Robot costumes are among my favorite to make because the creative freedom is endless. Knobs, buttons, antennae, switchesāyou can go crazy with all of the fun pasta shapes out there to create a gorgeous control panel.
We decided to think outside the box (literally) and not put my son Oliver in a cardboard box. Instead, we created his control panel on an 11×14-inch canvas. If you donāt have one of those laying around, you can just cut a piece of cardboard and attach the ribbon around the neck like we did (scroll down to see how-to below).
What youāll need:
For the control panel
Rotelle (wagon wheel), ziti, penne, rings, orecchiette, flat lasagna and dried ravioli pasta
11āx14ā canvas
Small cardboard jewelry box
Silver and blue paint
Red and yellow food dye
Three resealable bags
Hand sanitizer
Silver ribbon
Two flat thumb tacks
Wax paper
For the helmet
1 quart sized metal Colander
Silver pipe cleaners
1 Ā½-inch-diameter foam pipe insulation
Scissors
Felt
Adhesive velcro
Robot gear
silver/grey hoodie and pants
Grey felt
How to make control panel
Paint canvas and jewelry box silver
Paint the front and back of two pieces of lasagna blue then let dry
Put one teaspoon of hand sanitizer in a plastic bag
Add six drops of red and pour in a variety of pasta types. Shake bag until noodles are covered then lay out on wax paper to dry.
Repeat with yellow dye and orange dye (four drops of yellow and two drops of red)
Glue silver box and two blue lasagna pieces to canvas. Glue smaller pasta on top in grids, vās and other patterns
Tack one side of the ribbon to the back top corner of the canvas. Measure so that the canvas hangs in front of childās chest and tack second end to other corner. Cut off excess
How to make helmet
Fold a pipe cleaner in half and thread it through the middle of the top of the colander. Slip colored ziti onto the two sides and twist on wagon wheel pasta at the top. Hot glue colored wagon wheels on the front of the colander for more ābuttonsā
Cut two 3-inch segments of pipe insulation. Use pipe cleaners to wire them to the inside bottom of the colander (top of the helmet).
To create the helmetās chin strap, cut a 1-by-14 inch piece of felt and adhere a tab of the rough Velcro to either end on the same side of the strap. Two inches down from the rough Velcro on either side of the strap, attach a 3-inch strip of soft Velcro (to allow the strap to be adjustable). Thread the strap through the colanderās handles.
How to make wristbands
Cut 2 strips of grey felt, approximately 2 inches wide, to fit childās wrists and add Velcro to the ends
Hot glue matching pasta design in the middle of each wrist band
This pasta costume was born out my continued and everlasting love of the classic macaroni necklace that I pray my kids will make me sometime. (And I will be that mom at a cocktail party wearing it with pride. For realz.)
This hip-hop dancer slash rapperĀ slash tough chick costume can be made out of what you can find in your closet (but if you love our look, the links for purchasing our ensemble are below).
And don’t even get me started on the boom box candy collector. If you live in Brooklyn, NY, you’ll be seeing me sporting this on Halloween ’17!
Scroll down for the how-to!
What youāll need:
For the jewelry
Rigatoni, Rotelle (wagon wheels), Ditalini,
String/Elastic cording
Gold Spray paint
Scissors
Cardboard box
For the Boom Box
Shoe box
Two to-go cardboard soup cup lids
Silver, white, red and black paint
Red pipe cleaner
12ā long dowel
Exacto Blade
Hot Glue
Black Marker
Orecchiette, ziti, medium rigatoni, rings, lasagna, rotelle
Two resealable bags
Hand sanitizer
Red and yellow food dye
Small screwdriver or sharp object (a sharpened pencil will work)
Rapper Outfit
Leggings/joggers
Tank Top
Furry Vest
Beanie
High Top Sneakers
How to make the jewelry
String patterns of pasta to make chains. Play with different lengths and combinations. Create bracelets out of shorter chains.
To make a medallion, glue wagon wheels together in circular shape and add ditalini accents.
