11 Meet Mo {Watch out, he bites!}

I am so excited to share this project with you today!My son and I have been working on decorations and favors for his fourth birthday party.  We decided that we wanted to have some sort of photo booth type thing.  As we were brainstorming I told him I thought we could make a cool monster that him and his friends could stand with for pictures.  But I didn't stop there, I decided to up the anti and made it so not only could they stand NEXT to the monster, but they could also look like they were being EATEN by the monster!

Without further ado, meet Mo (short for Monster, in case you were wondering)!

He is a purple polka-dotted, human eating fiend!  If you bring him chocolate cake he will be your friend and let you give him a hug, but beware!  If he deems you unfit he won't hesitate to gobble you up.

Now I know your little one will want there very own Mo, so let's get right into a tutorial, shall we?
Here is what you need:

Spray Adhesive2 yards of fabric (or more depending on the size of your monster)Sheets of foam for eyes and spotsTHICK Cardboard (or a sheet of wood would work as well)ScissorsKnife or razorbladeDuct tape or Hot glue (optional)

Draw out the outline of your monster on your cardboard.  I used a piece of cardboard that came in the bottom of a chair box, so it was double-thickness and super sturdy.  If you are only creating a stand-up Mo, not a hungry Mo, regular cardboard would be fine.  For a hungry Mo you want something sturdy that will hold up to little hands pushing and pulling.

I used my carving knife (brand new out of the box... I got it for my wedding... 8 years ago. SHHHHhhh!) to cut out Mo's shape and mouth.

Spray your adhesive all over the front of your cardboard and let sit for a short period (follow your the instructions on your spray adhesive).

Lay the fabric across the cardboard and stretch across and smooth it onto the cardboard.  The great thing about the spray adhesive is you can pull up the fabric and reposition as necessary.

Flip the cardboard over and spray the back edge and sides.  Stretch your fabric around the edges and stick to the back. 

Cut off access fabric.

Flip back over and put a slit about an inch or two from the top of the mouth.  Spray the inside and back edges of the mouth and fold it up and stick to the back.  Next cut out the middle of the mouth, leaving about 2 inches along the rest of the mouth.  You will need to make some notches so that you can smooth the mouth out and stick to the back of the mouth.  If you make a mistake you can always use some of your fabric scraps to cover any exposed cardboard.

Next add a black piece of fabric draping down the back so that you can't see through the Monsters mouth.  I didn't have a big enough piece so I stuck two pieces together using duct tape and then taped that to the back, about 5 inches above the mouth.
Lastly, cut out your eyes and dots and use the spray adhesive to stick them to the front of Mo.

That's it!  Now you have your very own monster friend!
Can't wait to get this set-up for pictures during the birthday party.  I think he'll be a hit!
I haven't figured out how I am going to make him stand up yet.  Probably just create some sort of supports, but I'm not worried.  Once I decide what I'm going to do I will let you know!  UPDATE: We cut two pieces of wood at an angle, and nailed into them from the front of Mo (on either side) and covered the nails with spots.  The bottoms were placed snug into the ground.   To see pictures of Mo in action at the party click here!