I Love My Mummy

Total Time Needed:: Afternoon Or Evening

This tricky trick-or-treater actually carries his "mummy," rather than the other way around -- her sheet-of-cardboard body is suspended on backpack-style straps.

Materials

Paper towels
Duct tape
Plastic gallon milk jug with cap
Large googly eye
Craft knife
Cardboard shipping tube (around 2 inches in diameter)
Roll of white crepe paper
Pencil
17- by 28-inch sheet of corrugated cardboard (with corrugation running parallel to long sides)

3 yards of 1 1/2-inch-wide blue grosgrain ribbon
7 feet of 1 1/2-inch foam pipe insulation
18- by 28-inch piece of blue felt
Fiberfill
Adhesive-backed Velcro strips
Safety pins
Permanent marker
FROM YOUR CLOSET OR A THRIFT STORE:
Footed baby pajamas

Instructions

MUMMY'S HEAD: Make a nose out of a wadded-up paper towel. Tape it onto the corner of the milk jug directly opposite the handle (diagram 1). Affix the googly eye with a small loop of tape. With a craft knife, trim the cardboard shipping tube and cut some slits into one end. Place the slit end over the jug's opening and apply tape to each tab. Wrap the crepe paper around the head, securing it as you go (especially at the top of the head and around the nose) by tucking small loops of duct tape under it where needed.
FRAME: Pencil lines 1 1/2 inches in from each long edge of the cardboard sheet, then fold back along these lines and tape the flaps down (this makes the frame sturdier). Use a craft knife to round the corners and to cut slits for attaching the straps and head where shown (diagram 2). Make 2 (2 1/4-inch) slits in the neck tube and slide it onto the frame. Thread the ribbon through the shoulder slits to make 2 straps. Tape on the pipe insulation arms.
BABY: To make the baby carrier, fold the felt piece in half, cut slits for leg holes, and fold a cuff along both top edges (diagram 3). Stuff the baby-pajama legs and waist with fiberfill and thread the legs through the slits. Fold over the sides of the carrier and tape them down in back.
ASSEMBLY: Have your child put on the shirt, hat, pajama pants, and slippers, and then the frame (diagram 4). Tie the waist straps in a snug bow in front and trim any excess ribbon. Trim the frame and lengthen any slits if needed for a more comfortable fit. Secure the mummy head to the frame with extra tape. Attach the carrier to the shoulder straps with Velcro. Drape the robe over the frame and slide the mummy's arms through the sleeves. Hold the arms so they rest on the carrier and trim the length as needed.
Make the hands as shown (diagram 5), then use Velcro or safety pins to attach them to the carrier. Pin the robe closed behind your child's back and at the mummy's neck. Write "I "heart" My Mummy" on the bib with the marker and tie it on.