easy up grade for battery operated tea lights

These covers are very easy to make and can create a beautiful holiday display with inexpensive battery operated tea lights.

pumpkin template

This is how we made the original pumpkins that we turned into cartoons for the Halloween animation. 

easy to make masks free pdf pattern

Making costumes for Halloween is the fun leading up to the big day. These masks are easy to make with foamie sheets or poster board. With a little creativity, glue and miscellaneous bits and pieces a very original mask can be made that guarantees the wearer will be one of a kind.

Print out our free PDF template for your mask found here. Trace it onto the foam sheet. If using a black foam craft sheet a piece chalk works great for tracing.

Cut out the mask and mark it for a stick, ribbon or elastic.

For a stick punch two holes in one side of the mask. Decide if the mask is being created for a left or right handed person and punch holes to accommodate the hand that will hold the mask. 

 

For ribbon cut two pieces long enough to go around the head with extra to tie. Tie a bow or knot in one end of each piece. Thread the untied end through the mask so the bow shows on the front. The ribbon in then tied behind the head to hold in place.

Elastic cord is done like the ribbon with a knot at the front. Measure the head and then subtract an inch or two, so the elastic cord is semi-stretched when on the wearer. If the cord is thin use a needle to run it through the mask instead of punching a hole. 

 

To use a stick decorate the stick with paper or feathers to make a fancy end. This one is done with paper cut and then curled and taped to the end of the stick.

Once the end is decorated the whole stick is wrapped in ribbon. Glue helps keep the ribbon in place.

 

Other ideas and hints

1. For a room mother or scout leader the masks can be printed out on card stock and then each child can decorate their own.
2. For ready to wear masks decorate the mask in a photo or graphic program on the computer and then print on card stock.
3. To cut out multiple masks at one time clamp the foam craft sheets together with bag clips, large paper clamp clip or clothes pins and cut with a craft or utility knife.
4. A regular paper punch works on the foam sheets but they can catch so remove the punch carefully. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

fasinators Halloween hat DIY

Easy, no sew, costume hats

Doug, Viper, Elroy and I love Halloween.   Because we love to make things we always make our costumes with paper or other easy to find recyclable pieces. 

All of the hats are created with a sheet of poster board or by taping construction paper together to make the size needed if poster board isn't available.

Each hat can be adorned with buckles, feathers, hat bands and glitter to upgrade it from just a paper hat to a real costume piece. 

Basic directions

1. measure the child's head to get the inside measurement for the hat
2. measure out from the hole for the head how many inches wide the brim should be
3. Make sure tabs are cut evenly around the inside of the brim to make attaching the crown easier and more secure. Draw the circle of the size for the head hole so you can determine how deep to cut the tabs. If you are worried about cutting them freestyle draw them first so you have a line to follow.
4. The top of the hat will also have tabs but don't need to be as many to hold it to the crown.
5. The crown height is important for the style of the hat. The cowboy and knight pictured have 4 inch high crowns.

The princess and the Knight

The princess hat is super simple. Roll the poster board into a cone shape and trim the bottom. The scarf or ribbon streamer is created by pulling the streamer through the top of the cone and tied in a knot of the inside of the hat so it won't fall out.

The knight's helmet is a cylinder with a top and the front cut out for the face. A visor is created by cutting the sides of the 'visor' and then folding it up toward the top. Chicken feathers are added by punching a hole it the top and inserting the feathers. They are held in place by placing a rubber band around the feathers which holds them together and keeps them from being pulled out of the hole. Tape the rubber band end to the inside of the hat.

Brimmed hats

All of these hats are created the same way with just minor differences. Most differences is just the style of the brim but the stove pipe hat and the pilgrim/leprechaun hat have a difference in the crown as well. The stovepipe has a crown height of 8 inches. The pilgrim/leprechaun has a crown of 6 inches that is wider at the bottom than. The bottom is approx. 3 inches wider that the top.

Other ideas to complete the costume

1. Cowboys – plaid shirt and jeans
2. Princess – party dress with lots costume jewelry
3. Musketeer and Knight – take out the side seams of a pillowcase, cut a hole for the head in the top of the case and draw the fleur-de-lis for the Musketeer or a royal shield for the knight on the front.
4. A leprechaun can wear a green t-shirt under a suit coat. 
    

Come back later and I will tell you how we can create a mask or two.