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9 last-minute DIY Halloween costume ideas you can pull off in less than one hour

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Maybe you were invited to a Halloween party at the last minute. Perhaps Halloween snuck up on you, and by the time you went searching for the perfect costume, the stores were pretty much picked over. Fear not, you still have time to create these last minute costume ideas on a whim!

Here are our top 9 picks:

1. "The Identity Theft" 

Pick up some name tags, fill them out and stick them on. It's a simple costume that will take you less then 15 minutes to accomplish. Photo credit: Fungage.com

2.  Glowing Gown

In the original tutorial, the woman sewed her own dress. Since we're talking about last minute costumes here and for the sake of time, I'd use something you already own that you don't mind turning glow-in-the-dark, or purchase inexpensive attire while picking up the glow-in-the-dark paint. 

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Here's a summary on how to achieve this look; coming from the tutorial: 

  1. "The real star of the show was TULIP  glow-in-the-dark fabric paint. I used a little under two bottles of the stuff, and I got it at my local JoAnn's. After I sewed the initial garment, I painted the cotton broadcloth with two coats of the stuff and let it dry.
  2. Then, I overlaid the now-glowing cotton dress with a covering of tattered cheesecloth.  Into this cheesecloth, I wove glow-in-the-dark thread.  I ordered mine online, but I have seen it sold in stores since.
  3. After painting it with glowing paint and weaving in the glowing thread, I added a few frills to the gown.  I made some rosettes out of the leftover fabric scraps, made them glow also, and attached them to the bodice and neck strap."

Photo credit: Instructables.com

3. The classic Flapper Girl

You really can't go wrong being a Flapper girl. Bring on the sequins, feathers and vintage dress and head back into the 1920's.

Photo credit: iwearthecanvas.blogspot.com

4. Turn a box into a work of "Lego" art

Make something you'd recycle into a top-notch costume! With a little bit of glossy spray paint, a box and some red solo cups, you can achieve this last minute idea in about an hour. Here are the directions and the photo credit courtesy of Country Living.

5.  Play on words: Become a ceiling fan! 

It's as easy as writing "Go Ceiling!" on a shirt for a costume that truly plays on words. Photo credit: dinersthriftsandbottlecaps.blogspot.com

6. The Human Stick Figure

The hardest part of this costume will probably be creating your 'stick figure head', which can be made out of white poster board and black paint. The rest is pretty self-explanatory. Dress in white and use black electric tape to create the 'stick figure'. Photo credit: Indulgy.com

Bonus: Step it up a notch and become a 'glowing' human stick figure. Photo credit: Flickr.com

7. A Human Leaf Blower

This very literal costume will take you all of about five minutes to make. Attach a leaf (real or a paper cut out) and attach it to a baseball cap with string. Photo credit: Flickr.com

8. Need a costume idea for two? How about thunder and lightning? 

Avoid resorting to a generic couples costume and go as thunder and lightning. There are also other fun 'couple' costume ideas within this photo creditlink from hercampus.com

9. Let make-up be the main focus of your Halloween look

So maybe you're just not into dressing up. We found quite a few tutorials on how to accomplish just about any look through a little bit of time, face paint and make up. Head over to our Pinterest board for some clever, yet creepy ideas.

BONUS: I couldn't resist sharing this costume I spotted this past Saturday. Watch out for the 'cereal' killer!

 

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