Calling all old house lovers and makeover mavens! If there’s nothing you love more than perusing the aisles at your local hardware or a good weekend house project, then we’ve got the perfect Halloween costume for you for 2023: a painter and a paint swatch! The best part about this costume for two people is that it makes a great Halloween costume for couples or for best friends. You could even dress a kid up as one of the roles and make it a family Halloween costume!
Creating this painter and paint swatch costume is super easy and cheap, and can be done with items you likely already have at home, so you won’t have to spend a lot of money (or time!) to achieve Insta-worthy results. Read on for step-by-step instructions in how to craft the paint swatch, as well as wardrobe suggestions for the painter.
Painter Halloween Costume
Becky Luigart-Stayner
Raid your closet or a local thrift store for overalls, a striped shirt, and a bandana. If you don’t have overalls, oversized jeans will do! For extra flair, accessorize with a paintbrush from the garage and use a paint bucket in place of a trick or treating bag. Add some paint splatters to the outfit, and voila! You’re ready to go.
Need to get these painter costume pieces in ASAP? Here’s some options from to consider from Amazon:
Vetinee Women's Overalls
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LilyCoco Striped Shirt
Well Krafty Teal Bandana
Paint Can
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Paint Swatch Halloween Costume
Becky Luigart-Stayner
Materials
Instructions
1. Lay your foam board down vertically. Using your pencil and yard stick, draw a line straight across at the 10” and 20” mark so the board is divided into three equal sections vertically.
2. If you are using 1” painter’s tape, measure ½” up from the 10” line and draw a new line. Next, measure ½” down from the 10” line and draw a new line. This will provide guidelines for where to lay down your painter’s tape. (Be sure to press firmly!) Repeat these steps at the 20” line.
3. Now it’s time to prep your paint! Lay out three disposable bowls. In the first bowl, pour some of your colored paint. Do not add anything to it – this will be the darkest shade at the bottom of your chip. In the second bowl, pour colored paint and add a healthy dab of white paint. Mix thoroughly, adding white paint until you’ve achieved a lighter version of your initial color. In the last bowl, start with a pour of white paint. Add a healthy dab of colored paint, mixing until you’ve achieved the lightest version of your original paint shade.
Sarah ZlotnickYour paint gradient should look like this!
4. Paint each section of the board, starting with the darkest shade on bottom and lightest shade on top. Let all paint fully dry.
5. Once paint is fully dry, peel off painter’s tape to reveal crisp white dividing lines.
6. Use your pencil to sketch names for each paint shade in the bottom left corner of the section. Trace over the names with black permanent marker.
7. To create the neck loop, ask a friend or family member to help out. Cut a length of ribbon or cord (2” feet is more than enough), and loop it around your neck so the ends hang down past your shoulders. Ask your second person to hold up the board to your chest while you get a feel for the right length of the loop. Use extra painter’s tape to secure the cord into position. (For an extra-firm hold, you can also use a hot-glue gun.)
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