Author: Laura

DIY Halloween Costume #3 – Gnome

DIY Halloween Costume - Gnome

Hello World,

For the third costume in my DIY Halloween series, I’m sharing my mom’s gnome costume. She wore this back when I was six years old, and still had some of the items to re-create it today! This costume is pretty simple, and would work great for both men and women.

She is just wearing a men’s button up shirt (with a pillow stuff inside to add some bulk), plain pants, a piece of roped tied around her waist (works as a belt and to hold the pillow up), and black boots. Her hat is made with a large piece of paper (from the dollar store) that was rolled into a cone and bobby-pinned to her head. Her beard and wig are from a Santa Claus outfit that my family uses for our annual Christmas party.

DIY Halloween Costume - Gnome

But first, let me take a gnomie.

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We also managed to get a dog halloween outfit on my sister’s cat, Mousy. (She is not enthused.)

Looking for more halloween costumes ideas? Well, it’s your lucky day, because I have all my DIY costumes (and decor tutorials too!) listed here.

Happy Costuming!

DIY Burlap & Lace Bunting

DIY Burlap & Lace Bunting

Hello World,

I’ve been seeing bunting on Pinterest and Etsy lately being used for birthdays and weddings, using fun fabrics or different papers. I made some of my own, but my own spin of it and used thrifted lace trim and burlap.

DIY Burlap & Lace Bunting

I made mine say “Happy Halloween,” but I think I’ll make another set near Christmas too. Maybe even another one that just says “love” for all year round decor.

DIY Burlap & Lace Bunting

1. Gather your supplies: burlap fabric, lace trim, glue (I used Aleene’s tacky glue), scissors, a paintbrush, paint, and alphabet stencils (mine were from this Darby Smart kit).

2. Cut out as many triangles as you need from the burlap. I bought a yard, and used only a third of it for 14 triangles.

3. Place a piece of paper under your first burlap triangle, to protect your work surface. Place your first stencil letter down, and gently paint within the stencil.

4. Remove the stencil, and a fill in the stencil spaces if you want a full letter. Allow to dry, and repeat with all your other letters.

5. Line all your painted burlap triangles in a row, and apply glue to the top of each triangle. (I did two bunting strands, so HAPPY and HALLOWEEN were separate pieces in the end.) (I forgot to take a photo of this step.)

6. Leave at least a foot of lace trim free at each end, and press the lace trim onto the glued areas. Allow to dry flat overnight. (I get an F- and forgot to take a photo of this too.)

7. Hang and enjoy!

Happy Crafting!

DIY Halloween Costume #2 – Mermaid

DIY HALLOWEEN COSTUME #2 – MERMAID

Hello World,

In my last post, I shared a DIY Glinda costume my mom had put together. For the second costume in this series, I’m sharing her DIY mermaid costume with you today,. To switch it up, my sixteen year old sister was kind enough to model it (with her mermaid-tastic hair).

My mom bought the teal sequin dress at a thrift shop, and sewed the three panels (two skinny ones on the front, one large one on the center back) on the bottom to flare it out and make it look more fin-like.

DIY HALLOWEEN COSTUME #2 – MERMAID

For my sister’s makeup, I started by applying foundation to her face as a base. I then used my finger to apply light yellow and light green eyeshadow from her cheek bone area to her forehead. Next, I used a small eyeshadow brush and drew overlapping semi circles with teal eyeshadow to give the appearance of scales. Next, I drew scales with liquid black eyeliner. (I used the $1 e.l.f. eyeliner, and it worked great.) To finish off her mermaid makeup, I applied some glitter eyeliner to random areas of the scales.

DIY HALLOWEEN COSTUME #2 – MERMAID

To make the shell top, my mom found two large shells (try to find ones that are similar sizes, so your chest doesn’t look lopsided) and pushed them into a netted produce bag. We twisted the center of the bag, and knotted each end of the bag, trapping the shells inside. Next, we hid the knots in the back side of the shell. We looped ribbon to the center of the top (to make a halter) and to each end to make straps (similar to a string bikini top). We tied the halter portion around my sister’s neck, and knotted the other ends together in the back.

DIY HALLOWEEN COSTUME #2 – MERMAID

My mom actually made the base of her crown with a plastic pie-container lid! She cut an ‘X’ in the center of the lid so it would better sit on her head, and covered it with glittery gold paint. Next, she tied grocery-bag netting around it, and trapped shells, starfish, and plastic under-the-sea toys in the netting. She layered more ribbon and puka shells to fill it out. To top it off, she tied a large starfish to the front netting. We kept it secured to my sister’s head with a few large bobby pins.

DIY HALLOWEEN COSTUME #2 – MERMAID

To finish off the costume, my sister wore many pearl, puka shell, and beaded necklaces of varying lengths. She also wore bangles and pearl bracelets for a “look at this stuff, isn’t it neat” look. (Yes, Ariel is my favorite Disney princess.)

Happy Costuming!