The Tweens News | English
•No touching knives or the stove
•Do not touch any appliances without adult supervision.
•Always wash your hands before handling food.
Here’s a Halloween trick you will have no trouble pulling off–turning a ripe banana into a Halloween treat.
Remove any stringy fibers from the peeled banana, then cut it in half widthwise. Push a Popsicle stick into each half through the cut end, then cover each pop with plastic wrap and freeze until firm (about 3 hours).
Next, place a 1.5-ounce piece of white chocolate candy in a microwave-safe bowl and cook on high until melted (it generally takes about 1 minute). With a butter knife, spread the melted white chocolate on the frozen banana halves.
Set the pops on a waxed-paper-covered dish. Press on candies or currants for eyes and mouths and return the pops to the freezer until ready to serve. Makes 2
20 Last-Minute Costumes:
Check out a special collection of easy-to-make costumes that will insure your child is ready at dusk for trick-or-treating.
You might need to use tools that require adult supervision, such as glue gun and scissors. If so, these can be replaced by textile glue and safety scissors. Make sure you ask your parents some help.
# 1 – Spa Princess:
- Total Time Needed: 1 Hour
Going door-to-door can be a taxing enterprise, so why not let your ‘tweenager combine work and relaxation with this spa costume?
- Materials
-
- terry bathrobe
- hand towel
- safety pin
- eye mask
- green face paint
- fake nails and eyelashes
- gift bag
- comb
- handheld mirror
- pair of slippers
- Instructions
-
- First, put on a plush terry bathrobe and wrap up your ‘do in a hand towel secured with a safety pin and covered with an eye mask.
- Press on some fake nails and eyelashes for the full treatment look.
- Apply green face paint, leaving an inch around the eyes and mouth for a mask effect.
- Grab a gift bag, comb, and handheld mirror, put on a pair of slippers, and take a deep, relaxing breath before heading out on the town.
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# 2 – MP3 Player:
- Total Time Needed: Afternoon Or Evening
Fun finishing touches make this costume really rock. The music player sports a pair of old headphones, with the cord bundled and tucked safely into a waistband.
- Materials
-
- Craft knife
- White foam core board (20 by 30 inches)
- 1 roll of blue cellophane (we got ours in the gift-wrap section of a craft store)
- Masking tape
- Silver poster board (one 22- by 28-inch sheet)
- Metallic charcoal or gray dimensional paint
- Double-sided carpet tape
- Duct tape
- Adhesive-backed Velcro
- 1 1/2-inch-wide grosgrain ribbon (2 1/2 yards)
- Hand towel
- Instructions
1. THE PLAYER Use a craft knife to round the board’s corners, then make a window with rounded corners. (Score the lines first, then go over them until you’ve made a clean cut.)
2. Cut a 12- by 18-inch piece of cellophane. Stretch it tightly over the window, using short pieces of masking tape on the sides first, then at each corner. Finish with tape around the entire circumference.
3. THE CONTROLS Cut 2 circles from the poster board and stick them together with double-sided carpet tape. For a 3-D look, cut a 6-inch square from the leftover foam core. Use double-sided tape to stick it to the back of the controls, then tape them to the front of the board. Pencil on the letters and symbols, then go over them with dimensional paint. Let it dry for at least 4 hours.
4. THE SHOULDER STRAPS To work on the back of the board without damaging the decorated front, lay it on 2 folded towels. Cut the ribbon into 2 equal lengths. Using duct tape, attach the ribbons
halfway down the foam core.
5. Stick 3 Velcro strips on the lower corners of the board, then try on the costume.
6. Ask someone to cross the straps over your back, then ask to pull them down. When the face opening is at a comfortable level, stick 2 Velcro strips to each strap where they’ll stick to the Velcro on the board. Trim any excess ribbon.
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# 3 – Black-Eyed-Peas:
- Total Time Needed: 30 Minutes or less
Here’s a last-minute costume that you can put together in a snap.
- Materials
-
- Instructions
-
- With black face paint, draw the letter p around each of your eyes.
- When asked what you are, you can claim that you are the classic southern vegetable — or the popular musical group.
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# 4 – Nurse Nightingale:
- Total Time Needed: 1 Hour
What to do when you can’t decide what you want to be and you’re running out of time? Here’s an answer that will suit you both: a nurse’s uniform you can put together stat!
