Another wonderful Halloween has come and gone, and not going to lie, I’m glad it’s over.
Don’t get me wrong! Halloween is my and Chad’s favorite holiday. We met at a Halloween dance and had our first date on Halloween. It’s a very special holiday to us. But of course, that also means we go a bit…ah…overboard in the costume department. And from initial sketches to last-minute details, this year’s costumes took roughly 2 months.
This is what our living room looked like for weeks. WEEKS.
What did we dress up as? Dragon slayers, of course!
Step 1: Sketched our ideas.
Turns out….Chad sketches really light.
Step 2: Figured out what we could make, what we needed to buy, and what we already had.
Step 3: Bought what we couldn’t make (we love you, Taylor Maid!).
Step 4: Pillaged Harbor Freight, Home Depot, and Hobby Lobby.
Step 5: Trimmed and shaped a chainmail sheet into sleeves.
Step 6: Measured ourselves for armor, made paper templates, and transferred those templates onto EVA foam.
Step 7: Shaped and glued the EVA foam until it looked like armor and weapons instead of funky puzzle pieces.
You didn’t think we’d place scales individually, did you?
Step 8: Attached foam details (mostly scales).
Faulds in the making!
Step 9: Heat sealed and Plasti Dip-ed the foam to waterproof and prep for painting.
Plasti Dip is black…like our souls. (The black bag is how we store misc. armor pieces.)
Step 10: Painting. So much paint.
Pauldrons, vambraces, and brooch drying after a brush application of red spray paint. That stuff dries way too fast.
Step 11: Sealed the paint with polyurethane spray or Mod Podge.
Step 12: Assembled straps, harnesses, and glued on a crap ton of furniture tacks.
Step 13: Practiced makeup.
Step 14: Tested armor for wearability.
Step 15: Win the costume contest.
Do it Yourself!
Mariah’s costume: Fire Dragon Slayer
- khakis
- loose off-white shirt
- brown underbust corset
- leather boots
- gold pauldrons
- gold vambraces with maroon detail
- maroon dragon-scale falds with gold detail
- maroon dragon-scale helmet with gold detail
- maroon Roman-style cape with gold brooch
- 26″ platinum blonde wig with loose curls
- Tarteist Double Take eyeliner marker
- gold eyeshadow
- maroon spear with gold detail and steel blade
Chad’s costume: Shadow Dragon Slayer
- black pajama pants
- black long-sleeve shirt
- galvanized steel chain mail sleeves
- knight tunic
- black pauldrons with copper detail
- black Roman-style falds
- black sabattons
- black dragon-scale greaves with copper detail
- black dragon-scale vambraces with copper detail
- black helmet with copper detail and ram horns
- scar (made with liquid collodion)
- black eye patch
- black hooded cape
- battle axe with wood shaft, leather grip, and steel blade
**No reptiles were harmed in the making of these costumes!**