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October 18, 2017

DIY Lion Halloween Costume

By:
Amanda Puleo

ROAR ;) This might have been my favorite Halloween costume I've ever done! My team at work got a little freaky this year and became a Circus Freak Show! We were complete with a bearded lady, a ring master, a magician, and a little lion with her tamer ;) Scroll to the bottom to see the whole team! We killed it if I do say so myself.

Supplies You'll Need for this Project

This costume was so fun to put together. I was most excited to do the hair and makeup. Mainly because I have always wanted an excuse to wear some space buns ;) For my outfit, I really wasn't exactly sure what I was looking for but I went into Forever21 for a bit of inspiration and boy let me tell you, did I hit the jackpot! Everywhere I turned, there was a tan-ish colored velvet dress and whole bunch of mustard sweaters. It couldn't have been more perfect. And then I found the faux fur infinity scarf that was perfect for the mane. Keep scrolling to see how I made the paws and feet.

OUTFIT DETAILS:

• Velvet Dress (you can find mine here / this one could also be cool)
• Fuzzy Mustard Sweater (here)
• Mustard Tights (here)• Faux Fur Scarf (
here)
• Mustard Flats (I found mine in the clearance section at F21, they were a return and they were the last ones there and I couldn't find them online ;( but here is a pair that is pretty inexpensive, not sure about the quality however.)• Black Knit Gloves

Rachael from Shore Society did an awesome job on her costume too! We were committed, I jumped through the hoop and everything! ;)

DIY SUPPLIES //

• Faux Fur (I got all my fabric at Joann Fabrics, I wanted a color that matched the color of my scarf // 1/2 yard)
• Tan Fabric (1/2 yard)
• Stuffing (for the tail)• Fake Nails for the claws & black nail polish

• Scissors
• Hot Glue

FOR THE TAIL //

1. Cut a strip of fabric 6 inches wide, you can make it however long you want.
2. Fold the fabric in half, then sew the two sides together.
3. Sew one end closed.
4. Stuff your tail with the stuffing. I used a ruler to pack it in.
5. Once its stuffed, sew the opposite end closed. (I put the sewed end in the back so you couldn't see it once attached to your outfit)
6. Cut a strip of fur for the end of the tail, I shaped mine to have a bit of a point on the end to make it look more realistic. I would suggest gluing the fur onto the end of the tail before shaping it.

FOR THE PAWS //

1. Take your black knit gloves, place them on the tan fabric, and trace the shape of the glove. Make the shape larger than the actual shape of the glove. Cut them out.
2. Take your fake nails, trim them so they have pointy ends (these ones are actually "witches nails" from the halloween store, the ones I used for the feet were the fake nails from Sally's), then paint them with black nail polish. Once they are dried, use the hot glue to glue them onto the fingertips of the black knit gloves—top of the gloves facing up.
3. Once the nails are all attached to the knit gloves, take the tan cut out shape and glue it onto the top of the black knit glove. (***make sure to not use too much glue so it doesn't soak through and glue the knit gloves shut***)
4. Next, cut out a strip of the faux fur to the desired thickness. Glue around the circumference of the bottom of the glove.

FOR THE FEET //

1. Cut a strip of the faux fur fabric to the length of the shoe from side to side (I curved mine at the top to follow the shape of the shoe)
2. Glue the fur on the shoe (from side to side)
3. Glue the nails into the fur to give it a more authentic look ;)