Taco Belle Costume

I can wholeheartedly state that my Grandmother taught me well. She would say, "Why stop at just ONE place for a meal?" When she would take my sisters, cousins, and me out for lunch; we would stop at one restaurant for the milkshakes, then drive to another for the burgers, and a third for the fries! Of course; we always had a coupon to make sure we got the best deal for our money! Then returning to Grandma's House to eat our multi-meal lunch.

Typically, most people have enjoyed fast food at some point. Personally; I love Taco Bell! When I saw a post on Facebook in May 2016; I knew what my next craft project would be - Taco Belle! I started brainstorming, preparing, and buying materials in July. With the summer coming to an end; and as a Special Education Teacher, I knew that my crafting time would be limited. But, I was focused and determined! Through the help and support from my loved ones, friends, and coworkers - I was able to finish her, Taco Belle (of the Ball)!

My first step was a material list. I worked with a friend on thinking of what materials I wanted to use, what crafting materials I already had (as I do enjoy my crafting time), and any new items I would purchase. My list consisted of: felt (various sizes and colors), foam sticky letters, fabric glue, hot glue gun and glue sticks, foam for inside of taco shell, tissue paper both brown and white, the dress, safety pins, needle and thread, and an open imagination!

Let me share; that I spent countless hours crafting, early mornings with cups of coffee, or late evenings with cups of ice water or peach juice! From cutting the individual brown (outside taco shell), red (tomatoes), yellow (shredded cheese), and green (lettuce) felt pieces to create each taco. Which morphed into multiple life-like tacos that looked good enough to eat. Numerous people commented on how well this craft project was coming along and offering ideas or suggestions, which I accepted and appreciated. I also used brown streamers to create the illusion of ground beef and white tissue paper for sour cream; all of which you can see in my Taco Belle Dress! I compiled all of these pieces together with my hot glue gun. One. Piece. At. A. Time. Ultimately, I crafted 21 tacos and a miniature taco as my hair piece. Each taco was then sewn together by hand, in rows of 7, on the dress. You can see in the photos the white stitching of each taco together. Getting the tacos straight, pinned, and sewn to the dress took time…and patience. A lot of time and a lot of patience. However, upon sewing the last group of 7 tacos on the dress, I was one step closer to completing this Halloween crafting project! I felt so proud of all the hard work that was completed. I also looked forward to the final touches to see it all come together.

The final touches consisted of the accessories; bracelet, earrings, clutch, hand sign, the Enchanted Rose, The Beast doll, The Taco Bell Chihuahua dog, and a 12 pack taco box with tacos, sauce, and napkins! Since I am a regular at Taco Bell I already had some sauce packets in my refrigerator. However, I did need to make a stop of Taco Bell (which I welcomed) to pick up a few extra sauce packets. I cut the top of each sauce packet and emptied it. I then let them dry out overnight. I then used clear packing tape to stick them together to make a bracelet and clutch. I rolled the sauce packet and taped them together in a square to form an earring. I had an earring hook and wrapped the taped square with thread, and waa-laa, earrings! My next accessory to finish was the hand sign. I already had the felt and was able to cut out 4 rectangles using red, yellow, green, and orange to represent the sauce packets. I hot glued the 4 colors to a black piece of felt, let it dry, and then added the white letters to spell (TACO BELLE, VERDE, FIRE, HOT, MILD). I had wood dowels that I hot glued to the back of the sign and made sure it was sturdy enough to last. Which brings me to my final accessories; the Beast, the Enchanted Rose, and the Taco Bell Chihuahua dog.

Originally my boyfriend was going to dress up as the Beast, but got called out of town for the Hurricane clean up, so he was not here. So I asked friends and coworkers if anyone had any Taco Bell or Beauty and the Beast memorabilia. Luckily, a coworker had the Beast doll, and the Taco Bell Chihuahua dog!! I bought a pinkish color rose to represent the Enchanted Rose the Beast has in the movie. It all came together so well.

I wore the costume a few times this Halloween season. I wore it twice out on the town to celebrate Halloween. I also wore it to a close friends moms Halloween gathering. My friend’s mom has a gathering for every Holiday. I love stopping by, preferably in costume (Halloween, Ugly Christmas Sweater, Kentucky Derby, etc.), to enjoy the time with close friends and share good laughs and fun! People’s reactions were priceless. From guys yelling, “Taco Belle!!!!....that’s awesome!”, to people asking for pictures, and questions on how I made it, the dress drew attention! Much. Appreciated. Attention.

At times this crafting project was exciting, stressful, hilarious, and even brought a certain amount of pride to my crafting abilities when I look back at this endeavor. After many hot glue gun finger burns, neck pain, and most importantly, crafting fun; and without further a due, I present Taco Belle!

There is no doubt I am very happy with how this turned out! And I hope you all enjoy this costume as much as many, many others have! It is my hope that my efforts will continue to inspire others to create and craft! Laughs have been shared, pictures were taken, and posts were made, all in Good Halloween Fun!

Happy Halloween!

- Kristina