Last-Minute $0 DIY Wind-Up Doll Costume

I decided to be a wind-up doll this year. I don’t have much inspiration because it was my sister’s idea (kudos). I am so happy with how it turned out!

I needed to find a dress that would work, or a long skirt and a top. Then I realized that I had everything I needed in my closet! This is a dress from H&M that I bought months ago. Dress – CHECK

Next up was the wind up key. Here’s where it gets interesting. A week before Halloween I had a party to go to, and I completely forgot about it. So I basically made my entire costume that day. I made the wind up key by taking apart a paper towel tube and rolling it up smaller. Then I took a cereal box and cut out two key shapes, gluing them together for sturdiness. Then I inserted the key into the tube and painted the whole thing gold. Thank GOODNESS I had bought a small tube of gold paint forever ago (I guess I just knew that someday I’d need it in a pinch). The last step was to glue the whole key to a cardboard square that would be put in the dress’s zipper and pinned shut. Key – CHECK

I had no white fabric for an apron and was frantically tearing through my (HUGE) craft stash. I found a bag of doilies I got at a garage sale for $4 and found the biggest one, folding it in half to make a cute and easy apron. I tied it around my waist with bakers twine. Super cute apron – CHECK

The rest of the details were easy. I borrowed my sister’s white tights, wore my old black character shoes, and tied red ribbon in my hair. Speaking of hair, coming up with a doll-like hairstyle wasn’t easy with my waist-length hair. I braided it and doubled it up. It was perfectly doll-like!

The makeup was one of the BEST parts of the whole costume. I had a few tricks to create the illusion of bigger eyes and smaller lips. The whole makeup process only took 20 minutes.

When I finally went to the party, the costume was a hit. When one of the parents was dropping their teen off, they drove by (we were outside) and told me my costume was awesome (because it is, duh ;)

I’m so surprised with how everything turned out. The only thing that was a bit difficult was wearing the key. I couldn’t sit back against a chair, but it was worth it. This has to be the best costume I’ve ever made, and I had EVERYTHING on hand so it cost me… wait for it… $0 (dun dun dunnn)!!

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