MAKE Magazine: Halloween

Rubik's Cube costume hat

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 21:00:32 -0800

Instructables user peterthehun made this costume hat replica of a Rubik's Cube. Oddly disturbing, and I wonder how he can see out of it!

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Iron Man mask and Arc Reactor

Fri, 06 Jun 2008 01:00:00 -0800

Instructable for making an Iron Man "Arc Reactor" and a glowing Iron Man mask.

How to make an Iron Man Arc Reactor

Iron Man Mask

And here's a full-blown Iron Man Helmet:

Iron Man Helmet

Petri dish desserts

Thu, 20 Mar 2008 19:00:44 -0800

Mark Rehorst and his son Alex had a Cub Scout cake auction fundraiser to attend, and decided to make something a little less traditional than a cake. Mark writes:

I've had a few microbiology classes and cultured many different types of bacteria on different media, and I happened to have a case of pyrex Petri dishes from an old surplus buy (relax, they were unused) so I thought it would be fun to make dessert that looked like bacterial cultures served in Petri dishes! I prepared the media (jello, tapioca pudding, and lemon pie filling) and Alex did most of the decorating. This should be good for a Halloween party or a creepy movie night with friends. They might go well with bowls of gummy worms served on ground-up Oreo cookie dirt.

Bacteria culture Jello desserts!

Monster prop shop

Wed, 12 Mar 2008 13:29:36 -0800

This company does some amazing work creating and restoring creature movie props. Seriously some of the pics from their gallery are downright horrifying - Link

Oh, they do furniture too -

Darth Vader belt turns you into a true geek

Thu, 14 Feb 2008 07:00:00 -0800

This Darth Vader Belt is a really nice way to show your true geekiness. It might be trickier to try and track down the instructions kit though.

Join The Dark Side: Homemade Darth Vader Belt Makes You Ultimate Star Wars Geek - [via]

DIY Halloween 2007 winners!

Wed, 21 Nov 2007 07:00:57 -0800

Ok folks, here are the DIY Halloween 2007 winners! Special thanks to our partners Instructables and PopSci for helping with the coordination of this MASSIVE contest, we had hundreds of entries, thousands of photos and tons and tons of fun. After a week+ of going through every entry here are winners...

Hack-o-Lantern

First Prize - Makita drill or Wusthof knives or EL wire kit + limited-edition Instructables Halloween t-shirt + a MAKE warranty voider or MAKE bomb defuser leatherman tool + a copy of MAKE's Halloween edition

Life-size Skeleton Pumpkin Carving

Second Prize - A $50 gift certificate from American Science & Surplus + a limited-edition Instructables Halloween t-shirt and stickers + a MAKE warranty voider or MAKE bomb defuser leatherman tool + a copy of MAKE's Halloween edition

Super Mario Bros. LED Mushroom Halloween Pumpkin!	Animated Jack-O-Lantern

Third Prize - A limited-edition Instructables Halloween t-shirt and stickers + a copy of MAKE's Halloween edition.

Beware of the horrible pumpkin bots ....

dry ice pumpkin for
Halloween

Laser Pumpkin

Photo/Video - A limited-edition Instructables Halloween t-shirt and stickers + a MAKE warranty voider or MAKE bomb defuser leatherman tool + and a copy of MAKE's Halloween edition.

My 178pound friend / bigskull
Crime Scene Pumpkin

Costumes

First Prize - Makita drill or Wusthof knives or EL wire kit + limited-edition Instructables Halloween t-shirt + DIY Laptop bag by Skooba + year one or year two of MAKE + a copy of MAKE's Halloween edition

Mystic Lord costume: horns, armor,
silk painting + more (oh my)

Second Prize - A $50 gift certificate from American Science & Surplus + a limited-edition Instructables Halloween t-shirt and stickers + DIY Laptop bag by Skooba + year one or year two of MAKE + a copy of MAKE's Halloween edition

Six-armed Hindu goddess Kali Costume	Toddler Flintstone car

Third Prize - A limited-edition Instructables Halloween t-shirt and stickers + a copy of MAKE's Halloween edition.

