Last Minute DIY Octopus Costume

This easy DIY octopus costume is made with fun finds at our local dollar store. Total cost of the project? $5!! And it came together in less than 30 minutes. 

DIY Octopus Costume - a quick and easy costume you can make for as little as $5 with the help of Dollar Tree

Two weeks ago my family and I were invited to take a peek at Sea World San Diego’s Halloween Spooktacular. Since the invite suggested having our kids dress up in their favorite sea-inspired costumes I knew I would have to get creative.

So the night before the event – yeah, I know… last minute – we headed out in search of supplies for a cool sea costume for my son and daughter. After snagging an Ariel costume at another store for my daughter we headed over to Dollar Tree to see if anything caught our eye.

While there we saw many fun things to use in our costume in the toy aisle, we eventually settled on a simple and easy DIY octopus costume made out of a Dollar Tree shirt and Dollar Tree fuzzy socks. We walked out of the store only paying $5! How awesome is that?

Here’s how we did it:

DIY Octopus Costume at Sea World

DIY Octopus Costume

What you need:

  • 1 Dollar Tree shirt (any color)
  • 4 pair Dollar Tree fuzzy socks (any color/pattern)
  • Black and White felt for eyeballs
  • wash cloths or microfiber shop towels
  • needle & thread

DIY Octopus Costume Dollar Tree suppliesDIY Octopus Costume suppliesWhat you do: 

1. Grab the socks and stuff one washcloth/towel into each sock.

DIY Octopus Costume stuff socks with towels

2. Cut out felt eye balls and sew pupil onto whites. Then sew the eyes onto the shirt 1/2 way down (you can put the shirt on your child and see where the eyes would best fit).

DIY Octopus Costume cut out felt eyes and sew onto shirt

3. Sew stuffed legs onto the bottom hem of the shirt. Make sure to reinforce your stitches by going over them twice so the legs don’t fly off after a night of fun trick or treating!

DIY Octopus Costume sew legs onto bottom of shirt

That’s it! Now your octopus costume is complete! How easy was that? And it takes under an hour to make. If you have sewing skills and prefer to use a sewing machine it’d be even faster!

Too bad my sewing machine is hidden beneath boxes still in the garage… maybe next year!

If your little one would prefer a hat to complete the costume or would like to be a squid instead, consider picking up a beanie hat at Dollar Tree or sewing a felt squid hat in the same color as the shirt.

DIY Octopus Costume

What will your little one be dressed up as for Halloween?

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DIY Dinosaur Hoodie

DIY Dinosaur Hoodie

Last Halloween when I was busy figuring out costumes for the kids to wear I got a request from my son for a dinosaur costume. Since I know he doesn’t like big, full body costumes I thought that trying my hand at a DIY dinosaur hoodie would be easier for him to wear. Well a few months later and the hoodie is getting great use… as a fabulous addition to our dress up closet! And it’ll be the perfect thing to wear to The Good Dinosaur movie when it comes out on November 25th! 

Not only is this hoodie easy to make, it’s almost no-sew! With only a small bit of sewing needed (thanks to the wonderful product that is No Sew), even the amateur crafter can pull off this simple costume. All you need are some matching pants and some socks to cover your shoes and you have the perfect DIY costume for Halloween.

DIY Dinosaur Hoodie side profile

DIY Dinosaur Hoodie

What you need:

  • zip up hoodie jacket
  • adhesive felt in different colors (for spikes, eyes, and belly)
  • 1 piece regular felt (for tail) + more for stuffing tail
  • No Sew adhesive for fabric
  • needle and thread

What you do:

