A little inspiration, a little imagination equal great costumes

A Halloween parade at a popular amusement park provided the creative spark for two girls from Effort.

"We go to the parade every year at Knoebels," says Amy Shupp. She and her husband, Chad, are the parents of 8-year-old twins Emily and Brianna.

"The costumes there are phenomenal."

While watching last year's parade, the girls decided they wanted their costumes for this year to have a theme that would allow them to include their new puppy, Lily.

The girls put their heads together and decided that Emily would be the Grinch and Brianna would be Cindy Lou Who. Lily, of course, would be Max.

Instead of going out and buying costumes, Shupp got creative.

She searched Pinterest, but didn't find a lot of help there when she first looked. She searched online for fabric for the Grinch costume, but found it pretty pricey.

So with the help of her mother-in-law, Paula Gower, who made Cindy Lou's cape, and her friend Shirley Haydt, who made the Grinch's pants and hat to go around Emily's face, she was able to pull the two costumes together.

Having a year to plan helped.

One of the most interesting parts of the girls' costumes might be Cindy Lou's unusual coif.

Brianna has long, thick hair, says Shupp, who combed her hair straight down, then rested a 12-ounce soda bottle on top of her head.

She pulled Brianna's hair straight up and over to hide the bottle, then used an elastic hair tie to hold it up.

To finish the elaborate do, she pulled some hair down on the sides and braided it, then looped it, and using bobby pins, pinned it to the sides.

Shupp says she used hair spray to help keep it in place, but really didn't need too much.

For the rest of Cindy Lou's costume, Brianna wore an old Christmas dress and striped tights.

To finish Emily's costume, Shupp purchased a pair of adult sized gloves at the dollar store, then stitched on some of the Grinch green faux fur leftover from the pants and hat.

Emily's Grinch came to life with a Santa coat and hat.

Shupp says this is the first year they've been this creative, but it certainly won't be the last.

"In the past we pulled out stuff. We've never gone out and did anything creative before, we just pulled from what we had."

She said past costumes have included cowgirls, cheerleaders and princesses.

What made this year even more special, is that the girls came up with the idea themselves, and were really invested in the outcome. When the twins saw the finished costumes, they were thrilled.

"They just lit up, they were so excited," says Shupp.

"When they saw them done and put them on, they just smiled. The comments that they get, just makes their smiles get bigger."

In addition to marching in the Knoebels parade earlier this month, the girls participated in the Eldred Township Halloween Parade last weekend.

"They're already asking about next year."

Although this Halloween is yet a week away, Emily and Brianna are thinking ahead.

"Their little minds are churning already for next year," says Shupp.