Positively Creative: BooBahBlue Made Us Custom Star Wars Halloween Costumes

Confession: We are OBSESSED with anything that has a theme and Halloween is on the top of that obsession list in this house.

As many of you have seen from my Instagram story antics, Johnny has ventured deep into a love of Star Wars this year. When he has imaginary play he’s starred in almost every role. Yet the only title he has given to his little sister without fail every single time is the role of Jabba the Hutt. 😆 It stuck. So much so that he asked if Coco could be Jabba the Hutt for Halloween. HOW COULD I SAY NO?  The visualization I had of me pulling a wagon with a sitting infant in a big ball of green made me howl. DONE. We’ll pay for her therapy later.

Johnny asked to be an Ewok so that I he could carry a stick and I, as Leia, could feed him treats. Also done. 😆 I searched on Etsy for an Ewok costume and BooBahBlue’s was the most impressive with that furry ear hair popping through a delicate hooded fabric. Very realistic. I frantically messaged her my want of an infant Jabba desires and she not only made it happen beyond my expectations but she listened to my wants of thin fabric since we’re still in warm weather in October and showed me samples of how she would create it.  The customer experience was impeccable and so was the product. As a huge cheerleader of creative entrepreneurs making unique products, I knew I had to show off these costumes well before Halloween!  

How did BooBahBlue start?

I started BooBahBlue when my son was born. I am not a fan of teddy bears, ❤️... ducks, typical baby prints... so I started making my own bibs and burp cloths in modern prints for me. As others were interested, I started selling in local shops, then found Etsy. Halloween rolled around and I made my son his first costume, the lion. I hadn’t even thought of making them for sale, but was excited about the idea of having a job I could do from home to raise Riley, so I listed it just to see if there was any interest, just 2 weeks before Halloween, and I instantly sold 20! 

Why kids costumes? 

As the years followed and I would make him a new costume, I would list it, and add the next size up... I made my own patterns based off Riley, so as he grew, so did the costume line. The name comes from Riley.. as a baby we called him boobah, and his middle name is Blue. Which is why it’s also always been kids costumes... I was making them for my own child.

We are Halloween obsessed over here!  What’s your family’s halloween tradition?

I love Halloween...it’s my favorite holiday... I love costumes, getting dressed up, I love going all out, but I am the only one in my family that is passionate about it. Riley likes Halloween and has come up with some pretty creative costumes that I don’t have in the shop, but these days it’s more about the candy than the costume for him. So I usually inspire a costume theme with a gang of girlfriends/moms and we go all out together and take the kids trick or treating. Last year we all dressed as men, lol... photos in my IG feed. Normally I would decorate the house, but we are in a rural community, and kids go to town rather than door to door.

What’s a day in the life of creating for you?

A day in the life of creating... during this time of year is pretty crazy. As soon as I wake up I’m at the computer, checking messages and orders, packing, shipping and starting right in on cutting and sewing. I work usually until midnight, I try not to go past 1am to keep my sanity. I used to have occasional help with cutting and some sewing, but for the last 2 years, it’s just myself making nearly 1000 costumes per season. I usually have a podcast or movie going to help keep my attention from wandering off to the other 100 things going in my brain... lol. In the off season is when I can have fun imagining new costume ideas and finding materials, creating their patterns and figuring out how to make them efficiently.

What’s your favorite costume to create?

I do love creating custom orders, it’s a fun challenge! Making your Jabba The Hutt was a completely different costume for me, and maybe one of my favorite. I’m a “puzzle person” so I love the challenge of trying to figure out how to make it work. I am not a professionally trained pattern designer or seamstress... I am self taught beyond home economics class in middle school... so sewing out patterns to create 3D shapes is challenging for me. I also made a custom ET costume once... it was sooo hard! I definitely undercharged and vowed to never do it again 😂. I’m not sure what makes me positively creative... in fact, I don’t generally think of myself as such. I think of myself as being resourceful and someone who believes if someone else can do it, why can’t I? I’ve never been afraid to try, and when I see something I like, my first thought is “I can make that," or at the very least have fun trying. I’m one of those people that is never bored.

What makes you positively creative?

I am often inspired by other people’s creativity. I would love to make insanely intricate costume, one of a kind pieces. I think it would be so fun. But for my shop, I decided to focus on costumes that are easy to wear, affordable and timeless. Which is why I don’t have many novelty costumes in my shop except Mushu the dragon, though I have made plenty of Ninja Turtles, Paw Patrol, and video game characters upon request. Part of my mission was to make costumes that one could keep for their grandchildren to wear, just as my mom kept my handmade costumes and clothes that were passed to Riley. I just thought it was so special that he could wear a pair of my shoes from the 70’s or knit hat... I guess I’m nostalgic, and I feel like that is something being lost in our culture... everything is new and disposable, it holds no memory or meaning. I want to keep that tradition alive and make timeless pieces that last.