How to Make a Shield for Halloween

Making a shield for Halloween is a lot easier than one would expect, and can really personalize any Halloween costume without breaking the bank.

The first step in any good craft project is to gather your materials. Because there are a number of ways to build this shield, there will be a lot of materials listed, but not all will be necessary. If you are skilled with modeling clay (either air dry or baked), then you can do some really impressive things with a small budget.

Supplies:

- A sturdy cardboard box (like the type used for appliances). If you can not find anything that sturdy, hot-gluing multiple layers will make your shield thicker, and last through even the most difficult of battles.
- Craft foam in large sheets.
- Polymer clay, air dry clay, or plastic bolts like you would find in a child's tool set.
- A template to draw a shield shows a list of great places to find a template to draw your shield, and even some heraldry advice on how to decorate your shield.
- Paper mache supplies
- Silver duct tape
- A black sharpie marker
- Sharp scissors
- Silver spray paint

Step 1
Draw your shield template onto a large piece of cardboard. This can either be done freehand, or you can use one of the templates at the web link I provided.

Step 2
Cut out your shield from one thick or multiple thinner pieces of cardboard. If you are using thinner cardboard, then you will need to use hot glue around the perimeter of each piece of cardboard to adhere the sheets of cardboard together.

Step 3
With a towel over your craft foam, place half of your foam off the end of the ironing board, so that a curve forms in the foam. Hot glue each of the pieces of curved foam around the perimeter of the shield template. If you need it to flex more, iron a flat piece, and form it as you need it while it is still hot.

This Halloween, do it all yourself, without sewing, and be exactly what you want to be!

Step 4
Paper mache the whole shield, using three to four layers, allowing it to dry/cure completely in between layers. When the last layer of paper mache has dried, spray paint the entire shield silver.

Step 5
Using duct tape, creat a handle for the shield on the back. Tape the handle securely onto the shield. If you have the time, paper mache the handle to the back of the shield and paint it silver as well.

Step 6
Using the air dry or polymer clay, make some pentagon shaped, flat bolts, and hot glue them onto the corners of your shield. If you have a round shield, evenly space your bolts around the shield.