Homemade Halloween Costumes

If you’re going to the party but don’t have anything to wear, these homemade Halloween costumes should help. You can use these costumes or make them templates for other clothing designs.

Creepy Old Man

Required Tools and Materials

Torn clothes
Makeup
Tin cup
Safety pins
Wig
Small rocks or coins

Instructions

Make sure the clothes are old and ragged for full effect. Put them on and make a few more tears. Put the safety pins on so it doesn’t completely fall apart. Apply some dirt and grime on the knees, stomach and neck area. You can use paint, dirt or both.

Put dark makeup on your face. Put black marks around the eyes and the mouth. You can also put thin black marks across your cheek so they appear to crack. Put the finishing touches to this homemade Halloween costume by donning a dirty wig. Carry the can with the rocks (or coins). Walk with a stick and the getup is complete.

The Birdcage Look

Required Tools and Materials

Sweatshirt with green hood
Sweatpants (brown)
Hay
Leaves
Glue and glue gun
Craft wire
Eggs

Instructions

Put glue on the leaves and press them to the sweatshirt. Put some on the hood as well. You can use a stocking cap if you don’t have a hood. Draw some dark lines on the sweatpants to make it look rugged and rough. Gather the raffia or hay. Assemble them to look like a
bird’s nest.

Finish this homemade Halloween costume by putting glue on the nest. Connect it to the shoulder or the hood. Add some eggs or synthetic bird to the nest. Optionally, you can add a branch to the nest using glue.

The Jelly Bean Dude

Required Tools and Materials

Several colored balloons
Cellophane wrap
Colored ribbons

Instructions

Put on tights and bodysuit, both white. Blow some balloon so they’re about the size of jelly beans. Use the cellophane to create a bag around the suit.

Put the balloon around it. Scatter the balloons around. Secure the ribbon on your neck. Get a piece of cardboard. Write something like “Jelly Belly Dude” or “Mr. Jelly Bean”. Put the “bag” sign on the bag. This homemade Halloween costume is finished.

Note; if you don’t want to use a cellophane, get a garbage bag. To keep the letter in place, use sticky notes or something similar. Also try using safety pins when attaching the balloons. It will keep them in place.

The Ladies’ Man

Required Tools and Materials

Safety pins
Some dolls
Pastel colored clothes

Instructions

Put your shirt on. Write “ladies’ man”, “chick boy” or something similar. Put the safety pins and attach the dolls all over your shirt and pants. For girls, you can use male dolls or action figures. Write down “boy toy” on your shirt. You can also wear a
cap or hood. You can attach dolls there.

These homemade Halloween costumes are cheap and take only a few minutes to make. Try these out and amaze your friends with your creativity.

Homemade Gift Certificates

A homemade gift certificate is one of the quickest and easiest ways to come up with a present. Whatever the occasion is, these certificates can be made with minimum fuss.

Required Tools and Materials

Construction paper

Pen

Gift certificate book

Instructions

The first step is to get a gift certificate book. You can buy several of these for only a few dollars. However, you can make one easily enough. Get some construction paper and cut it with a pair of scissors. Add some decorations and trimmings if you like.

It’s much easier to create a homemade gift certificate with your computer. Open your word processor and choose one of the certificate templates there.

Write down your message and print it out. Double check the contents and print it out. Repeat the process for other gift certificates.

Gift Ideas for Kids and Teens

The contents should be appropriate for the person. Think of what that person really likes. For the kids, it can be an extra hour of TV watching or video games during the weekends. Or maybe it can be a trip to the circus or a new toy.

For teens, why not extend the curfew by a couple of hours? The homemade certificate could also be letting them drive the car or camping out.

Gift Ideas for Spouses and Parents

For your mother or wife, it can be treating her to dinner. It can be home cooked or you and the kids could take her out to a restaurant. Breakfast in bed is also a nice treat. How about volunteering to do the spring cleaning? You could jot down new clothes, a trip to the beauty salon, etc.

A simpler but no less effective present is a promise. Make your pledge on the certificate. This can be a promise not to smoke, clean your room or something else. For dads or husbands, you can volunteer to clean the yard while they watch the football game. The homemade gift certificate may also be for a spa or body massage.

Other Ideas and Suggestions

Kids can make their own certificates. It can be a promise to eat their veggies or finish their homework. A great idea is “movies night”. Rent or get copies of their favorite movies. Pick a day of the week (weekend most likely) and watch it with them.

The following ideas are suitable for kids or teens: set down a dollar amount so they can buy whatever it is they want. The certificates can also be for free snacks or dining out.

Certificates for holidays should stay true to the occasion. The designs should be fit for the holidays. Valentine’s Day certificates should have some hearts on it. Christmas should have Yuletide oriented designs too.

When making gift certificates, try to put some thought in the design. By putting in some work, the recipient will be more appreciative. Using Web based or software based templates is okay. But change the templates so that it will appeal to the recipient.

The supplies are affordable and all you need is a little imagination. These are the reasons why homemade gift certificates remain suitable for many occasions.

Homemade Party Decorations

For all your party favors and decorations, it’s better to pay for the service and the arrangements of your home. But, with current rising costs, this may be a problem. That is why there are many other ideas for decorating your home before the party starts. This situation can be easily remedied with a few homemade party decorations that you can do alone or with family members or a few of your closest friends.

Opting for homemade party decorations can actually make you happier since it is a great thing to do for bonding time with your loved ones before the party. It also eases the stress you would feel when hosting parties and do not put a great weight on your wallets.