- Materials
-
- White skirt, top, sweater, tights, and shoes
- Colored markers
- 8 ½- by 11-inch sheet of white paper
- Bobby pins
- Small rectangle of white poster board
- Large safety pin and tape
- Play stethoscope
- Clipboard and paper
- Instructions
1. Put on a white skirt, shirt, sweater, tights, and shoes.
2. For a nurse’s hat, mark a colored line along 1 long edge of the white paper. Fold the paper as shown, then bobby-pin the hat to your hair or ask some help.
3. Print a name tag with credentials (RN or LPN) on the poster board rectangle. Tape the safety pin to the back.
4. Finish the ensemble with the stethoscope and a clipboard displaying a simple jagged line drawn on a sheet of paper for a patient’s chart.
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# 5 – Pumpkin Face:
- Total Time Needed: 1 Hour
A few colorful brush strokes turn your face into a striking jack-o’-lantern.
- Materials
-
- Face paints
- Sponge
- Floral wire
- Pipe cleaners
- Green tissue paper
- White glue
- Green ribbon
- Instructions
1. Begin by brushing your hair back from your face and arranging it in a ponytail or bun on top of your head.
2. Next, use a damp sponge to cover your eyebrows with white face paint.
3. Once that dries, use a makeup brush and yellow face paint to create triangular eyes, a nose, and a toothy jack-o’-lantern smile over your lips.
4. Now sponge orange face paint onto your entire face, surrounding the yellow features.
5. After the orange paint dries, use a makeup brush to outline your yellow eyes, nose and mouth with green face paint.
6. Top off your disguise with handmade pumpkin leaves and vines. For each leaf, twist short pieces of floral wire around the top of a pipe cleaner.
7. Next, cut two large matching leaf shapes from green tissue paper. Lightly paint the surface of one leaf with a white glue solution (3 parts glue, 1 part water), lay the floral-wire frame on the glued surface and then cover with the matching leaf. Wind the stems of the finished leaves around your ponytail.
8. For pumpkin vines, just tie on lengths of curled green gift ribbon.
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# 6 – Mummy Face Paint:
- Total Time Needed: 1 Hour
This ghoulish getup will have you all tied up in knots!
- Materials
-
- Colored face paints
- Makeup brush and sponge
- Paintbrush
- First-aid gauze
- Instructions
1. Begin by applying a base coat of white face paint to your entire face. Then, with a damp sponge dipped in black face paint, lightly pat the white undercoat to create a dappled gray complexion.
2. Using a paintbrush dipped in green face paint, outline your eyes and cover your lips. With a fingertip, dab on a few green bruises as well.
3. Using a makeup brush, paint black scars on the nose, cheek and forehead. Add stitches around the mouth.
4. Highlight the scars and bruises with red face paint.
5. Use a roll of gauze to wrap the look up — mummy style. Roll the gauze around the crown of your head (but not too snugly) and then under your chin. Tuck the loose ends into the cap (rather than tying them together) to facilitate a quick removal. Lastly, embellish the gauze dressing with a couple of red face-paint blotches for good measure (might need help of someone for this part.)
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# 7 – New! Target:
Hit the Halloween bull’s-eye with an easy duct-tape design
applied to a black shirt — then score an extra point with our arrow hat, made from a length of wire hanger and two straws.
Download a complete materials list and illustrated step-by-step directions.
- Materials
-
- Red, black, blue, and white duct tape
- Parchment paper
- Assorted sizes of plates, bowls, and glasses
- Black sweatshirt and pants
- Wire cutters
- Wire hanger
- 2 plastic straws
- Instructions
1. The Target: Stick adjoining strips of white duct tape to a sheet of parchment paper, covering an area just bigger than a dinner plate (ours was 10 1/2 inches in diameter). Trace the plate. Repeat with the blue, red, and black tape, tracing three increasingly smaller circles (we traced 8- and 6-inch-diameter bowls and a 3 1/2-inch-diameter glass).
2. Cut along the traced lines. Peel the white circle from the parchment and stick it to the shirt?s front, then affix the other circles atop to create the target design.
3. The Arrow: With the wire cutters, cut the straight bottom segment from the hanger. Bend it to form an arch that will fit over your head. Trim about 1 1/2 inches from each straw. Sandwich one end of each straw between squares of duct tape. Trim the duct tape into a point and feathers, as shown. Slip the straws over the wire ends and secure them with more tape.
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# 8 – Gypsy:
- Total Time Needed: 1 Hour
We can see the future now: you will join a caravan of musical wanderers on October 31st. The key to this costume is the layers: the more the merrier.
- Materials
-
- flowery skirts
- old scarves
- strings of costume jewelry
- lipstick
- face paint
- old purse
- Instructions
-
- Layer on mismatched flowery skirts, a few old scarves, and strings of costume jewelry. (If you can’t find these items in your own closets, head to a thrift store).
