DIY Halloween Costumes

Halloween is a little over a month away and I am starting to plan out my costume for this year. If you have read my "About Me" page, you will know I love dressing up for Halloween! Store bought costumes can be so expensive! Who wants to spend $60-100 on something you will wear once or twice?  The last few years, I have made my own (thanks to Pinterest!) using things that I already had around the house or could buy cheaply. I spent less than $25 making these costumes!

Last year, a few of my co-workers wanted to dress as characters from Alice in Wonderland. I immediately knew I wanted to be the Mad Hatter...the crazy looking Johnny Depp version! I immediate started pinning ideas and got to work making my hat.

I made my hat out of cardboard that I already had, using the tutorial found HERE. Instead of velvet, I used a stretchy polyester type fabric, mainly because it was cheaper. I got the black fabric for the hat; colorful fabric for the bow; and lace cuffs for my sleeves, all from the fabric store for just around $10.

Most of the clothes were from my own closet (or my husbands), but I did find the brown jacket at Goodwill for about $5. I hand tacked the lace onto the cuffs of the jacket and tied a bow out of the fabric strip around my neck.

I curled and teased my hair and used orange hair spray to achieve a crazy look. I used bright blues and fuchsias for my makeup, which I based off of several looks I found on Pinterest. I borrowed the tea cup from my friends daughter and even painted my nails with the Alice in Wonderland theme!

A lot of people did not even recognize me and our group was one of the winners of the office costume contest!

Another easy DIY costume is Flo from Progressive; I went as her a few years ago. All you need is white pants, white top, apron, and canvas shoes. (Excuse the grainy picture...it was before iPhone and blogging days)

I purchased a white apron from the craft section in Walmart and used iron-on transfer paper to affix the Progressive logo. I printed out the logo and glued it onto a standard mailing box. My "buttons" are also made out of cardboard and printed logos, attached with a safety pin. You can find downloadable templates for the apron, box, and buttons HERE.

Luckily my hair already looked a lot like hers, so I just teased the crown and added a black headband and her signature red lips. People still talk about my Flo costume and how much I looked like her!

Which one of these is your favorite? Do you have any DIY costume suggestions?

For more Halloween ideas, be sure to follow my Pinterest board!