DIY Nightmare Before Christmas
Sally & Jack Halloween Costumes!
To say that I love Halloween would be an understatement. I genuinely adore everything about the season. I love the change in weather and the Fall colors (pretty much the only thing I miss about the midwest and the east coast). I love the Halloween costumes, decorations, and songs. (There are more Halloween-based songs out there than you might think! Move than Christmas!) And call me basic; I don’t care, I love EVERYTHING pumpkin flavored.
Growing up, my mother was no Martha Stewart, but she was crafty as hell, and a lot of that love of crafting has rubbed off on me. I, too, am no Martha Stewart, but I thought this year I’d take a look back on some of my favorite costumes, both fully made, thrifted, or altered (keep in mind, I’m no seamstress), and try my hand at some of those Pinterest ideas you may see floating around. I’ll also give you my take on how easy, complex, or time-consuming these projects may be. Feel free to judge away on if I did a “Spook-tacular” job or if I’m “Dead Wrong” for even trying!
Let’s start with a fun little throwback:
Imagine, if you will, a crisp fall night in 1982. It was Beggar’s Night, the night before Halloween when kids in Iowa go Trick or Treating…pretty sure we are the only place that does this… anyways. I had just turned 2 and for weeks my parents had asked if I wanted a costume and to go trick or treating. Like the naive child that I was, I said no over and over again. So no costume for little Amber.
On Beggar’s Night, my parents ordered a pizza and got the bowls of candy ready to hand out. As the first child dressed up came to the door dressed in costume, I became confused about WHY my parents were giving away candy. I obviously thought that candy was for me and only me. They explained, “This is what trick or treating is. You dress up, go door to door and get candy.” Oh, NOW I got it! I wanted to go trick or treating… immediately, and my 2-year-old brain could not understand WHY I couldn’t go in regular clothes. Thus, an epic breakdown began…
My creative and crafty mother took the pizza box from dinner, cut it apart, and made straps. She threw me in a red turtleneck, jeans, and (being the theatre person she is) just happened to have a spare beret laying around to throw on my head. Crisis averted, and candy was collected! This is a great last-minute idea. Perfect for kids and may not fit as well but for adults too! I think you can even get unused pizza boxes at your local pizza joint for $1-3.
Sally & Jack Costumes
A pretty solid couple’s costume at Halloween is Jack and Sally from “The Nightmare Before Christmas.” However, I was not loving any of the Sally costumes I found online. No offense to anyone who has bought one, but they all looked a little cheap and plastic to me. I had some time on my hands this year (and boy, did this one take TIME!).
- Sally Costume: I hand-stitched this entire dress together using a basic sleeveless maroon dress from Forever 21.
- I made sure to find 360 images of Sally.
- With each pattern documented, I went to the local fabric store. I bought small amounts of fabric to cut into the patterns that I wanted. I’m sure if you have sewing skills, this would be a lot faster… but I do NOT.
- Using upholstery thread, I hand sewed these pieces together. It works for the Sally costume since she is supposed to look patchworked together.
- I found two old t-shirts and cut the sleeves off to attach.
- Sally Make-up: I glued down my eyebrows (Thanks, RuPaul’s Drag Race!) to create a smooth surface for the eyes.
- Then for an added bonus, I affixed actual fake eyelashes along the top of the eyes to give it a 3D effect. While it definitely took time, I really loved this make-up!
- The best part about this make-up is for pictures; you literally CLOSE YOUR EYES! It’s perfect! No red eye worries! No Blinking! No seeing white dots the whole night at a dark Halloween party! The blue make-up can get a little messy, but it really isn’t that bad once it dries.
Overall, it was a very delicately put-together costume, and I got so many compliments that year!
Jack Costume
- For Jack, we found a black suit at a thrift store. The suit we purchased did have stripes on it. However, I thought it was too faint.
- I hand traced the bat wings in felt for the tie and then traced cardboard (trimmed down slightly) to place in between the felt pieces to give the tie structure.
- Tracing the lines, I used puffy paint to make the steps more distinct, and in person, it gives it a really cool 3D effect.
Hope you enjoy these semi-homemade Sally & Jack costumes this Halloween! Trick or Treat! 🎃
Looking for more? Take a look at our Halloween content in the Seasonal section! You can also find more general Married to Horror selections in our recommendations and List Section! Also, take a peek at our Master Watch List where you can find an array of horror films sorted by title, platform, rating, and more!
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