- Add some lipstick, and face paint.
- Tie another scarf around the dancer’s head, take a tambourine and an old purse, and candy will be in your future.
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# 9 – Road Trip:
- Total Time Needed: 1 Hour
Want an easy ride? With a few toy cars, Velcro, and electrical tape, your everyday sweat suit becomes a road trip extraordinaire.
- Materials
-
- Reusable gray sweat suit
- Toy cars
- Adhesive-backed Velcro
- White craft foam
- Markers
- Electrical tape
- Instructions
-
- Mark your great sweat suit with yellow electrical tape lanes. Stick adhesive-backed Velcro along the undersides of some toy cars and affix the corresponding pieces to the sweatshirt and pants.
- Finally, make a symbol for your local interstate (or trace our template and attach it to the hood with Velcro). Then you are good to go!
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# 10 – Smartie Pants:
- Total Time Needed: 30 Minutes or less
Here’s a sweet costume that you can put together in no time.
- Materials
-
- Instructions
-
- To make this sweet-and-sassy costume, simply attach rolls of Smarties candy to your pants with packing tape.
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# 11 – Spaghetti & Meatballs:
- Total Time Needed: Afternoon Or Evening
FamilyFun reader Kelly Wright of Waukesha, Wisconsin, made this saucy costume for her 11-year-old daughter, Carol. All the neighborhood kids ate it up!
- Materials
-
- 2 cotton mop heads
- red baseball cap
- double-sided tape
- metal colander
- adhesive-backed Velcro
- scissors
- safety pins
- red sweat suit
- twenty-five 2-inch brown pom-poms
- Italian bread bag
- red sneakers
Instructions
1. To make the headdress, tape the center of one mop head to the top of the baseball cap. Attach the other side of the mop to the inside of the colander with the Velcro.
2. Cut noodles of different lengths out of the second mop head. Working from the inside, push a safety pin through the sweatshirt and into some noodles. Repeat until the sweat suit has several bunches of noodles.
3. Tie a pom-pom meatball onto one noodle in each bunch. Use an Italian bread bag for treats and don’t forget to garnish your sneakers with noodles.
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# 12 – Movie Stars:
- Total Time Needed: 1 Hour
Fashion trends may come and go, but as any movie star knows, true glamour is never out of style. The centerpiece of this costume is a natty wrapping paper hat, oversized enough for any Hollywood ego. A dress-up box or trip to the thrift store can provide the rest: sunglasses, a killer dress and sparkling faux gems. And don’t forget the most important accessory of all: a pack of equally glamorous pals.
- Materials
-
- glue stick
- three 25- to 30-inch square sheets of wrapping paper or tissue paper
- masking tape
- scissors
- assorted hat decorations (crepe paper, ribbon, fake flowers, gift bows, pipe cleaners, fabric and feathers)
- assorted dress-up clothes (including fake jewelry, sunglasses and fancy shoes)
- Instructions
1. Create the hats by gluing three sheets of paper together in the center. Have the print side of the bottom sheet face down, so the underside of the hat will be patterned too.
2. To form the hat’s crown, center the paper on top of your head and gently press the edges of the paper down around the sides of your head. Wrap masking tape around the crown (at eyebrow level) two to three times. For a taller hat, place a ball of newspaper on top of your head before forming the hat.
3. Create the brim by rolling the paper edges up or under and taping in place, or by trimming the edges.
4. Decorate with flowers, bows, ribbons, crepe paper, pipe cleaners, fabric scraps, feathers or plastic tiaras — whatever accessorizes your party dress best!
5. After putting on your party dress, jewelry, sunglasses, and shoes, you can don your new chapeau and get ready for the rave reviews. To dress up plain shoes, stick colored gift bows or tissue paper flowers to the tops of the toes with a loop of tape.
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# 13 – Construction Worker:
- Total Time Needed: 1 Hour
Here are the blueprints for an easy costume for Bob the Builder wanna-bes.
- Materials
-
- old shirt
- tool belt
- hand tools
- brown face paint
- work gloves
- hard hat
- toy walkie-talkie
- Instructions
-
- Cut the sleeves off an old flannel shirt and wear it over a long-sleeved thermal shirt.
- Strap on a tool belt, add some old hand tools, and smudge on brown face paint for a hard-working look.
- Wear a pair of work gloves, a hard hat, a tape measure, a toy walkie-talkie, and work boots, and you’ll be ready to tool about the neighborhood.