Once you are finished, put pasta jewelry in a cardboard box and spray paint gold. Once itās dry, flip it and spray the other side.
How to make the boom box
Paint shoe box, lid, and 2 pieces of rotelle pasta silver, and soup-cup tops black. Paint dowel red and let dry.
Cut off the end of a piece of flat lasagna to create a rectangle approximately the size of a deck of cards. Paint both sides white and let dry.
Put one teaspoon of hand sanitizer in a plastic bag and add six drops of red. Add orecchiette, ziti, and rings. Shake bag until noodles are covered then lay out on wax paper to dry.
Repeat with yellow dye and ring and rigatoni pasta.
Cut a rectangular hole in the center of one long side of the box (top of the boom box) for candy.
Hot glue top of box onto base and soup lids onto the front corners of boom box. Glue one silver wagon wheel into the center of each lid to make speakers.
Glue the lasagna rectangle in between lids and paint on two circles and a rectangle in black.
Glue on pasta to form buttons and knobs. (We used 4 red ziti pieces, 4 red orecchiette pieces, 6 red rings, 4 yellow rings, and four medium rigatoni pieces.)
Cut pipe cleaner in half and fold each half in half then feed each half through a piece of red ziti.
Slide the loops over the ends of the dowel, tighten by pulling ziti up and add drop of hot glue to secure.
Poke a hole at each end of the box, next to the rectangular opening, and push pipe cleaner ends in.
Open ends of pipe cleaner inside of box to secure. Use hot-glue where needed to add strength.
Not sure if this happens to everyone, but when I look at pasta shapes in the grocery store aisle, all I can think of is what I can make with them. Not make as in cook (I mean who do you think I am?), but make as in craft! And when I look at farfalle, it’s obvious…they are butterflies begging for some antennae!
We decked out my daughter Sommer from head to toe in swarms of butterflies, but this costume will fly (pun intended) even if you use the store-bought wand that comes with the wings, or if you decide not to add to the shoes.
Add one teaspoon of hand sanitizer to bag and six drops of pink dye.
Pour in approximately 15 pieces of farfalle, 30 pieces of elbow pasta, and 10 pieces of orecchiette. Shake bag until all pieces are covered, and then lay on wax paper to dry.
Repeat with orange dye and blue dye, using 6 drops per bag.
How to make the butterflies:
Cut a piece of wire about 9 to 15 inches long and fold in half.Ā Place the points of the wire behind pasta.
With about 1/2-inch above the center of the farfalle, wrap wire around the center of the noodle on either side of the antennae.
Twist the long wire loop to create butterfly āstemā.
Paint glitter on the front of butterfly and let dry. Repeat steps to turn all pasta into butterflies.
Headband: Twist butterfly stems around headband and secure with a dot of hot-glue.
Wand: Paint dowel blue and let it dry. Attach butterfly stems to dowel by wrapping with matching tape. Repeat all around dowel top to create a butterfly swarm.
Shoes: Thread butterfly stems through lace holes and twist to secure.
Wings: Arrange pasta around edges of wings to create pattern and secure with hot glue.
Belt: Hot-glue pasta pieces to a piece of ribbon that can tie comfortably around childās waist.
Dress: Arrange elbow pasta around collar to give a scalloped look and hot-glue to secure.
At Project Kid we like to start thinking about Halloween costumes way ahead of time, but that doesn’t mean we like costumes that take a lot of time to make. In fact, we prefer the kind you can craft last minute with materials you probably already have on hand. We love costumes that are doable, not daunting, and that let kids be comfortable so they can enjoy celebrating!
We started scheming and thought of a super-versatile costume supply that shouldn’t be underestimated…PASTA!Ā Ā It’s in every kitchen, it’s easy to color, and it comes in all shapes and sizes. Start with a basic base, add pasta and the pasta-bilities are endless. Ā This is the first in a series of five pasta costume ideas that we hope you’ll enjoy making as much as we did.
HAPPY HEDGEHOG
For a young nature lover who wants to stay cozy while trick-or-treating, creating a hedgehog suit with ziti couldn’t be simpler.
