When I heard about the Scribble Challenge, I got really excited.  See, Scribble Shop is an online craft store that sells over 75,000 different items.  (Yeah, they have pretty much everything!)  For this challenge post, they sent me a box containing a selection of a few of the items they sell; my job was to create a project using as many of the contents as possible.  When my box arrived, it was so much fun to open!  I found that it contained:

• Wool roving, green, $2.09
• Wool roving, royal blue, $2.09
• Feathers, $3.19 (or on hand)
• Large glitter brads, $3.79 (or on hand)
• Martha Stewart glitter, $3.99 (or on hand)
• Fabric charm squares, $5.99 (or on hand)
• Chalkboard paint, $3.49
• Ferrero Rocher candies, $1 and up

The first thing that came to mind when I saw the wool roving was something that’s been on my crafty bucket list:  needle felting!  Then the combination of the feathers and glitter, along with the colors in the box, made me think of Mardi Gras.  It was an “a-ha!” moment.  I knew I had to make some sort of felted mask.  The materials were begging for just such a treatment!

We could also use items from our own stash to supplement the materials provided in the box.  In addition to the goodies that Scribble Shop sent, I used:

• A felted thrift store sweater, on hand or $1 and up (or you could use store-bought wool felt)
• Embroidery hoop, $1.59
• Needle felting mat, $10.49
• Needle felting tool, $16.95

Depending what  you have on hand and whether or not you use the exact same components, you should be able to replicate this project for about $10 and up.

First I used a Sharpie to draw the shape of a mask on my felted sweater.  (If you don’t feel comfortable drawing freehand, sketch it on a piece of paper first, then cut it out and use that as a template to transfer the image to your felt.)

Then I used my needle felting tool and mat to fill in the mask with wool roving.  I twisted the pieces of roving as I attached them to create a swirl-like pattern.

Once the entire mask was felted, I mounted it in the embroidery hoop and trimmed away the excess felt.  I used the chalkboard paint to paint the embroidery hoop black before mounting the mask in it.

Next came the best part: embellishing the mask!  I started by gluing a grouping of feathers to the top of the mask.

Then I carefully pressed the glitter brads through the felt to dress up the corners of the mask.

I used the fabric to cover the base of the feathers.  I cut a circle out of the fabric and used my i-top button maker with brad backs to make a custom brad.  Alternatively, you can get the same effect using an upholstery button kit.

After I ate the candies (trust me, they didn’t survive long), I carefully smoothed out the foil and tucked it aside.  I pulled it back out to give the mask gilded features.  I cut two eye shapes and a lip shape out of scrap cardboard, then wrapped them in the gorgeous gold foil.

I used the glue pen that came with the glitter to make a fine line around the edge of each gold-wrapped piece, then dumped on some sparkle.  Once the glue dried, I tapped off the excess glitter and glued the features into place.

Huzzah!  I managed to use everything in the box!!  (*Pats self on back*)  If you had to use everything in the box to make one project, what would you create?

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Disclosure:  This post is part of a paid campaign with ScribbleShop.com and Blueprint Social.  All opinions are 100% my own.  Full disclosure here.

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I love checking out the holiday deals at all of my favorite stores.  This year  in the Halloween aisle at Walgreens I found a box of plain, masquerade-style masks made out of craft foam priced at 2/$1.00.  Score!  Since I’ve always had a fascination with masquerade masks, I picked up a handful of them.   I’ve also been wanting to make a pair of  steampunk goggles, so I thought, why not combine the two into a single project?

Project estimate:

• Mask, $0.50
• Chopstick, on hand or $1
• Spray paint, on hand or $1 and up
• Felt, on hand or about $0.33
• Thumb tacks or paper fasteners, on hand
• Bottle caps, on hand
• Plastic bottle, on hand
• Hot glue, on hand
• Spray adhesive, on hand or about $5

Total:  $0.50 and up

The mask came with an elastic string, which I immediately removed.  The outside edge around the beveled imprint was also quite uneven, so I trimmed it up with a pair of scissors.  Then I glued a chopstick to the back side of the mask with a liberal dose of  hot glue.  Here it is sitting in a shallow box and waiting for some paint!

Spray paint your mask.  Metallic paints work well for a steampunk look; I chose to go with a hammered copper finish.

Carefully cut the centers out of two large, plastic bottle caps.  (Mine are from Powerades.)  Sand the edges of the holes to smooth as needed.  Spray paint the caps in a contrasting metallic shade.  (I used a textured spray paint in a gunmetal color.)