How to make a pair of Angel Wings
The SOLO CUP Lobster!
Halloween 2007 - "Who Ya Gonna Call?"

Photo/Video - A limited-edition Instructables Halloween t-shirt and stickers + DIY Laptop bag by Skooba + year one or year two of MAKE + a copy of MAKE's Halloween edition.

Toy soldiers

Price is right family

Decorations, Gadgets, and More

First Prize - Makita drill or Wusthof knives or EL wire kit + limited-edition Instructables Halloween t-shirt + MAKE controller kit + a copy of MAKE's Halloween edition

How to Build a Spooky Working Drawbridge
with Sounds and Light

Second Prize - A $50 gift certificate from American Science & Surplus + a limited-edition Instructables Halloween t-shirt and stickers + MAKE controller kit + a copy of MAKE's Halloween edition

Tesla CD Turbine With Scary Steampunk Laser PumpkinCutter Attachment	Mac-O-Lanterns

Third Prize - A limited-edition Instructables Halloween t-shirt and stickers + a copy of MAKE's Halloween edition.

Life Size Operation Game

Halloween Animatronics

Spooky Backwards Spinning Clock Made from Cassette Player Motor

Photo/Video - A limited-edition Instructables Halloween t-shirt and stickers + a MAKE t-shirt + a copy of MAKE's Halloween edition.

Huge Spider
Corpse Tray

Food

First Prize - Makita drill or Wusthof knives or EL wire kit + limited-edition Instructables Halloween t-shirt + a year of Craft + a sushi wallet kit + a copy of MAKE's Halloween edition

Animated Halloween Cake

Second Prize - A $50 gift certificate from American Science & Surplus + a limited-edition Instructables Halloween t-shirt and stickers + a year of Craft + a sushi wallet kit + a copy of MAKE's Halloween edition

Smoked Salmon Skull	Blood Splattered Extra Satanic Deviled Eggs

Third Prize - A limited-edition Instructables Halloween t-shirt and stickers + a copy of MAKE's Halloween edition.

Frankenstein Finger Cookies
Halloween Graveyard Cake
Frog Spawn and Swamp Water Tea

Photo/Video - A limited-edition Instructables Halloween t-shirt and stickers + a year of Craft + a sushi wallet kit + and a copy of MAKE's Halloween edition.

Thorax
Kang Kodos Halloween cupcakes

Grand Prize!
A trip to next year's Maker Faire in San Mateo, including airfare, hotel, and event ticket
+
Makita drill or Wusthof knives or EL wire kit

Realistic Werewolf Costume

Judging was done by staff at Instructables, MAKE: Magazine, and popsci.com.

DIY Halloween 2007 winners! - Link.

Faux robot walker

Mon, 12 Nov 2007 09:06:04 -0800

Want to create a robot walking machine for yourself, but don't want to deal with all of the fussy gyro stabilization and gait-control issues? Here's how to fake it. (And get your started thinking about NEXT Halloween's costume.)

Build your own steampunk chicken-walker - Link

Last day to enter the Halloween contest

Sun, 04 Nov 2007 14:00:07 -0800

Makers and Crafters, this is your last chance to enter our 2nd annual ghoulishly fun Halloween contests! Anyone, anywhere, can enter all or just some of the contests. MAKE, CRAFT, Instructables and Popular Science will be start the judging soon so enter your photos on Flickr, your projects on Instructables or just email them to us. For more details visit the contest page and for the prizes stop by here - the grand prize is a trip to Maker Faire 2008!

HOW TO - Build articulated wings

Fri, 02 Nov 2007 07:00:00 -0800

Halloween may be over, but for those of us for whom every day is Halloween, the cosplay continues. If articulated wings are something you'd like to incorporate into your
wardrobe, this Instructable has the skinny on their construction.

Articulated Wing Framework - Link

Add your costumes to the MAKE DIY Halloween pool!

Thu, 01 Nov 2007 13:01:15 -0800

Add your costumes and Halloween projects to the MAKE DIY Halloween pool! The deadline is 11/4 to win prizes! - Link.