Put one teaspoon of hand sanitizer into plastic bag.Ā Add ten drops of yellow, three drops of red, and one drop of blue. Squish the bag around until the dye has turned one color. If it is too green, add more red.
Pour in pasta, close top, and shake bag until dye has been evenly distributed.
Set out wax paper and place pasta on it to dry.
Once dry, use hot glue to add pasta to the back of hoodie in staggered lines.
Continue adding pasta to the back of the hood stopping about 4 inches from the front edge of hood.
Cut out two rounded edge triangles for ears, and two smaller triangles for ear centers and glue together.
When you think of pumpkins, you normally think of a hollowed-out gourd with some candles in the center and triangles for eyes. Well, these two illuminated beauties might help redefine your idea of carved out pumpkins!
The last of my three installments of this pumpkin feature ever that I did for Parents magazine, these two pumpkins might make you laugh a little.
(Above)Ā To make these ā80s-inspired jack-oā-lanterns, start with hollowed-out pumpkins and Lite-Brite pegs. Trace out your design with washable marker, then poke the outline with the piercing tool that comes with a pumpkin-carving set (a thin screwdriver also works). Wipe off the marker residue with a damp paper towel, push pegs into the holes, and place a few battery-operated candles inside to make it glow.
Delight the troves of trick-or-treating princesses with a pumpkin carved to look like Cinderellaās carriage. Start with a large white pumpkin and scoop out the insides. Carve windows and a door and decorate with stick-on gemstones and glittery paint (Martha Stewart Crafts Multi-Surface Glitter Acrylic Craft Paint,$3) on the stem. For wheels, spear four tiny white pumpkins onto skewers and rest carriage on the skewer axles. Toy horses lead the carriage and a princess doll sits inside.
Oh I can make that! Have you ever uttered those words before? And do you find yourself saying it, but never actually crafting the object you claim you can totally make? This is literally my life story.
So, when my daughter saw this precious cat trinket dish at Anthropologie, I said, let’s make it! And this time (back pat) I actually did…but with my own Project Kid spin.
Here’s what you need:
Round 4-inch diameter box
Scissors
4 golf tees
Tacky glue or hot-glue gun
Felt, black and one other color
2 wood buttons
Black marker
Thin wire
Glue four golf tees to the bottom of the round box. Let dry.
Print out templates. Trace tail shape twice on felt and the eye/ear shape once. Cut felt pieces out.
Cut out 2 small black felt triangles and glue onto the ears.
Color wood button black and glue to cat’s face. Glue cat’s face to round box and draw nose and mouth onto the wood, between the eyes.
Cut a piece of wire, about the length of the tail shape. Glue the wire in between the two pieces of tail felt. Glue the tail to the back of the box.
When Parents magazine asked us to do a story on nature crafts we jumped at the opportunity. Repurposing items from outside is one of our favorite ways to upcycle! After scouring the park for supplies, we stocked the studio full of sticks, stones, pinecones, and leaves and got to work.
With a coat of paint and a felt face, a pinecone becomes a happy hedgehog, above. Craft the cone from a circle of felt, then add a pom pom for the nose and two beads for eyes. We were inspired by the pinecones’ natural “personalities” when choosing colors and face shapes.
For a cheery bouquet that won’t wilt, wrap branches in brightly colored craft bin scraps. Start with bands of paint and then add yarn, ribbon, and pom poms. If you’re like us, this is the perfect way to use up all the pieces you haven’t had the heart to toss.
You don’t need a green thumb to create an eye catching terrarium! Stack stones, moss, and painted sticks in a glass container to make a mini landscape. Let your child set the scene with with tiny toys that can be swapped whenever they want to tell a new story.
Set a festive fall table (ahem, Thanksgiving!) with easy leaf-print linens. Collect foliage in a variety of shapes then add paint and roll with a brayer to create a stamp onto napkins (we used these from Amazon!). Make a matching set or play with patterns and colors for a “freshly fallen” look.
