What a great homemade witch costume! Um, you were supposed to be a princess? Oh.

October 24, 2008 7:32 PM

Halloween is lurking ever nearer, and you need costumes and home decorations. Even if you're not as crafty as a witch, Halloween is a good time to start because the results are supposed to look deformed and grotesque. And you're dreaming of a green Halloween. Fortunately I just happen to have a few links to get you started. This garlic wreath could help you keep the vampires away, and this eyeball wreath may work on everyone else. For a geek-style Halloween, make a Mac-o-lantern. You could also decorate the house with a vinyl record cat clock, tin can candle lanterns, a ghost mobile, CD cat coasters, or a skeleton doll made out of old socks. For outdoor decorations, lawn tombstones can be made out pizza boxes and old newspapers, a skeleton out of old plastic containers, and there could be a ghost or two hanging about. You could adorn yourself with a skeleton brooch made out of tin cans, and if you've got old clothes or linens lying about the children in your life might like a few cute monsters to cuddle. If your kids (or you) have finally outgrown dolls, give the dolls a zombie makeover. For costume ideas, check out the Daily Green's list of the best recycled costumes on the Web, then send the kids trick or treating with pumpkin or black cat canisters. Just please be careful with those shears and x-acto knives or the blood and gore on your costume may be a little too organic.
posted by orange swan (28 comments total)

I keep a sign made of broken human finger bones and cracked femurs that says "Keep out or Die Horribly" on top of a signpost made of human skulls.

...not for Halloween tho.
posted by Smedleyman at 7:35 PM on October 24, 2008 [2 favorites]

Great post, orange swan. I really like the Pizza Tombstones.
posted by jamaro at 7:59 PM on October 24, 2008

I'm just going to put a condom over my head and go as a well dressed prick.
posted by jonmc at 8:02 PM on October 24, 2008 [1 favorite]

Mine's not exactly 100% recycled this year, but Sunday I spent assembling my "Ash from Evil Dead" Halloween costume in preparation for a party and I can tell you that cardboard, an X-acto blade, an old plastic jerry can, and an old bike chain make a pretty awesome chainsaw-hand if that's your kind of thing.
posted by Hoopo at 8:06 PM on October 24, 2008

One of my many goals this year is to make some of my spider victims into animatronics with the magic of turn table motors rescued from old dead microwave ovens.

Reduce. Reuse. Reanimate.
posted by Kid Charlemagne at 8:14 PM on October 24, 2008 [1 favorite]

Of the Daily Green's recycled costumes I like 3 and 10 best.
posted by nickyskye at 8:18 PM on October 24, 2008

I'm definitely going to be an Ashley Todd's Doppleganger.
posted by Rubbstone at 8:18 PM on October 24, 2008

Another great post orange swan. I've been making paper toys for Halloween decorations this year. Ravensblight has several decorations you can download for free. At Goobeetsa you can download and make your own zombie Freud or Edgar Allan Poe paper toy.
posted by Sailormom at 8:27 PM on October 24, 2008 [2 favorites]

BOO!
posted by nola at 8:28 PM on October 24, 2008

I also love the samurai recycled costume on the Daily Green.

Sailormom, those are fantastic links. This one's particularly good.
posted by Dragonness at 8:56 PM on October 24, 2008

I posted this back in May. Seems fine to resurrect here.
posted by pearlybob at 9:31 PM on October 24, 2008

Does it make me a complete lameass for being about a million times more excited about the election than Halloween?
posted by baphomet at 9:46 PM on October 24, 2008

Work (annoyingly) picked a theme this year. We can dress up as any character that appeared on the Flintstones. I was thinking Captain Caveman, but I don't have big fake bare feet or a body-covering wig.

Anyone have any thoughts, for either that or another character (that is not Fred, Wilma, Barney, Betty, Bambam, Pebbles, or Mr. Slate)?
posted by Kickstart70 at 10:05 PM on October 24, 2008

Halloween Monster List has 827+ links to Halloween projects.
posted by twoleftfeet at 10:22 PM on October 24, 2008

Be the Great Gazoo! I loved him. And you get an excuse to call people dum-dums all day.
posted by orange swan at 10:22 PM on October 24, 2008

Well, the Jetsons made a guest appearance on the Flintstones once, so that opens up a whole other cast for your choosing.
posted by Marisa Stole the Precious Thing at 10:37 PM on October 24, 2008

I'm going as Ashley Todd for Halloween.

... too soon?
posted by tzikeh at 11:41 PM on October 24, 2008

I think that my gf and i are going as the existential detectives from "I <3>Does it make me a complete lameass for being about a million times more excited about the election than Halloween?

No.
posted by schyler523 at 11:50 PM on October 24, 2008

Well that got screwed up...that should read "I <3 Huckabees" and that quote from Baphomet should be italicized...
posted by schyler523 at 11:52 PM on October 24, 2008

One year I avoided attending a ridiculous Halloween party by telling everyone ahead of time that I would dress as the Invisible Man. Sure enough, no one saw me at the party and to boot I won the prize for "Best Costume".
posted by twoleftfeet at 4:37 AM on October 25, 2008 [2 favorites]

A friend of mine avoiding dressing up for Halloween one year by going as a mute. If anyone asked him what he was, he handed them a little card that said, "I'm a mute".
posted by orange swan at 7:42 AM on October 25, 2008 [2 favorites]

Around here, people had those big, ugly inflatable yard 'decorations' up before the first of the month. Lots of people did, and they had 2-5 per yard. It was absurd.

Two days ago, they were all either deflated, or removed. WTF?
posted by paisley henosis at 7:43 AM on October 25, 2008

Nice post!
posted by clon7 at 9:42 AM on October 25, 2008

Wasn't this just posted?
posted by Zambrano at 10:39 AM on October 25, 2008

My fave recycled costume was a vintage swiss dot dress, a lucy wig, a groucho marx nose, and a basket of rhinestones. I was Lucy in Disguise, with Diamonds.
posted by dejah420 at 11:48 AM on October 25, 2008 [4 favorites]

Orange Swan, you just gave me an idea for a great costume. I too will not be dressing up for Halloween, but when a nice female approaches me, I'll hand her a card. It'll read: I'm your new boyfriend.
posted by doctorschlock at 12:26 PM on October 25, 2008 [1 favorite]

Two days ago, they were all either deflated, or removed. WTF?

Was it real windy where you live? A lot of people deflate them when there's supposed to be bad weather. (Doesn't explain the removed ones, though.)
posted by inigo2 at 8:07 PM on October 26, 2008

Was it real windy where you live? A lot of people deflate them when there's supposed to be bad weather. (Doesn't explain the removed ones, though.)

Actually no, but it was cold. There was a soft-frost, I think. Today the ones that were deflated were back up, but the ones that were gone were still gone.

Thanks for the reasonable answer, I was mostly just going for "people are nuts in Jersey, eh?"
posted by paisley henosis at 11:30 PM on October 26, 2008