My TRASHionista

I don't normally blog about my kids' school/events/lives, but this post sort of fits in well with this blog's main idea... DIY crafting/decorating.

My fifth-grade daughter had to complete a "Trashion Show" project for a grade near the end of the school year.  Meaning, she had to create a costume/outfit made entirely out of used products/recycled items with certain guidelines (no adult-products, no glass, at least three different types of materials, etc.)  She took it very seriously.  The day she got the information/rubric, she came home off the bus with ideas.  

At first, she thought she wanted to be a piggy bank, but after realizing how difficult it would be to find something that big and bulky, she settled on her second favorite idea... a viking.  I thought maybe lots of girls were talking about this idea... but she was the only one at the show.  Wonder if we had just watched How to Train Your Dragon that week?  LOL

That afternoon (with 6 weeks left to do the project), she sat down and Googled viking women.

She drew out the costume design, and it seems like weekly she added more accessories.

We were done with it 2.5 weeks ahead of schedule.  Yes, she is as impatient as I am.

I helped her with cutting with an Xacto knife and hot-gluing, but the design is hers.  I was so impressed.

Here she is a few weeks before the show, at home, and before she added the shield and cape to the ensemble.  Love how that pink plastic wrap added a girly touch.

She was careful to make sure no other clothes showed (except the shorts... and that was to make sure nothing ELSE showed.)  BTW, that was not in the rules, but she wanted a full costume, not just something thrown over an outfit.  Same with the shoes... most kids wore their own shoes, gussied up a bit.  She made these with braided grocery bags and a piece of cardboard.

The rubric required her to have at least three pieces... main clothing and two accessories.  She made a hat, a vest, a shirt, a belt, skirt, shoes, shield, and a cape.  (Couldn't do an axe... no weapons allowed.)  Included were paper towel rolls, a huge box, foil, plastic wrap, rope, old painting tarps, a plastic lid to a disposable cake container, cereal boxes (belt), grocery bags (belt and shoes), and pop bottle lids (shield and hat).

At the show, there were Musketeers, fashion models, Martha Washington, robots, PacMan, a clown (winner), and lots of athletes.

Unfortunately she didn't win any of the top four prizes.  :(  I was a little bummed since she put so much time and effort into this.  Believe me, until it was done, she talked about it daily.

But both her spirits (and my own) were lifted on the way out of the auditorium as parents and teachers came up to her and said she should have won.  LOL  She took it all very well, and was a good sport.  I was so proud of my girl!!!  

{can't say "little girl" anymore... she's only 1.5 inches shorter than me!!}

Sometimes I sit and wonder how on earth I ended up with such awesome kids!!

People say she's a mini version of me in appearance, but I'm starting to see a lot more of me (creativity, math-minded, craft-lover) coming out in her as she gets older.  Love it!  Isn't being a mom fun... love watching them grow up?  

Then I stop and realize, "No!  I want my baby back!!!"

I heard a rumor that this was the school's last year for the Trashion Show... not sure if it's true or not, but I'm thinking this would make a fun summer project.  Give each kid a pile of recyclables and tell them to create a costume out of it.  My second-grade son had to use recyclables this year to create a "creature".  That would be fun for the younger ones.

Maybe a miniature town?  Maybe a statue?  

Hmmm.... neighborhood Trashion Show?  Maybe with a theme?

Maybe the mommies and daddies can enter too... now THAT would be fun!

Oh, so many maybes!