DIY "Woody" Costume

So I know I am a little late on the Halloween costume post, but I just had to share this idea with any of you other  mama's who have kiddos that are die hard Toy Story fans. Plus it's an excuse to show off how cute my boys are!

I was originally planning to go with a Dr. Seuss theme for the boys costumes, but then I went out of town and wasn't able to make some of the necessary costume accessories I wanted. So horror of horrors...I went to Wal-Mart and bought Buddy a "Woody" costume. It was awful and definitely not worth the $17 I paid for it! So I returned it and put on my creative thinking cap.

In Buddy's dress up box, he already had a cowboy hat, red bandanna, Sheriff's badge, and cowboy boots. To turn him into "Woody", he would need a cow print vest, yellow shirt and belt buckle.

I had an extra white cushion cover from the IKEA couch I sold a while back. I decided to cut it up and use it for the vest fabric because it had a nice heavy weight to it. I traced one of Buddy's shirts to make a basic vest pattern. I used pinking shears so I wouldn't have to hem the edges. I had to do a little bit of tailoring to get it to fit the way I wanted. Then I drew on cow spots with a Sharpie and my sweet husband filled them in with black fabric paint.

I made a belt buckle by cutting 3 ovals out of yellow felt. On the top oval, I hand-embroidered his first initial, and on the other two, I cut two slits for his belt to slide through. I then sewed all three layers together with a 1/2 inch seam allowance and used embroidery floss to do a decorative stitch around the edge.

The shirt was a very last minute thing. Because I was making his costume so late, I had no time to shop for a yellow dress shirt or dye a white dress shirt. I had just decided to let him wear a Western looking shirt he had, then I found out my friend was going to the thrift store after church. Luckily they had a yellow shirt his size. I grabbed a red Sharpie and a ruler to create the red "plaid" design on the shirt. It only took about 5 minutes and was the perfect finishing touch!

So here is the real "Woody"...

And here is my little "Woody"...

And of course he hammed it up with a big YEE-HAW as he rode his "horse" through the parking lot of our church's Fall Festival.

And I can't forget Little Man. I opted not to go with a bulky costume since I would be wearing him all evening in my Mei Tai. (Pictures coming soon!) So he went as Mama's Little Pumpkin...

The hat didn't last long...

I hope you had a fun and safe Halloween!


Always, 

Amanda