Halloween DIY

     Ever since I was a kid, I made my Halloween costume with my parents and they never failed to come out wonderfully. It was my favorite part of Halloween and because of it I have grown to strongly dislike store bought costumes due to the lack of effort being put into the holiday. Of course there are times when one needs to just run to the store and buy a costume but if you have the time, energy and craftiness then I recommend making costumes by hand- its become a tradition in my family and it is so much fun!
     This year, my son is two and half so he's the perfect age to know what he wants to dress up as and is old enough to understand the concept of going door to door saying trick or treat! So this year Colin decided he wanted to be a bulldozer and I thought "hmm, this one might be tough" but after some google, Pinterest and craft store shopping we created the perfect costume for our little guy!
     So let's get to my first DIY post!


SUPPLIES

• Box large enough to fit over your child but not so big that their walking is interrupted
• Box cutter
• Scissors
• Hot glue with extra glue sticks
• Yellow spray paint
• Primer
• Gray paint
• Construction paper- Black
• 4 round wooden plaques (size depends on box size)
• Long rectangular Styrofoam
• Tape
• 10 orange glow sticks
• 1 toilet paper roll
• Tinfoil
• Black ribbon
• Black sharpie
• 3 CAT construction printouts
• Construction hat (optional)

STEP 1:

Cut the bottom off the box. Next cut the top to make a place for your child and include 2 places on each side to connect the ribbon. Tape up the box; all open sides and edges for support and to round out rough edges.

STEP 2: 

With the flaps you cut off the bottom, cut small squares in bottom of one long one. Use primer on all, let dry then spray paint yellow. Cut toilet paper role in half and spray paint as well.

 STEP 3: 

Use primer on box, let dry and spray with yellow spray paint. This was my favorite part, there's something so satisfying about spraying color from a can and changing the whole appearance!

STEP 4:

Paint four round plaques gray and let dry. I recommend two coats, but don't worry about the edges or back.

STEP 5:

Cut four rectangular pieces out of the Styrofoam blocks. Once the gray paint is dry flip the plaques over and glue Styrofoam to the backs of them.

STEP 6: 

Glue four painted slabs on the front to make the bucket part. Use lots of glue to make sure it is stable and will not break if bumped. Also, glue two round plaques on each side to be the "wheels".  I did one higher than the other to make it seem more realistic. 

STEP 7:

Cut Black Construction paper into strips wide enough to touch the box and stick out a little over the gray "wheels". Fold them accordion style and glue along edges of wheels and on the part attached to the box. Make sure to use plenty of glue because this will be the first part to fall apart it is gets hit or crushed at all.

STEP 8:

Accordion fold a half sheet of construction paper and glue above the bucket. Take a another sheet and glue into the inside of the bucket so it is curved. Tie ribbons for shoulder straps, make sure they are adjusted size wise to fit your child.

STEP 9:

Use a sharpie to draw the CAT symbol on the back

STEP 10:

Final touches. Cut circles out of tinfoil and glue them to wooden plaques. Glue CAT cutouts onto each side and on the inside of the bucket. Glue toilet paper half roles to the front as headlights. Glue glow sticks inside and cover with saran wrap as lit headlights.

FINAL PRODUCT!!!

     Overall it was a huge success! Colin would say "truck or treat" at every door and he would leave the house while making beeping truck noises! His costume held together wonderfully, the only trouble we had was the construction paper tracks fell off at one point but tape was our friend that night.

     Hope you can use this to get creative next Halloween, GOOD LUCK!