cut open the front of the box so that it will open and close. On the outside of the box write, "Bun in the Oven." Paint your belly a light beige for all to see the little baby bun.

What Is Your List Of Scary Movies

If there's on thing I've learned about film, it's that movies are subjective for the most part. While your best friend may have a top ten list of scary movies that totally creep him/her out, your list of horror films may be totally different. No worries! This is to be expected. It stems from the fact that we all harbor different fears; therefore we're bound to be frightened of different creatures, maniacs, goblins, ghosts, monsters, aliens and ghouls. Do you know what your list of top scary movies consists of? Online you can always spot lists of top movies. Whether they fall into the romantic comedy, science fiction, horror, thriller, dram or adventure category, you're bound to encounter many in cyberspace. However, it's imperative to remember that a list of some film nut's top 50 scary movies of all time could totally contradict your opinion. The key is picking up on the top scary films that people just like yourself commonly recommend. It sounds funny, but I've seen numerous lists of scary movies all over the web. While they generally differ in regards to some titles, most of them offer a few of the same horror film suggestions every time. So if you're not too into scary movies, but are looking to test out a few for Halloween or some special occasion, let me offer a few that commonly get respect from everyone. First off you have "The Exorcist." I don't care what list of scary movies you gaze over, it more than likely has this 70s horror hit in it. Folks are simply terrified of demons related to the anti-Christ. Another one that always pops up is "Halloween." This is the epitome of the classic slasher film. Movie goers just love the idea of a maniac in a mask, who doesn't speak, but only kills with great fury. It's always a good idea to check out as many horror movies as you can before making your top ten list of scary movies ever made. You may be surprised at some you enjoy that other slasher fans despised and ranted poorly about online. The key to finding great horror films is viewing them yourself. While you're likely to go for the redundant classics appreciated by everyone, there are surely a few new ones you can add to your personal list of top scary movies.