Make Your Own Halloween Costume

For a clown outfit, you should start by looking for a colorful pair of sweats pants. If you don't have any, see if there is some other baggy clothing lying around. Since clowns have big buttons on their coveralls, use colorful mesh dish scrubbers which can be found in your kitchen or the grocery.

For your hair, get a wig because it will take more than a day to get off the color on your hair. Get some white makeup for your face and then find a pair of goofy shoes to complete the outfit.

We all know tin man from the wizard of Oz. To dress up just like him, you will see cardboard which will be most of your costume. To make yourself look like him, you can spray the cardboard with silver spray paint or attach aluminum foil all around it.

For your hat, see if there is an old funnel in the garage. You will need black shoes for your feet and silver eye shadow for your face. Another option will be to make your own make up using silver face makeup with cold cream and food coloring. Don't forget to put black eyeliner to draw lines from the corners of your mouth to your chin.

Making a pirate costume is probably the simplest of them all. For this you will need a pair of black or brown hospital scrubs. You then cut the top portion as well as the sleeves to create a vest. To make it look good, sketch and skill and crossbones onto white felt then paste this on the back of vest.

Now put on a white shirt and just wear a pair of jeans. Since not all pirates have wear a hat, you can wear a bandana instead just like some of the characters in Pirates of the Caribbean.

Lastly, to be a gorilla, you will need a lot of black fur and then sew this up to your top and bottom. Since the mask is hard to make, it is best to just get the costume from the store.

Once you have finished planning what you are going to wear, it is time now to look at what accessories there are available. If there are none, then you have to buy it at a thrift shop or consignment store.

Making your costume for Halloween will surely save you a lot of money since most costumes cost more than $20 a set. The best pat is that you don't have to feel guilty when you decide to throw it away since you can probably make a new one the following year.

Are Halloween costumes too expensive for you? Or, are you tired of getting into the skin of the same old fashioned ghosts and ghouls and are looking for something unique this year? Do you want to have a look that no one else has? If you said "YES" to any or all of these questions, then creating your own costume is the way to go!

Even if you have never done it before in life, creating your unique Halloween costume is not that hard! If you follow my step by step approach, you will have a scary and frightening costume done up in no time. However, it is important that you start the process right now! Don't wait until it is too late!

1. Sketching the personality: The very first thing you need to do is to make a fair sketch of your Halloween character on a piece of paper, because anything you write on paper would get imprinted on your mind. Once you have a clear idea of the type of costume you need to make, the road would not seem too difficult to tread into!

2. Collect bits and pieces of clothes: One reason why I asked you to start early is that you would need some time to collect bits and pieces of various clothes that maybe lying inside your house. If you have wedding or bridesmaid clothes, prom gowns, shocks, towels, ties, bag cloth pieces, formal suits, casuals, gloves, etc., pick them up all!

Don't be too judgmental at this stage: pick up everything that catches your eye. You never know which piece of cloth would come to your aid when making the costume. Also, don't worry if all the clothes you collect are not of the same color; if you are a little creative, you would find it easier to make a monstrous out of multi-colored clothes than with same-colored clothes!

Do you have some old ladies in your neighborhood who you believe may have outdated clothes in their cupboards or closets? If yes, you can visit them and ask them to lend some of those clothes to you. With old, antique clothes you would be able to make a costume of a Victorian or early 20th century Halloween monster. Now, doesn't that sound fun and exciting?

3. Don't be a perfectionist: Far too many people waste their precious time making their Halloween costumes look "perfect". Believe me, you don't need to have a perfect costume; it just needs to REPRESENT your character, even if in a VAGUE manner! That is right, it does not have to match the character exactly!

Just start making the costume and I am sure you would get plenty of creative ideas along the way. You can even ask your friends to give you a helping hand in need; remember that two heads are always better than one!

4. Get the extras: Would a monster look frightening without his weapons? No. So, along with creating a monstrous costume, you also need to buy the accessories that you believe should be a part of the character the costume represents. Accessories can be anything ranging from Halloween contact lenses, make-up, masks, toy guns, etc.