  1. Cut out 8 triangle shapes for spikes.
  2. Cut out a circle in one color felt. Cut that circle in half and adhere to either side of zipper on belly of jacket. Cut out zig zag pattern for decoration for belly in different colors and adhere to half circles.
  3. Cut out eyes using one color for the eye lid, one color for the eyeball, and one color for the pupil.
  4. Take felt for tail and create a cone. Using No Sew adhesive, glue cone in shape so that it stays. Trim away any additional felt.
  5. Stuff tail cone with additional felt and use No Sew to close cone opening.
  6. Using needle and thread, adhere cone tail to bottom back of jacket to secure in place.
  7. Add spikes to the hoodie of the jacket by taking two triangles, removing the adhesive backing, and placing together on the seam of the hoodie.
  8. Make sure about 1/2 an inch is attached to the jacket hoodie with the rest adhering to the other triangle. Use No Sew if additional adhesion is needed. Repeat with other three spikes.
  9. Adhere eyes to side of hood to give the illusion of dino eyes when the jacket is on.
  10. Let No Sew dry completely before letting your child wear the jacket.

Diy Dinosaur Hoodie 2

What themed hoodie would you love to create for Halloween?

THE GOOD DINOSAUR opens in theatres everywhere on November 25th!

Like THE GOOD DINOSAUR on Facebook | Follow @THEGOODDINOSAUR on Twitter | Visit the official THE GOOD DINOSAUR website

A little sneak peek at the movie:

Last Minute DIY Mummy Maternity Costume

Last Minute DIY Mummy Maternity Costume

This time last year I was pregnant with my third child. And just like with the first two pregnancies, I wanted to do something fun for Halloween. With my first pregnance I was an oven with a bun inside. Pretty cute if I do say so myself! And with my second pregnancy I made a skeleton shirt with a skeleton baby. This pregnancy I wanted to get a little craftier and came up with this mummy mommy costume. It was the perfect way to celebrate the holiday while still staying comfortable.

Since it’s a shirt, I could pair it with my maternity jeans, leggings, or anything else depending on the weather. So when we headed to Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party I didn’t have any part of my costume getting in the way. And when I helped out at my son’s school Halloween carnival, I was still able to run around and help the kids out at the various booths.

This costume took me all of 30 mintues to throw together but I’m sure with a little more time (and material) I could have really decked it out. Here’s how you put together this mummy mommy costume:

Last Minute DIY Mummy Maternity Costume

What you’ll need:

  • white t-shirt (long or short sleeved)
  • white tights (or an extra white t-shirt)
  • black felt
  • large sized googly eyes
  • fabric marker
  • hot glue gun

What you do: 

1. Cut tights into long strips.

2. Layer strips over the t-shirt in a random pattern. Make sure the edges are at the seam of either side of the shirt.

3. Cut out a piece of black felt in the form of a football a little larger than the width of the googly eyes.

4. Hot glue googly eyes to the middle of the black felt and set aside.

5. Glue strips onto the shirt by adhering the edges to the seam of the shirt. Overlap edges to create a more layered look.

6. Put t-shirt on and grab the black felt googly eyes. Figure out the best position on your belly to put them and mark the center spot with a fabric marker.

7. Take t-shirt off. Glue black felt googly eyes to the spot you marked.

8. Add more strips if needed and glue in place.

That’s it! Simple. Easy. And cute!

What was your go-to maternity Halloween costume?

Happy Halloween 2013

DSC_0531

Happy Halloween from my ballerina and dinosaur (yes… my daughter changed her costume last minute). [Read more…]

DIY Butterfly Costume

DIY Butterfly Costume Tutorial

When we asked my daughter what she wanted to be for Halloween a few months back she quickly answered that she wanted to be a butterfly.

When we asked again a few weeks later, you know… just to be sure, she still confirmed that she wanted to be a butterfly. So I got to searching different designs, patterns, fabrics, etc. and scouring Pinterest.

Then she took it upon herself to figure out her own costume. And it cost us $5 out of pocket. That $5? Was for the wings. Everything else she dragged out of her closet.

