GIANT Cupcake Costume

This year for Halloween my daughter wanted to be a Giant cupcake. All the designs we found online were too small, so we had to wing it.

Gather Supplies! This Is a No-sew Project.

You will need:

-2 hula hoops from dollar tree (one large, one small)

-1 roll of hardware cloth/chicken wire.

-4 pieces of poster board

-2 yards of tulle

-polyfill

-low temp hot glue and glue gun

-Duct tape

-Bailing wire or twine

-wire cutters

-coordinating stocking cap

-styrofoam ball

-pipe cleaner

-ribbon for straps

-saw

-one inch screw/screwdriver

-scissors

-clear packing tape

-Pom Pom "sprinkles"

Cut the Hula Hoops

You may need to trim a few inches off the hula hoops to get them the size you want. Peel off the sticker that covers the joint and pull it apart. Using the saw, cut from the side without the plug and put it back together, replacing the sticker or taping.

Build the Frame

Using your wire cutters, divide the hardware cloth into two pieces. The roll is approximately 5 ft long by 3 ft high. Each section should be 2.5 ft long. You will need to trim about 6 inches off the height of both sections of hardware cloth, ultimately having two sections 2.5x2.5 ft. Be careful, the wires are sharp!

Begin attaching the hardware cloth to the hula hoop, starting with the bottom. Use twine or wire to secure the hoops to the frame. The two sections should nearly touch on the bottom hoop. On the top hoop, the sections will be farther apart. You will use the 6 in section you cut from the top to close the gap and reinforce the frame. Attach these patches with wire or twine. Use your wire cutters to cut off loose ends of wire. Trim flush so no sharp bits are sticking out.

Shoulder Straps!

Have the person who is going to wear the costume stand holding the finished frame around their middle so you can see what height you want it at. Cut two strips of ribbon, long enough to tie in the rear of the cupcake, go over the wearer's opposite shoulder, and tie in the front. Repeat with the second side going over the other shoulder. The ribbons should form an "x" like suspenders, with the knots in the back being closer together and the ones in the front further apart. Duct tape these knots to the hula hoop.

So Much Duct Tape

Tearing many strips of duct tape, approximately 4in in length, place tape over the hula hoops going perpendicular to the hoop frame, overlapping the strips of tape until the top and bottom rims are covered. Then use a long piece of tape around the circumference of the wire frame on the inside and outside, top and bottom. Cover the "v" gaps and any jagged edges with duct tape.

Paper Wrapper

On a clean surface, fold each the poster board. Begin by folding in half so the shorter ends meet each other. Fold each half of the paper in half again, creating an accordion pattern. You should have four folds per half.

Attach the papers to the top hula hoop with bubbles of duct tape so that you can reposition until it looks right. Use your hot glue gun to firmly attach the paper at each point where the Paper meets the frame. Tape right over he duct tape bubbles. Hang the cupcake by the straps from some sort of stand. I used a microphone stand, but you could use a lamp stand or a hook in the ceiling. Use clear packing tape to join the papers where they meet together by reaching up under the paper and taping on the side that doesn't show. Glue the paper to the bottom hoop at each fold where the paper meets the hoop.

Frosting!

Divide your tulle into two one yard sections. Split each section so you have 4 1-yard sections.

Cover your surface with clear packing tape. You could tape to a piece of cardboard if you don't want to tape to the table. Join the long edges of one tulle section and use your low temp glue gun to draw over the joined loose edges. Make sure the packing tape is below the tulle to protect your surface. The hot glue will join both edges, as it will go through the tulle. Do this until you've created a long tube. Stuff the tube with polyfill and glue one end shut. Repeat with all four sections. Place the closed end of one section in the open end of the other until you have one long section of stuffed tulle. Use copious hot glue to attach the frosting tube to the top hoop frame and if needed small bits of hidden duct tape. Swirl the frosting in a spiral, gluing it to itself. Scatter pom poms on the frosting, attaching with the hot glue for sprinkles.

The Cherry Hat

Get your styrofoam ball and put a skewer in it to hold onto. Paint the ball red and set aside. Glue a small amount of polyfill to the stocking cap. When the ball is dry, use a one inch screw to pierce the hat. Remove the stick from the ball and fill it with hot glue, then screw onto the screw. Poke a pipe cleaner into the cherry for a stem and secure with hot glue. Use a few pom poms to decorate the hat.

Finished!!