Articles from Tamara's Adoption Mama Blog here:

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PS FREE PRINTABLES at the bottom of this post

Preparing for Halloween:

I LOVE getting into the costume spirit of Halloween.

Celebrating the yucky gory stuff may not be my thing but dressing up for Halloween has always been my favorite part.

Last year Rome went as a Monkey and Teo went as Mario, but not just any Mario!

I felt the need  to make him a Mario Kart to wear as well. Soooooo that may have been my downfall. Last years Halloween Costume was so Awesome that I needed to come up with something just as good this year.

I decided on Minion Halloween Costumes! How adorable would Rome be as a Yellow Minion and Teo as a Purple one?!?

My boys however decided they wanted to be Pirates once they saw the costumes at Costco.

So the good mother side of me let them be what they wanted…sigh.

Instead of pushing for the ADORABLE costumes they could have worn I made homemade Halloween costumes for my kids that are more then Adorable, they are EPIC! I know….that word sounds strange even as I type it….I am showing my age.

DIY Pirate Ship Costumes fit for a Pirate:

Since I bought the costumes they wanted I was bummed that I had nothing to make for them to wear.

UNTIL I clued into the fact that Pirates need SHIPS!

So I made a Large Pirate Ship for Teo and since Rome is much smaller I decided to make him the smaller boat (we still call it a pirate SHIP…shhhhhhh).

How to Make a Homemade Pirate Ship Costume out of Cardboard & Dollar Store Finds:

Items I already had at home:

• Packing Tape
• Glue for Glue Gun
• Black Marker
• Sissors
• Knife
• Leather loops (I cut off of an old purse) to glue the ores into but you could cut out cardboard loops to do the same.
• Reusable Grocery bags I cut up to use for the straps

Dollar Store Shopping List – My total was $8 for both ships.

• White Poster Board (1 per Pirate Ship for the Sail) I bought black as well but never used it.
• 6 Plastic Ash Trays
• Blue Plastic Party Table Cloth
• Something Light for a Pole to Attache the Sails to. I found Halloween Axes and used them.
• Wooden Dowels for the Ores

Large Pirate Ship Halloween Costume Tutorial:

1. Find a tall box (preferably without words – mine had some words that I later covered with extra cardboard) and draw the sides out then cut them first.
2. Step 2 and 3 are swapped in the photo…oops. But I cut out one side then used it to trace for the opposite side so they looked the same. (Ignore the fact that I traced it backwards and had to flip it over after the picture to trace again before I cut it.
3. Cut the sides and front off.
4. Fold the back end in and tape. This will support your ships sails later.
5. Draw a point for the front of the ship on the bottom of the box then cut out the point.
6. Cut straight down the front of the box.
7. I marked where I would need to trim the front and then taped the front together.
8. I added a decorative piece to the front with tape and later a glue gun.
9. Cut a hole out of the base. I used a knife to do this as it was easier then scissors. I also took the piece I cut out and (look at #8) traced a point onto it. Then taped it in the front top piece so I had somewhere to glue the steering wheel to later.
10. I used three different size bowls to trace and create the steering wheel then glue gunned the wheel to the ship.
11. The nice thing about the ship is it needs to be brown so no spray paint needed! I did cut some extra pieces and glued them to the top to cover up some letters left on the box but then all I needed was to use a black marker drawing boards and nail heads onto the ship.
12. For the Canons I glued 6 plastic Ashtrays along the sides.
13. Put the Pole through the top portion of the back flap gluing it the the bottom flap to give it support.
14. To look like the ship is in the water instead of seeing legs out the bottom of a ship I bought a plastic party table cloth and cut it into strips gluing it along the bottom of the pirate ship.
15. To create the Sail I  cut out poster board to size and glued a printable onto it.
16. When I attached the Straps I used a glue gun and reinforced them by gluing some cardboard over top of them. I also crisscrossed the straps at the back before gluing them to the front so they sat closer on my boys shoulders.
17. All Printables are free to download at the bottom of this post!

Small Pirate Ship Halloween Costume Tutorial:

1. Find a small box with not much depth and very little writing on it. Cut out most of the bottom leaving a small bit at the back.
2. Cut the two long flaps off the box leaving the two shorter ones.
3. On the side that is the front end cut down the center of the flap but not the box portion. Bend/fold the center of the front.
4. Overlap the two squares from the flap and glue them together.
5. Cut the front portion so there is a triangle left at the front of the ship.
6. Tape down the back flap and cut it into a curve to allow for more room when wearing the costume.
7. Black marker it up! I drew boards, nail heads & some circles to mimic knots you would find in wood.
8. The pole can easily be put through the top back flap and glue gunned to the bottom flap. This gives it great support.
9. To create the Sail I  cut out poster board to size and glued a printable onto it.
10. I had a metal portion left over from a champagne bottle. The piece the holds the cork in? I glued it to the front for a pretend lantern.
11. To look like the ship is in the water instead of seeing legs out the bottom of a ship I bought a plastic party table cloth and cut it into strips gluing it along the bottom of the pirate ship.
12. To make the ores I cut out the shapes needed and glued them to wooden dowels.
13. When I attached the Straps I used a glue gun and reinforced them by gluing some cardboard over top of them. I also criss crossed the straps at the back before glueing them to the front so they sat closer on my boys shoulders.
14. All Printables are free to download at the bottom of this post!

The Ships in the Details! ;P

This DIY may look a tad overwhelming but if you are only making one Ship it will be easier, I just have a two boy “must have what my brother has syndrome” in our household.

So I decided to have some fun with it!

It took me one full afternoon to create and complete both of these Halloween Costumes. and I have to say I think it was worth it!

To make the Pirate Ship Costumes Stand out I made some Free Printables for Download here:
{Click on Photo to download}

 DIY Pirate Ship Costumes Complete!

What costumes will you create this Halloween? Anything you want to tell me about? Always looking for new ideas to use for next year!

DIY Halloween Pirate Ship Costumes to DIE for. at ADOPTION MAMA.