As I was sitting in the theater watching the new X-Men movie I had a brainstorm that Emma Frost would be the perfect use for a stack of old CD's I was trying to find a way to recycle. This is an incredibly simple costume but much more time consuming than I had planned. And in hindsight there are a few things I would change which will be in here as well. All in all I loved the costume as did most of the people at the parties but not as many people saw the movie as I thought so I got mistaken quite a lot for a human disco ball, lady gaga, and Brittany. -- You take your chances.

Step 1: Gather Materials

I used
a white cheerleader leotard (with snap crotch - very important if you want to use the bathroom).

Dance leggings also white - if I were to do it again I would change these, they were initially selected for the thinness of material, which I liked but next time I would get ones that didn't fit quite so well. The problem comes in that once you get the CDs on there is no real good place to grab them to yank them up if they are a tight fit. So although I could get them on perfectly without the CDS it was a bit of a challenge with.

Quick Grip Glue - I went through about 4 tubes I think

pliers and or tin snips

A bunch of old CDs the number you need will vary depending on height width, coverage etc. I probably used about 50

** a note on the type of CDs - I started with old professionally made CDs like old installation discs and old music CDs that were no longer playable these worked great - then I tried some old discs that I had burned myself and no longer needed. These were trouble. although I think you can use them the major problem is that the silver part peels off, so if you try to use the kind of disc you can burn yourself you should only cut the CD- do not bend it - and you should only glue to the side without the silver.

Optional - Blonde Wig, Spirit Gum

Also helpful objects - but not necessary
Towels and plastic bags

Step 2: Destroy Your CDs

If you are using professionally created CDs you can either cut these or shatter them. I found the quickest way was to shatter them, but you have no control over size or shape and this method creates a lot of very small pieces which I didn't wind up using - in the end I was using both methods alternately depending on what I needed.

Shatter-grab close to the edge of the CD with the pliers grab the other side in your hand, Place in a bag to contain flying shards (I used a cloth grocery bag) bend until it snaps. *** Some CDs are bendier than others and some will not shatter - these will have to be cut.

Cut - Using tin snips or anything else strong enough to cut through a CD cut the CD in to pieces of the desired size and shape.

Step 3: Prepare the Material

Now you need to know where not to glue. Basically I glued everywhere EXCEPT the butt and crotch of the leggings, this way when the leotard was on top it was not two layers thick of CDs. Also then I could unsnap the crotch and sit on just the leggings to drive to the party.

So in order to figure out how high up to go I put on both articles with the leotard over top of the leggings.

Then take a marker - the lighter the better- and make a dashed line that follows where the leotard leg holes meet up with the leggings.
This is just a rough guide so if you are a little off with the reaching behind your back you will still be okay. Or you can have a trusted friend help with this step to make it much easier

Step 4: Make a Fake You

In order to maintain the stretch in the fabric I stuffed each part of the suit as I worked on it. Basically I rolled up towels to be the approximate width of my arm or leg or waist etc, which ever part I was working on covered it in a plastic bag and stuffed it into the fabric. You could also make a duct tape dummy or any other means you come up with to hold the fabric stretched while working.

Step 5: Glue Away

All that is really left to do now is glue. Take your pieces of CDs put a spot of glue on the back and press to the material. Arrange in whatever pattern you like.

I just used a dot of glue in the center of each CD. This way the edges were not tacked down and could overlap when bending or when the costume was not in use. Some fell of during the party but not enough to make a difference.

Once they are glued on let it sit for 15 minutes or so at least and then gently work your hand between the fabric and the glue to loosen the material from being glued to the plastic, it should come off the plastic bag pretty easy. I found grocery bags are easier to get loose than target bags.

Then unstuff your costume

Step 6: Trim Excess Material

Once it is covered use scissors to trim off any excess material. I wanted it to look like I was not completely changed so I cut off the end of one arm and one leg off short this way I could also leave my face fairly normal.

If I were to do it again I would make the cut not so straight across, maybe more of a diagonal to make it look a little more fluid.