Have you ever looked at your child creating something and thought “how did they think of that?” It happens over here a lot. I am constantly amazed at my kids’ creativity, and it really shows in their cardboard costumes. I love Walt Disney’s quote,
“our greatest natural resource is the minds of our children.”
This quote sums up the process of my children creating something they need. We try to go as thrifty as we can for Halloween costumes. I love dress up and I love creativity and it feels like Halloween can merge those two passions so beautifully. Cardboard is a cheap material, so they often opt to make a cardboard costume for Halloween.
Do I Buy or Make a Costume?
For the record, I am NOT about paying a ton for a costume that you wear one time. Yet, we had probably a half dozen Toy Story costumes when our kids were younger because they literally lived in them all day long.
So, knowing your children and their interest level is important when deciding how invested you want to be in a Halloween costume.
Now that we have big kids, they wont wear the costume again. Dress up is not one of their everyday hobbies anymore. In that case, we want to have fun, play, and have something to wear and celebrate the day. Cardboard costumes can be quick, resourceful, inexpensive, fun and get the job done.
What do I need to create a DIY Cardboard Costume?
Big boxes can be the whole costume. I will never forget being out on a walk and seeing Sponge Bob run up to me. It was one of the funniest parenting moments. Who expects to see their child in a cardboard box version of Sponge Bob run up to them!?
A box box can be taped shut, painted and have holes cut for the arms and legs and be pretty amazing.
Our Caleb loves shoes. He buys shoes, he paints shoes, he draws shoes, and he even sells shoes. Do you know anyone like that? You can see more of his love for shoes/art on his YouTube channel. It made perfect sense that he would dress up as a shoe box one year. When we let our kids create their own costume, it can be more personalized and tuned to their individual interests.
Maybe you just have a sheet of cardboard laying around. It ca be turned into a mask. It can be as big as a pumpkin (wearing sunglasses) or smaller like an animal face. I love that the DIY style lets you be as elaborate or simple your time frame and heart’s desire cares to invest.
Our Reagan loves to create, so of course she spent more time on the fox mask than I did on the large cardboard piece we used for a skit.
We all are ordering online these days. By having things we love shipped directly to our door, we can have smaller cardboard boxes pile up. Am I right!? A smaller cardboard box can be the perfect addition to clothes you already have at home.
Have you ever been to a stadium baseball game or basketball game where the ushers are going up and down the stairs selling drinks? One year, our Caleb dressed up as a Dr. Pepper sales guy and it still makes me laugh to look at this picture. DIY Cardboard costumes can be hilarious and so fun. Caleb literally gave away some caned Dr. Peppers during our trick or treating that night. You should have seen the kids asking to trade candy for a drink with him!
What do you think? Do you still need a costume for this year’s trick or treating or Halloween party? Have fun imagining the possibilities! You can save a trip to Walmart and some $ by recycling your cardboard box into a creative costume.
Need more help tapping into your exquisite imagination? Join me in this 30 day challenge to practice imagining and allow the interesting, rewarding possibilities to emerge!
Are you ready for spring?
I loved how there were different patterns, texture of fabrics and shades of colors. I started by cutting about 3″ long leaves. I didn’t measure or worry about the exact width or shape. This is a great activity to do during a movie or couch lounging one night.
I worked in about 3′ long pieces of wire and made a stack of this foliage as I went. I made 8 separate pieces, but you could make as many as you wanted. I intended for my foliage to hang like a garland, but you could create yours on dowel rods for a sturdy base to stick in a vase as well. There are lots of possibilities!
I love how the fabric creates a soft leaf and foliage look. It really makes it more believable by how it moves and does not have a harsh fold. I took my foliage to the studio and hung it down in our faux fireplace.
So, are you ready for spring? Or, do you want to will it into existence by creating spring looks too?
Do you love recycling trash into treasures as much as we do!?
The first step is to collect your soup cans. We have gotten in the habit of just saving all our soup cans, so when a project idea arises, we are ready with cans on hand. I take the paper wrapper off our soup cans and run them through the dishwasher with our dishes to get clean. Once you have your dry cans, you are ready to create! We spray painted our cans white to have a nice matte base coat for this project. 
While the tin cans were drying, we collected our spray paint cans and filled a bucket with water. For each can, we choose two different spray paint colors. We added one color at a time.
The can comes out of the water looked marbleized and super fun! After you get the hang of it, you can play with how much spray paint you spray on top of the water to create a more thick or less thick look on your can. We had so much fun doing all four of our cans that we prepped!
After the cans were dry, we used ours to hold art supplies. You could do the same or turn it into something else! A wind chime, flower pot, vase, or candle holder are fun ways to use your new canister too. 
You can personalize this craft using colors that fit your taste or the size can that fits your need best.
How fun are those!? We think they look like they belong on shelves in World Market or Anthropologie. We found some white candle sticks that make the colors pop even more, and we are going to use them as Christmas presents for family this year!
