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Archive for the ‘Costumes’ Category
Monday, October 26th, 2009
We made this lamb, or sheep costume, this year, with about 1,000 large cotton balls, some Elmer’s glue, and an old bunny costume that had belonged to the older children. I liked the fact that we used something with a hood, because I think the hood of cotton balls gives the costume a nice effect. The old bunny costume was a size 8, so I cut off the arms and legs first. And, the older children took turns gluing on the cotton balls, while watching cartoons, or playing board games. I think it took them about 2 to 3 hours over the course of the week to glue on all those cotton balls.
You could use a glue gun, but we simply used craft glue and Elmer’s glue. It is easier to squirt glue over a section of the undergarment, and then press the cotton balls onto the glue. Progress is slow at first, but the end result is well worth it. We then tied a few loose bells we found in our Christmas bin to a piece of pink ribbon, and tied this onto the zipper.
If you would like to purchase cotton balls, Amazon is currently selling a case of 2,000 cotton balls for under $10 (which beats the price of about $1.50 for 100 at the local drugstore).
Tags: homemade halloween costumes for kids, lamb costume, sheep costume
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Sunday, October 25th, 2009
Well, I finally finished the childrens’ Halloween costumes. Our eight year old girl is Mary (from Mary had a Little Lamb) or Little Bo Peep. The 19 month old is the little lamb. Our seven year old boy is Darth Vader. And, our little three year old, here, wanted to be a bat, ever since a real bat found a way into into his bedroom a few months ago.
This was the easiest of the costumes to make. We used hand-me-down black long underwear shirt, and pants. We have tried all kinds of long underwear over the years, and we like Duofold, the best. You can find these at Sports Authority. And, sometimes, on Amazon.com. And, then we used less than 1 yard of black fabric, and 1 piece of black felt. I purchased the least expensive type of black fabric I found (I think it is a plastic derivative, and was about $2 a yard). But, if you don’t frequent the fabric stores, I think you could cut out wings from a black garbage bag. I made a template for the mask, and will upload it here.
The great thing about this costume is that it is easy to make, and comfortable to wear. Our little guy wore it practically all day, for the Halloween parade, and then while playing in the backyard. I did not attach the wings to the pants (only the shirt), and I think this made it more wearable.
What you’ll need:
1 black pants, and black long sleeved shirt
1 yard black fabric
Baby pins, or needle and thread to attach the wings to the shirt
1 template for the bat mask: bat_mask_template.pdf
1 piece of black felt, or ability to print mask template on cardstock
What to do:
To make the 2 bat wings, you will first need to take a few measurements. The top width of the wing will be the length of the shirt’s arm. Measure the shirt’s arm, from armpit to cuff. This will be the width of the wing. (For example, I cut mine only 12 inches for our 3 year old).
The top-down length of the wing will be the length from the armpit to your child’s knee. Now, you can cut out the wings from the fabric using these measurements. Draw 1 wing on the fabric using a white chalk, crayon, or other light pencil. You know your width, your length, and draw the curves/points by hand. (To give myself a little extra fabric to work with for sewing wings to the shirt, I added 1 inch seams to the top and side of the wings before cutting them.)
You can sew the wings onto the shirt with rough large stitches. It does not need to be perfect because you will remove the wings after you are done with the costume. (This took me about 10 minutes total). You could also use baby pins to pin the wings onto the shirt.
For the bat mask, you can can print the bat mask template, provided here, on a heavy cardstock (it needs to withstand the pressure of string running through it to tie around the head). Or, what I did here, is I printed the template on regular paper, traced it onto a piece of black felt, and cut out the mask from the felt. I then made two small slits (do not make holes/just tiny slits) on each end. I tied two long scrap pieces of black fabric through each slit to tie around the head.
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Friday, October 23rd, 2009
To make the mailbox costume, print this file for printables: mailbox_costume_printables.pdf
I know, everytime I pass by a real mailbox, I can’t help but laugh, thinking about this costume. Seeing a mailbox now reminds me of the costume, instead of the other way around. I have a boy, that is obsessed with mailmen, UPS men, FedEx men, DHL men, and all their respective trucks. I don’t know how this idea came to me, but I thought it would be easy enough to make a mailbox, with an old cardboard moving box, some blue paint (or blue poster board), and some great graphics. I had these graphics made for the costume. And, they are super nice, high-quality, and you can print them right here. We ended up using this costume for play for months and months after Halloween. Our five year old was very obsessed with this thing. (The costume is essentially, a box. I would not recommend it for children under 7, because it can get heavy lugging a box on one’s shoulders. )
What you’ll need:
1 or 2 old moving boxes, depending on size
Packing tape
4 pieces of blue poster board, or blue paint
1 printable file for postal box graphics: mailbox_costume_printables.pdf
What to do:
First, you need to create the shell from the cardboard boxes. I wish I had taken pictures during the process, but I did not. Start with one box, open up the ends. I taped one of the ends (4 flaps) open, to give the mailbox more height. Do the same for the opposite end, leaving one flap alone. This flap will be the front of the mailbox, that will open and close. Now, cut an extra length of cardboard to add to your box, to create the curvature at the top of the mailbox. It will all look very messy, with the random cardboard and tape, but it will all come together after the blue shell comes on. Reinforce the mailbox with tape.
