With Halloween right around the corner, many people are starting to prepare for their festivities. Most times people shop for their Halloween costumes and decor following the passing holiday. Many people plan for the holiday at the last minute. This could be for many different reasons but mainly it’s due to your “Spirit of festival-ness” (Is that even a word?)

Anyways, to begin the celebration we all need something to wear. Let’s go ahead and admit it, costumes are EXPENSIVE. Especially the good ones not to say homemade costumes are shabby even though they are. (Insert Laugh here) It does not have to end in a costume cram with proper planning. This post is to give you a bit of inspiration and help you shop for the holiday season.

Scarecrow Costume

This look is very simple and easy to create. This scarecrow costume poncho the model is wearing is sold at Walmart for $12.97. Throw the poncho on with a pair of tights or your favorite jeans. Add some accessories and you’re all set for a night on the town! If you can’t find the poncho in stores this would be a simple and easy look to recreate. Grab an oversized T-shirt, a couple of old fabric squares from worn clothes, an empty paper bag, a rope of twine, and a mini sewing kit.

Sew or glue the paper bag around the neckline and place the patches in the desired areas. Glue the string onto the paper bag around the front near the collarbone area. The hair piece can be created by using the old fabric scraps created to the shape of the form of choice. You can poke a hole in the middle and adhere with hair pins or you can simply glue it to a headband.

Mummified Mum Costume

This super creepy yet sexy mystical mummy costume is sold on Amazon for $26.35. The Tattered design bears semblance to ancient mummies but in a chic fashion. I like this costume because it is different from most of the mummy costumes on the market today. It’s simple and straight to the point without being too extra for those who celebrate but don’t go overboard.

If you don’t have the funds for the store-bought costume you can possibly create a similar look with things you already have in your closet. If you already own a white or cream-colored dress you can cut it into this style or wear it like it is. Creating the mummified look may require a few additional items. You may need toilet paper (Or gauze tape), masking tape, concealer or foundation, a Kool-Aid package, white knee-high socks, and an old t-shirt. If you don’t have knee-high socks or can’t find any you can use an old white t-shirt for the foot and ankle part.

Lay the dress down flat or place it on your body if you have help. Wrap the toilet paper in any direction you choose around the dress itself. Once done wrap the masking tape across the toilet paper-covered dress in any fashion you like. You can use as much or as little of these items as you wish. After you finish wrapping the dress use concealer or foundation on a makeup sponge and blot it onto the dress so that it smears and creates a dust particles look.

Use some toilet paper to wipe the dress so that it does not cause a mess when wearing but so that the stains remain. Do the same method on the knee-high socks. The foot of the sock may be clipped if you will be wearing open-toe shoes. It will not be necessary if you will be wearing boots or sneakers.

Cut the neck of the T-Shirt off the shirt and cut the shirt in half vertically down the middle. Clip off a long vertical strip from the end of one of the two pieces. This strip of cloth will be used for the headband. The other two pieces will be wrapped around the bottom portion of the legs and should be wrapped in the same fashion as the dress. Use the Kool-Aid package to create artificial blood staining if desired. Simply take a little bit of the powder and rub it in the spots desired and rub thoroughly so that it does not create a mess but the stain remains.

This Blessed Babe Nun Costume is super cute, simple, and sexy. You can find this costume for sale at Party City for $25.00. Although we should be sure to pay our tithes and offerings sometimes it can be more than we can afford. This should not be the time for you to wear this costume but we could all use a little blessing during the season. This look can be easily recreated using simple items you may already own. Of course, a few additional items may be required.

A simple black dress can be worn with dark-colored stockings and black shoes. This may already be a staple in your closet. To create the white collar of the neckline you can do this in two different ways. If you have a white turtle neck simply cut the desired shape leaving the collar attached to the top. You can sew this to the dress, adhere it with fabric glue or use safety pins to pin it from the underside. If a turtleneck is unavailable the same can be done using a clean white T-shirt or simply by tucking a napkin into the collar of the dress and securing it with a safety pin for easy removal.

The headdress can be created by cutting open a black pillowcase or using a headscarf. Clip the end of the white t-shirt and tie it around the crown of the headdress. Secure the flaps with a safety pin underneath the flowing portion of the headdress.