DIY Yzma Halloween Costume

"Ah, how shall I do it? Oh, I know. I'll turn him into a flea, a harmless little flea, and then I'll put that flea in a box, and then I'll put that box inside of another box, and then I'll mail that box to myself, and when it arrives...I'll smash it with a hammer! "

- Yzma, The Emperor's New Groove

Yzma is a Halloween costume I had wanted to try for a while. "The Emperor's New Groove" is a nostalgic Disney favorite for many people my age, and the movie is endlessly quotable ("Why do we even have that lever?!"), making this a fun costume to spend a Halloween party in. Yzma's style is dramatic, glamorous and unique - all attributes that make for an awesome costume, visually.

With my PhD thesis due far too soon, I didn't have endless hours to devote into sewing. I was pleasantly surprised by how fast this came together - probably a little under 3 hours of crafting time, half of which was gluing the feathers.

Because I was able to recycle a few things I already owned into this costume, it was also fairly inexpensive (also, see above, PhD students need budget costumes)! The base of the headdress is made from a cloche hat I had collecting dust on a shelf somewhere. I cut off the brim, planning to discard it before realizing the stiffness and shape of the brim made it a perfect base for the feather collar. Wire hangers and the black dress were similarly pilfered from my closet. The biggest "spend" item was the fake eyelashes - an optional, but effective final touch. All told, this costume can be made for under $50.

The headdress stayed put the entire night and I generally felt quite comfortable. Most people recognized the costume and I felt suitably glamorous and villainous. For 3 hours of crafting and $50, this was an effective, easy and frugal DIY Halloween costume.

[Check out my Daenerys Game of Thrones Costume from last year!]

Materials & Tools

Crafting Supplies:

House Targaryen Madness or Greatness Chocolate Truffles

King Jaehaerys once told me that madness and greatness are two sides of the same coin. Every time a new Targaryen is born, he said, the gods toss the coin in the air and the world holds its breath to see how it will land.

- Daenerys VI, A Storm of Swords

This chocolate surprise was the final course in my Season 7 Game of Thrones party, in which I themed each of the courses around a family of Westeros. The Targaryen family's disposition to mad rulers like the Mad King and legendary monarchs like Aegon the Conqueror is an interesting part of Westerosi lore. While the stories and the quote above make it out to be an either/or phenomenon, I wonder if some of the Targaryens are a little of both? Either way, I wanted to represent this dichotomy in the Targaryen course.

I went with chocolate truffles, which are easy to make, and more importantly, easy to make look the same from the outside while secretly containing a flavor on the inside.  For the "greatness" of the Targaryens, I went with lavender - a soothing flavor, as well as the hereditary Targaryen eye color. For the "madness" of the Targaryens, I went with cayenne pepper and cinnamon - a surprising but still appetizing flavor, evocative of the "fire" portion of the "fire and blood" Targaryen words.

I served the chocolates in tiny gift boxes decorated with the Targaryen emblem, and a miniature scroll with a quote about the Targaryens.

Ingredients

DIY Alice in Wonderland Mini-Croquet Game

"The chief difficulty Alice found at first was in managing her flamingo... just as she had got its neck nicely straightened out, and was going to give the hedgehog a blow with its head, it *would* twist itself round and look up in her face, with such a puzzled expression that she couldn't help bursting out laughing, and when she had got its head down, and was going to begin again, it was very provoking to find that the hedgehog had unrolled itself, and was in the act of crawling away."

- Alice in Wonderland, Chapter VIII, Lewis Carroll

I was really quite pleased with this inexpensive and easy party entertainment for my Alice in Wonderland Tea Party. The croquet game is one of the most memorable parts of Alice's journey in Wonderland. (Also, one of the most relatable parts of Alice's adventures, in that curious Wonderland way. I know I have certainly struggled with flamingos and hedgehogs of sorts that simply refused to cooperate!) I wanted to incorporate the cricket game somehow into my tea party.

Dota 2 Handpainted 3D-printed Jakiro

My flames grow hotter

My ice grows colder

Our wings grow stronger

- Jakiro Voice Responses, Dota 2

The freezing flame, the scalding cold

Jakiro is my most played hero. At my level of play in Dota 2, a support that can easily harass in lane, help your team take towers, zone in teamfights, clear waves and disable channeling spells or chain-stun works out pretty well. I'm therefore disappointed that this hero doesn't get a little more attention from Valve in terms of hero re-works and cosmetics.

Easy Belt and Shoulder Accessories for Daenerys Qarth Dress Costume

Once upon a time, a young woman went to a ball, danced her heart out, and dirtied the bottom of her dress. She took it to a dry cleaner, who did their best, but the beautiful gown was ruined. And thus, I inherited from my sister a gorgeous gold and turquoise dress, which looked surprisingly like a certain outfit worn by Game of Thrones' Daenerys in Qarth.

(I'm the one on the right.)

I'm a big fan of using what you have and supplementing it with things that are cheap, easy and effective. So, I topped off this rescued dress with a $12 wig from Amazon. To complete the look, I crafted two long strings of beads, a cape and these intricate gold belt and shoulder pad pieces. Read below to see how to make your own Khaleesi accessories!

Clue-Themed Cocktail Party

"It was Ms Scarlett, in The Lounge, with The Candlestick"

I hosted a Clue-themed cocktail party for my birthday this autumn. I decorated my apartment with murder weapons and signs denoting murder locations, and I served one appetizer or dessert and one cocktail for each of the six murder suspects in the classic board game.

Why a Clue-themed party, you ask? Well, other than having fond childhood memories of sitting around the kitchen table, sleuthing with my family, I was at a thrift store and I happened to find a truly ostentatious candlestick (it's even customizable! This is actually only about two-thirds its maximum size!).

Currently taking suggestions for more theme parties where I can use this fabulous candlestick

Dota 2 Aghanim's Scepter Madeleines

The scepter of a wizard with demigod-like powers [and a delightful lemon-y flavor].

- (Modified) flavor text from Dota 2 item descriptions

Madeleines are a sort of french sponge cake with a characteristic shell shape. This shape looks conveniently like the jeweled part of an Aghanim's Scepter, the spell upgrading item from Dota 2. With a few crafty additions, they make adorable little Aghanim's Scepters for a Dota 2 eSports Viewing Party. I tried to dub them "Aghaleines" but the name didn't catch on.

Dota 2 Sheepstick Lamb Kabobs

Turns a target unit into a harmless critter for 3.5 seconds.

- Dota 2 item description text for Scythe of Vyse

In the words of my friend (imagine, if you can, that these words are being said through a mouthful of lamb), "Oh, I get it, sheepstick because it's sheep on a stick." As far as Dota 2 food puns go (and I've cooked many), this one was pretty tasty.

DIY Iron Throne Centerpiece

The songs said it had taken a thousand blades to make it, heated white-hot in the furnace breath of Balerion the Black Dread. The hammering had taken fifty-nine days. The end of it was this hunched black beast made of razor edges and barbs and ribbons of sharp metal; a chair that could kill a man, and had, if the stories could be believed.

- A Game of Thrones, Eddard XI

Valar More-Glue-Plz: All men must DIY!

The songs say it took 59 days and 1000 blades to make the iron throne. I made an iron throne in a weekend with around 100 swords. Mine is, to be fair, quite a bit smaller and rather less judgmental of the ruler’s leadership capability.