Next, paint the box blue, or, tape on blue sheets of poster board (this was a shortcut I favored). And, attach the templates here to complete the mailbox.
Tags: homemade halloween costumes, homemade halloween costumes for kids, mailbox costume
Posted in Costumes, Halloween, Printables | No Comments »
Thursday, October 15th, 2009
Print this file: bird_mask_printable_template.pdf
Sometimes we just need something for the children to do on a rainy day. Here is a bird mask template. The children can print, cut out, and decorate. A fun craft for Halloween, or anytime of year.
Tags: bird mask template, homemade halloween costumes for kids, how to make a bird mask
Posted in Costumes, Crafts, Halloween, Printables | No Comments »
Wednesday, October 14th, 2009
We made this bunny costume out of a few old undershirts, blanket batting, and a few pieces of pink felt. I always think that there is something sweet and innocent with making a costume. This is a fairly easy one to make. We used a white ballet leotard shirt and pants. And, found the white cap, made by Zutano (they make basics in different colors).
What you’ll need:
2 old boy’s sleeveless undershirts, or t-shirts with arms cut off
Fabric glue, or Elmer’s glue
1 bag of blanket batting, or quilt batting, the rolled kind, not the loose stuffing (Walmart or Michael’s, around $10)
2 pieces of pink felt (around $1 for felt pieces)
1 piece of white felt
Long sleeved white shirt, white pants, and a white hat/cap
Needle and white thread, or 2 baby pins
What to do:
If you can’t tell from this image, the bunny body is very puffed. Make this part first. You are going to attach the two undershirts together, around the neck, and around the armholes, and then you will stuff it with blanket batting. You can sew the two neck holes together with needle and thread (does not need to be perfect; you can teach a 7 year old to do this). Or, you can attach the neck holes together with glue. And, you want to do the same with the armholes. If you are gluing, instead of sewing, you will want to do one side, and then the other, allowing time for each side to dry first. Now you have a piece that is open at the bottom. Stuff the shirt with batting, and then sew shut at the bottom.
Cut a piece of batting to glue onto the exterior of the puffed body. Glue onto the body. Once this is dry, cut out a circle from one piece of felt, and glue onto the piece’s front, or tummy. Now, you are ready to make the ears for the hat. Cut out two ears from the white felt, and two pieces of smaller pink ears from the pink felt. Glue the pink onto the white, like shown in the picture. Sew these bunny ears onto your white hat. Or, attach them with 2 baby pins.
Tags: bunny costume for kids, homemade halloween costumes for kids
Posted in Costumes, Crafts, Halloween | No Comments »
Tuesday, October 13th, 2009
I made this Robot costume for the kids to share one Halloween a few years back. It’s a super easy costume to try on your own, especially with the Robot printable templates I provide here: If you open the .pdf file, it will have the artwork for the eyes, nose, mouth, and chest pieces. No one ended up wanting to be the Robot for Halloween (a harder costume to walk long distances in), but the children played make believe with it for months and months.
What you’ll need:
1 cardboard box for body piece
1 cardboard box for headpiece
1 printed file with Robot Templates: robot_costume.pdf
Foil, silver paint, or 6 pieces of silver poster board
Black shirt and pants to wear underneath
Packing tape
What to do:
Start by making the body piece. Take your large box, tape one end closed, then from this end, cut out a hole for the head. Then cut out armholes. Reinforce this box with packing tape. Now, make the box that will fit over the head. First secure the shape with packing tape, then cut out a hole for the head to go in, and then reinforce again with packing tape. Cover both boxes with kitchen foil (easiest!), or paint with silver paint, or cover with pieces of silver poster board (this is what I did in the picture). You will need a lot of glue and patience (& time) if you are using poster board.
Print the Robot Template file. Cut out the eyes, nose, mouth, and chest pieces. Cut holes for the eyes. Then glue all artwork onto your robot body and head.
Posted in Costumes, Halloween | 2 Comments »
Friday, October 9th, 2009
A few years ago, when we were expecting our third, the older children and I really got into the Halloween spirit, and made half a dozen costumes before deciding which ones to actually use on Halloween. This is a skeleton costume we made, after being inspired by the idea (though not the price) from a Pottery Barn Kids costume that year. This is a great and fun costume for the children to make themselves. I am uploading the entire Skeleton, or Bones, file. All you or the children need to do is print them, cut them out, and pin them to black pants and a black shirt. While you may use any black pants and shirt, I highly recommend a pair of tight-fitting long underwear. I find these every year at sports stores that sell ski-wear.
What you’ll need:
Black long-sleeved shirt
Black pants
Fabric glue or preferably small baby pins (because they are not permanent)
Two sets of our skeleton printables, printed on your home computer using white paper: skeleton.pdf
What to do:
Print two copies of the skeleton file, using a black & white or color printer. Cut out the skeleton pieces, and attach to a pair of black pants and black shirt using baby pins. Attach one set onto the front of the black outfit, and another to the back. The outfit will be more durable if you print on a thick white paper stock. Since this is a paper on fabric costume, I found it best to attach the skeleton after the child has put on his/her outfit. It won’t hold up for weeks!
