Simple, Quick and Creative Halloween Costume Ideas for Adults

While I am definitely no Martha Stewart, I come from the school of thought that you can't buy a good costume. What makes a good costume is a lot of creativity, a little bit of time to hit the thrift stores, and an attitude to try anything and take some chances. As far back as second grade- when I forewent the typical princess costume and opted for a home-grown version of the Muppet's Swedish Chef - October is the one time of year that I shun storemade products and dabble at a crafty lifestyle.

Here are some of the more creative Halloween costume ideas I have made or seen over the years:

Brother Nature: This was one of the easiest and cheapest costumes. I got an afro for my husband and a plain black tee, and hot glued a bunch of leaves, plastic vines, fake birds and flowers all over it for him. If you like puns, this costume's for you.

Poison Ivy: Hot glue and wrap fake ivy (easily found at any craft supplies store, like Michael's) around your body and wear a skull-and-cross bones tee.

The Selsun Blue Guy: This was not my costume idea, but one of the funniest costumes I have seen. All it takes is a robe, some shaving cream, and some blue food dye. Part your hair in the middle and pat down with gel. Apply the blue-colored shaving cream to one side of your head, and white shaving cream to the other side. Wear a robe and walk around saying "This side tingles, this side...nothing".

Bob Ross: Make a palette out of cardboard, get an afro and a 70's shirt and stick some paintbrushes in your pocket. Walk around saying things like 'We don't make mistakes, we have happy accidents" and "happy trees". Once you have an afro from the Brother Nature costume, you're half-way there!

Mr. Bill: This costume took a little more time to put together. I paper mached a big round balloon, then painted it white. i drilled some eye holes and a mouth, then added Mr. Bill's yellow hair, big blue eyes, and shaped red plasticine for the mouth. I then sewed some big white buttons on a red long sleeve tee shirt and wore gardening gloves. We did the same paper mache treatment for my boyfriend, who was Sluggo. I wasn't crazy about the connotations there, but nevertheless is was a Halloween party hit.

Star-Belly Sneech: Who doesn't love a good Dr. Seuss character? The basics for this costume is a bright yellow sweatshirt/shirt/camisole and either yellow pants or tights. Get a piece of green felt and cut out a 6 inch star and use a hot glue gun to adhere to your "belly". Brush your hair into a high pony, fashion a quick necklace out of white fake fur or feathers, and voila!

What were your most creative Halloween costume ideas? Leave me a comment and let's discuss!