The Family Farm Costume

#1 comment by claudia grogan November 14, 2011

This is an absolute winner. it ranks high on originality and execution in my book. I've worked in theater many years, and these are amazing! Good Job!

#2 comment by lucy November 18, 2011

This looks like so much fun! I love the big rooster. the egg on the chic is adorable, lol! great costume!

#3 comment by annalyn November 19, 2011

The bail of hay is so funny with the cowboy in it. I like the scarecrow's crow. What a great job! Definitely a winner!

#4 comment by Lennie November 19, 2011

I think it is an amazing defeat by itself that your husband dressed as the rooster! What a great tradition you have to dress as a family. This is a winner!

#5 comment by Heather November 20, 2011

This is Awesome! I love the chick, but the dad is the best. How'd you get him to wear that? The bale of hay is adorable.

#6 comment by Mary October 12, 2012

Could you tell me what you used for the paper mache egg. Meaning what did you use as your form? A huge balloon, chicken wire?? Or what

#7 comment by Julie October 12, 2012

We used a huge balloon the kind they use in ballon arches....the biggest we could find.

#8 comment by Mary October 12, 2012

Thanks for getting back so quickly!
So like a 24 or 36" balloon? How many paper mache layers did it take then?

Did you make your own paper mache? It's been many years since I have done paper mache, so I'm not even sure what the recipe calls for anymore.

#9 comment by Julie October 13, 2012

Sure thing. I did five layers of butcher paper with paper mâché and then finished it with a layer of plaster of Paris. I believe it was a 34 inch balloon. Have fun!

#10 comment by Nicole October 14, 2012

Hi, I absolutely love these costumes! Can I ask exactly how you did the hay bale? My daughter has said she wants to be a hay bale for Halloween. I googled it and found your family. Very cute!

#11 comment by Julie October 14, 2012

The hay bale is a box with the bottom(for legs), hole for head and arms cut out. Then we took hay and spray adhesive, layering the hay to covered the box. Finally we finished it off with the baling twine which was laced through holes poked in the box. It was a fun and popular costume but be warned IT IS A VERY MESS PROCESS. And it sheds. :) happy Halloween!

#12 comment by Nicole October 28, 2012

That sounds great! Thank you very much! So cute!

#13 comment by edna July 10, 2013

how did u make the egg?

#14 comment by Julie July 11, 2013

We made the egg by first applying four layers of paper mâché to a very large balloon, covering all of it but leaving a circular hole in the bottom where her feet stuck out. After the paper mâché dried we add a layer of plaster casting covering the same area as the paper mâché and let it dry. Next I used a dremal it cut the "top" of the egg off in a zigzag to make it look cracked apart. I then plastered over the zigzagged edges and circular bottom edge to make them some and cover the raw edge. When the was dry I cut two sets of slits in the bottom half of the egg to run ribbon like suspenders. On the top on cut slits to correspond to the wholes in the top of her bike helmet, lacing the the heet and the top together with ribbon. Hope that helps. :) we found the extra large ballon at Party land. It was one they use for the balloon arch decorations. The paper mâché we made at home and the plaster casting we found at hobby lobby. :)

#15 comment by Rajabhuvaneswari August 4, 2015

please tell me the name of dress material the chick wear

#16 comment by Leonor Pena October 24, 2017

Hello Julie,

For starters this egg looks amazing. My sister came up with the same bright idea that your husband did. She is dressing up as a chicken, I the farmer and my 8yr old son the egg. She started the egg with chicken wire and layered it with paper mache and plaster. However the egg is pretty heavy and after attaching thick bands to go over his shoulders we realized that the pressure is causing the paper mache to detach from the chicken wire. We are thinking of scrapping it and starting over. My questions to you are:
1. Was your daughters custome heavy?
2. Should we try again without chicken wire and only use a huge balloon as shape holder. (but will there be a big enough balloon to make an 8yr old costume?)
Please help.

Thanks so much!

#17 comment by Julie October 25, 2017

Thank you! For our egg we did not use chicken wire because we knew it would be too heavy for her. We did use a huge balloon (which might make it hard to find one big enough for an 8yr old, maybe a weather balloon? I know there the are some large balloons that would work it's just finding one). Another thing that was helpful is that we did not just use straight papermache we also used a plaster of Paris casting material, it come in a roll. I found it at hobby Lobby. This gave it solid structure it needed without too much weight and without making it supper thick. You could even add some plaster to the papermache mix to add strength. Also we only did a couple layer of the papermache and the casting material was the majority. In fact after it dried we popped the balloon and lined the inside with the casting also. It was still only about a quarter inch thick, super solid and not too heavy. Hope that helps:)

#18 comment by Deepika chib October 13, 2018

Hi it's an awesome idea ...can u plz tell me how to make this I want to make my son so cute chic