Tags: halloween craft ideas, halloween crafts, homemade halloween costumes for kids, kids crafts, skeleton costume, skeleton halloween costume
Posted in Costumes, Halloween | 3 Comments »
Wednesday, October 7th, 2009
Print this file: knight_costume_printables.pdf
Every Halloween, I try to come up with ideas for costumes for all the children that, I will be able to make, and that are sweet, fun, non-commercial (no Scream costumes, etc.). This is a dragon fighter costume. I had a wonderful designer design these templates for the costume (the printable cut-outs that are used on the chest, and everything used on the shield).The only items we purchased for this costume were the red shirt, and four pieces of yellow felt (both of which I purchased from our local Michael’s, the shirt was $5, and a few extra dollars for the felt). Yes! this is a $7 costume.
What you’ll need:
1 printable file, provided here (for all the dragon, and shield designs): knight_costume_printables.pdf
1 red shirt
4 pieces of yellow felt
Fabric flue, or Elmer’s glue, or needle & thread (to attach the yellow felt pieces to the red shirt)
A cardboard box (or pieces from a cardboard box)
Foil (from the kitchen)
Packing tape
To make the shirt:
From the yellow felt, cut out a square design to go around the ends of the sleeves. Then cut out a triangle flag design to go around the bottom of the shirt. Attach these pieces to the shirt using glue, or needle and thread (you may use Elmer’s glue, but the glue will dry stiffer than fabric glue). If using glue, be sure to place a piece of cardboard in between the layers of the shirt first; otherwise, the the glue can seep through the first layer and glue the front of the shirt to the back. Once glue is dry, print out the design templates provided here. Cut out the dragon design, and attach to shirt using baby pins or glue.
To make the shield:
Using an old cardboard box, or scrap pieces of cardboard, cut out a piece of cardboard, with dimensions of 17 inches across, by 22 inches down. The printable file here provides the red background, the dragon designs, and the yellow and black checked design. Create the look of the shield in the picture above, by arranging the printable backgrounds and designs on your piece of cardboard. Glue these pieces onto your piece of cardboard. When everything is glued, you may shape your shield by rounding off the top and bottom. When finished, cut another strip from your cardboard, that you will use for the handle; the handle will go on the back of the shield. You want this piece approximately 2-3 inches wide, and 6 inches long. Attach to the rear of the shield using your packing tape.
To make the sword:
Cut out two pieces of length from your cardboard to make the length and cross of your sword. Attach these two pieces together using packing tape. Wrap the sword in foil.
Have fun!
Tags: dragon costume, halloween costumes, halloween printables, homemade costumes
Posted in Costumes, Crafts, Halloween, Printables | 4 Comments »
Monday, October 5th, 2009
Print this file: halloween_hats_to_make.pdf
Printable hat templates to match the halloween stationary I uploaded earlier. These are fun for the kids to make. These are also made from original watercolor paintings made just for this purpose. Just print using a colored printer, and preferably on 8.5 x 11 (regular sized) cardstock, or heavy paper. Make sure to click and open the .pdf file, not the .jpg image above, when printing. Cut out the three parts, and attach to each other with tape, or staples, adjusting to fit head as necessary.
Tags: halloween craft ideas, halloween kids crafts, halloween printables, halloween stationary, halloween templates
Posted in Costumes, Crafts, Halloween | No Comments »
Saturday, October 3rd, 2009
I made this skunk costume a few years ago for our third baby, when he had just turned one. I had wanted to make a chicken costume, but when I went to buy yellow feather boas from our local Michael’s, I only found white and black ones. So, I bought white and black with the idea of making a skunk costume instead. It is very easy. I ended up making this without sewing at all. However, if you are planning to make this costume, I highly advise to order the feather boas from a party supplies store online – inventory at local stores is very unpredictable (and more expensive).
What you’ll need:
14 black feather boas, and 4 white feather boas (more for larger costume sizes)
An old onesie or long tank top
Fabric glue
2 pieces of black felt
Black fitted pants, black long-sleeved shirt, and black hat
Piece of cardboard (old or used is fine)
4 baby pins
What to do:
1. To make the skunk body: Remove sleeves from onesie or other shirt. Place cardboard in between the two shirt layers (to prevent glue from seeping to other side of shirt). Start with the front of the shirt. Start gluing the black feather boas onto shirt, going up to down, and down to up. Let dry overnight. The next day, flip shirt over, and finish gluing feather boas to back of shirt. Using white feather boas to create a white skunk stripe down the back. Let dry overnight.
2. To make the skunk tail: Cut a tail from one piece of felt. Glue black and white feather boas onto this tail piece to continue the pattern on the back of your skunk. Let dry overnight. Attach to main body of skunk with baby pins.
3. To make skunk hat: Use the other piece of felt to cut two ears (two triangles). Attach these ears to the black cap with glue, baby pins, or a little needle and thread.
Posted in Costumes, Crafts, Halloween | 1 Comment »
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