Dinosaur Costume
Dinosaur Costume
Time: A few hours over 2 days
Effort: Easy no sewing required
Materials:
- Rectangular cardboard box
- X-ActoҖ knife
- Masking tape
- Green spray paint
- White, black, red, and yellow paint and paintbrushes
- Green sweats
- Green tights
- Styrofoam ball (2-3" diameter)
- Polyfill
- Green felt (optional)
- Velcro points (optional)
- Red felt (optional)
Instructions: The cardboard box will fit over your child's head and shoulders to form a dino head/snout. Depending on the size of the box, you can cut out "shoulder rests" for the box to fit on his shoulders. If the box is bigger, just cut armholes in the sides of the box. You'll need to do some measuring and adjusting, by putting the box on your child.
Basically, you need to figure out how to turn a rectangular box into a dinosaur head by cutting away pieces, folding, and taping. Leave a "window" between the top of the elongated "snout" part of the head and the top of the head, so that your child can see out. (This gives the head a two-level look, and avoids the problem of lining up eyes with eyeholes).
Spray paint the "head" green. For the eyes, cut a Styrofoam ball in half and paint the two halves yellow. Allow to dry, then paint a black pupil in the center of each eye. When they are dry, glue them to the sides of the head for eyes. Have your child paint red spots on the head.
Cut one leg off the green tights and stuff it with polyfill to form the tail. Close it with a rubber band, and pin the tail to the elastic at back of child's sweatpants. If desired, cut paired triangles of green felt and glue them together, then attach them to the tail and back of your child with Velcro. You could also cut circles from red felt for spots and attach them to the outfit with Velcro.
Other details: You can use this same idea for a crocodile, with a few modifications. Just place the eyes so they stick up from the top of the head instead of the sides.
Caution: This costume limits peripheral vision.
