Coolest Homemade Dinosaur Diorama Costume

How did I think of this Homemade Dinosaur Diorama Costume? I have no idea. But it happened in the shower when I was lost in my mind thinking of random things from my life that I could be. When it hit me, I got out without drying off and drew the idea. The end result looked almost exactly like my sketch. I was so excited! Remember that it should look like a child made this diorama for a science project, so use household materials that a kid would use.

MATERIALS:
– 5 Pieces of Cardboard
– Two Green Straps
– Belt
– Paints
– Tin Foil
– Metallic streamers
– Cotton Balls
– Bakery String
– Dinosaur cutouts
– Fake foliage
– Green hooded sweatshirt
– Thin sheets of green foam
– Thin sheet of white foam
– Ping Pong Balls
– Real shoebox for reference

Cut large pieces from cardboard for the back, sides, top and front. Glue the top, left and right sides to the back piece first. The top of the side panels should be angled upwards towards the front, so the top of the box will be tilted up giving plenty of room for your head. Save the front panel for later.

Attached two heavy duty straps, vertically on the inside. These should be a bright green material if you can find it. Cut slits so they go out the back and back in. Make sure they are secure with lots of glue! They should be positioned to hang like the straps on a backpack, as you will wear this costume like a backpack. (Or book bag, but I hate that term!) Also secure a canvas belt (with buckle) horizontally underneath the straps, where your waist will be. Also cut slits so this belt slides out then back into the box. This will prevent the box from tilting back or forward, keeping it upright.

Now the fun part!

Glue tin foil down in the shape of a volcano. Paint the background sky blue with clouds and paint an erupting volcano over the foil, which will give it great texture. Add loose strands of gold foil to the volcano for an explosive look! Then glue cotton balls on the clouds.

Now decorate the front cardboard panel with fake foliage, found in a craft store’s floral section.

Search the internet for realistic illustrations of dinosaurs, both winged and walkers. Print them out and glue them to thick paper so they are not fragile. Hang the flying dinosaurs (like pterodactyls) from the top of the box with bakery string. Attach the land dinosaurs to the foliage. Now glue this finished horizontal panel to the front of the box.

Using a shoebox for reference, paint this design and logo onto the back of your cardboard box. (I did LA Gear, which made a lot of people laugh.) If there are stickers on the box, like a shoe size and bar code, cut them out, scan them into a computer or use a copier to print enlarged versions. Glue them on to the box!

To make the dinosaur, find a bright green hooded sweat shirt to match the straps. Using thin foam of the same bright green color, easily found at a craft store, shape, fold, cut, and glue pieces together until it looks like a head with two eye sockets and a long snout with two nostrils. Create the bottom part of the mouth as well. Cut triangles out of white foam and glue to mouth to create teeth. Paint two ping pong balls to look like eyes and glue them into the eye sockets. Attached all this to the hood of your sweatshirt.

Finally, cut out little dinosaur hands and attached them to the sweatshirt’s sleeve cuffs so that they cover your real hands.

Put on the sweatshirt, have someone lift up the box so you can get in putting your arms through the two loops. Attached the belt and “ROOOOAR!”

For a couples costumes, have your partner dress up like the nerdy child who made the diorama and won first place at a science fair!

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