3 QUICK AND EASY HALLOWEEN COSTUMES

Hi everyone! Since Halloween is fast approaching, I thought that I would post three quick and easy costumes that you can make yourself using your existing wardrobe and things that you can find at the dollar store.

COSTUME #1: A Rag Doll

This is the costume that I made three years ago for a Halloween party at school. It was super cheap and easy, perfect for the broke student! Here's what you'll need:

- 1 apron (or a ruffled place mat and ribbon)

- 1 pair of coloured tights

- 1 pair of striped knee-highs

- 1 tank or t-shirt

- 1 overall skirt or shorts

- buttons and patches to decorate your dress
- needle and thread or craft glue
- scissors
- black eyeliner and blush

Step 1: Decorate an overall skirt or shorts (I found mine at Value Village for $4) with buttons and patches. If you don't have any fabric slips or buttons laying around the house, then check the scrap booking section of the dollar store for colourful options. If you don't want to ruin a pair you already have, then attach the decorations with double-sided tape or safety pins.

Step 2: Layer a pair of striped stockings (try Halloween stores and thrift stores) over a pair of coloured tights. I already owned these pink ones, but any colour will do. This will help keep you warm, especially if Halloween tends to be freezing cold like it is here - I had whisked my winter coat off for these pictures :) I also wore a pair of pumps with bows on the toes that I already owned, since they had a cutesy feel to them.

Step 3: If you don't own an apron, then buy a ruffled place mat at the dollar store or thrift store and cut it in half. Attach a ribbon to the rough edge with a needle and thread (or glue) and voila! One doll-like, ruffled apron made in less than five minutes.

Step 4: Last but not least, put your hair in curly pigtails - or buy a wig - and load on the blush. Finish it off with little black lines under your eyes (try using a pencil eyeliner) for a quick and easy rag doll look!

COSTUME #2: The Paper Bag Princess

I couldn't find a good picture of my costume from two years ago, but you get the idea. The Paper Bag Princess, was one of my all-time favourite books as a kid! In short, a dragon burns down Princess Elizabeth's castle and takes her betrothed Prince Ronald captive. After tracking down the dragon and outsmarting him, Elizabeth rescues Ronald, but he's rude and ungrateful so she dances off into the sunset without him. Here's what you'll need:

- 1 neutral strapless dress or a strapless top and shorts

- 1 sheet of gold paper

- 1 roll of brown paper or 1 package of extra large brown paper bags

- 1 brown belt

- wide, clear tape and staples

- scissors
- black eyeliner and bronzer

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Step 1: Take a sheet of gold paper (no longer than 30cm) and cut a zig-zag across the top to make a small crown. Bend the pointy ends down and crumple it up a bit so that it looks worn out. Lastly, poke little holes in the bottom so that you can slide bobby pins through the base and secure it to your hair. Make sure it sits crooked like in the picture above. 

Step 2: If you are near a paper specialty store, then buy a cheap roll of brown paper and save yourself the trouble of undoing all the brown bags. If not, then unfold them and cut off the bottoms so that you have several long sections of brown paper. Tape them together to create a single sheet that's long and wide enough to make a tube dress. Using a roll of clear tape, "laminate" the paper so that it doesn't rip - we don't want any wardrobe malfunctions ;)

Step 3: Take the paper and measure it around yourself over your underclothes. Give yourself room to breathe, but make it snug enough that it doesn't fall down. Once you have the right fit, tape the edges together to make a tube. Reinforce the seam with staples for extra hold. If you want a more flattering neckline, then cut a sweetheart shape into it. Secure the whole thing with your brown belt at the waist.

Step 4: Use you hair and makeup to make you look dragon-charred like Elizabeth. Smudge black eyeliner onto your face for charcoal marks and use lots of bronzer. Tease your hair and add a couple of little messy braids for fun.

COSTUME #3: Sookie Stackhouse (from True Blood) 

In terms of embarrassing pictures, this pretty much says it all, but it's the only shot of this costume that I could find. Here's what you'll need:

- 1 white t-shirt

- 1 pair of black shorts or jean cutoffs

- 1 colour printer (for the logos)

- 1 roll of wide, clear tape

- 1 toothpick (for the bite marks)

- 1 green blanket or place mat

- craft glue

- needle and thread

- scissors 

- pink eyeshadow and red lipstick

Step 1: Print off a two Merlotte's logos (there are a ton on google images). Pick one white and one green. "Laminate" them using clear tape so that they don't rip and then set them aside. 

Step 2: Find a green place mat/blanket/old t-shirt and cut a large rectangle out of it. This will become your apron. I used a green fleece blanket that I found at the dollar store. Next cut a long, thin strip of the same material to act as the ties and attach them to the apron with a thread and needle (or glue).

Step 3: Attach your Merlotte's logos to your apron and shirt using two safety pins each. Put the green logo on the white shirt and the white logo on the green apron.

Step 4: Curl your hair and pull it into a side ponytail. For the finishing touch, add the vampire bites. Put two little blobs of white craft glue onto your neck where you want them to be and let it dry. Using your toothpick poke a little hole (carefully!) into each glue blob and pull it open so that there is a raised bump in the middle. Cover the glue with foundation and powder over it. To make it look red and swollen, apply a pink eyeshadow around each little hole. Finish it off by putting a dot of red lipstick into each bite with your toothpick. It looks so cool when it's done, I was getting questions all night about how I did it!

Have a happy and safe Halloween!

Talk soon,

Vi