Widen the eye holes on the mask so that the openings are round and just a little smaller than the bottle caps.  (I traced the bottle caps on the back side of the mask, then used scissors to cut holes slightly smaller than my marks.)

Cut a piece of felt to go across the mask, making sure that the eye holes line up and that it fits over the bridge of the nose.   Embellish the sides with paper fasteners.  When I went to the store they were out of paper fasteners, so instead I used some thumb tacks that I had on hand; I bent the back side of each tack all the way over, then poked the end of each tack through  the felt and glued them into place.

To make lenses for your goggles, cut two circles out of the curved top portion of a plastic soda or water bottle and snap them into place inside the painted caps.

Glue the bottle caps over the eye holes on the mask.

You could call it finished at this point, but I like lots of details so I did some outlining with a silver Sharpie.  This step is totally optional, but I love how it makes everything stand out!

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My son is a big Harry Potter fan, and wanted to be Draco Malfoy, dressed as a Death Eater, for Halloween this year.  Now I haven’t seen the last movies, but I don’t think Draco actually ever dons a Death Eater mask, but my child was undeterred.  He was going to be Death Eater Draco.  I’d seen several tutorial out there for making Death Eater masks, but they all looked way too complex.  This is a quick fix dollar store solution that worked out quite nicely.

Project estimate:

• Skeleton mask, $1
• Spray paint, on hand or $1 and up
• Sharpie, on hand

Total:  $1 and up

Starting point was a foam mask from the dollar store (I got mine at Family Dollar for $1)

Here is what it looked like before, just a simple skeleton mask:

I then cut out a several vertical slits in the mouth area.  (It started with 1 horizontal slit)  Since this mask was foam, that was easily done with scissors.

Next, we spray-painted it silver, and then a dusting of black to dull it up a bit.

Finally, when it was dry, a regular sized black sharpie was used to draw all the designs.  I got inspiration by looking at masks from the movie online.  I just freehanded all the swirls and squiggles, adding more designs until it looked good to me.

And that’s about it!

You can photos/video of the costume in action (I also made him a robe, and a scarf, and my husband made him a cool Harry Potter broom) over at Dabbled.org (Draco Malfoy, Death Eater costume).

The post Make a Death Eater Mask from a $1 Skeleton Mask appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

Okay, so this isn’t a super-cheap Halloween costume idea, but many of the components are things you can find at the dollar store, and the finished look is worth every penny.  Plus, this little girl is just too adorable not to share!  Her mom is Jennae from Green Your Decor, who searched through hundreds of ideas before settling on a costume that both a) her daughter liked, and b) she thought she would be able to pull off.  Inspiration struck when she saw a photo of a peacock, and the rest is crafty history!  [how to make a peacock costume]

Project estimate:

• Peacock feathers, about $30 and up
• Tulle (or bath scrubbers), on hand or $1 and up
• Ribbon, on hand or $1
• Feather boa, $1
• Fabric, on hand or $1 and up
• Trim, on hand  or $1 and up
• Mask, $1 and up
• Beads, on hand or $1 and up
• Headband, $1
• Leotard, about $5 and up
• Tights, on hand or $1 and up
• Hot glue, on hand

Total: about $38 and up

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Some costumes just aren’t complete without a mask.  If you’re looking to make your own mask this Halloween, here is a simple way to do it.  DeeDee from Whatever Dee-Dee Wants has a  free, downloadable template for this basic felt mask that I think would be the perfect accessory for a super hero costume.  It would also be a wonderful base for a masquerade-type mask, or add feathers and make it a bird mask.  The idea is quick, easy, and cheap enough to also work well as a party favor!  [how to make a felt superhero mask]

Project estimate:

• Felt, on hand or about $0.33 per sheet
• Ribbon or elastic, on hand or $1
• Mask template, free

Total:  Free and up

The post Make a Felt Superhero Mask appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

This fun costume idea came to us from DSC reader Sarah. After learning about Egyptian history, she and her kids made pharaoh masks!  Sarah constructed the hockey-mask-and-cardboard bases, then let her kids go crazy applying papier-mache and paint.  These kids seem destined to follow in their mother’s footsteps; Sarah is an artist with a wonderfully whimsical style.  Make sure you take a minute to check out her website!

Project estimate:

• Plastic hockey mask, $1
• Cardboard, on hand
• Masking tape, on hand
• Papier-mache supplies, on hand
• Paint, on hand or $1 and up

Total:  $1 and up

Directions:

1.  Lay the hockey mask on a piece of cardboard and cut around it in the shape of a pharaoh’s mask.  Secure the mask into place on the cardboard with masking tape.

