Halloween 2014 - DIY Tutorials - Insect/Bug Themed Family Halloween Costumes

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We had such a fun time making this year's insect/bug themed Halloween costumes. Chris was a giant preying mantis. I was an equally giant monarch butterfly. Zander was the sweetest little firefly, complete with a glowing bum. Lastly, little Zoey was a bumble bee.

Here are tutorials on how we made these costumes:

DIY Firefly Halloween Costume Tutorial:

Here's the gist of how to make this DIY firefly halloween costume and the supplies you'll need:

Supplies:

• Tan Felt
• Black Felt
• Frosted plastic container (The one we used was from an Ovaltine container.)
• Yellow glow stick
• String
• Black Marker
• Hot glue gun
• Antenna
• Styrofoam Ball

Instructions:

• Cut front pieces of tan felt and glue together. The dark color between the pieces is marker. I used a Sharpie for shading to create a shadow effect.
• Cut out little insect legs using black felt and glue the sides of the body piece you just made
• Cut 2 rectangular tan pieces for shoulder straps
• Back center piece is 1 piece of tan felt. Draw lines using black marker.
• Wings are tan with a smaller piece of black felt glued on top
• We attached some string to tie the front and back pieces together and keep them from flapping when worn.
• The glowing bum is a frosted plastic container with a yellow glow stick inside. The container is glued to the back tan felt to hold it in place.
• We purchased these antenna and added the eyes by using a styrofoam ball (cut in half and painted black).

Bumble Bee Halloween Costume: 

This bumble bee costume was actually a bathing suit that Zoey already had. It came with a swim cap with antennas and the back has wings and a stinger. Since the cap was too small for her we used these antenna and added the eyes by using a styrofoam ball (cut in half and painted black).

DIY Monarch Butterfly Halloween Costume Tutorial:

Supplies and instructions for this DIY monarch butterfly halloween costume:

Supplies:

• Grey Felt (I used this color to provide high contrast with the bright orange/yellow/white)
• Colored Felt (I used orange, red and white)
• Hot glue gun
• Antenna
• Styrofoam Ball

Instructions:

• Cut 3 grey piece of felt, left wing, right wing and center body. (I made wings identical)
• Glue the wing pieces to the body piece
• Cut all colored felt. (For ease, I cut the wing pieces identical.)
• Glue all the colored pieces onto the wings
• Cut rectangular pieces of grey felt and glue underneath to act as backpack style straps.
• Cut smaller rectangular pieces of grey felt and glue underneath to act as straps around forearms or wrists.
• Use these antenna and add the eyes by using a styrofoam ball (cut in half and painted black).

DIY Preying Mantis Halloween Costume Tutorial:

Supplies and instructions for this DIY preying mantis halloween costume:

Supplies:

• Light Green Felt
• Dark Green Felt
• Green Foam Block
• Silver Spray Paint
• Green pipe cleaners
• 1 large cardboard tube (like from a poster)
• 2 small cardboard tubes (like from gift wrapping paper)
• String
• Green t-shirt
• Black Marker
• Hot glue gun

Instructions:

• Use the green foam block and shave it in the shape of the head and eyes.
• Use the silver spray paint to paint the eyes.
• For the antennas, poke 2 holes in the top of the head, insert green pipe cleaners and glue into place.
• For the top part of the body, use the large cardboard tube. Wrap with light green felt and glue into place.
• The bottom part of the body is a flat piece of cardbard, cut and bent along the center. Wrap with light green felt and glue into place.
• Arms are small cardboard tubes. Cover and glue dark green felt, bend and glue in place.
• Legs are small pieces of cardboard covered in dark green felt
• Cut 4 holes into the large tube (body) and thread string through to create backpack style straps.
• Use a black marker to draw "BUG LIFE". Chris added a nice touch by drawing a Raid can in place of the "I" in "LIFE".

There you have it. Fun DIY insect/bug costumes for Halloween or any other fitting occasion.

If you make your own versions we'd love to see! Tag #IZZAROOcostumes for a chance to be featured on our website.

See our past Halloween costumes for more fun ideas.

Hope this inspires you to #CREATEmore and make lasting memories for your family. I would love to hear what you think of these in the comments section. 

To see some of our fun video tutorials, check out our YouTube channel.

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