B.I.D.: Wicked Witch of the West

I've had a black dress hanging in my closet for a couple of years just waiting for the Halloween when the stars aligned, or, rather, when I could fit into it on October 31st.  This year was that magical year, and when no one else wanted to take the part of the wicked witch (gasp! THE BEST PART!!!), I selflessly took the role. Granted, I also played Regan in a college play, so maybe I'm just inclined to wickedness.

I bought a hat for $1.50 and some hairspray for $2.00. The rest of the costume was just waiting for me in our house, including sheer green vintage gloves. Serendipitous....or suspicious. Not everyone has all the makings of wickedness right at their fingertips, even down to striped stockings. (The funny thing is that they'd fit a ten-year old and I had to pin them to my skirt at knee-height to keep them from falling to my ankles. Oh, the things we do for fashion.)







I didn't wear the chin and nose on Hallowe'en because I ran out of time to paint them, but they worked pretty well on this post-Hallowe'en run.  I made them the week before by rubbing on a petroleum jelly base and using some of this stuff someone had given us, along with aluminum foil and toilet paper (only the finest ingredients) to shape them on my face to dry, and then I used some of these, also hand-me-downs, to stick them on my face. It's funny that UGlue is no longer available for sale; mine might be as old as the hills. Maybe if UGlue had been marketed as fake nose and chin securers, it would have been a financial gold mine! It secured the prosthetics well and peeled off easily. Five stars!  Oh, and I used a flat bead for the wart.

I asked Millie to take the following picture because a few seconds prior, Aidan looked thoughtfully at me and said, "You look verra pretty, Mama. Verra, verra pretty." That boy could charm the warts off a witch.

The only thing I wouldn't recommend is painting parts of your face with acrylic green face paint (but it wasn't face paint; it was regular acrylic paint) before you go to a church gathering. Scrubbing your face raw is the only way to get it off.When I die from lead poisoning, now you'll know why. Take heed.

Lastly, I feel the need to let you know that, just like Maleficent, modern knowledge has revealed that The Wicked Witch of the West was really quite a charmer. See? Harmless as a butterfly.

p.s. It was sprinkling when we took these pictures, and I didn't even melt.