DIY, Costume's for Mary Poppins and Bert

"Wind in the east, there's a mist coming in, like something is brewing about to begin."

Mary Poppins and Bert arrived at 17 Cherry Tree Lane just in time for
Miss Isla Jayne's 3rd Birthday party.

People have been asking Rachel and I where we got the decor and costumes or how we made this or that for Isla Jayne's party. I must say Rachel did just about everything. Wow, she's amazing! Oh sorry, I may be bias as her mom but she is very talented. I only helped make a hat stand and put together Bert and Mary Poppins costumes, which was a lot of fun for me. I would like to show you how the costumes were made and a little about there impact at the party as well.

Mary Poppins knocked on the door with carpet big and umbrella in hand. Isla Jayne opened the door shy and surprised. I believe she thought Mary Poppins and Bert had truly come to her house for a visit. It did not take to long however before she realized who we were. She looked at me (Bert) and said," Gigi, What are you doing!" We all laughed and I gave her a big hug. Rachel had Mary Poppins music playing in the back ground, so Bert asked Miss Isla Jayne if she would like to dance. We had a wonderful time dancing and singing around the room. Then Isla went up to her Aunt Felicia (Mary Poppins) and gave her a big hug. Felicia then asked Isla Jayne if she would like to talk to her parrot. That was the cutest thing ever!

For Mary's costume I took the easy way out. Yes, I ordered it on Amazon. It came pretty much complete. All I needed was, black boots, a large bag for Mary Poppins's carpet bag ( I had both of these things in my closet) and a straight handled umbrella. The costume came with Mary Poppins parrot head which I just slipped over the  handle of the umbrella. The costume also came with a hat, that I embellished a bit. To do this.......

I gathered a few flowers that I had previously purchased from the dollar store and some cherries that I bought from Amazon. Using my hot glue gun I glued the flowers and cherries onto the hat.
When I finished crafting the hat it made me giggle. I could not believe how simple it was to turn a plain black hat into a whimsical and such a perfectly Mary Poppins hat.

Bert's costume was so much fun to put together. It did not cost much at all and I got to challenge myself by figuring out how to make Bert's chimney sweep broom.
I stated by watching the original Mary Poppins movie and studying Bert. I watched how he moved and what he wore.
Bert needed a black blazer, a black pair of pants and a dark color shirt. I had the pants and shoes in my closet. For the shirt and blazer I made a quit trip goodwill. About $5.00 later I had what I needed. The dark colored briery I had but if you need one there is a good chance you could find one at goodwill or a consignment shop, if not there is always Amazon, Lol.
For Bert's red tie, I took an old tie that I had apart. I split the seems, opened the hole tie and separated the white backing from the red silk fabric. That way I had a thin yet tie shaped piece of fabric. If you do not want to do that, a red scarf would work or a simple piece of red fabric cut into a long rectangle would work great. I noticed that Bert had been very busy cleaning chimneys and he looked quit dirty. To accomplish this look I used artist charcoal. I rubbed the charcoal onto a piece of paper and then onto my skin. If you do not feel comfortable doing that, dark eye shadow would work just as well.
I always like a challenge and to try to make things out of what I already have. The chimney sweeps broom gave me that opportunity. I was able to make the chimney sweeps broom in less than an hour and I did not need to buy anything.
You could make this broom too. Here's how....

You will need a grass broom (I used an old one that I had on hand ), a can of black paint and a good pair of snips.

Start by cutting all the rope or fiber from the broom being careful not to cut the grass on the broom. That will come later.

Once you have all of the fibers cut, remove them from the grass part of the broom. I raked them away using my clippers.

Now it is time to start bending back the broom grass.

Place the broom handle side down. Taking a small section at a time begin pushing the grass down.

Cut away the grass in a circle so that it will look like a chimney sweeps broom.

Spray the handle of your broom first. Then let it dry.

Once your broom handle is dry, stand your broom on end. Pull the 1st layer of grass down. Spray paint it, let it dry. Repeat this process until all of the grass on the broom is black.

When your paint is dry turn your broom over and give the top side of your broom another coat of paint.

There she is! You did it! Bravo!

A simple photograph can speak volumes.
At first the little girls were shy about Mary Poppins and Bert. By the end of the party little Macey was standing like she had seen Bert stand and Isla Jayne was holding Mary Poppins's Parrot. Each child wanted to talk to Mary and her Parrot and Bert's broom was a big hit too. The little girls seemed to enjoy holding the chimney sweep broom and pretending they were Bert just like me.
This was such a special time with so many heart warming and special moments.
I wish I could put into words what it meant to me to stand back and watch as each of the Mom's interacted with their daughters. To see the joy on both the mothers and daughters faces as the little girls experienced new things. As I think back on the party it is still bringing a smile to my face as my heart sings.

"To give is to receive,

 not because you wished to receive 

but because it came back to you

 without expecting it."

Gigi