Coolest Homemade G.I. Joe and Barbie Costumes

G.I. Joe & Barbie In a Box were our cool homemade costumes this year.

The first challenge was finding boxes. We looked at local appliance stores etc to see if they had any leftover appliance boxes. They recycle them too quickly, so we were out of luck there.

We decided to just buy the boxes. So, we purchased two Wardrobe Moving Boxes. These were the perfect sizes. Sometimes you can find these free online at Craigslist.com, otherwise you can purchase them at most UHaul-type facilities.

Then, we purchased spray paint – pink for Barbie in the box, and black/brown/army green for the G.I. Joe box. I recommend priming first, especially for the pink. It took a few coats, and about 4-5 cans of spray paint to make sure it was thoroughly coated. Had we primed, it may have taken less paint.

We cut out the windows for the front of the boxes, and then used chalk to write the logos (easy to erase). Once it looked good, we painted the logos with white paint.

We added the Mattel logo to the Barbie box and Ages 4+ on the G.I. Joe Box.

We went to the Build a Bear store and purchased the “record your own” buttons that usually you would stick inside the bears with a pre-recorded message. Instead, we used these on the outside of our boxes. For the Barbie box, we recorded a snippet of the song “I’m a Barbie Girl”, and for G.I. Joe, we recorded a snippet of the G.I. Joe theme song. We wrote “Try me” or “Push Me” under the buttons.

For Barbie accessories, we had a tiara, wand, sparkley wallet; we adhered these with twist ties to the front of the box. You could also use jewelry, hair accessories, etc. We decided on putting these on the front of the box instead of inside, so they would be seen more easily.

For G.I. Joe accessories, we had plastic guns, a grenade and binoculars, etc.

For Barbie’s dress, we found something cheap at Value Village, but any Prom dress could have worked. She had a blond wig, long white gloves, and lots of make up.

For G.I. Joe, he had camouflage army clothing, etc.

For the plastic covering on the front of the boxes, we went to a fabric store and purchased clear vinyl. You can purchase it by the yard and in different thicknesses. Almost any of them would do.

Super fun costume to put together! But where will we store it when not in use?

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