All My Halloween Creations
Behold, the Monst-DOOR!
Don’t knock on this door, it’ll knock you back! This year I wanted to make something to trick the treaters. We’ve been wanting a new front door so I thought I’d make one…with a little twist.
Drive-In Movie Theater Costume
I had the idea of a drive-in movie theater with a still photo on the screen but it needed a little more excitement. While researching tiny projectors for backyard movie nights I had a spark of an idea, “What if you could project on your face!”
I created a short video using clips of people from the 1931 Dracula movie and then found footage of a puff of smoke and a bat flapping its wings. When I put them all together I added the widows peak, the arching eyebrows and growing fangs as illustrations.
Sweet Trap Costume
This idea was born as a continuation of the Creepy Door Costume. I thought “What would be one thing that someone would be shocked to see when they open their door?” How about your doormat as a trap!
This looks simple but the build was pretty complicated. I had to make the trap close quickly from below the mat. I created a hinge that acts like scissors. I made the trap out of foam and painted it gray. The mat is foam board with fuzzy felt glued on it and the letters were painted by hand. Changing “HOME SWEET HOME” to “SWEET TRAP”.
Sweet trap, indeed.
A Killer Zoom Meeting Costume
This costume combines the creepiness of Halloween and our weird new normal. Everyone may be bored to death of Zoom meetings, but watch out, this one…really kills. The Masked Murderer and her monster squad have found their next victim, you.
All the monsters on the perimeter were created by manipulating photos of my daughter in costume. The center of the grid is reserved for her and the “Next Victim” in the top spot was an iPad with a front-facing camera that features the unsuspecting homeowner.
In all seriousness, please stay extra safe this Halloween and wear your mask.
Gomez Addams and Thing
What would Halloween be without the Addams Family? I bought a suit and wig online and then made the box to house Thing. This got a lot of laughs on Halloween night when she would grab for the candy.
Rock 'em Sock 'em Transformer Costume
My son wanted to be a Transformer for Halloween but we added a twist. Instead of a robot turning into a semi truck, fighter jet, or a car we thought it would be funnier to turn into a lame, useless object like a lone sock. This took waaaaay too many hours to make and it broke my brain for a bit but it was totally worth it!
I made a video showing how you can build your very own transforming sock. I also included some reactions from trick-or-treating at the end of the video.
The Slightly Creepy Door Costume
Okay, this one’s a little difficult to explain. For Halloween my daughter, Ada, went as our neighbors’ doors.
This idea started as a question from Ada, “What would be the weirdest thing you’d see when you open the door on Halloween?“ I replied, “I think it would be funny to answer your door and see your own door.” When we finished riffing on it we realized that we had to make it happen.
The hardest part about making this costume was slyly taking the photos of the doors. Don’t believe me? Try it sometime, you’ll feel like the world’s biggest creeper.
To save time and creep vibes we only picked four doors to do. After we visited those houses a door was mounted into a light weight frame so Ada could continue the door gag all night. The frame was complete with a working doorbell and a porch light. When the person rang the doorbell Ada would open her door. We essentially tricked the treaters. It’s very meta and a-door-able.
BB-8 Costume
This was created after the trailer for Star Wars – The Force Awakens dropped. The movie wasn’t out yet but we loved the BB-8 droid already. Milo wanted to be BB for Halloween but there wasn’t a single costume made of the character yet so I made it, of course. The body was paper mâché and the head was an upside down witch’s cauldron.
An unexpected bonus with this costume was that the geek in me felt amazing walking down the sidewalk with BB-8 at my side.
Start to finish this costume was a ball to make.
Tubby Taft and Lasagna Costume
My daughter had to research President Taft in her history class. I asked if she read about how he got stuck in a tub and she thought it was pretty funny. The story must’ve stuck with her because when Halloween came around it was top of mind when we were discussing costumes. My son went as lasagna, a meal he hates.
See them in action here
Piranha Feeding Frenzy Costume
Time to eat...some candy! This was a fun one to try and figure out and luckily my son was there to help all along the way. Here’s a video showing how the costume was made.
“Pun”kin Chart Costume
My daughter wanted to go as an active Candy Bar Chart that changed throughout the night based on the type of candy she received. The pie chart on the back and the Venn diagram hairband we’re just for fun. There are so many dad jokes on this one but she really liked the idea subtly swaying people into giving her more candy. It totally worked and scored her more Reese’s peanut butter cups!
Side note: All the text is her handwriting. She should make a font!
Bookworm Costume
My daughter wanted to be a bookworm for Halloween this year. Challenge accepted! Yeah, I’m a dude and I can sew. I have many superpowers.
Pictured above:
Initial concept sketch. 2. Mini test on Ada’s Barbie. 3. I wrote the synopsis for the fake book, Trick-or-Treat. 4. The cover opens to reveal an empty compartment. 5. Plenty of room for candy 6. Ada’s answer in her school work was an unexpected surprise and it was my favorite part too.