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# 14 – New! Bat Hat:
Don this hat for an instant costume, or wear it all month long to express your batty Halloween style. The bat’s wings flap as you move, making it a real head-turner.
- Materials
-
- Scissors
- 12- by 18-inch sheet of stiff black felt
- White felt
- Black knit hat
- Glue (Crafters Pick The Ultimate glue or fabric glue)
- Clothespins
- Instructions
1. Cut two bat wings, ears, and pupils from the black felt. (You can download our wing and ear templates or draw your own.) Cut eye circles from white felt.
2. Trim the flat end of each wing to fit the contour of a black knit hat. Run a line of glue along the edge of a wing and adhere it to the side of the cap, between two rows of knitting, if possible. Reach inside the hat and pinch the fabric around the wing’s edge, clamping it in place with a clothespin or two. Repeat the steps for the second wing. Let the glue dry.
3. Remove the clothespins, then glue the two ears in place using the same technique. When the glue is dry, try on the hat and decide where you’d like the eyes. Remove the hat and glue on the eyes (black circles on top of white).
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# 15 – Quarterback:
- Total Time Needed: 30 Minutes or less
For a witty and easy-to-make halloween costume, it doesn’t get any simpler than this.
- Materials
-
- Photocopy of a quarter
- Cardboard
- Instructions
-
- Enlarge a photocopy of a quarter — or print our 7 1/2-inch-diameter one here.
- Glue it to a piece of cardboard cut to the same size, then ask someone to attach it to your back with loops of duct tape.
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# 16 – Soccer Star:
- Total Time Needed: 1 Hour
If you are a soccer fan, this costume will be a winner.
- Materials
-
- short- sleeved v-neck sport shirt
- long-sleeved T
- cloth tape
- soccer socks
- cleats
- shin pads
- sweatbands
- Instructions
-
- Just dress up as if it’s game time. Start the uniform by layering a short- sleeved v-neck sport shirt over a long-sleeved T (use your favorite team’s colors).
- Use cloth tape to write the star’s number on the front and back of the jersey, and your last name on the back.
- Finish the uniform with soccer socks, cleats, shin pads, and sweatbands. On Halloween, you’ll score a duffel bag full of treats.
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# 17 – Lego:
- Total Time Needed: 1 Hour
Boys love Lego! This ingenious costume turns two plain old cardboard boxes into a real “toy story.”
- Materials
-
- Measuring tape
- Utility knife
- Large cardboard box (child’s shoulder width)
- Margarine containers or plastic cups
- Pencil
- Hot glue gun
- Small shallow box (that fits your child’s head)
- Spray paint
- Baseball cap
- Double-sided tape
- Gloves
- Sweatsuit
- Sneakers
- Instructions
1. To make the body: Measure the circumference of your head, then, using a untility knife, cut a head opening in the top of the box approximately 2 inches from the front edge. Cut an armhole on each side of the box near the top front corner. Just try the box on so you can make any adjustments.
2. Now lay the box flat, front-side up, and arrange the margarine containers. Using the pencil, trace around each one. Using the hot glue gun, apply glue around the lip of the container, then press it in place. Repeat for the five other containers.
3. Glue an additional container upside down on top of the smaller box. In a well-ventilated area, spray-paint both boxes.
4. To make the hat: Put a baseball cap on backward, then apply double-sided tape to the top of the cap. Fit the box on top of the cap so that the box just covers the bottom edge of the back of the hat.
- Tips:
- Make sure the box is narrow enough to let your arms hang down — or they will get tired from carrying the weight of all that sugary loot.
- Variations:
- Like real LEGOs, this costume can be made in different configurations, depending on the size of the boxes and the cups you use. Here, we’ve shown the costume created with margarine tubs so it looks like one king-size LEGO piece. In another original version, you might glue on 35 small drinking cups, then delineate eight “bricks” using a black marker.
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# 18 – Lovely Ladybugs:
- Total Time Needed: 2-3 Hours
If ladybugs really do bring luck, this adorable critter is sure to double your family’s dose.
- Materials
-
- Scissors
- 2 (12- by 18-inch) sheets of red stiff felt (we used E-Z Felt brand)
- 9- by 12-inch sheet of black stiff felt
- Hole punch
- 2 yards of 1/2-inch-wide black ribbon
- Tacky glue
- 2 black pipe cleaners
- 2 (1-inch) red pom-poms
- Large marker
- Black electrical tape
- Brimmed black hat
- Instructions
-
- With scissors, cut 2 half-circle wings from the red felt. Cut four 3-inch circles from the black felt. (Download the spot template and wing template).
