Sandcastle Hat Costume

Sandcastle Hat Costume

Living in sunny SoCal it can be hard to distinguish the change from summer to fall most of the time (I’m talking 90 degree weather throughout October). But I wanted to capture those warm summer vibes this Halloween with this really fun DIY Sandcastle Costume! The main focus of this costume is really the DIY Sandcastle Hat. I made sure that it was not heavy since I would be wearing it on my head all night. You can tie this look together by wearing earthy sand tones in the rest of your outfit and shoes - that way all of the attention is drawn towards your super cute hat! Oh, and feel free to throw on some sunnies, too!

What You'll Need

Equal parts flour and water for the paper mache (so one cup of flour calls for one cup of water)

Newspaper for the paper mache

Toilet paper rolls (3)

Toothpicks (3)

Stretchy headband (I used one that blended with my hair color)

Cardboard and thick paper (I used ads that came in the mail as my thick paper)

Cardstock (for the flags)

Sand and Gold glitter

Glue

Seashells

Beige paint

Hot glue gun

Tape

Hairspray

How To

1)      Cut 4 pieces of cardboard about 3 1/2 inches wide and 5 inches tall. These will be the side pieces of the middle of your castle. Then cut 2 more pieces about 3 1/2 inches wide and 3 1/2 inches tall to serve as the bottom of the castle and a piece to fit inside the middle of your castle. The piece inside the middle will hold the middle tower up. Tape all of these pieces together.

2)      Next, cut small squares of cardboard that you will tape on as the top ridges of the castle. Mine were about 2 inches wide and 1 1/2 inches tall. Tape these onto the top of your castle having them spaced out evenly (I used 10 pieces - 2 on each side and 3 on the front and back).

3)      Tape 3 small pieces of cardboard onto the right and 3 small pieces onto the left side of your castle. These will create a little barrier between the two side towers and the middle piece. Then tape one roll of toilet paper on each side of the castle (attached to those barriers) and hot glue one toilet paper roll on top of the middle castle piece you created in step 1.

4)      Using your thick paper, trace and cut out three circles (I used a 1 cup measuring cup to trace them). Then cut a line halfway through each circle and wrap/tape them to create cone shapes. Tape these onto the tops of each tower.

5)      Paper mache your entire castle. I feel like this step really made the castle mesh together into one piece. It also felt more durable.

6)      Once the paper mache is completely dry, paint the castle a beige color.

7)      After the paint dries, mix together sand and gold glitter on a paper plate. Then cover your castle with glue (I sort of lightly painted glue on one spot at a time) and pour the sand on it so that the entire castle is covered. Once dry, spray your castle with hairspray to keep the sand from falling off. Feel free to also add shells or any decorations you like.

8)   Make flags with cardstock paper and toothpicks and then poke them into the tops of the three towers.

9)   Carefully hot glue your castle onto your stretchy headband. I made sure the front of my castle was glued onto the headband more so than the back. This helped with balance on my head. When I wore the piece, I secured it in with bobby pins and I even tied the headband so that it was more secure on my head with a hair tie. Remember, it shouldn't be too heavy or tight on your head!

If you give this costume a try, be sure to use #crafterward on Instagram so I can see your take on it! Wishing you all a safe and (candy filled) Happy Halloween!