It’s time for October holidays. I skipped September holidays since I was on location. I think we all survived National Beheading Day and the move into Autumn. There is one seasonal event I failed to mention but it’s not too late to sill celebrate: Oktoberfest.

Oct 1: World Vegetarian Day. You can velcro green styrofoam balls to your chest and be a pea pod. If you’re not in the mood for a carrot blazer, try a dinner of tempura battered veggies. Mmmmmm.

Oct 3: Techie Day. This day seems to be held on the 5th of October, but it’s a weekend this year. I hope this date is right. Cnet thought of this idea in 1999 to celebrate technology jobs and promote the tech industry. If you want to let your techie side out wear jeans and a wrinkled shirt and keep your thumbdrive on your key chain with your fob.

Oct 5: Last day of Oktoberfest. Have your friends and family over for brats and beer. Have everyone bring their own stein and have a little costume and mug contest.

Oct 6: Mad Hatter Day. Wear your wackiest hats to work today. It’s all about the fun and the absurd. If you don’t have a mad hat, you can modify an existing hat. Add ribbons, baubles, flowers, stuffed animals, or anything else you have on your coffee table to a cheap hat.

Oct 9 and Oct 13: Leif Erikson Day and Columbus Day. Since Columbus didn’t really discover the New World (he told Europe where it was), many people now refer to it as Discoverer’s Day. You can have a viking party. That sounds like a lot of fun. Get the kids interested in explorers with fun globe activities.

Oct 17: Wear Something Gaudy Day. Rumor is Larry Dallas came up with this one. This is a day made for thrift stores. Once you’re dressed in bright and bold designs you should head on down to the Regal Beagle.

Oct 23: Talk Show Host Day. This day was picked in honor of Mr. Johnny Carson’s birthday. Carry a mic with you and ask people questions all day. You could wear a red pompadour wig and be Conan. If you want to be Ellen you can wear skinny jeans with a vest and dance.

Oct 24: United Nation’s Day. This is a fun one for the kids. Have everyone dress in traditional garb from one of the 192 member nations. It’s a great opportunity for an international food party…mousse, strudel, baklava, and etc.

Oct 31: The Greatest Holiday Ever. In the United States, Halloween, aka All Hallow’s Eve, is celebrated by children and adults by wearing costumes, sharing treats, and having parties. I’m giddy thinking about it!

October is a great time of year. The weather’s perfect for cookouts and afternoon get-togethers. Pick a holiday and have fun with it.

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A few weeks ago Project Rooftop hosted a new redesign contest. This one would be one of the trickiest and more iconic assignments they’ve given the readers. Revamp Vampirella.

Vampirella is known for her revealing costume: blood red, cut down to there, string suit. I thought I’d give it a shot. Why not? I looked through lots of Vampirella covers and thought about it a while and decided the look I wanted. I saw her as a Pin Up. A kind of 40s bathing beauty style. I tried to draw what was in my head. That’s not where my talents lie. The costume is still Vamp red with the white collar. I added cuffs to just because I liked them. The cut is much more modest. I moved her bat emblem to the left thigh instead hovering over the crotch.

Anyway, my head just couldn’t make my hand produce what I envisioned. Oh well. I tried.

Today they posted the results of the contest. Some of the designs are amazing. They’ve listed the winners and a few runners-up. Over 100 entries came in for the Vampirella contest. Project Rooftop has never had so many submissions.

I did not win. I didn’t expect to win. I’m not an artist when it comes to drawing. I see where I made my design mistakes. Vampirella is very much a sexual being. Alien. Foreign. My design just didn’t hit that mark.

I’m proud of myself for trying my hand at a costume contest that didn’t require any sewing. It was fun.

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Sweet, spunky Wendy Watson is the Middleman’s assistant . . . trainee . . . partner person. She’s a redhead in the comics and a brunette on TV. There are a few variations of her costume to consider.

1. Comics uniform: This one shows some bare midriff. The shirt is cropped as is the jacket. It also includes a large ammo belt.

2. First TV uniform: It’s the Middleman’s uniform but but for the female figure. Olive green Eisenhower jacket, white shirt, black tie, and black pants.

3. Second TV uniform: The jacket is replaced by a green vest. It’s cut low similar to a tuxedo vest. The tie is loosened and the white shirt is open two buttons.

I don’t know of any costumes available for purchase. The only piece of the costume that is likely to give you trouble, is the most distinctive item: the jacket/vest. The first places I’d look are military surplus stores or vintage stores. The vest is a racerback cut for women. The trick will be finding the right color. If you’re comfortable with dye, keep that as an option.

Hit the Junior’s department for the comic drawn crop jacket. This time of year light jackets should fill a few racks. Odds are good you’ll find a military green jacket of some kind. Pick one with a collar and maybe chest pockets (not necessary, you’ll see why). Of course, the best one is the least expensive one. Take it home and measure where you want the crop to hit on your torso Cut off the length and do a simple hem to clean the edges. You can use this scrap fabric to create the chest pockets the cheap jacket didn’t have.

Failing that, you can opt for the Emma Peel inspired black catsuit from the promos and the retro episode. Have fun hunting down evil puppets and zombies.

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Your child decided what to be for Halloween. But you don’t have $40 to spend on a costume he’ll grow out of before Winter arrives. What do you do?

Generally speaking, you head to the fabric store. Sit down at the pattern table and search Simplicity, Butterick, McCall’s, and all the other pattern books. Expect to pay around $10 for a new pattern. If you’re an avid sewer, you probably already have all the notions back in your sewing room (this could get pricey if you’re not). For pattern, fabric, and notions you’ll spend $20-35. It can quickly match or exceed the licensed costume.

