Earlier this year my Middleman* had a Library night for his Grade at the school (very clever idea I might add). All the kids had to dress up like a story book character.

The instruction that was brought home* was – A book character that wasn’t a movie. My interpretation – That the character had to originate from a book (even if it was made into a movie)

Wow, so during the process I realised how many books were movies and as we were going according to the Middleman’s instructions it took a little while before finding a book that wasn’t a movie yet. After a little creative persuation on how cool it would be to be Wally from “Where is Wally?” ,we were set. 

Have you ever made a suggestion and convinced your child that it is a great idea and then you wonder why you actually suggested it? But so, this is all part of parenthood and I embrace it and love it!

So with a decision made, I wasn’t going back to ask for another character….we were all happy (I think).

It should be really easy to just go buy stuff for a dress up, but we live in South Africa where there are some things that are just not that easy to find or could cost you an arm and a leg. And I need both my arms and legs with 3 boys!

I made a decision on what the outfit had to consist of:

1. A white and red beanie

I knew I could crochet one, so it seemed an easy enough task

2. A red and white striped shirt

Thought I would find one in a shop somewhere but nowhere had red and white OR white and red striped shirts anywhere. Fortunately after a conversation with my very handy mom, she offered to make one quickly

3. Glasses

Had an idea I would be able to find this at a Party or Novelty store

4. A cane

Thought I would be able to find this at a Party store, but with no luck decided that I would just make one with paper mache. How difficult could it be?

5. Jeans and sneakers

These were easy enought to find as we had them in his cupboard

Beanie

I had a basic beanie pattern that I crocheted kept on fitting on his head as I went along to make sure it was big enough. The pom pom for the top of the hat is a very basic pom pom which can be made with 2 paper wheels

Shirt

I am sure that red and white striped material would be easy to find, but it is like every shop stops stocking it when you need it. Fortunatly, my clever mom found a cheap (non-breathable and probably flamible*) material that she could make into a T-shirt. Perfect for the amount of time he needed to wear it. With her master sewing skills, we had a shirt in no time!

Glasses

Totally in luck I found these round nerd glasses with plastic bottle top looking parts where the glass would go. Because you could barely see through them, I just popped the insides out and voila – Wally glasses

Cane

This was the fun part. Making a cane was actually a rather easy process. I knew that I could find a wooden dial and with some paper mache I could make the top part.

What I used:

• Wooden dial – I looked for one that was about the height I needed (the Middleman’s waste height) and was rather thick .
• Saw
• Wire
• Newspaper
• Clear wood glue
• Brown paint – I used all my primary colours to make a brown

Method

1. I sawed the dial to the appropriate height, baring in mind that the rounded part that I was going to make would also add length to the stick.
2. Using the wire, I formed the rounded part of the stick on top of the dial.
3. Mixing some water with the clear wood glue powder I made the glue that I was going to use for the paper mache.
4. I tore the newspaper into strips and formed it around the wood and wire letting it dry after every layer.
5. After it was properly dry I painted the stick

A pair of jeans and sneakers added to the mix and the *Middleman was Wally and a VERY VERY happy one at it. He kept on sneaking behind stuff so I could take “Where is Wally” pictures.

He declared greatness on the evening and it is now a talked about event in our house!

When you can’t find something in the shop, kids are mostly very happy with a homemade item….especially made with love!

SO GO BE CREATIVE!!!

If you like this, please share it….because sharing is caring (because what would the world be without us sharing our creativity?)

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