- Overlap the wings as shown and punch 2 holes through both pieces of felt. Thread the ribbon through the holes.
3. Glue the circles onto the wings and let them dry (about 10 minutes).
4. For each antenna, wrap one end of a pipe cleaner tightly around a pom-pom. Twist the pipe cleaner around the marker to form a loose spiral, then tape the ends of the pipe cleaners behind the brim of the hat.
5. To tie on the wings, simply bring the ribbon over each shoulder, cross the pieces over your chest, then tie the ends together in the back.
———-
# 19 – Bag Of Gross-eeries:
- Total Time Needed: 2-3 Hours
It may be Halloween, but you won’t find a single treat in this giant sack of groceries. Instead, this bag of tricks will fill the bill for kids who love the gross-out factor.
- Materials
-
- Large brown paper leaf bag (sold at many hardware stores)
- Craft knife
- Large piece of corrugated cardboard
- Double-sided foam tape
- 2 yards of 1-1/2-inch-wide black ribbon
- 25- by 17-inch piece of white poster board
- Double-sided clear tape
- Stapler
- Assorted clean, empty food containers, such as cereal boxes, juice jugs, and egg cartons
- Markers and self-adhesive labels (or you can download our printable Gross-eeries labels)
- OPTIONAL
- Rubber rat, cockroaches, and chicken
- Balloons, stocking leg, string, and foam packing peanuts
- Yellow acrylic paint and white glue
- Instructions
1. Cut the bottom off the leaf bag. If there’s lettering on the bag, turn it inside out.
2. Measure the opening at the bag’s top (the one shown here is 15 by 12 inches) and cut a piece of cardboard that is the same width but 4 inches longer (ours is 15 by 16 inches). Fold up 2-inch flaps in the front and back of the cardboard.
3. Cut a hole in the middle of the cardboard big enough for you to fit through. Apply double-sided foam tape to the flap backs and stick the cardboard in place inside the very top of the bag.
4. Fold the ribbon in half and join the fold with double-sided foam tape to the underside of the cardboard insert near the back of the bag.
5. Make a milk carton hat by creasing the white poster board as shown and then cutting an opening for your face in the front panel.
6. Shape the creased poster board into an open carton, sticking the edges together with double-sided clear tape. Then pinch and fold the upper edges, as shown, and staple the carton top closed.
7. Now fill the top of the bag with Gross-eeries by decorating assorted clean, empty food containers with handprinted or downloadable labels, such as Sour Milk, Surreal Cereal, Rotten Eggs, and Nasty Nibbles. You can download Gross-eerie Labels here.
8. Tape the items to the inner bag. Once you have stepped into the finished costume, use the foam tape to secure the loose ends of the ribbon to the inner front of the bag to make shoulder straps.
9. Tips:
How To Make Spoiled Goods
Make rotten sausage links by inserting inflated balloons into a long stocking leg and tying knots between the links. You can even tape on foam packing peanut maggots (yuck!).
Cut a hole in the front of a box and add a rubber rat, tape rubber cockroaches to the bag, or stuff a rubber chicken in among the other Gross-eeries.
Create a slimy blob of egg yolk by mixing 1 part yellow acrylic paint with 3 parts white glue. Cover a piece of cardboard with plastic wrap and pour the glue mixture over it. Let the mixture dry for 1 or 2 days, then peel it from the wrap and glue it to the bag.
———-
# 20 – Little Bearded Gnome:
- Total Time Needed: 1 Hour
Part of a cute woodland crew, this Little Bearded Gnome dons a fake fur and has a getup made from felt, fabric, hot glue, and ordinary kids’ clothing.
- Materials
-
- 15-inch square of red felt
- Marker
- Glue gun and glue sticks
- 11-inch square of white fake fur
- Beard template (optional)
- 28-inch length of white elastic cord
- YOU WILL WEAR
- Blue pullover top
- Sweatpants or leggings
- Wide belt
- Boots
- Instructions
1. HAT: Measure and mark an arc on the felt square as shown. Cut along the line.
2. Run a line of glue along the bottom edge, then form the felt into a cone and let the glue dry. If the hat is too big, trim or fold its brim.
3. BEARD: Draw or trace the beard shape onto the fake fur’s back side, then cut it out. Cut 3 one-inch slits as shown.
4. Fold the tabs over the elastic cord and glue them down. When the beard’s dry, just try it on. Tie it and trim the cord’s ends.
Source:
- http://familyfun.go.com/recipes/banana-ghosts-715020
- http://familyfun.go.com/halloween/best-last-minute-kids-halloween-costumes-798475
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