This year, on Halloween, I wasn’t quite myself; an otherworldly creature crawled beneath my skin—and could be seen bursting out of certain parts of it! My costume creation, called “Alien Infestation,” took about 3 weeks to bring to extraterrestrial life, and I had a blast expanding my special effects makeup skills during the process. When … Read more
Cousin Itt was always one of my favorite characters in the Addams Family TV series. I really wanted to do this for Halloween this year and soon discovered the only way to do the costume was to build it myself. I’m a really short pipsqueak, so figured I could pull it off. Searching high and … Read more
My costume this year has been quite an experience. It took me a couple months to plan, source materials, and build. I’ve worn it to two parties so far with pretty awesome results. Some people were not even aware that it was a costume. I found it very easy to freak people out by staying … Read more
This is my Queen of Hearts costume created this year for a gala dinner at a crafting weekend away. It is the highlight of the annual weekend away, and I go to a lot of effort – I love Halloween. I spent over 70 hours creating this, using the SIMPLICITY 3782 “Elizabethan Costume” pattern as … Read more
This Transformer costume idea was rolling around in my head since ever since my sister bought a used power wheels jeep at a garage sale for my nephew. The basic idea was to cut apart a power wheels jeep (I bought my own, I promise, and used everything I could from it to to build … Read more
As a family of 6 who all love Halloween, I typically begin planning our Halloween costumes a year before Halloween and begin gathering items around August. We have been the Wizard of Oz characters, Scooby Do characters, Disney characters, insects, and the Peter Pan cast. We have always wanted to do Alice in Wonderland, but … Read more
I created Firebirds for Halloween 2013. I got the idea from the movie The Labyrinth. My husband (Tim) is the male bird, and I (Shellaina) am the female bird. I pieced these costumes together myself. I started with red body suits as a base. I then sewed together my red and yellow body suit that … Read more
How do you write how-to directions for a 1 year build process? Well, you really don’t. The first step is making the commitment that no matter what, you will put in the work to do the process the right way, and not just rush to finish by a certain deadline. I missed Halloween last year … Read more
Growing up as a kid I would sit down on the floor with my action figures and watch Mighty Morphin Power Rangers with my brother. Ever since I saw the episode The Mutiny and Lord Zedd came up on screen I was instantly fascinated with the character. I always wanted to be Zedd for Halloween, … Read more
This is me in my Mrs Captain America costume. I was inspired by the Avengers this year and liked the possibility of growing this into a group costume at some point. I did start with a pre-made dress, mask and shield for Mrs Captain America but it definitely needed more pizazz! I’ve recently fell in … Read more
This candy witch costume was a ton of fun to design and create! I got to explore my fashion sense, bond with my mother (the Craft Queen), and sew my very first skirt! And to make things extra fun, I counted down the days of October with one small gift to myself each day, just … Read more
I had so much fun making this costume. I pretty much went to every store I could until I had piece by piece (Thrift Stores, Goodwill, Joann’s Fabric, Hobby Lobby Michaels and every Halloween store I drove by). PIRATE: The white and reddish “belt” and the white “belt” around him are actually scarves. The other … Read more