LEGO costumes are a creative way to make use of those empty moving boxes once you’ve arrived at your humble abode. This fun activity can be enjoyed by the entire family and by creating your own LEGO costumes you’ll also be reducing your carbon footprint by finding new ways to reuse your moving boxes. So, grab your empty moving boxes and your little ones; it’s time to make LEGO costumes using spare boxes.
What You’ll Need:
To make a LEGO costume, there are a few things you’ll need to construct. Fortunately, the tools you need for this DIY costume are common household items, such as:
• Spare boxes (try different sizes for the whole family)
• Scissors or a box cutter
• Hot glue gun
• Tape
• White acrylic paint
• Colored acrylic paint (based on the LEGO piece you want to make)
• 6 Empty food containers per box (margarine containers are a perfect size)
Let’s put those parts together and make the perfect DIY LEGO costume.
Step One: Grab a Box
Take a look around your collection of spare boxes and choose a size that covers the entire torso of the person who will be wearing it. The box should also be around shoulder-width but what matters most is that you do not use a box that extends below the knees or past the elbows. This will make it extremely difficult to move around it.
Step Two: Construct the Box
Using a box cutter for the best, smoothest results, cut the bottom of a large cardboard box. This opening will be the bottom of the costume so keep this in mind when cutting.
Once you have completed this step, tape shut the remaining cardboard flaps.
Step Three: Cut a Hole for the Head
Position your box with the top facing up and the cut-out bottom facing the ground. This is where you’ll need to cut a hole for the head. It should be in the center of the top of the box and large enough for the head to comfortably go through it. You may want to measure the diameter of the wearer’s head prior to cutting this hole.
Step Four: Cut Holes for the Arms
The next step is to cut holes for the arms, just large enough as the widest part of the person’s arm. These should be cut on the sides of the boxes and fairly close to the top. After all, the top of the box will be resting on the shoulders and arms aren’t too far below that. To be exact, ask the wearer to slip on their box and mark where the armholes should go.
Step Five: Add a Base Coat
To achieve the perfect LEGO hue, cover the box in white acrylic craft paint completely. For best results, matte acrylic craft paint is the better choice as other paint can stick to it, which leads us into the next step.
Step Six: Paint Your LEGO Box
Once the white base coat is dry, you can start painting the box into a bright colored LEGO brick. Red, yellow and blue are classic LEGO colors, and any one of them will look wonderful. If you are creating a group costume or LEGO costumes for the entire family, paint different boxes in the various colors to have a collection of LEGO pieces.
Step Seven: Create The LEGO Knobs
To truly transform your newly painted box into a LEGO brick, you’ll need 6 empty plastic food containers to make the knobs that connect LEGO bricks together. Small margarine containers are the perfect size for kid LEGO costumes. If you are creating these LEGO costumes for adults, try larger empty containers that are more proportionate to the box size.
These containers will need to be painted in the same color as the box before moving onto the next step. Just make sure the paint can be used with plastic; spray paint also works wonders.
Step Eight: Attach the LEGO Knobs
Fire up your hot glue gun and as you’re waiting for it to heat up, draw six circles (two columns with three rows) on the front of the box. You may want to use a tape measure to ensure the knobs are equally aligned.
Then, using the hot glue gun, attach the LEGO knobs to the assigned positions.
Voila! You have the perfect DIY LEGO costume and you’ve put those empty spare boxes into good use.