Wearing a Halloween costume is one of the most precious memories any child could ever have. This is because she or he will be able to attend a Halloween party, join other kids in trick or treats, and boast to other kids that his or her parents sew a Halloween especially for this occasion.

Sewing basics for Halloween costumes

Many sewers spent so much time on their craft. Because of the amount of time they have spent on this activity, they were able to discover on their own the secrets, tips and techniques behind any successful needlework. But since you cannot spend the rest of your life just to learn sewing, it is best to enroll in a simple sewing class that can teach you the basics of sewing, the tools you will be needing, and just about everything you want and need to know about the craft. Or since you will just be sewing a simple Halloween costume for your child, you can just do some research on how to go about in sewing.

For beginners, one of the most important things to consider is the type of sewing that he or she wishes to do. Usually, sewing is done using the hand alone because this gives personal touch and displays the sewer's talent in sewing. But, since the sewing machine is now available to make the work easier, faster, accurate, and convenient, more and more people prefer using it. For hand or machine sewing, you need tools such as different types of needles and threads.

Once you have decided whether you will be sewing by hand or by machine, the next step is to determine what type of costume you will be sewing for your child. For boys, the most common Halloween costumes are the "Old West Sheriff" which is macho, easy, and comfortable; the "Captain Jack Sparrow" which is the perfect pirate costume for little boys because of the comfort it brings; "Zorro" which can come in many variations depending on the size, age, and height of the boy; the "Harry Potter" costume which come with cool reading glass, cape and etc which are popularized by the Harry Potter movies; and the "Batman Begins Scarecrow" which is the safest yet scariest costume for little lads.

For little girls, the most popular Halloween costumes would be the "Grecian Princess" which make the little girls look like pretty Grecian goddesses; the "Pretty Princess Witch" which involves a friendly yet colorful witch Halloween outfit; the "Pirate Lass" which can be a little edgy but comfortable and cool to look at; the "Woodland Fairy" which is a safe yet amazing fantasy costume; and the "Can Can Dancer" which is fun and pretty to look at once worn by little girls.

For deciding what will you be sewing and the costume design, you can now proceed to looking for fabrics that will fit it. Since it will be clothing for kids, the most common fabrics used are made of cotton because this is hypoallergenic, strong, and easy to work on compared to other types of fabrics. But, you may also opt for other synthetic fabric types for curtains and mates such as wool, silk, satin, and others depending on the type of clothes or items you will be sewing.

The next step in sewing Halloween costumes for kids would be choosing patterns for your sewing project. Sewing patterns usually are composed of simple sheets papers that are marked with specific measurements to achieve the proper size and fit for the one who will be using it. After getting everything mentioned, you can now start sewing the Halloween costume for your beloved little one.

If you're thinking of making a homemade Halloween costume rather than buying one this year, you've got lots of options.

And one of the great things about making your own costume is that you've got complete freedom to do what you want, instead of having to work with whatever some designer felt would be the best (or the cheapest) way to create a costume. Let's look at some ideas for putting together your outfit this year.

The first thing you'll obviously need to do is decide exactly what kind of Halloween costume you want. Some things are going to be easier than others to make yourself, and in some cases making your own costume may not be the best option. Knowing that before you start will save you a lot of time and hassle.

But assuming that your costume is something that can be put together at home, the next thing you'll have to figure out is whether you already have all the stuff you need to create it or you're going to have to do some searching to find it.

In a lot of cases, a homemade costume can be put together with old clothes and stuff that you might already have hiding in the back of your closets. But if not, thrift stores and consignment stores are one of your best sources. They often have eclectic selections of stuff, with clothes from all kinds of eras. So if you're looking to recreate a 70's disco costume, an 80's heavy metal outfit or some other fashion from the past, you can often find just what you need.

Accessories are another thing that you can often find in these stores.

If you need certain types of jewelry, hats, wigs or something else to finish off your costume, you may be able to track them down locally as well.

