Duds n Suds

My friend Kelly and I have participated in Rock Bottom’s Annual Halloween costume contest for the past three years.  And every year we’ve left victorious. Ok, this year’s competition wasn’t that steep. We were like two of a few that actually dressed up. But hey, a win’s a win. Here’s our costume this year.

It’s a washer and dryer! Last year was the boombox and the year before was a clothesline. Our costume criteria:

1) It has to be something that two people can work.

2) We can construct it using little to no money.

3) It’s unique.

Kelly was even interviewed about last year’s boombox for The Des Moines Register’s Juice.

Here’s what we used to make the washer/dryer combo:

• Two large moving boxes from the Home Depot. I think they were $1.27 a piece.
• Three cans of green spray paint at about $3.44 a piece (we went for the retro look here).
• Two pieces of acetate, which is a thick plastic film that we used for our doors.
• Some scraps of leftover cardboard and matting.
• Images found from online searches made for our clothes pictures and knobs.
• A couple pieces of Velcro (so our doors could open and close).
• Tape and hot glue.

Kelly and I wanted our washer and dryer to look like what our grandmothers use to have (or still do), so we went with the avocado green for the boxes and brown for the plate for our knobs. We later added a sock of Kelly’s sticking out of my door, and Kelly added a bottle of detergent to set on top of her washer…just for an added touch of authenticity.

And the rest is history.