For my money, the best way to build a Halloween costume is a combination of pre-made and hand-made. Little Johnny wants to be a Vampire. No problem. You can find dress pants and dress shirt in his closet or the local thrift store. The local costume or party store carries inexpensive black capes and novelty teeth. Check your makeup drawer for pale powder and grey eyeshadow. If you don’t have any, you can pickup makeup kits for Vampire, Witches, and Clowns at the drugstore. Let your son design his royal medallion. Draw a star shape onto cardboard and then color with markers, paint, and glitter. Attach the medallion to a piece of ribbon. The final touch is some gel through his hair for the fiendishly slick look. Voila.

Animal costumes are quick and easy. Your child will need a base costume to build up the dog, cat, pig, what have you. Leotards or sweatsuits are great for this. Choose the one best suited for your climate. A Black Cat needs a black leotard and tights. You can fill a black stocking with padding for a little tail. Use a headband for the ears’ base. The ears can be made of stiffened fabric, pipe cleaners, or foam. Glue or sew the ears to the headband. Some creative makeup and you have the cutest little kitty in the world.

This method works for most animals. If you need a specific dog, like Snoopy, don’t worry. You’ll need: white sweatpants and shirt, one black felt spot sewed onto the posterior area, a pair of black socks for ears can be attached with bobby pins or a headband. The last touch is a little black nose. See how easy animals can be?

Clowns require a quick trip to the thrift or Goodwill store. Pick busy shirts and old golf pants. A silly novelty wig can really make your daughter feel like a cut-up. Have fun with the makeup. What good is a Clown without a prop? You can pin an plastic flower to the lapel or…tie a series of three or four bright scarves or bandanas together. Let her practice pulling them out of her pocket or her hand. She’ll be a show stopper.

You want a creepy costume for your kid? I have the perfect most terrifying thing. Guaranteed to make candy givers hesitate: Chucky. I doubt your child knows anything about Chucky, and that’s for the best right now. After a few doorbells, he’ll believe you were right about having the scariest costume. Little Chucky will need a rainbow striped shirt. Discount stores and chain stores typically carry them. A pair of overalls. Use a red fabric marker to write “Good Guys” on the front center pocket. The shoes should be red. Try the discount store for cheap canvas shoes. Hand your son a plastic knife and then hide behind the couch because he might just scare you too. Weasley red hair is best for this look, but don’t worry about a wig. If you must have the hair, pick up some color hairspray that can be washed out when he’s done trick-or-treating.

Good luck crafting!

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There are only 38 days left to prepare for Halloween. Have your kids decided on what they want to be? Have you figured out how you’re going to make that happen? Today I’ll give you some popular costume options for the trick-or-treating set.

Some kids know exactly what they want to be and never waver from that decision. Others, like my younger self, change their minds at least 10 times before the big night. How do you help your child pick out a costume? The first question should be, “What would you like to be for Halloween this year?” If she gives you the blank stare, you have more questions ahead of you. Try asking her what her favorite movie was this year, what her favorite book is right now, or who’s her favorite TV character. You could also ask him what he wants to be when he grows up. You just need to get their brain storms brewing.

Superheroes are always a hit and this year Ironman, Batman, and the Hulk made it big. These are popular characters this year and costumes can be easily found for each of the movies. If you kids were more into the Narnia movies, you can find lots of medieval and movie themed costumes in the stores. Star Wars costumes have been big ever since 1977. Darth Vader, Leia, and the new Clone Wars are readily available.

When I was a kid, I fell in love with book characters more often than movie characters (I was an awesome Nancy Drew). Over the last ten years one literary cast has been more popular than any other: Harry Potter. It’s a great book cast to mine because there are lots of girls and lots of boys depicted in the story. All you need is a wand and maybe a tie and you child can be a Hogwarts student too.

Television has many options for the kids. Choose from cartoons like Scooby Doo, science fiction adventures like Star Trek, fantasy shows like Pushing Daisies’s Ned or Aunt Lily, and educational personalities like Dora. Many shows and cartoons have licensed costumes available at your local retailer and online.

Career costumes can be a lot of fun for kids. It allows them to see how the job looks on them. Could be she spends one night with a giant fireman’s hat on her head and she’s done with the fire department and moving on to the police force. My youthful ambitions including being a astronaut/doctor. Kinda tricky to make that work in costume form, but doctors are easy to outfit. Encourage him to try on a camp shirt to see what it’s like to be an archaeologist (don’t forget a brush set and bones).

If you son or daughter is still having trouble making up his/her mind it’s perfectly acceptable to fall back on the classics. Witches, ghosts, vampires, monsters, creatures, and animals are always well received.

I hope this helps you and your child narrow down the field.

Tomorrow I’ll help you with the DIY costumes.

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In celebration of Talk Like a Pirate Day, I be dressed as a pirate. I’ll be adding photos throughout the day. Check back often to see what I be up t’next.

Me be keepin’ me map safe a’sound. No man can find it now.

This costume is the Deluxe Buccaneer Babe. It’s nice enough to come in its own garment bag. The first time you try it on you may want an extra set of hands to help piece you together. It can be tricky loosening and tying the laces with one hand. Once correctly sized, you can just untie the bodice front to get in and out of the top. The costume includes bodice with detachable sleeves, pants, boot covers, and a head scarf.

I’ve added cheapo ear rings, a sword, an eye patch, a treasure map, and of course treasure.

Off to find me buried treasure…me better not run across any of them ninjas. Shiver me timbers!

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