Make Your Own Costumes, Masks and Face Paint

Fancy Dress Fun for Halloween, Mardi Gras, Playtime

Kids (and adults) love dress up, masks and face painting, especially during Halloween or Mardi Gras. It's easy and inexpensive to make your own costumes and makeup using materials you probably have on hand in your cupboards and closets, or even in the recycle bin.

Using cardboard boxes, poster paints, string and fabric scraps you can make quick and easy costumes that are also fun to create.

Quick Tips

When making your own costume, be sure to pick materials that are fire-resistant.

Costumes for outdoors in cool weather should fit around the body loosely over a jacket or sweats.

For the very young, forget the mask and apply a bit of non-toxic makeup or use face paint. (Use the non-toxic makeup recipes below!)

Use snaps, ties or hook and loop strips to make dressing and undressing easier.

Halloween Fire Safety

Find It Fast

Linked List of all Sections in this Lens

Extreme Home Made Costumes and Ideas for DIY Masquerade
Halloween Makeup Recipes
Mask and Costume Links
DIY Costume Videos
Halloween Party Resources
Sandwich Board Costumes - Cardboard Boxes Come to Life
Costume and Dress Up
Tattoo and Body Paint
Yoo Hoo - Say Hello!
Funny Animal Noses!

Extreme Home Made Costumes and Ideas for DIY Masquerade

Pushing Masquerade Creativity to the Max

If you like to sew, you can find patterns by all the big sewing publishers: Simplicity Costumes

Need Ideas?- Here's a List of Suggestions

Halloween Costume Ideas

Coolest Home Made Costumes - thousands of photos from folks just like you!

Transformers - watch the video!

DIY Halloween at MAKEzine - ***warning: some really gross but highly creative costume pix at this link***

Halloween Makeup Recipes

Monster Mash Goop and Other Cool Things

Aged Grey Hair, White Skin
Apply a bit of hair gel or slick conditioner where you want to make grey hair, then dust on some baby powder. To make a ghostly pale complexion, apply cold cream to skin then carefully dust on pale face powder or baby powder. Be sure to avoid inhaling powder during application - use a small amount of powder and a cotton ball to dab on gently.

Face Paint
1 tsp corn starch
1/2 tsp water
1/2 tsp cold cream
2 drops food coloring as desired

Mix all ingredients together well and apply.

Clown Make-up Base
2 tsp white shortening
5 tsp corn starch
1 tsp white all purpose flour
glycerin
Food coloring

Mix shortening, corn starch and flour until well blended. Add a few (3 or 4) drops of glycerin to make creamier texture. Apply to face and neck.

Bloody Mess Goop
16 ounces corn syrup
1 ounce red food coloring
1 or 2 drops blue food coloring
1 ounce water
Evaporated milk (optional)

Mix the water, food coloring and corn syrup together to a sticky syrup. Add the milk, a few drops at a time until you get a "blood" consistency. This makeup will stain clothing and skin, so be sure to use cold cream on skin before applying and don't get it on any clothing you don't want ruined.

Another Bloody Mess
Easy as 1-2-3
Mix chocolate syrup with red food coloring until you get the color you desire. Looks real, tastes great, stains clothing.

Home Made Body Glitter
This recipe for glitter gel is easy and fun for creating glamorous sparkle effects for drama queens, fairy princesses, Tinkerbells, stage drama or just for fun.

Quick Disguises
If you just need a quick mask, you can print and cut out an instant mask, or find one in the Mask and Costume Links.

Face Painting Tips
Step-By-Step Guide Makes Face Painting So Easy Even Non-Creative Types Can Look Like Pros. Put the finishing touches on costumes
in just a few minutes with the easy instructions in this book. Includes 5 face-paint patterns: Princess, Tiger, Dog, Bunny, Butterfly

Mask and Costume Links

Masks to print, masks to color, masks to sculpt - costumes from simple to extreme!

