This Year's Halloween Costume Creation

Incorporating pieces of hand engraved jewelry into my costume builds is one of my favorite elements in creating a character's look and this year was no exception.  My idea was to create my own version of the character, Poison Ivy, with a bit of a retro vibe. 

Using scrap copper, I freehand engraved leaf designs and cut them out with a jeweler's saw.  I happened to find a used necklace at a consignment store which, once rearranged a bit, seemed to be a good fit with the copper pieces I crafted. To coordinate with them, I also made a pair of engraved copper earrings. 

When constructing a costume, I like to use a combination of handmade, used, upcycled and scrap pieces to keep the costs of a project down and stretch my creativity.  It is the same way I made costumes while I was growing up and it gives me that childlike creative feeling all over again. 

Initially, I was going to fabricate the leaves of my headpiece by hand but I came across this piece of vintage wall art and thought it would be the perfect way to upcycle the material. Forming a brass headband from scrap, I then soldered the leaves to it. Once everything was soldered in place, I used an accelerant to give the leaves a bit of patina. 

Due to the circumstances of Covid this year, many Halloween events have been cancelled. My daughter and I decided we'd dress up anyway, carve a pumpkin, make some treats and enjoy a Halloween movie together. Making our own fun is something we are pretty good at and I had a blast making this costume.