Getting kids excited about Halloween isn’t that hard, TBH. But as a parent that “celebrates” Halloween multiple times a year (that’s what happens when you style for print magazines), the squeals of delight truly never get old.
And these pumpkin projects that I crafted for Parents magazine had my littles even more excited than normal because they actually got to be my craft assistants. Oliver, my then 6-year-old, got to build a bunch of Lego construction vehicles for this awesome jack-o-lantern carving scene. (above)
Builderās Special
Your familyās Lego maniac will go brick wild for this clever twist on a classic jack. Carve a face into a small pumpkin. Once youāve finished carving, build a Lego staircase to the face and arrange the Lego people so that they appear to be doing the carving themselves. Bonus points for a few construction vehicles bulldozing the seeds!
And Sommer was excited to help me pick out the facial features for these Potato Head Pumpkins!
Mr. Pumpkin Head
Look for unusual pumpkins and gourds to give your creation even more character. Then, simply push the Mr. Potato Head parts into the flesh.
Tip:Ā Poke wooden skewers vertically through the pumpkins to prevent toppling!
Tomorrow is the first official day of fall! We are always sad to see summer go, but autumn brings a whole new collection of natural crafting materials. The best way to celebrate the shifting seasons is to use these free supplies! Sticks, leaves, stones, and nuts are all perfect for creating projects that will last long after fall. We’ve been inspired by color palettes that will span seasons too. Rather than getting stuck in the orange, yellow, red rut – try adding a brighter rainbow of shades to make your fall crafts even more modern!
2. These lovely baker’s twine banners from Dream Green DIY look a little like Matisse don’t you think? This technique would be a sweet way to decorate muslin goody or gift bags for a reusable party treat.
3.Sticks make an ideal frame for creating God’s Eyes. This classic woven craft feels fresh when made with bright colors and hung in a group. Extra points for adding pompoms! Check out Hobby Craft for instructions. (Image via Claireabelle Makes)
4. If watching leaves fall is your favorite part of the season, make a mobile! This painted version from Hello Wonderful is so graphic and bright that it would look amazing hanging in front of any wall color. Mixing patterns and styles makes it more fun so collaborate with your kids to give the leaves personality.
5.Give your kids’ park treasures some purpose by transforming stones into photo holders. Patterns are cute, but rainbow rocks are too, so let your kid add her personal touch. Adding a cluster to your desk takes up less space than frames but is twice as cheerful. (via One Little Project)
Give your Halloween pumpkins a different twist by introducing them to your kids’ favorite or discarded toys. Excerpted from a feature I styled for Parents Magazine, here are two clever ways to turn pumpkins into creative homes for plastic animals.
(Above)
Boo Zoo
To craft this miniature zoo cage, cut a rectangular opening out of the pumpkinās front, discard, and scoop out the insides. Stick in an animal figure and use painted wooden skewers to make the cage. For the sign, top a toothpick with strips of craft paper.
The Big Cheese
Inspire a few squeals of disgust with this toy-mouse-infested ācheese.ā To make it, scoop out the pumpkinās guts, carve circular holes into the flesh, and coat on yellow acrylic paint to make it look like Minnieās favorite snack.
Check out the October issue of Parents for more awesome Halloween crafts! Photos by Dane Tashima.
For a cheery bouquet that won’t wilt, wrap branches in brightly colored craft bin scraps. Start with bands of paint and then add yarn, ribbon, and pom poms. If you’re like us, this is the perfect way to use up all the pieces you haven’t had the heart to toss.
These lovely baker’s twine banners from 
Sticks make an ideal frame for creating God’s Eyes. This classic woven craft feels fresh when made with bright colors and hung in a group. Extra points for adding pompoms! Check out 
If watching leaves fall is your favorite part of the season, make a mobile! This painted version from 
Give your kids’ park treasures some purpose by transforming stones into photo holders. Patterns are cute, but rainbow rocks are too, so let your kid add her personal touch. Adding a cluster to your desk takes up less space than frames but is twice as cheerful. (via 
