DIY Leopard and Gorilla Couple Costume

-


For many years, if you asked my husband the material things he most desired, he would list video game systems, an air conditioner in his truck, an MP3 music player ... and a gorilla suit. Why? Because doing things in a gorilla costume—driving, playing an instrument, holding a kitty like Koko—is hilarious. But quality gorilla costumes are not cheap, until they are. Last Halloween, I found a $100 gorilla costume for $20 on Craigslist. Aaron's costume was set. I scoped out thrift stores for coordinating inspiration. Once I came upon leopard leggings, it was decided. For Halloween, it was DIY leopard with gorilla for our couple costume!

Cheap DIY Leopard Halloween Costume

For my cheap DIY leopard costume, I bought leopard print leggings at Atlas Thrift Store in Carmichael for $1 and a fuzzy, leopard print pillow sham at Goodwill in North Highlands for $0.99. I also spent $2 at CVS for Wet n' Wild eyeliners in black and gold. (Cheap and cruelty-free makeup FTW.) Grand total: $4 for a last-minute, cheap DIY leopard Halloween costume!


Making the Last Minute Leopard Costume


The night before Halloween (because why not stay up all night crafting) I got to work making my last minute leopard costume.

I cut leopard spots from the pillow sham and hot glued them onto a black shirt I already had. (Ain't got not time for sewing!)

For my DIY leopard tail, I used pipe cleaners to create the tail shape. I twisted many pipe cleaners together and then (if I remember correctly) covered the pipe cleaners with cheap duct tape to add thickness without compromising the curl of the DIY leopard tail. I hot glued the pillow sham fabric over the tail shape and used safety pins to affix the leopard tail to my leopard shirt.

To create the DIY leopard ears, I cut the sham into ear shapes and cut pipe cleaners to bend inside like a rainbow. I left the pipe cleaners longer than the ears so they could wrap around a headband. Then I glued the ears over the pipe cleaners and affixed the DIY leopard ears onto the headband.


DIY Leopard Makeup

I kept my DIY leopard makeup simple. With gold pencil eyeliner, I drew spots on my face and outlined them in liquid black eyeliner. I used the liquid eyeliner to color my nose and draw dot whiskers. I used a darker-than-normal mineral powder to add a bit of orange tint to my face. 


DIY Pet Animal Costumes

I wasn't planning on making DIY pet animal costumes, but the leftover fringe tassels on the sham screamed "lion" to me, so at the even later last minute, I decided to fasten the tassels into a mane for a lion cat costume for Oliver. I added sticky adhesive Velcro on the ends.

I couldn't make a costume for Oliver and not for Gizmo, so the next day (yes, on Halloween) I hastily made ears for a monkey dog costume out of the brown fur fabric leftover from Aaron's DIY Super Mario 3 costume.

Neither the mane nor the ears were my best work (maybe my worst), but it wasn't really about the quality of the craft but the hilarity of the pictures.





Happy Halloween! For DIY Halloween costume and DIY Halloween decor inspiration, click here!

How to Make Floating Light Up Zero the Dog from Nightmare Before Christmas

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Halloween Decorations: How to Stuff a Life-Size Michael Myers

-
Image
Michael Myers is our grand finale of decorations, the big kahuna. The Michael Myers tradition started our first year in our first home. Aaron had the brilliant idea of stuffing Michael and placing him in my office window, which faced the yard. You had to walk right past the window to get to our door. You couldn't miss Michael; even people driving by on the street would slow to check him out. On Halloween, Michael amused many and frightened some. A few groups wondered out loud if he was real. Suddenly Michael would move (thanks to Aaron hididng in the office) and screams would ensue. Eventually, Aaron closed the blinds, quickly un-stuffed Michael, stuffed himself inside and hid behind the front door. I would answer and Aaron would creep out or jump out. More screams. The next day, we had a knock at our door. A group of kids asked Aaron if he could put the costume back on and chase them. But of course! The group waited outside, expecting Aaron to come out the front door...
Keep on Reading on

Outdoor Oasis: How to Turn a Futon into a Porch Couch

-
Image
I refer to my back porch as my outdoor oasis, not because it's the most beautiful or detailed, but simply because the furniture is comfortable and the atmosphere is peaceful. It's where I go to unwind, relax and read. And now thanks to a recent project to turn a futon into a porch couch, I have the ultimate reading and napping spot. Last year, I wrote about getting rid of my busted up outdoor furniture, updating the salvageable and buying a futon to to use as my new outdoor couch . Shortly after I painted the $20 queen-size, solid-wood futon with outdoor white paint, I got busy getting ready for my move and never updated with the final result. I love it.
Keep on Reading on

Top 10 Tips for Packing Early for a Move

-
Image
I think I'm having the most organized move of my life, and that includes all future moves. I should be; this move is taking forever to actually happen. The tenants at my future home stopped paying rent over two months ago, and apparently that's how long it can take to evict someone in California. It's a frustrating saga I won't get into it. I thought I would, however, share some of my tips for an organized move, especially tips on what you can do well in advance of actually moving. 1. Create a box or basket of moving supplies. You want one place to hold packing tape, scissors, your labeling pen, etc. You also want an organizational system for all the pins, pens, screws and batteries you'll come across. (Make sure to separate the working batteries from the dead.) I like to use little jewelry boxes and small plastic containers to hold these items. After each box is sealed and labeled, the packing tape and Sharpie are immediately returned to this baske...
Keep on Reading on