The first movie S ever watched was Toy Story, so when I asked her what costume she wanted for Halloween last year, it wasn't SO surprising that she wanted to be Buzz Lightyear.  As I mentioned yesterday when I shared X's baby chicken Halloween Costume - I love making DIY Halloween costumes because they can be quick and easy and they save you SO much money!

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Though I usually use felt to make my no-sew creations, I really wanted wings that stood out by themselves for S's Buzz Lightyear costume - so I used foam sheets in Buzz Lightyear colors - white, lime green, red, black, and purple.  You can buy foam sheets online or find them in a craft store like Michaels.  First I set to work making Buzz Lightyear's wings and space pack by looking at a MULTITUDE of Buzz Lightyear pictures online.  I used S's arm span as a guide for the length of the wings, and I used the white turtleneck shirt she was going to wear as a guide for the size of the jet pack.  I used a hot glue gun to attach all the pieces.

Here's a closer look at the jetpack.  I used hot glue over foam pieces to make the exhaust fan.

Because S would be riding in a carseat, and also because she was 3 and 3 year olds have a habit of not wearing their costumes the entire time - I made the wings detachable.  I affixed self adhesive velcro to the wings and the corresponding spots on her t-shirt (roughly around where her shoulder blades are).  Here the wings and velcro look a little bent - that's because these were smooshed up in a storage container in our garage for a year between last Halloween and now - ha!

Next, to make the chestplate, I did some more cutting of foam pieces to make the buttons and such.  I again used her shirt as a guide for the size of the chestplate.  I used some backer rod foam to trim the arms of the chestplate.  Because the chestplate could interfere with strapping her into her carseat, I made this piece removable as well - again using self adhesive velcro.

For the armcuffs, I decided to glue the pieces of foam directly to the shirt.

I made her a space belt by gluing four strips of backer rod foam together and adding a piece of green foam at the bottom.

I didn't want to permanently change her rainboots with paint, so I instead cut chunks of playfoam and taped them down with packing tape.  Once Halloween had passed, we just peeled the tape off and all the foam came off and the boots were as good as new.  Note: please be careful not to wrap packing tape over the bottoms of your child's boots as this would cover the tread on the boots and create a slipping hazard.

And how did she feel about her completed costume?  It was a total hit. :)