But if not, another option is to buy certain things for the costume while making others. If you need specific accessories, or even a mask to complete the effect, you might want to buy those while making the rest of the costume yourself. For these types of items, you're usually going to find the best selection and lowest prices on the internet, from websites like BuyCostumes.com and HalloweenExpress.com.

They have much better selections than most local stores, and if you're looking for specific items to finish off your costume, chances are they're going to have them.

What are some of the types of Halloween costumes you could make yourself?

If you've got an old military uniform around, you could put together a soldier costume. Or if you've got an old plaid shirt and some ratty looking pants, you could add some hay and be a scarecrow. Or get a puffy shirt and an eyepatch, and you're most of the way to becoming a pirate.

The possibilities are really only limited by your imagination, so start planning your homemade costume now to get a headstart on Halloween this year.

Pirate costumes will be huge this year. You need baggy black or brown pants cut below the knee. Pirates wore baggy white shirt that are cuffed up. A solid baggy vest, unbuttoned, would be worn over the shirt.

Add a bright scarf tied around your waist. Army boots, large gold hoop earrings, sword, eye patch, hat or bandana tops this outfit off. If you live in a colder region you might want to look for a long black coat.

The ghost is the oldest and easiest ghoulish outfit around. You need a large white sheet that completely drapes your being. With arms down cut any excess off the bottom up to an inch from the ground. Cut out eyeholes.

White eye make up keeps the ghost entirely white. You can carry a pumpkin or maybe a glow stick for that added touch.

With the right straw hat and a little straw, a scarecrow can easily be done. Oversized, old and sloppy is the key. You will need old overalls or jeans that you can patch with bandana type material, a flannel shirt, work boots and work or garden gloves. Be sure to stuff straw or raffia inside your shirt and leave some hanging out wherever you can.

A blackbird attached to your hat, silk daisies or a corn cob pipe would be good accessories. Paint your face base white and proceed with black paint for a triangle nose and circle eyes. Paint your lips a bright red extending the make up beyond your lips for a straight smile.

If your kids want you to host a Halloween party then this guide is really going to help you! You might have been saying, "No!" so far however, with this guide which walks you through planning and hosting a Halloween party you will amaze your kids, your guests, and even yourself!

Hosting The Ultimate Halloween Party

As soon as this year's festivities are done, start thinking about next year! Once Halloween is over, it's time to hit the discount stores. Often, outfits and accessories can be picked up for half the price or less.

Thinking ahead on what your needs will be the following year will save you a ton of money, especially if you've got more than one person in the family dressing up. Don't forget the garage sales too.

This past Spring I bought my son's character costume at a garage sale for two dollars. Outstanding savings I must say. Clearly, with a little imagination and a bit of planning ahead, you can create a costume that the kids will love and so will your checkbook.

herever you choose to look you are sure to find many different Halloween jewelry looks. You don't have to spend a lot of money to show your Halloween excitement this time of year, either. Take a look at your local discount store or dollar store and you'll see that you have many options to choose from, none of which cost a lot.

A pair of small, dangly jack-o'-lantern earrings and a matching necklace or bracelet are perfect subtle accessories during the autumn season. Or how about a light scarf featuring small pumpkins or ghosts loosely tied around your neck?

Halloween jewelry also makes for great trinket gifts at Halloween parties, whether for adults or children. A visit to your local dollar store will give you many options to choose from., and you won't end up breaking the bank. Choose fun, age-appropriate jewelry, and place these small prizes and festive Halloween themed treat bags.

One way to let kids have some fun with Halloween jewelry is to help them make their own jewelry by stringing candy corn and popcorn onto a length of yarn, using a blunt yarn needle. With your help and supervision, this could be a fun Halloween party activity and the kids can end up eating what they make!

Get creative and you will find many uses for fun, inexpensive Halloween jewelry! Give small gifts away at the office, your kids play group, or at your next PTA meeting and you will automatically receive lots of brownie points from all your friends.