Easy No-Sew Halloween Costumes!

                    

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays. I love pulling out my glue gun and fabric scraps and getting crafty. The other night I actually lost sleep as I brainstormed on how I would make the kids their requested pirate and pirate princess costumes this year--only to wake and be told they changed their minds and now want to be Spider-man (yuck, how to I get crafty with Spider-man? Red sequins and blue velvet perhaps??) and a black cat. This has happened about 23 times now. 

I wanted to share with you a few easy costumes I have made over the years. Some of these were before I became a crafty blogger, so unfortunately I do not have step-by-step photos. I will do my best to give instructions, but feel free to email any questions.

 This sweet little bluebird is my all-time favorite. The costume is just blue tights, yellow shoes and a blue onesie. I cut a blue feather boa in half and hot glued one half to the front and the other half to the back in a snake like pattern to get good coverage. I saved a few inches of the boa to add some feathers on the wrist of the onesie and I also made a little hat using a surgical mask (see top photo.)

 When Emma was two we went to a little Halloween party and had to have coordinating costumes! She was a flower garden and I was Mother Nature, of course. I pulled out that trusty glue gun again and on a plain brown t-shirt I added all sorts of artificial flowers, leaves, butterflies and some sweet little bees.

 Paired with a "grass" green tutu she was the sweetest little flower garden ever! Oh and a butterfly glued to a hair clip was a fun touch, too.

 For my very simple costume I just wore some neutral colored tights and long earthy top. I used a few of the leaves from Emma's garden and pined them to my shoulders. I think I might have even had a little bird on my shoulder. A braided headband with some more glued on leaves was perfect. So very easy!

 Sushi, anyone? This fun costume is just felt cut-out to look like a salmon roll and yes, once again hot glued to a onesie. This could be sewn as well, but with two little ones this was the best I could do. When using hot glue on clothing, the secret is to keep breaks in the front and back to allow the clothing to still stretch. If you glue all the way around it won't be able to move in order to get on.

 Cute little sushi rolls!

 My sweet little nephew chick! This was made just like the bluebird along with a red feather in a baby hat. We also used some white baby leg warmers to complete the look. How adorable is he??

 My little world changer! I cut out a felt cape and used iron-on letters and earth for the back.

 I ironed on a peace sign to the front of a blue t-shirt and used green fabric paint and glitter to create a peaceful world. Hehe!

 This tutu is so very easy to make and can become any sort of little girls costume by just changing the colors and adding a few details. This is the hair band style tutu. You tie long strips of tulle through the band until you get the desired fullness. You can then add ribbon and flowers to finish it off.

 This one became a witch costume. I have also used this technique to make a lady bug, bee, rainbow, sunshine and princess costume.

Halloween is a great time to get creative and also show children that with our imaginations and a few art materials we can dream up anything (and much better than what they might be asking for at the store.) I encourage you to make your own costumes this year and do so with your children. It's a great tradition to have and much better for our minds and world!
Happy Halloween crafting!!