Paper Meditations

           Halloween costumes have always been important to me. As a child my mother created wonderful, elaborate costumes for me and my brothers. My costumes as The Jolly green Giant and the Statue of Liberty won awards in our local contests. (Somehow, we created our own green make-up!) It was so fun to get compliments on my mother's creations that I wanted my own kids to have that same experience. I also enjoyed the creative process so I carried on the tradition.           My two oldest children are close in age so I was usually making two costumes at the same time every October. I really enjoyed the creative challenge of finding materials and putting them together. I  usually looked in goodwill stores for the basic pieces of a costume and keep adding details. I could hand stitch fabric together but I didn't have my mothers skills on a sewing machine so I relied on hot glue some of the time. My mom taught me that having a "gimmick" was key to a great costume. That