Cool Masks for Mardi Gras, Halloween, Masquerade

Family Costumes and Party Decorations: The season's most popular costumes, decorations, masks, makeup and masquerade accessories - Halloween, Mardi Gras, mascots, performance costumes, theatricals and much more. All sizes, from babies to senior citizens - PETS, too!
Lion Mask to Print and Cut Out: Printable lion mask in full color.
Halloween Baseball Costume: Make a Baseball costume using the "sandwich board" method
Costumes for Disabled Kids and Adults: Great ideas for incorporating a wheelchair into a costume design.
Make Your Own Fairy Wings: Great how-to lens on making beautiful fairy wings for costume, parade, stage or just for fun.
Masks to Color, Decorate and Cut Out: Monsters, animals, funny eyeglasses, faces and more.
Make a Mask of Medusa: Cleveland Museum of Art, printable with full instructions for making a Medusa paper mask.
Instant Clown Mask: Print and cut circus clown mask.
How to Face Paint: Learn how to face paint - face painting designs, face painting ideas, courses, tips, articles and face painting videos
Mask-Making Made Easy: How-tos for mask-making plus pictures of finished masks, by Relache on Squidoo.
Masks to Color at Phee McFaddell: Butterfly Mask Coloring Pages
Quick Creative Halloween Costumes - Costuming: Quick Creative Halloween Costumes for busy families on a tight budget
Homemade Baby Bird Costume: Adorable feathery bird costume for a toddler. Photo and how-to included!
Make sure Your Infant Has a Unique Baby Halloween Costume This Year!: Make or buy a cute Baby Halloween Costume with the tips in this lens.
Halloween Costumes: Ladybug - Kaboose.com: Sandwich board type costume example - ladybug
Homemade Halloween Costumes - easy and cheap!: Nothing beats homemade when it comes to Halloween costumes.
Halloween Mask Projects: Halloween Craft Masks
Application of stage makeup: Application of stage makeup: here are basic techniques for both men and women.
Pirate Face Mask to Color: Free printable pirate face coloring picture, large enough to make a pirate mask.
Print and Cut Eyeglasses Collection: Eyeglasses to print and cut out and make funny masks or scrapbook picture frames for Halloween, Harry Potter, masquerade, Mardi Gras or scrapbook fun.
Paper Masks Printable Craft Sheets (free printables to color, cut, paste): Free printable paper masks for play time, masquerade, Mardi Gras or Halloween costume crafts - full color masks, mustaches, eyeglasses, coloring masks!
Pirate Hat and Eye Patch Craft Sheet: Ready to print and cut Pirate hat and eye patch paper craft sheet printable.
Pirate Costumes: All things pirate and costume!
Pirate Costume Skirt - Free Pattern: Free directions to draft your own pattern and how to sew a pirate costume skirt.
Preschool Face Masks: Printable face masks - animals, insects, clown, santa and many more, plus felt masks to make.
Masks for Trick-or-Treating: Printable Halloween masks, some in color and some ready to color in.
Revenge of the Halloween Masks: Cool print out Star Wars masks.
Cute Animal Costumes: Easy animal costumes for small children and infants.
Animal Masks to Print: Animal Masks to Print - Many different face masks!
Magical Kingdom - Paper Craft - Clown Mask Maker: Faces, eyes, hats and all the parts to design your own clown mask.
Free Craft WIZARD CAPE: Free pattern and full instructions, created by Ms. Brenda
Fun Fabric Mask Project - Creative Mask Making for Kids: Project by Molly J. Anderson-Childers - How to make fun fabric masks for Valentine's Day and other occasions, plus a creative writing mask making activity.
Make Your Own Paper Claws: How to Make Origami Paper Claws for a costume.

DIY Costume Videos

Halloween Costume Ideas, Fairy Wings, Threadbanger

Runtime: 4:08
26195 views
10 Comments:

Halloween Costume Ideas, Pirate Costume, Halloweeny Wednesda

Runtime: 5:07
19881 views
10 Comments:

Halloween Costume Ideas, Mummies, Threadbanger

Runtime: 2:33
15086 views
10 Comments:

powered by YouTube

Halloween Party Resources

Printables and crafts for your Halloween party - invites, decorations, favors and activities.

