When my grands were little, I made wreaths to fit their heads like a crown. For our grandson it was ivy and a few white flowers. For our granddaughter it was lots of bright pink and white flowers. They had lots of fun with those! I just made a soft wire loop out of floral wire and then used green florist's tape to stick the flowers on them. Each one took maybe 15 minutes.
I'm not handy, so had to ask a friend to help a few Halloweens ago when my daughter (who turns 26 this year) wanted to be Tinkerbell. My friend used an old oversized cotton t-shirt. She cut a few triangles out of the hem, and one of the triangles filled with glitter was Tink's "fairy dust." Another piece, pinned to her hair, was a cap. I can't remember how we did the wings; I think pantyhose or net and metal coat hangers, strapped on with a length of cord or something similar. A length of the cloth, also cut from the t-shirt hem (it was a really long t-shirt to start) became a sash. All my daughter needed was a pair of green tights to complete the costume. And dress shoes or simple ballerina style slippers, of course.
A pretty skirt can be made from tulle and elastic hanks. Measure the length you need of the tulle (it even has sparkles in it now), measure your child's waist, cut the elastic large enough to sew or tie an overlap and thread this through the top of the tulle or overlap the edge of the tulle to make a casing for the elastic and thread the elastic through that and tie. This makes a very pretty skirt that a small child can pull up herself. Take a plain t-shirt the colour of the tulle and paint a design with glitter paint. You have your own little princess. T-shirts are cheap when purchased in a thrift shop. Shops like Fabric Land carry lots of different tulles and they go on sale around October for Halloween.
I can sew, so I took our daughters old prom & bridesmaid dresses out of the closet & took them apart. I remade them into play dresses for our 4 yr old granddaughter. I had to buy some trimmings, but they were all recycled. We put them in a big flowered storage box along with some bead jewelry and plastic high heels. It was her birthday present. Sometimes she would take them along in a plastic bag to the babysitter and the babysitter asked if I would make some for her because they were a big hit with the little girls. I said - sure, just bring me some old prom dresses - but she never did. When our granddaughter outgrew them, they were packed away for her little sister.
Start at yard sales. I once bought 3 boxes of dress up clothes for $8.00 at a yard sale(was a daycare). Dollar stores are good too.
To make costumes, look at what you have (that you will never wear) and deconstruct and make your own pieces by cut and glue or a more permanent option:sewing. Fairy wings are so easy to make with wire hangers, nylon stockings and ribbons. youtube may have a tutorial. good luck
Last week I saw fairy wings at our Just a Buck store. I would start there (your local dollar stores). Look for nightgowns and slips at Goodwill etc. I've found lingerie to be great for fairy and princess costumes. Sometimes they can be gathered and pinned into a cute style. Sashes and ribbons can cover the pins.
You can make a princess crown out of a bleach bottle. Mine was exactly the right size for my daughter. For the crown, cut a crown shape from the bottle (after washing thoroughly, of course), leaving the circular shape. I machine sewed glitter rick rack around the crown, following the points. I also used jewel look buttons - poked the shank through the plastic and secured on the back with a twist-tie. The kids used that crown for years in playing dress up. Enjoy this time!
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