DIY Costumes Over the Years
Embrace the magic of the season with my favorite Halloween tradition!
Over the years, Halloween has become a cherished time for me to get creative with DIY costumes, transforming thrifted finds into character-perfect outfits. Each year, I dive into a new project, bringing beloved characters to life through upcycled materials, a little sewing, and a lot of love. Here’s a look at some of the costumes I’ve crafted for my family and the fun memories we’ve made along the way.
Family Costume: Toy Story (2019)
Our Toy Story-themed Halloween was a hit! I created costumes for the whole family, turning thrifted items into the iconic characters:
- Forky: I pieced together this lovable character using an upcycled white shirt and white baseball pants, an oversized red pipe cleaners and a mask that really brought Forky to life.
- Bo Peep: For Bo Peep, I found a blue shirt at a thrift store and added white lace to the top, and some lace trim to the bottom of a pair of blue slacks, used some pink fabric I already had lying around for a headband bow!
- Woody: Woody’s costume was a mix of thrifted yellow button down that I added red plaid to, a white shirt that I cut into a vest and painted black spots on it to look like cowhide. Found a felt cowboy hat on amazon, and last but not least, I added a hand-cut sheriff’s badge out of gold craft foam to complete the look.
Costumes for Laney Over the Years
- Zero from Nightmare Before Christmas (2020): For this ghostly pup, I repurposed a white sheet into a flowy poncho, reused the baseball pants from Forky, and crafted Zero’s head by attaching the sheet to a hat and adding a foam pumpkin nose. Laney loved floating around as Jack Skellington’s faithful companion.
- Lilo from Lilo & Stitch (2021): Laney had two costumes this year, including one we made for her Stitch birthday party earlier that year:
- Lilo’s Red Dress: I found a simple red t-shirt dress on Amazon and used my Cricut to cut out white HTV vinyl leaves, recreating Lilo’s signature look.
- Hula Outfit: For her birthday, I hand-cut what felt like a million felt leaves for her hula skirt and crown. I also thrifted a red tank top and tailored it to her size to capture the perfect island vibe!
- Hocus Pocus (2023): Laney transformed into one of the Sanderson sisters with a dress I upcycled from a thrifted purple gown and green flowy top. I added some gold trim, resized the top, and sewed a green velvet cape. But the pièce de résistance was “Booooook”! I turned an old book into a magical prop using paper mâché, hot glue, and paint—a truly fun project!
- Hermione from Harry Potter (2024): Laney’s latest obsession is Harry Potter, so of course she wanted to be Hermione. I sewed a Hogwarts robe from black velvet fabric, found a white collared tee, grey long sleeve top and plaid skirt at a thrift store, and completed the look with a wand. She was thrilled to become the cleverest witch of her age.
Collins’ First Halloween Costume
- Cabbage Patch Doll (2024): For Collins’ first Halloween, I recreated the nostalgic Cabbage Patch Doll look with a yarn wig (courtesy of my best friend) and a thrifted vintage dress. I took it a step further by creating a Cabbage Patch Doll box from a poster board to attach to her car seat while we were out trick-or-treating. This adorable costume brought smiles and a wave of nostalgia to everyone who saw it.
Making these costumes has truly been a labor of love. Each year, I’m amazed at how thrifted items can be transformed into something magical. It’s not just about the costumes—it’s about the memories we create as a family, crafting, laughing, and stepping into the shoes of our favorite characters. I can’t wait to see what I come up with for the girls this Halloween!