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Making a Firetruck Costume from a Diaper Box
10/31/2016
Posted by EileenWhat do you get when you have a crafty mama and handy, tech-crazed daddy? A decked out diaper box that makes all your friends jealous.
Our sweet little guy rocked an awesome costume this evening - a firetruck made from a diaper box complete with blinking lights and sound effects. The poor thing was a monkey two years in a row (hey, when the costume fits...), so this year we owed him. Now that he's carrying on conversations, I had been asking him for weeks what he wanted to be for Halloween, and 80% of the time he said a firetruck. I tried to clarify, "You mean a fireman?" I got a very definitive response, "No, mommy. A firetruck."Thank goodness for Google images - there were lots of great pictures of kids dressed as firetrucks, and it seemed it could be easily made from a box. I always save diaper boxes (I usually make storage boxes from them), so I had a ton on hand. I grabbed one and got started.
The first thing I did was cut off all of the flaps - but in hindsight, I should have left just one short flap attached, for the front of the truck (I added this back with tape later). Next, I covered the whole box with red construction paper. I meant to run to Dollar Tree beforehand for red wrapping paper - that would have been a lot easier than using sheets and sheets of red construction paper; however, I was set on making the costume that day and didn't want to lose time running out. So, I used what I had and hot glued red construction paper to the entire box.
Next, I hot glued on white construction paper to the front and sides (as seen below) and the top too (the part with the flap). I then added black windows, and a little design made from shapes and stripes on the front.
After the front was completed, I worked on the sides. I made similar designs on both sides - so I cut out two of everything. I also added wheels.
Just when I thought I was done, I realized I had forgotten about the back, so I did a quick little design there too (see pics further down).
At this point, my little guy was running around the house holding the firetruck diaper box up with his hands, so I knew I needed to attach something so he could wear it hands-free. I found some black ribbon and cut two long pieces. I then punched a hole in the front of the box and back, pushing the ribbon through the holes and tying it. It worked just like suspenders, holding up a pair of loose pants.
Just when I thought it was done again, Ash said that it wouldn't be a firetruck without lights and sound. He grabbed a couple of clip-on lights that he goes running with at night. They clip onto your clothes and have a bunch of different settings, including a slow blink which was perfect for a diaper box firetruck. Ash stuck them onto the fire truck with plastic cups, cutting out a little piece of the bottom of the cup (which became the top of the light), to clip them on.
The sound was the most impressive part. Ash actually attached his iPhone to the back of the diaper box. Then he used my phone as a remote, playing fire engine sounds on demand using some custom software he took a few minutes to write. To securely attach the phone, he used a small box we had lying around.
Last, but not least my little guy needed a fireman's hat and coat. Thinking ahead, I picked up a plastic fire hat from a giveaway table at a community event not too long ago.
As for the coat, I had been procrastinating. I was thinking about getting yellow tape to run across one of his coats or shirts, but I hadn't made it to a craft store or Home Depot or any store other than the grocery store.
Then, I remembered my love of felt and found a couple of sheets that I cut up into strips. I duct taped them on, and ran another half width piece of duct tape in the middle of the yellow strip. The coat I used was a $2 red raincoat that I found at a thrift store months ago - what a unknowingly, perfect find!
The coat was the perfect touch to a cute costume. In pictures, the fireman's coat totally looks store-bought. I love when my DIYs look like a store purchase :)
The total cost of this Halloween costume was nothing. We made it all from things around our house. I love a project with a free cost!
More importantly, our little sweetheart had a wonderful Halloween, in the costume he specifically requested. We were a little afraid that he wouldn't wear the diaper box for too long, but he got right into the Halloween spirit when he saw the smiles and sweets he was receiving.
Next year, it's going to be hard to top this years diaper box fire engine. What are your most creative Halloween costumes? I'm going to need some ideas :)) 0 Comments Your comment will be posted after it is approved.
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Hi! We're Ash and Eileen, and we are sharing our home project stories with you. From crafty projects to home maintenance to more ambitious DIY endeavors, we hope our stories inspire you to check a few things off your project list! :)
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We're Ash and Eileen from JustMeasuringUp.com, and we love sharing our stories of our DIY home projects!
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