Did you use Mr. Sketch markers when you were a kid? It was one of my favourite things to add to birthday presents when my sisters and I were kids (thanks mom!) and our children still love using them! Our friend Amanda of Barley and Birch (https://barleyandbirch.com/) is hosting 90′s week with several other creative kid accounts (see below) and we decided that these felt markers were iconic to childhood in the 80s and 90s and would make an instantly recognizable costume! We use simple materials to create an inexpensive costume that would be great if you were trick-or-treating with a group! (You could have a rainbow of colours!) *To simplify this costume and for easier walking, just wear the colour of your choice and attach the logo to your shirt. Or use a coloured apron to do the same* Materials Bristol/Poster board (we used 3 sheets for children sized markers- 2 for the body and one for the hat/cap) OR BETTER YET- coloured clothing and 1 sheet of poster board for the hat only) Stapler Glue/ glue gun Felt or construction paper White paint pen (Posca is our favourite brand) Self stick Velcro dots or tape (You can find them at craft stores, hardware stores, online, dollar stores etc.) Ribbon or elastic Scissors Containers or lids to create shapes Binder clips Permanent marker Pencil/ pen We always find these items useful too: Directions Wrap your child in two poster boards, creating a tube. (Don’t make it too tight or it will be difficult to walk!) Attach the pieces together with binder clips to measure where you would glue them together and where you would put your Velcro dots to hold the other side together. Some overlap is good to hold the pieces firmly in place. You can lightly mark the lines with a pencil. We then glued the one side of our poster board together with a glue gun and secured the pieces with staples at the top and bottom. On the other side, we put the scratchy side of the Velcro dots and lined them up with the fuzzy sides where you would wrap them around. This allows the child to easily remove the costume. You could use Velcro tape as well. We cut shapes out of felt to go along with the flavours that the kids chose: blueberries, an orange and a mint leaf (you can look on the back of the box for inspiration). The easiest way to make shapes is to use containers, lids or plates. My daughter traced around the edge of a deli container to create circles for the blueberries with a permanent marker and then we flipped them over so you couldn’t see the markings and added details. We made the orange with a plate and created the details with a white paint pen. Different shades create dimension to your shape. You could easily use construction paper, card stock or more poster board for these accents. Sketch the logo on your poster board with pencil and then trace over it with white paint pen (you could also do this in a dark colour if your marker is light, like the real markers). Glue your pieces into place. For the caps/hats we used a tapered cone net (see photo) for the outer area and a long strip rolled into a cylinder for the inner portion. They sit on the kids heads, but if you wanted them to be more secure, you could attach them to a headband or a thin piece of elastic under the chin through punched holes on either side (however, be careful as this could still be a strangulation hazard, remove for play and supervise with wear). As requested, here is a close up of the cap hat measurements which we made from a Bristol/ poster board. We then created shoulder straps using ribbon attached with Velcro dots at the ends (so that they could be removed). Voila! The kids said one should use appropriately scented matching product (like a mint hand cream) and then set out for trick-or-treating! Pin this idea You could even create your own matching Halloween bag: See all the projects from our friends at these pages: Amanda from barley & birch (https://www.instagram.com/barleyandbirch/?hl=en) Shannon from Oh Creative Day (https://www.instagram.com/ohcreativeday/?hl=en) Cara from Raising Kinley (https://www.instagram.com/stories/raising.kinley/?hl=en) Shelly from Creating Creatives (https://www.instagram.com/stories/creatingcreatives/?hl=en) Laura and Tai from Little Button Diaries (https://www.instagram.com/littlebuttondiaries/?hl=en) Joanna from The Blue Barn (https://www.instagram.com/thebluebarn/?hl=en) Maggy from Red Ted Art (https://www.instagram.com/stories/redtedart/?hl=en) Ana from Babble Dabble Do (https://www.instagram.com/babbledabbledo/?hl=en) Sian from Teach Investigate Play (https://www.instagram.com/teach.investigate.play/?hl=en) Lisa from The Art Garden (https://www.instagram.com/theartgardenblog/?hl=en) Purpose Recognizing the traditions of various celebrations. Safety Notes We suggest that you use a tray and a smock to protect your clothing and surfaces while you glue. Use scissors and a glue gun with care and direct, adult supervision. Ribbon, cord, yarn etc. can be a strangulation hazard, therefore be sure to use with direct supervision and for its intended purpose. Please like & share: One Response Leave a Reply Cancel Reply Your email address will not be published. Name* Email* Website Comment Notify me of follow-up comments by email. Notify me of new posts by email.