Print and Play Halloween Party Games: Games to customize, print and play at your Halloween party.
Halloween Party Decorations: Decorations, favors, props and complete party theme kits.
Halloween Party Invites: Printable party invititations from HP.
Pumpkin Carving Templates: Print and carve patterns to make the coolest creepy gourds for your Halloween party.
Make your own Halloween mask: Learn how to create a photographic mask - faces, animals - your Dad, or perhaps the cat?
SCARY Masks - Haunted Paper Toys: 3-dimensional frightful paper masks to print and assemble.
Monstrous Books Party Favors: The fabled Necronomicon, a mysterious book only glimpsed in
the darkest of legends. Use for party invites or favors - eeeeek!
Make a Face Pattern: Use this Make A Face bag pattern to create a mask instead of a treat bag. Just follow the instructions for making eyes, noses and mouths using paper scraps, then attach them to a sturdy paper plate. Fasten the plate to a wooden craft stick to use as a mask - add eye holes if you wish. You can also use these wacky faces as decorations!

Sandwich Board Costumes - Cardboard Boxes Come to Life

Craft Project One Day, Costume the Next

"Sandwich" board costumes are simple to make and easy to wear. You make 2 panels, a front and a back, and then attach them at the top to make shoulder straps. Add another set of strap ties at the waistline to hold together, and you're good to go.

One year my older daughter was a Jack O Lantern. We made the front and back from cardboard box panels, painted them orange and added the face features. She wore a green hat, jacket and pants. Another Halloween her younger sister wanted to be a rainbow. We drew and painted the rainbow front and back, then made a tie-on headband with the sun's rays. She wore sky blue clothing for the rest of her costume.

Here are the basic instructions for making these simple cardboard costumes at home:

Materials

Large, clean corrugated boxes

Use old moving or furniture shipping boxes, or buy new flat boxes from department stores or moving storage companies.

Permanent Broad Tip Marker

Poster Paints

Sturdy Twine, 1-inch Ribbon, or Braided Cord

Directions
Cut boxes apart to make 2 large flat panels.

Draw a basic design shape on the front panel and cut out using a craft knife or heavy duty scissors. Trace the front onto another cardboard panel to make the back and cut the back out. (I like to mark FRONT and BACK on the inside of each panel with pencil to avoid confusion.)

On the outside of each panel, outline main design areas with the marker, then paint inside the lines as desired. If you cover the lines, just paint them in with black later if you need them.

Allow paint to dry thoroughly, then make a pencil mark at the top center of each panel on the back side.

Shoulder Straps
Using the center pencil mark and side edges as guides, mark a small hole for each shoulder strap at the top edge of the front panel. Position the marks about 1 inch down, midway between the center mark and each side edge.

Check that the marks are roughly in the middle of wearer's shoulders. Adjust position if necessary, then punch or cut out 2 small holes on the front panel.

Lay the back panel underneath the front panel with painted sides facing out. Make a pencil mark through the hole in the front panel to the back panel. Using guide marks, cut or punch the 2 holes in the back panel.

Cut 2 pieces of twine 24 inches long. Lay the front and back together with painted sides out, unpainted sides together. Starting at the front left edge, thread 1 piece of twine through the front and back and knot ends loosely together. Repeat for the right side.

Try costume on wearer; adjust strap lengths and conceal loose tie ends inside panels in the back.

Waist Strap Ties
Have child put on the sandwich with shoulder ties in wearing position. Repeat the shoulder strap steps to mark, cut and tie a pair of waistline ties. Trim excess lengths from ties

Costume and Dress Up

Resources for Making Your Own Masks and Costumes

Tattoo and Body Paint

Henna Patterns - Mehendi - Henna Tattoo Designs: Professional henna artist designs for hands, feet - wonderful designs to copy and color!
Pirate Captain Makeup and Accessories - How to: Pirate Captain - Face Pack Art Craft - Pirate makeup instrucitons.