Do It Yourself Costume Ideas Part One
Welcome to the first of a three part series on do it yourself costume ideas. We'll take you through some simple do it yourself costume ideas that are sure to be fun to make and a big hit with your friends.
Due to the popularity of this subject, we will divide these articles into the following topics:
Easy do it yourself costume design for kids. These require little skill and almost no purchasing.
More complicated do it yourself costumes for kids. For these you will need a little bit more know how (like how to use a sewing machine) and perhaps some supplies that you won't just find around the house.
Humorous and original do it yourself costume ideas for adults that you can embellish upon for a real bang, or use as last minute throw togethers in a pinch.
Without further adieu, here are some easy and adorable do it yourself costume ideas that you can use for your kids or baby. If you are not the creative type, don't have time to spend conjuring up magnificent costumes, or were only told about a Halloween party moments before the bus is scheduled to arrive, use some of these fun costumes to dress up your kids. Most of these costumes can be made with items found regularly around the house.
~ Are you in a real hurry? Grab a black marker and outline your child's eyes with dark "P"s. when people inquire into his costume, have him explain that he is dressed as black-eyed peas! ~
~ A gypsy is a fun and relatively easy costume to throw together quickly. Everyone has some old beaded jewelry and clothing that is far too flashy to ever really wear out. The more layers of scarves, skirts, kerchiefs, and necklaces the better. Finish up with some excessively applied make-up, small round glass bowl that could pass for a crystal ball, and your daughter is ready for some palm reading. ~
~ The mummy is always good for a laugh both for the kid wearing the costume, and his friends. Wrap your child from head to toe in toilet paper. Don't be cheap with the stuff, and double layer often to ensure that this costume doesn't unravel or shred a short time after it is applied. And don't forget to leave a space for your child to see out of! ~
~ A yellow rain slicker and baseball cap make for an adorable duck or canary. Draw big friendly eyes on the front of the cap, and carry around as many little rubber duckies as you can find for added humor! ~
~ A quarterback is a corny pun for the kid who is too cool for dressing up. Simply print out a blown up picture of a quarter (back side, of course!) Cut the quarter out, and tape it to your child's back. Simple, yet funny. Or, if your finicky child is a girl, tell her to stop being a smarty pants, and check out this costume. Use a pair of plain pants, no frills. Tape Smarties all over the front and back of the pants, and see who can figure out the real smartie pants! ~
~ Here's an easy witch's costume idea. Dress your child from head to toe in black garb. Buy a cheap old looking witch's hat, or make one yourself from black construction paper (cut out a circle with a hole large enough to encompass your child's head for the brim of her hat, and a triangle for the actual hat. Roll the triangle-shaped piece into a cone shape, and tape from the under side onto the circle). Rub baby powder into your daughter's hair for the real spooky witch look. ~
~ Spa girl is always a fun costume idea for teenagers. Wrap her hair in a towel, wear a bathrobe over her clothes, open flip-flops on her feet, and smear a thick coat of mud (chocolate pudding is a fun substitute, but gets uncomfortable quickly, so only use if this is for a quick laugh) all over her face. Carry around an extra towel and a Vogue magazine for added effect! ~
~ For younger children, animals like a mouse, a lion, a bear, a dog, or a cat never get old. Simply dress your child in a shirt and pants/skirt colored to match that of whichever animal he likes (example: a mouse should be gray, and bear could be brown, dogs and cats are much more flexible). If you have an animal mask lying around the house, use it. Otherwise, print out the face of your animal from the computer. You can do this in color, or print in black and white, and let your child color in his own costume. Safety pin a stuffed sock or pantyhose to the seat of his pants for a tail. Gloves and socks of a matching color complete this adorable and cuddly costume. ~
~ A zebra is another fun and easy animal costume. Use a long sleeve white pullover shirt and pants. Using a thick black marker, draw horizontal stripes all over the entire length of the clothing. If you have face paint, color your child's face white and put some black lines on, as well. ~
~ Here's one for kid of all ages. Dress in purple or green shirt and pants. Blow up approximately twenty balloons, again, either purple or green. Use a string to tie together rows of four, three, and two balloons. Safety pin these rows in descending order from the top of your child's body to the bottom. What you have here is an absolutely edible bunch of grapes! If you have felt around the house, you can cut out a small strip and a star shape as the stem for your grape bunch. A little bit of elastic stapled to either side of the felt and secured under your child's chin will keep this in place atop their head. ~
~ For smaller children, use this same concept to create a lively bubble bath. Use white clothing and balloons, and wet and lather your child's hair with real soap! Flip-flops and towel are optional. A rubber duck completes the imagery! ~
~ If you have a little bit of an artist in you (or you can find a print out on the computer!) draw (print) a skeleton body onto white cloth, and cut out. Safety pin, Velcro, or tape these bones onto a black shirt and pair of pants, and your kid is a walking skeleton! For best results, do both the back and front sides. ~
~ For all your little angels, here's a sweet costume. You'll need three wire hangers, some white cloth (linens such as pillowcases work great for this one), a set of white clothing (shirt, skirt or dress, tights and shoes if you have), and glitter paint or markers. Un-curve two of the rounded parts of the hanger, and twist them together to create one piece made from two hangers (sort of like a funny looking eight). Use either one large pillowcase or two small pillowcases (or whatever other white cloth you have) to cover these two hangers. Tie at the center neatly to form the two wings of your angel. Use markers or glitter paint to decorate the edges and draw small circles in the center of your wings. Safety pin these carefully and sturdily to the back of your child's shirt or dress. To create the halo, untwist the entire third hanger. Manipulate the hanger so that one end is circular and the other sticks straight down. Using strong tape, attach the stick end to the back of your child's shirt either on the outside under the wings, or on the inside if the tape is really ugly! If you have a boa from your kid's dress up set this can make a nice addition to the circular end of the halo, but it is not necessary. A small amount of blush applied to her cheeks, and your daughter will look like the angel she really is inside! ~
~ A jack-o-lantern is easy enough if you have any orange felt or cloth. Cut out two pumpkin shapes (as with any cut out shapes, these should be traced before). Draw a jack-o-lantern face (creepy eyes, triangular nose, and crooked smile) or cut out from the cloth to have the black of the shirt and pants/skirt show through. Attach the two sides of the pumpkin to each other using elastic bands. You can either staple them on, or punch holes, and tie them through. Another piece of cloth or an orange baseball cap with the brim cut off can be placed atop your child's head. Black shoes and socks should also be worn. ~
These are just rough ideas to give your imagination a jog. They may not be the most sophisticated do it yourself costume ideas. You can certainly go out to the store, and purchase gear that was professionally sewn and packaged. If you don't want to spend the money or haven't got the time to run out, though, these adorable do it yourself costume ideas are great replacements. They are fun and humorous, all that is really necessary to get your child into the spirit of things. So enjoy these simple and entertaining designs! Join us for more costume brainstorming soon!