This year, we faced a new Halloween challenge. Little Diva is attending a Catholic school so her costume was limited to a story book character. We also wanted something that could quickly be transformed into a scarier trick-or-treat version after school.

She chose Raggeddy Ann. We made her costume for under $15.

I repurposed an old nightgown, as well as few red buttons. I got the blue dress at Savers for $3. I got several remnants for about $1 each, and got a fabric glue and iron-on kit for under $8 at Walmart. With tax, we ended a dot under $15. How much of a winner did that make me feel like? Not quite lottery, but more than a $3 scratch-off.

Easy as Iron-On

I cut “patches” from the remnants. The iron-on worked well on the blue dress but the older nightgown required the glue. I then sewed the buttons on. We used her cheerleading bows and only needed street makeup for the day look. Voila…

It was a hit with her class, her teacher, and most importantly, she loved it. Here’s her spooky doll look…

I’m scared. Are you?

Now for something a little bit scarier…

Little Diva wanted to be a scary doll from the start but as that wasn’t school-approved, we added a bit of Halloween makeup to create a broken china look. Despite all that, her smile belies any attempt at anything really scary.

Either version, she was happy wearing it and i was happy that she was happy it. (I was also pretty happy that Bank of America was happy if you get my meaning).

Wishing you a happy Halloween, DIY or otherwise!