Haven't you always wanted to go to a Halloween party dressed as a legume in 1930's garb with a monocle? With some basic materials and a little bit of patience, you too can make an 8-foot tall Mr. Peanut costume!
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Signing UpStep 1: Get materials and figure out scaling ratio
Your first step is to get the materials necessary for this project. Beyond that, it might be good to figure out the dimensions of your Mr. Peanut. I found an official image of Mr. Peanut and measured various distances along his body (length of body, width of head, width of torso, size of eyes, etc.) with a ruler. I then tried to measure similar distances along my own body so I could figure out a scaling ratio. I determined that a scaling ratio of about 20x was good from a ~4-inch high image.
Materials:
For the structure of Mr. Peanut:
--a length of pigeon wire (around 10' long x 3' wide) -- hardware store
--a roll of duct tape -- hardware store
--2'x2' piece of cardboard -- old box lying around
For the papier mache covering of the structure:
--several pounds of old newspapers or scrap paper -- free at most newsstands (old newspapers)
--big bag of flour -- grocery store
--a little bit of salt and cinnamon -- mom's spice rack
--plastic disposable table cloth -- grocery store
For the details on the exterior of the structure:
--two paint brushes (one for papier mache, one for paint) -- hardware store
--one can orange spray paint -- hardware store
--one can of white primer spray paint -- hardware store
--pint of white paint -- hardware store
--pint of black paint -- hardware store
--a large magnifying glass -- pharmacy/hardware store
--two sets of cheap, white, women's stockings
For you to wear under the Mr. Peanut structure:
--white gloves -- costume store
--black shoes -- you don't have black shoes?!
--spats -- costume store
--black tights or black long underwear bottoms -- department store
--black long underwear top -- department store
--black cane -- borrow from gramps while he's not looking
Other equipment you will need (these don't get used up in the process):
--tape measure/ruler -- hardware store
--hot glue gun -- hardware store
--scissors -- hardware store
--wire cutters or snips -- hardware store
Materials:
For the structure of Mr. Peanut:
--a length of pigeon wire (around 10' long x 3' wide) -- hardware store
--a roll of duct tape -- hardware store
--2'x2' piece of cardboard -- old box lying around
For the papier mache covering of the structure:
--several pounds of old newspapers or scrap paper -- free at most newsstands (old newspapers)
--big bag of flour -- grocery store
--a little bit of salt and cinnamon -- mom's spice rack
--plastic disposable table cloth -- grocery store
For the details on the exterior of the structure:
--two paint brushes (one for papier mache, one for paint) -- hardware store
--one can orange spray paint -- hardware store
--one can of white primer spray paint -- hardware store
--pint of white paint -- hardware store
--pint of black paint -- hardware store
--a large magnifying glass -- pharmacy/hardware store
--two sets of cheap, white, women's stockings
For you to wear under the Mr. Peanut structure:
--white gloves -- costume store
--black shoes -- you don't have black shoes?!
--spats -- costume store
--black tights or black long underwear bottoms -- department store
--black long underwear top -- department store
--black cane -- borrow from gramps while he's not looking
Other equipment you will need (these don't get used up in the process):
--tape measure/ruler -- hardware store
--hot glue gun -- hardware store
--scissors -- hardware store
--wire cutters or snips -- hardware store
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Just a few notes to add for others who may decide to make one:
1. instead of wooden dowels, I used PVC piping.. my pipes were less than 2 feet long, but I drilled holes every 3-4 inches along the pipe and used wire ties to fasten the pipe to the mesh inside the head.
2. don't be too liberal with the use of duct tape.. the paint doesn't adhere well to it and will flake off..
3. the brim of the hat was very difficult to keep shape as the cardboard tended to soak up the water from the paper mache' and it would bend. I had to make about 5 or 6 triangular shaped cardboard wedges and used them to hold the brim of the hat up while it dried..
4. for the monacle, instead of buying a magnifying glass, I used a ~4" diameter plastic lid and cut the center out and painted it black. I took a piece of clear plastic and trimmed it to fit inside the lid, then put a piece of white paper behind it.
5. We didn't paint "Mr. Peanut" on the hat, as the picture of the tin of Planters Peanuts we had didnt have the text. And it was pretty apparent who he was... :)
I'm going to post another instructable this year on how I made a costume for "The Count" from Sesame Street....
Cameron
ME IS ALLLERRGIICC TO PEANUTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
well, at least i used to be...