2.  Cover the mask and cardboard with several layers of papier-mache.

3.  When dry, paint the mask to look like an Egyptian pharaoh.

While you are waiting for your papier-mache and paint to dry, here are a few more fun kids craft ideas for Halloween!

Shanti at Twig & Toadstool came up with this great idea for cheap Halloween party favors – cute, batty pencil toppers!  (The blog also has a whole bunch of awesome fairy and woodland themed craft tutorials!)  [how to make bat pencil toppers]

If you’ve got a toddler, chances are you have mpty containers from puffs laying around.  Amy from Increasingly Domestic had a bunch of them.  Inspired by the shape, she transformed them into an entire collection of Halloween characters.  [how to make recycled puff container Halloween characters]

No costume is complete without accessories, and that includes witches!  Your little witch will love helping to create an adorable wand like this one designed by Lindsey at Inspiring Creations.  It’s a great use for all those odds and ends of ribbon left over from your other Halloween projects!  [how to make a shabby witch wand]

If you’ve never visited the Handprint and Footprint Art blog, you should add it to your bookmarks!  Blog owner Amanda shares many awesome ideas for creating keepsake handprint and footprint projects, including this adorable ghost footprint t-shirt.  [how to make a ghost footprint t-shirt]

The post Make a Pharaoh Mask + 4 More Kids Crafts for Halloween appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

In case you need a reference point, the sock monkey in question is here:

Here’s a head-to-toe photo of the sock monkey (it’s a  cardboard cut-out but you get the idea). Photo from Camp Sock Monkey.

Rhonda said:
If you can find enough thrifted wool sweaters in the right colors, you could felt them, cut them apart, and use them to sew the costume.

Here’s what I think:

Halloween costumes are all about illusion, so this sock monkey costume doesn’t have to look fabulous from up close. That means losing the knitted texture, and just going with the suggestion of sock monkey.

Project Estimate:

• Brown sweatshirt and sweatpants, $10 and up
• Simply Spray or spray paint, $1 and up
• Masking tape, on hand
• Pair of white tube socks, $1 and up
• Thrifted white sweater, $1 and up
• Punch balloons, $1
• Old newspaper and flour for papier-mache, on hand
• Felt yardage, red, $1 and up
• Acrylic paint, brown, white, and red, on hand or $1 and up
• Screen door mesh, $1 and up
• Hot glue, on hand
• Red yarn, $1 and up
• Optional, polyester batting, $3 a yard (buy on sale or with coupon at fabric store)

Total: $18 and up

Body: I would buy brown sweats and then use white spray paint or fabric spray paint (like Simply Spray) to make the white arm & leg sections (tape off the line where you want those sections to start to make a clean line between the brown & the white).

Alternately, for a more knitted look, use a pair of white tube socks to make the white arm sections. Cut the socks off at the heel, sew them up, and then pull them over the arms. Take a white knitted sweater from the thrift store and pull sleeves over feet and calves, mark where to cut sleeves off, and add a couple inches. Then cut off, and sew up. Tea dye if you want them to be off-white. If you need to, add elastic around the top of the leg sock things so they’ll stay up.

Embellishments: For the red and black, felt embellishments would probably be cheapest (including for the red stripe on the butt). Attach with hot glue. Make a long red i-cord for the neck tie (or just braid a few strands of red thread).

Head: For the molded head, how about blowing up two punch balloons (get them at the dollar store) and papier-macheing them. When they are dry, cut one to fit onto the other one as a mouth, and glue them together. Then papier-mache over the joined section. Then paint the sock monkey head brown and add felt features and make sure he can see out of it with strategically-placed eyeholes — probably in the monkey’s mouth — painted screen works well for this. Cut a hole in the head where the eyes should go. Glue in screen, and paint over it. I made a Grover mascot in high school, and we used a couple pieces of foam that we carved into a head shape, but I think papier mache would work a lot better!

Glue felt embellishments to the head.

If your son is really committed, buy polyester batting by the yard and wrap his arms, legs, and torso in the batting before he puts on the costume, to create the smooth stuffing illusion.

Time: This project will take you several hours, and you will spend most of your time on the head! Plus, the head will take 1-2 days to dry, so make sure you don’t wait to start on it.

Anyone else have any great ideas?

Update: Emily made a sock monkey for her son a couple years ago. Here’s what she said:

A few years ago, my Kindergarten aged son wanted to be a sock monkey, here is the costume I sewed (I have very basic skills!) I used an old Easter Bunny costume, that was the right size for my son, I used that for the body piece of the costume, and traced it onto newspaper for a pattern.  I forgot to mention the fabric was in the clearance section at my local material store, and I have seen it there often since.

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