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Halloween Costumes: Retro Robot

Retro Robot

Total Time Needed: Afternoon Or Evening

Make your own metallic masterpiece of a costume with a few household odds and ends.

Materials

  • Craft knife
  • Plastic gallon milk jug with cap
  • Baseball hat
  • Duct tape
  • 2 empty 4-ounce plastic snack cups
  • 1 roll of silver foil tape
  • 2 large foil roasting pans
  • Gray sweatshirt and pants, and black gloves
  • Wire cutters
  • 7 feet of 4-inch-diameter metallic dryer duct
  • WHAT WE USED TO DECORATE THE ROBOT (feel free to improvise):
  • Foil muffin and pie pans
  • Clip-on safety strobes (for eyes)
  • Card stock, permanent markers, and paper fastener (for the mouth and chest dial)
  • Reflectors
  • Plastic snack cups

Instructions

Retro Robot - Step 1

1. HEAD: With a craft knife, trim the bottom and the handle off the milk jug. Fit it over the hat (diagram 1) and secure it with duct tape. Tape a snack cup to each side of the cap. Cover everything with the foil tape. Use loops of duct tape to attach eyes and a mouth (see ideas above).

Retro Robot - Step 2

2. BODY: To make a shoulder strap, cut 2 (21-inch) lengths of duct tape and stick them together. Repeat for the other strap, then tape the straps to the insides of the roasting pans (diagram 2).

Retro Robot - Step 3

3. Add decorations (such as those listed above), securing them with the foil tape (diagrams 3, 4).

4. Have your child put on the sweatshirt and pants. Using the wire cutters, snip the dryer duct into 4 lengths that fit comfortably on your child's arms and legs. Secure them with duct tape as needed. Apply strips of foil tape to your child's pant legs, gloves, and shoes.

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