DIY Halloween Costumes « Halloween Ideas

How To: Fashion a 'Star Wars' Rey Costume for Halloween

"I'm Rey." That's what a lot of people will be saying again this Halloween, as Rey costumes are sure to be another favorite of trick-or-treaters and cosplayers. Yes, on Oct. 31 we all have a chance to be the scavenger of Jakku who just so happens to be the "new hope" for a Jedi renaissance.

How To: Make a Cardboard Captain America Shield for Halloween

As if Captain America: The First Avenger wasn't awesome enough, Marvel hit us with Captain America: The Winter Soldier this year, and it was even more spectacular than its predecessor. Grossing nearly $260 million in domestic sales, it's safe to say America loves Captain America and we'll probably get a heavy dose of Captain costumes this year for Halloween. Anyone can buy a costume from the store, but what will help set you apart from everyone else is a badass DIY Captain America shield, unm...

How To: Transform into Eleven from 'Stranger Things' for Halloween (Costume & Makeup Guide)

Since its debut, retro thriller Stranger Things and its characters have become ingrained in our popular culture — especially the telekinetic Eleven. For cosplayers, it didn't take long before they grabbed their boxes of frozen Eggo waffles, blonde wigs (or bald caps), and pink smocked dresses to transform into El herself.

Be Maleficent for Halloween: DIY Horns, Dress & Makeup for Cheap

Casting Angelina Jolie as Maleficent was a no-brainer on Disney's part. No one else could project beauty, elegance, and fear simultaneously just like the animated villain in Sleeping Beauty did. But what sets the character apart from other evil witches, or any other Disney character for that matter, is the sinister, yet gorgeous-looking horns and headdress. And with news that a Maleficent sequel is currently in the works, this will surely be a great Halloween costume this year.

Double-Take: 11 Optical Illusion-Based Costumes for the Creative & Crafty

Every year, some overly ambitious neighbor down the street amazes the crowds with his DIY illusion costume. While these costumes certainly require more work than pulling a mask over your head, they do have that wow factor that others lack.

How To: Make a Katy Perry "Roar" Costume for Halloween

There are two things I can definitively say about Katy Perry. One, she makes extremely terrible but catchy songs that I end up hating myself for singing in the car. Two, she single-handedly made Elmo the most popular Sesame Street character ever for males 13 and up (though, Kevin Clash ultimately made him the least popular shortly thereafter). Needless to say, Ms. Perry knows how to show off her assets. How can we forget California Gurls and whip cream breast cans?

How To: Build a LEGO Man Costume for Halloween

If you need a Halloween costume posthaste, you really can't go wrong with a LEGO man costume. And one made from cardboard that is fully functional, well, you'll probably win the "Best Costume" contest hands down. Not only will this mecha-esque costume wow everyone you meet, but it eliminates the need to apply Halloween makeup, style your hair, and get your outfit just so. With a LEGO man costume, you're ready to roll.

How To: This DIY Annabelle Doll Costume from the Conjuring Will Haunt Your Halloween

If The Conjuring wasn't scary enough for you, once you find out that the haunted doll in the movie was based on true events, you'll cry. At least, that's what I did. I mean, my girlfriend did.

DIY Olaf Costumes: Low-Cost Halloween Looks for Frozen's Silly Snowman

With a November 2013 release, Disney's Frozen just missed Halloween. That means that everyone had to wait an entire year to dress up as their favorite princess or snowman—and that time has finally come.

How To: Breaking Bad Costume Ideas for Halloween, Plus How to Make Your Own "Blue Sky" Meth Candy

There's only three weeks left until the spookiest holiday of the year, which means stores and costume shops everywhere are bringing out their Halloween inventory full force. So now's a good time to start prepping your Halloween costume—because you really don't want to do it last-minute again, do you?

How To: Make a Simple Minecraft Steve Costume for Halloween

There's no doubt going to be a lot of Steves running around this Halloween, as Minecraft still has a huge community, but those posers are probably just buying their Minecraft costumes. Isn't the best part about Minecraft creating? So why let someone else create your costume?

How To: Make a Menacing Kylo Ren 'Star Wars' Costume for Halloween

Kylo Ren, conflicted villain of the new Star Wars trilogy, will surely be a major presence again this Halloween, with The Last Jedi fast approaching. His costume, all black and layered, complete with dark-side helmet and crossguard lightsaber, seems quite perfect for Oct. 31 — as well as your next DIY project.

Last-Minute Halloween Quickie: 100+ Free Printable Masks

If you've run out of time for all of our more time-consuming Halloween costume ideas, here are some places on the web for free, downloadable paper masks. There must be at least 100 options among these links to satisfy your last-minute costume needs! Just download, print, and cut 'em out to the appropriate size, then either glue a stick/handle on or tie some elastic string on.

How To: Make an Easy, Last-Minute Polygon Mask for Halloween

Halloween is one of those things that always seems to sneak up on you before you're prepared, so if you don't have tons of free time to make your own kickass costume, you might have to throw together something a little more last minute.

How To: DIY Princess Anna Costume & Makeup from Disney's Frozen

Despite being the main character, Princess Anna from Walt Disney's animated film Frozen does not have the most visually recognizable outfit. That means that the streets will be crowded this Halloween with kids and adults dressed up as the more visually unique characters, like Elsa (the Snow Queen) with her ice gown and Olaf, the living snowman.

How To: Make an Incredibly Realistic and Completely Functional Armored Gauntlet

If you've decided to forgo the super heroes and television characters and go medieval this year for Halloween, David J. Guyton has just the thing to take your costume over the top. To promote his new book, he built this awesome gauntlet armor—and made a step-by-step tutorial. David's is made of brass because it's meant to be a prop (would work well with Steampunk), but if you wanted to make it legit, he suggests trying steel instead. He started with a paper template, which he used to trace th...

Beware: The Purge Is Back This Halloween (DIY Election Year Masks)

Whether or not The Purge franchise will be as successful as Friday the 13th, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Halloween, or even the Saw movies remains to be seen, but it's definitely winning in the Halloween costumes department.

Be Yourself for Halloween: Enlarge Your Head with This Bigheaded DIY Self-Portrait Mask

Have you ever come across somebody on the streets looking like this? Pretty freaky, especially if it's not Halloween. But you know what, Halloween is almost here, so freaky is good. Thanks to creative folks like Eric Testroete and Bhautik Joshi, you can now create an awesome papercraft portrait of your own head for Halloween this year.

How To: Bee-Do, Bee-Do! 5 Awesome DIY Minion Halloween Costumes from 'Despicable Me'

Last summer, Universal Pictures released the sequel to the popular 2010 animated film Despicable Me, bringing back everyone's favorite characters—the Minions. They're adorable, yellow, and they speak a gibberish "Banana Language." What's not to love? If you're planning on dressing yourself (or your kids) as Minions for Halloween this year, you'll be in good company. There are tons of costumes out there you can buy or make, and here are five of the best DIY options for you.

How To: 24 Last-Minute Halloween Costumes for Procrastinators

Are you one of those people that waits until the last minute to come up with a costume for Halloween? Unless you're a makeup artist, have a ton of money, or are ultra-crafty, coming up with a good Halloween costume is always a low-priority task. That is, until it's Halloween and you're having a panic attack.