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"Lili" in a mobile-garden
Posted by
JLoFriday, October 15, 2010
To complement the article on costumes for people using wheelchairs, we decided to actually construct one of the costumes from the list of costume ideas. Of course, to do this, we needed someone who was willing to dress up in one of the costumes. Luckily, we were able to find two very willing participants, Lynda and Liliana. Lynda, Liliana’s mother, whom I spoke to first over the phone, was extremely excited over the idea of us creating a costume for her daughter, a nine-year-old wheelchair user. She said that she and Liliana, or Lili for short, (pictured at right) were so happy to be part of this and really appreciated that we were doing something for the kids. Happy that she and Lili were so excited, I asked what costume Liliana would like to be. Out of the five costumes I had found she decided to be the mobile bed-of-flowers.
That Wednesday I and two of my co-workers, Janelle and Chris, arrived at Lynda’s house. We had come that day only to take measurements for the costume but decided that it would also be a good idea to make a video of the steps of the process to give guidance to other people who wanted to become the mobile bed-of-flowers. From the moment we walked in, Lynda was extremely gracious, thanking us for doing this for her daughter and offering whatever help she could for the project. Liliana showed the same excitement and was extremely patient throughout. After many bloopers and outtakes, we got the footage we wanted, and the measurements I needed.
Using an ordinary piece of cardboard I made the base of the costume and cut it to fit the measurements of Liliana and her wheelchair. Using green tissue paper, which I attached to the cardboard using wallpaper paste, I was able to make the grass for the garden. I also used popsicles sticks and paint to create a white picket fence for the border of the garden. The flowers were the trickiest part, but I created them using paper flowers I bought which I then glued to green pipe cleaners. After punching a few holes in the cardboard, I stuck the flowers in and secured them using hot glue. After adding a few butterflies to complete the scene I had finished the garden.
The following Wednesday we went back to Lynda’s house to present Liliana with her costume. We hid it under a sheet to surprise her. When we lifted it off, Liliana’s face lit up and she exclaimed that she loved it. I was happy that she truly seemed to like it. After taking a few pictures with Liliana of the completed costume, we thanked Lynda and Liliana for all their help with the project; however, before we left, Lynda presented us with gifts to thank us for everything we did. This included a flower which she gave me because, since I had turned her daughter into a flower, she thought I should bring one home with me. These gifts from Lynda really touched me and it was nice to know that what we did meant so much to them. After saying our goodbyes we went home, with our own thoughts of what we’re now going to be for Halloween.
Watch the video of how Liliana's costume was made!
See more Halloween photos of Liliana. Post your own too!
See more Halloween costumes for people using wheelchairs.
Amy
Communications Intern
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