NASHVILLE, Tennessee — For Joanne Ball, coming up with crazy costumes starts with an idea.

"Some days I think of it the day after Halloween," she said. 

This year, it's a ladybug.

 "[I use] poster board, tape and paint. I like really shiny paint to put a gloss on the costumes," she said. 

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This year's ladybug costume is just one in a long line-up of killer looks.

Now, nearly 13 years after her first project stepped onto the front lawn, kids and parents know, this is the house to stop by to check out Ball's life-sized toothpaste, alligator or giraffe creations. 

"Nobody can see me. I'm an introvert. But I'm inside the costumes and I feel free to run around and make funny noises. I get a big kick out of it," she said, "I love when the kids come. They'll want to take their picture with me."

Not all creations come together easily, but Ball insists, problem-solving is part of the fun. Once they take shape, she says, her costumes take on a life all their own.