DIY costumes popular for saving money

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Katie Ryan-Anderson / The Sun Jennifer Kross, left, holds the homemade Queen of Hearts costume she wore at a recent Halloween party. With her is Lori Listopad, co-author of wom-mom.com, which offers how to make Halloween-themed crafts, recipes and work-appropriate Halloween accessories.

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Jennifer Kross wore her heart on her sleeve one Halloween, or rather, she wore the hearts on her head and on her gold and sparkly dress.

That’s because Kross, who throws a Halloween party for friends and family every year, makes her own costumes. That year, she created a Queen of Hearts costume out of felt, craft supplies and an old bridesmaid dress — an “awesome” base for creating a festive fall get-up, she said.

Many families may be looking to skirt the traditional buy-today, throw-away-tomorrow, costume route in favor homemade and frugal Halloween attire.

“What I like is when you put your own twist on it,” she said.

For her husband, he and Jennifer created a costume based on the title character in the Showtime series, “Dexter.” They used an apron and a welder’s hat for the costume and a hatchet to accessorize the well-meaning serial killer.

Another year, Kross created a werewolf costume using old ripped-up jeans in which she sewed fake fur in the holes. After that, she spiked her hair and painted her face with brown makeup and the costume was complete.

Kross purchased this year’s Halloween costume for her Horror Movie Monster Ball-themed party, but “I’m not proud of it,” she said. She’s secretive about what she’ll be, although new mom to Miles, 3 months, a zombie may not be to unrealistic.

Not a sewer, Kross said she opts for a hot glue gun instead, saying DIY costumes aren’t limited to crafting professionals. She advised fellow DIY costume creators to raid their closets and the closets of their friends too.

And while Kross dresses in costume from head to toe, all eyes will be on her friend, Lori Listopad. Listopad created googlely-eyeball jewelry out of a necklace and earrings she found at Goodwill and crafts from Wal-Mart. You can create your own by following along in her blog, www.wom-mom.com. Listopad co-authors the blog about food, family, crafting and saving money.

Wom-mom also offers budget-friendly Halloween craft and recipe ideas.

She wanted to participate in the spooky holiday, which falls on Monday, while still dressing appropriate for work. And while shopping at second-hand stores, she purchased a monkey costume for her son Murray, 1, for $2.99.

Keep a (googley) eye out for Halloween bargains throughout the year and thrift stores, consignment stores and garage sales, Listopad said.

Jamestown resident Katrina Christiansen will dress her children, Henry Post Van Der Burg, 3, and Vivian Post Van Der Burg, 4 months, in homemade get-up. Christiansen will “max out my felting skills” making Vivian’s owl wings. Along with the wings, the infant will wear tights and a onesie, Christiansen said.

Henry wants to be the bounty hunter, Boba Fett, from the Star Wars movies. To make the costume, which includes a metallic shield, a belt and a mask, Christiansen said she plans purchase the mask, but to make the remaining costume elements out of felt (which costs about 20 cents apiece) and glue. Plus, Henry can help.

“I guess we want to teach Henry and Vivian that you don’t have to buy everything,” Katrina said, saying she wants to cultivate their creativity.

Sun reporter Katie Ryan-Anderson can be reached at 701-952-8454 or by email at kryan-anderson@ jamestownsun.com

Tags: local news, news, halloween