Edward ScissorPaws held by Kim Boggs

Ever since I started needing a service dog, I knew Halloween would be annoying with people asking me about my dog. So I decided we would always wear duo costumes so people would focus on the costume instead. I had another costume in mind for Halloween this year, but Danny Elfman brought Halloweentown to the Hollywood Bowl this year, so I decided a Tim Burton character was more appropriate.

I wanted to re-create the scene in Edward Scissorhands where Kim wants Edward to hold her but he can’t, because of his scissors. She then puts his arms around her anyway and they share a warm embrace. My dog is small enough that I can carry her everywhere so this seemed like a natural choice.

I had ideas for everything immediately, except for the scissors. I considering trying several different items-including silver hair clips and cardboard cut outs painted with acrylic. I couldn’t fathom not using actual scissors so I ordered the smallest and safest ones I could find. I had help breaking them apart and removing the handles.

The true fans of Edward Scissorhands knew who I was supposed to be, but anyone who saw my dog knew instantly that she was Edward ScissorPaws. A lot of people wanted her photo and though at times she was too happy to believably pull off the stoic look that Edward is known for in the film, she would play the part for the photos!

Edwards Wardrobe

  • I repurposed a pair of leather pants to make the base of her costume.
  • I used a few of my belts, suspenders and some studded leashes I bought from Joann Fabrics to wrap around her.

Edwards Hair and Makeup

  • I bought a punk rock looking dog wig.
  • I added a few extension clips to the wig to create the lower hanging dangling pieces of Edward’s hair.
  • I bought temporary hair spray paint from Party City to spray it all black.
  • I used corn syrup and a blow dryer to style it into Edward’s shape.
  • I purchased pet safe paint to make my dog’s face look more ghastly like Edward’s.
  • I used white to create the base color. It didn’t show up quite strong enough on her blonde fur, so I added corn starch on top.
  • I used purple to create Edward’s purple lips.

Edwards Scissors

  • I put my smallest black socks on all 4 of her paws and tied flat shoelace ribbon around them to hold them up. I cut open the socks for the back paws for her comfort.
  • I ordered elementary school scissors online because they were more on the dull side. I broke the blades apart and removed 3 of the handles.
  • I used grey acrylic paint to paint the remaining scissor ahandles.
  • I used hard wire to tie them all together and put the handle through a hole I cut in the sock and wired the scissors to the sock. I left enough space for my dog’s paws to not be affected.

Kims Costume

  • The dress was created as an off the shoulder shirt with short sleeves.
  • We sewed non-functional buttons to the front to match Kim’s dress.
  • We created the bow with fabric and wire to keep the shape.
  • The bottom half of the dress is made of a fabric used for veils that I purchased on etsy.com
  • I wore a petticoat underneath to create the bell effect.
  • I wore vintage white pumps.
  • I bought the wig from Arda’s wigs and trimmed the bangs and clipped the hair up like Kim’s.
  • I used grey acrylic paint to paint my heart pendant to match Kim’s.


Coolest Homemade Costume Contest 2023

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