ToughPigs: Halloween Parade 2007!

Thu, 01 Nov 2007 10:00:26 -0800

Andrew writes -

While Makers everywhere nurse a post-Halloween hangover I thought they might enjoy the Tough Pigs Halloween Parade 2007, an annual feature on the wonderfully snarky Muppet fan site Tough Pigs that features the best and worst of fan-made Muppet costumes.

ToughPigs: Halloween Parade 2007! - Link.

A Carl and Jerry Halloween story

Wed, 31 Oct 2007 20:00:35 -0800

Jeff writes in -

Carl and Jerry were Halloween Makers in the grand tradition. This story, from November 1960, explains how they built a very creepily effective severed hand for a seance, magnetically enabled so it can tap out messages by remote control on a glass tabletop.

A Carl and Jerry Halloween Story - Link (PDF).

Enter the DIY Halloween contests!

Wed, 31 Oct 2007 17:00:31 -0800

This is it gang, it's Halloween - We have a MASSIVE DIY HALLOWEEN contest this year! Makers and Crafters, enter our 2nd annual ghoulishly fun Halloween contests! Anyone, anywhere, can enter all or just some of the contests. MAKE, CRAFT, Instructables and Popular Science have teamed up and there's plenty of time to win! Here's how to enter and here are all the great prizes!!!. If you're in a hurry just add your photos to the MAKE DIY Halloween photo pool!

Etsy costume contest winners

Wed, 31 Oct 2007 17:00:17 -0800

As you may have known, Etsy has also been putting on a Halloween costume contest and they too have had many brilliant entries. But, as with any competition there can only be one (or a few in this case) winner.

Etsy costume contest winners - Link.

Scare the crap out of people... with air!

Wed, 31 Oct 2007 16:00:00 -0800

Here's a commercial product (from FrightProps) that uses a blast of compressed air on a person's ankle to separated them from their skin. If you have an air compressor, you could probably bodge up your own without too much trouble.

Ankle Blaster Air Cannon - [via] Link

Yet another Halloween costume contest

Wed, 31 Oct 2007 15:00:38 -0800

It amazes us how creative some people get for Halloween. From truly tasteless to super creative. Even the props are getting more creative:

You can find out more about this costume idea as well as a bunch of others over at Cockeyed.com.

2007 Cockeyed.com Halloween Costume Contest - Link.

Don't forget about our DIY Halloween Flickr pool

Wed, 31 Oct 2007 14:07:00 -0800

We've had TONS of response to our call for Halloween tips and tricks in our Flickr pool. From Tuscan Raiders:

To Duffman:

To creative pumpkin carving:

Plus there are pet costumes, props and accessories and whole bunch more. Better still, even though today is Halloween, people are still contributing!

DIY Halloween Flickr pool - Link.

Samurai Garbage Collector!

Wed, 31 Oct 2007 14:00:00 -0800

Check out this ridiculously cool samurai costume made almost entirely out of Rubbermaid garbage cans.

Halloween Samurai 2007 - [via] Link

Head in a Jar

Wed, 31 Oct 2007 13:00:41 -0800

Looking for that last minute Halloween prop to make your entrance complete? How about this head in a jar?

All you need is a large jar, and a dead body. If the body isn't available you might try a printer and Google.

Head in a jar - Link.

Great group costume idea

Wed, 31 Oct 2007 11:00:43 -0800

Since the "Kiss" group costume has been done to death we thought we'd share this original group costume idea:

It's actually a a traveling exhibition of modern art.

Group costume idea - Link.

PLAN A DIY HALLOWEEN from MAKE & CRAFT FOR 2008!

Get a start on Hallween 2008 with our DIY HALLOWEEN 2007 edition from the editors of MAKE and CRAFT brings you 40-plus DIY projects for the holiday that's made for makers. From the craftiest costumes to amazing animated props and the latest in computer-controlled haunted house effects - Link.

Dwight Shrute bobblehead costume

Wed, 31 Oct 2007 10:35:18 -0800

Dwight Shrute Bobblehead Costume

What more needs to be said here?