And she LOVES how it turned out. Don’t you? Now to get started on my son’s dinosaur costume… That’ll probably take more time.  [Read more…]

Rawr Dinosaurs! {DIY Dinosaur Costume}

DIY Dinosaur costume

My son is obsessed with dinosaurs. He’s loved them ever since he was introduced to Dinosaur Train on PBS Kids shortly before his second birthday. I thought it’d be fun to try and design a simple dinosaur costume for him to wear whenever he wanted around the house. I didn’t want to spend too much money so I used simple materials I already had and some sponges I picked up on a recent shopping trip. I got the idea from Rookie Mom by doing a simple search for DIY Dino costumes and just adjusted it to fit a two year old. For his 3rd birthday I might attempt to make this Buddy the Dinosaur costume (the no-sew option)… maybe.

If you want to make your own DIY Dinosaur costume just follow these simple steps below.

How to make a DIY Dinosaur Costume [Read more…]

Skeleton Maternity Costume

This skeleton maternity costume takes little time to make and is a comfortable alternative for pregnant mamas around Halloween.

Skeleton Maternity Costume

It’s my second pregnancy and my second time creating a fun maternity costume for Halloween. This year I went with a simple DIY shirt to wear out trick or treating with my little one and at the Halloween party we hosted. It was such a fun way to celebrate the holiday while celebrating my pregnancy as well. And everyone I ran into loved the idea! 

I may be weird but I am LOVING this pregnancy. My son has been keeping me on my toes but I’ve been able to take time for myself when needed and enjoy the milestones. With this possibly being the last pregnancy for us, I want to soak it all in! And that includes celebrating holidays and taking lots of photos. Hopefully, you won’t get too sick of the photos. 

Want to make this DIY Skeleton Maternity T-Shirt too? Read on to find out how! This post contains affiliate links. 

Skeleton Maternity Costume with Tigger

DIY Skeleton Maternity T-Shirt

What you’ll need: 

What you do: 

  1. Place image of skeleton baby and rib cage in a word doc making each take up a full page. The baby should be placed horizontally whereas the ribs can be placed vertically. 
  2. Print images out on iron-on t-shirt transfer paper. 
  3. Cut out images close to the edge of the design with scissors. 
  4. Using iron, iron on images to the shirt. Let cool and wear! 

Skeleton Costume Ethan 2010

 What did you dress up for on Halloween? 

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Charlie Brown Halloween Costume for Baby

We had a wonderful day today. It all started with pumpkin carving and ended with a wonderful Halloween party at my neighbor’s mother’s house. Little E had a wonderful time with all the kids and I took many pictures!

Everyone loved his costume and we got many compliments for it. Most were shocked to find we made it ourselves but it was so simple I couldn’t see NOT making it!

Since this was Ethan’s first Halloween we didn’t want a costume that would make him too hot or uncomfortable so we stuck with an easy Charlie Brown costume. A t-shirt with a squiggle and shorts, how simple is that!

Charlie Brown Halloween Costume for Baby

How to make a Charlie Brown Halloween Costume for Baby

What you’ll need: 

What you do: 

Ok guys… this can’t get more simple. Cut your black fabric in a zig-zag pattern. Apply No-Sew to the back of the fabric and adhere to shirt. Let dry completely.

Try the shirt on, add the black pants and brown shoes and your Charlie Brown is ready for his big debut! Remember to add Snoopy for an added touch so no one will ask what your little man is for Halloween.

Extra bonus points if baby is still bald… like mine!

charlie brown halloween costume for baby 1

My husband made an iron-on transfer for his shirt that had a picture of Charlie Brown and it said “Wah, Wah, Wah” all over it and underneath Charlie it said “Charlie Brown’s Dad” so everyone would know what the “Wah, Wah, Wah” meant. So cleaver he is!

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And one more showing Charlie Brown with his Pirate mommy… my neighbor is the lady in front of me with the most adorable panda bear 🙂 He’s 5 months old and we always talk about how E and him are going to be the best of buds when they’re older.

E and his buddy. And shortly after this was taken…

charlie brown halloween costume for baby 4

He didn’t know what he did wrong 🙂

charlie brown halloween costume for baby 5

I hope everyone had a safe and Happy Halloween!



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