Halloween Decorations: DIY Flying Monster

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He's made children cry. He's one of the reasons we get so many "badass decorations" compliments from adults. He's our flying monster, and he only cost a few bucks to make.

What You Need:
1 Black grad robe (Check thrift stores, if you don't have one lying around.)
1 Over-the-head mask (Preferably with a hood)
1 Pair of monster gloves
Lots of safety pins
1 Plastic bag
Newspaper or tissue paper
1 Wire coat hanger
2 sticks (We used the wands from old blinds)


 The Basic Steps:
  • Fill out your mask with something bulky so it has dimension. We actually have a block of wood in there, but without pulling apart the monster, I couldn't tell you how we managed that. You can fill a plastic bag with newspaper, seal the bag and then safety pin or sew it into the inside of the mask.  
  • Safety pin the collar of the graduation gown to the neck opening of the mask. If your mask has a hood -- as ours does -- safety pin the hood to the gown.
  • Cut a small slit in the back of the neck area or back of the hood to insert a wire hanger.
  • Insert poles (narrow scraps of wood, wands from blinds, etc.) into the sleeves of the gown to give your monster outstretched arms. 
  • Secure the poles in place. We used large safety pins to attach the poles to the inside top of the sleeves, so the rest of the sleeve hangs open below.
  • Stuff the gloves with newspaper/tissue paper to give dimension. 
  • Attach the gloves to the poles. We Macgyvered the gloves with duct tape and safety pins and its held for years. For added fun, position the fingers in place -- our guy is flashing the rock n' roll sign.
  • Hang your guy up -- near a corner works great -- and attach the hem of the robe to a wall to give your monster the look of movement. We safety-pinned the ends of the robe together and then secured the ends to the wall with push pins. 
TIP: If you find yourself having trouble getting the arms in the right flying position, tie fishing line around the wrist area of your monster to pull up the arms (like a marionette). Then tie the other end of the fishing line to plastic gutter hooks (the kind used for Christmas lights) and attach to your gutters. 

Like this? You might also like: 

DIY Floating Goblin 

Stuff Life-Size Michael Myers

Political Yard Signs into Tombstones

DIY Halloween Costumes for Couples

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