Dwight Shrute Bobblehead Costume - Link.

Even dogs like iphones for halloween

Wed, 31 Oct 2007 06:50:37 -0800

Next time you get a call, just pick up your dog and answer. Even dogs are getting in the halloween spirit in NYC this year! Trick or Treat!

Pups on Parade at Tompkins Square Park - Link [via]

Dress up as a YouTube clip and let people comment on you directly

Wed, 31 Oct 2007 04:43:04 -0800

Here's a good idea for Halloween! Dress up like a YouTube video and watch the comments roll in. Just make sure that everyone likes the footage.

OMG! Awesome Party Guy Vid! -
Link, [via]

Arduino-powered pumpkin

Tue, 30 Oct 2007 19:00:00 -0800

I was planning to make a MiniPOV Cylon Jack-O-Lantern, but I remembered I didn't have a MiniPOV at home. I placed an order for one to remedy this, but I figured the order wouldn't get here in time for Halloween, so I whipped something else up instead. It's a Jack-O-Lantern that's designed to look like it's got a flickering candle in it... until you get up close. It has a proximity sensor and brings the LEDs up to maximum brightness as soon as you get near it. The source code is based on an example from Tom Igoe's Making Things Talk, which I now keep on my bench within reach of all my Arduino boards - Arduino-powered pumpkin Instructable

The Steampunk Workshop - Halloween 2007 Preview

Mon, 29 Oct 2007 20:01:34 -0800

Steampunk has put together a Halloween attraction using an old school bus. The attraction is aptly named "Field Trip to Hell." Below is a video of the bus:

See more of the bus at the link below.

The Steampunk Workshop - Halloween 2007 Preview - Link.

DIY HALLOWEEN from MAKE & CRAFT!

It's here!! DIY HALLOWEEN 2007 from the editors of MAKE and CRAFT brings you 40-plus DIY projects for the holiday that's made for makers. From the craftiest costumes to amazing animated props and the latest in computer-controlled haunted house effects - Link.

Motion activated silly string shooter

Mon, 29 Oct 2007 19:00:56 -0800

Matt writes -

It's Halloween again, instead of trick or treating, why not stay home and surprise the kids looking for treats with a shot of silly string at the back of their heads. Joey Rabier shows you this quick and easy mod to drive the neighborhood kids batty, just don't blame us if your house gets TP'd.

Motion activated silly string shooter - Link.

Halo 3 Master Chief costume

Mon, 29 Oct 2007 17:54:33 -0800

Using cardboard, fiberglass and an old bicycle helmet you too can be a Master Chief from Halo 3:

Complete instructions available at Instructables.

Halo 3 Master Chief costume - Link.

Step-by-step pumpkin carving

Mon, 29 Oct 2007 16:00:00 -0800

Instructables has published a 9 step process to help you carve the perfect pumpkin, including cleaning it out, placing and attaching your design and even how to use baking powder to help you carve it.

Step-by-step pumpkin carving - Link.

DIY HALLOWEEN CONSTEST from MAKE, CRAFT, INSTRUCTABLES and POPULAR SCIENCE!

Makers and Crafters, it's time to enter our 2nd annual ghoulishly fun Halloween contests! Anyone, anywhere, can enter all or just some of the contests. We'll have lots of updates and posts regarding all these, but this announcement is to get you started and planning and has more information about where to enter, and our friends @ Instructables and Popular Science - Link (how to enter!). Oh, check out the prizes too! - Link.

Kenova Pumpkin House

Mon, 29 Oct 2007 14:00:44 -0800

Someone sure has a thing for pumpkins.

This guy, along with a gaggle of volunteers, carves over 3,000 pumpkins to display in and around his house every Halloween.

According to the website he has "carved over 25,000 pumpkins since 1978."

Kenova Pumpkin House - Link.

LED costumes

Mon, 29 Oct 2007 11:00:02 -0800

I was wondering if anyone was going to be a LED for Halloween this year and I didn't need to look further than Flickr for some clues... Here's one - Link.

And here's another - Link.