Here are some choices for some quick and easy homemade party decorations that you can make:

Colorful and Engaging Posters and Banners

Funny, serious, or thought-provoking lines that you can put up on your walls can serve as a great welcoming gesture for your guests. Yes, one of the easiest homemade party decorations to make is to go for those personalized posters and banners to help set the party mood and atmosphere.

Why go plain when you actually decorate those posters and banners with colored cut-outs from magazines and create a very appealing collage? You can also paint the posters or the words of the quotes you choose to write.

Your Own Party Piñata

Another of those simple homemade party decorations that you can try to make at home is the piñata.

Actually, many hosts choose this among other homemade party decorations since this is one of those things that make a party more fun.

To make the piñata, you do not actually need to go for the paper type of piñata. To make it really easy on you, why not purchase a cheap large balloon and before you inflate it, fill it with assorted candies and other sweet treats.

Colorful Bits of Confetti

When you need to keep a festive mood, why not decorate your walls with confetti? That wouldn’t be too hard to do.

To make your very own colorful confetti, on the other hand, all you need is to have different types of newspapers, magazines, colored papers and scissors. Shred that to make confetti. You can also add some glitter to make a very dazzling effect that your guests would surely love.

Homemade party decorations surely can be great delight for both the host and the guests. So, if you’ve been hosting parties where you hire someone to decorate things for you, why not try some of the easy party decorations that you can make at home and see how this touch of originality and creativity will pay off?

Homemade Coupons

Homemade coupons are suitable gifts for any occasion. They’re not expensive and simple to create. Yet you can give each coupon unique features. This allows you to customize them for each recipient.

Required Tools and Materials

Copy paper (white)

Construction paper (many colors)

Scissors (any size)

Stapler

Crayons, markers, colored pens

Stickers

Instructions

Decide early on how large the coupons will be. Use a ruler and scissors to get the sizes right. If you want to make a booklet, you’ll need about 15 coupons. Work on one booklet at a time. Jot down a title for each homemade coupon.

Customization

When designing the coupon, think of the recipient. What are their interests? How old are they? Keep these things in mind when designing coupons. Customize the coupon as it fits the recipient.

Use the stickers to add decorative elements. You can also use rubber stamps. Arrange the stickers and the rubber stamps as you see fit. Make the cover with the construction paper.

You can also use a colored cardstock to make the cover. When making coupons, create a design suited for the recipient. Put the coupons together with a stapler.

Some Coupon Ideas

Here are a few suggestions for homemade coupons. For the kids, it can be a couple of days without household chores. You could also put down ice cream cones or going out to see their favorite film.

Or perhaps make a coupon for a new toy or gadget. For teenagers, it could be getting a video game or a car wash. Other ideas include magazine subscriptions or food and drinks.

If they’re sports fans, the coupon could be for a baseball cap, a basketball jersey etc. For your spouse, it can be a home cooked meal or massage. It can also be a cozy dinner for two or a romantic getaway.

It’s not necessary, but some put expiration dates on kids’ homemade coupons. This ensures that you’ve got the finances when the item is redeemed.

Online Coupons

You can look to the Web for coupon ideas. Find some templates and make all the changes you want. Print it and you have a coupon. Word processors also have coupon templates you can use. There are specially designed ones for Christmas, Valentine’s Day and other special occasions.

Don’t just use the templates as is. Changing the settings will give it that personal touch. There are plenty of free clipart and designs on the Web. Use them to decorate the template.

If you’re the artistic type, you can draw them yourself. Fire up that illustration / paint program and draw away. Again, keep the personality of the individual in mind when personalizing the coupon.

Always double check your coupons before sending them out. Make sure you don’t get them mixed up especially when you’ve got lots to give away.

These homemade coupons are among the simplest yet most enjoyable gifts you can give. Not only can you vary the contents, but each item is highly individualized. That makes for a truly memorable gift.

Homemade Mothers Day Gifts

Mothers day is a special and memorable day to recognize the efforts and sacrifices of mothers to nurture and rear their children. If you want to honor your mom and appreciate all the love and caring that she gave to you, then this is the best time to do it. You do not need to spend big amount of money to give her a special gift at this day. Below are some of the homemade mothers day gifts that you can make.

Crystal Clear Necklace

The materials that you need for this project are scissors, fishing line or monofilament, plastic beads, two clamshell bead tips, needle-nose pliers and barrel clasp. The first step when making the necklace is to cut the monofilament or the fishing line two times the necklace’s length. Insert a bead into the monofilament. To keep the bead in place, loop the monofilament around. Place the beads until there is a little space left. Make sure that you allot enough space in between the beads. You can use spacers between the beads to make the necklace more attractive. Insert the clamshell bead tips at the ends of the monofilament and double knot. Pinch the tips with the use of the pliers before putting the clasp.

Hand Painted Mugs

To do the project, you should have a ceramic mug, several papers, a pencil, cotton swabs or watercolor brush and a porcelain glaze. The initial step is to practice the design that you like to paint in the papers. After mastering the design, you can paint it on the mug with the use of the watercolor brush and the porcelain glaze. Let the painting dry for a day. Place the mug inside an oven. Set the temperature to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Let the mug stay inside the oven for 30 minutes or until the glaze was set on the mug.

Handprint Apron

You can try this if you want to help your young siblings make a gift for your mother. The materials for the project are a solid colored apron, different fabric paints, three to five paper plates and a fabric pen. Cover a large table with newspaper. This will be your work area. Pour paint in the plate. Press the hands of your siblings in the plate with paint. Be sure that their palms are with paint. Place their hands on the apron. Continue doing the step until the apron is covered with the hand prints of the children. Write the name of your siblings under their hand prints.