Family of Aliens Group CostumeIts sign says "Roswell of Bust," but this unfortunate UFO crash-landed!In the slide show above, you've viewing pictures of a UFO which crash-landed, spilling aliens in every direction! This fun family costume was designed by Lori Sylves-Muench of Area 51...oops, I mean, Colorado Springs. She'll share with you how she made it on this page. Disclaimer: this "alien crash" project has NOT been known to attract real aliens...but no guarantees are being made! How to mak a "Family of Aliens" Group Costumeby Lori Sylves-MuenchOur family made this UFO Crash project for a parade. In addition to each one of us dressing up as space aliens, we made a crashed space craft that was portable (by mounting it on a wagon.) You can make one or both elements of the costume...but the one thing that's a "must" is making the large, elongated alien heads. These are what make people's jaws drop and wonder, "Hey, how'd they DO that?"How to make the Alien's HeadsIf aliens have large heads, is it because they think alot and have OODLES of brains packed inside? Maybe so...but these aliens are really "airheads." Literally!These alien heads are made of papier mache, and should be begun several days before making the rest of your alien costumes. Here are the steps: Take a large balloon (one for each head.) Fill it with air, tie it shut, and tie a string to the bottom. Suspend each balloon from something tall so that they hang down. The next part of the process is MESSY! So be sure you have something in place to catch the drips. Making the paper mache: Rip newspaper strips into 4-6 inch sections, about 2 inches wide. Mix flour and warm water in large bowl. Dip the newspaper strips into the flour & water mix, and remove excess water. One at a time, apply the wet newspaper strips to the balloons. Cover each balloon at least twice; otherwise, the heads will not be sturdy enough. Next, let them dry thoroughly...usually a few days. When the "heads" are dry, cut the string and balloon bottom...popping the balloon inside (if it hasn't happened already while the balloon was drying.) Remove the balloon, leaving the empty "head." Now, cut an opening in each one for putting the molded paper onto each family member's head. Keep in mind the angle which you want it to set on head. You don't want it to look like a hat...but rather an elongated extension of your own head. Painting the alien heads: Paint each head a pale, fleshy tone. Use blue/purple to make veins come up from the temples. Paint black ovals for eyes and be creative! Don't forget the dead alien, if you're making the UFO crash scene to go along with the costumes. Wearing the alien heads: If needed for comfort, you can use glue and pieces of foam or cotton to line the edge as it sits on head. You can also punch holes near temples and tie string to hold it on as a helmet would. Paint your face with safe Halloween paint...white, with a little yellow or red. Add black around eyes in an oval shape. How to dress like an alienThe alien heads are the centerpiece of the costume. Without them, no matter what you wear, you won't look the part. Still...every well-dressed alien wears clothing, and we chose black sweat suits for ours because they're easily accessible in all sizes.We used silver metallic material to make capes, and used yarn to tie the capes around our necks. How to make the "Crashed UFO"First, here are the materials you'll need for the UFO projectMaterials you will need:* Round plastic laundry basket (the more flimsy the better; the dollar store brand is perfect) * Christmas light strand, with small multicolored globes (And yes, you can plug these in for effect!) Assembling the UFO Crash SceneFirst decide how large you want base. We used a 4 ft x 3 ft section of 1" plywood. Set this aside.Secondly, turn the laundry basket upside down onto the sheet of insulation. Trace around the basket, then cut the insulation into a circle approx 18" larger than basket. (This will form the widest part of the ship) Now, cover the laundry basket with silver fabric, wrapping it completely around to cover it; trim until there is about 4 " hanging inside and glue to the fabric to the inside of basket. (If your basket hads handles, you can cut them off if you desire to make the ship completely round) Next set the basket onto insulation and "wire" it down into the sheet to secure it. ( I only did this in about 5 places around the basket.) Use a skewer to poke a hole into the insulation where basket edge sits. Thread a wire down and back up; poke it through the fabric, and twist it around rim of basket to secure. To add the eerie alien ship's lights (aka Christmas lights,) first measure the full length of the circumference around silver insulation. Cut your pipe foam to this length. Measure distance between your globe lights strand. Use skewer to poke holes, approx that distance apart, the entire length of the pipe foam, in CENTER of the foam. Note, you are going to wrap this around edge of silver insulation. The lights will poke through from the inside to the outside and create a "light strand" around the ship. Thus, after all your holes are placed, push each globe light, in sequence, through the inside of pipe insulation strip. Leave any extra lights hanging from end. Now, check the size by placing the light strand/insulation tube onto the Circular part of ship. It should set there pretty tightly, but after you have trimmed it to meet edges exactly, glue it in place. Leave the excess strand of lights, if any, under the ship. You can place this section near the "grounded" section of the wreckage and cover it with greenery to hide it. Now, you are ready to create the "earth". (This step isn't necessary if you're using it as a stationary lawn decoration...but it's essential if you're mounting the UFO onto a wagon.) Take a couple boxes, or anything strong enough to support the ship. Set them onto the plywood, at one end. Cover the entire area, boxes and plywood with green grass rug. Use staple gun to secure into place. As well, secure boxes into position by stapling grass around them into the plywood. Now place space craft onto structure, at an angle. Adding the dead alien: Use yarn to hold the small, dead alien's clothes and stuffing together, then tie the alien's head down into the sweatshirt. Place his body under the ship so his head sticks out. We used an old pair of gloves and stapled them into the sleeve for his hand hanging out. Staple-gun the body in place. Use wire and staple gun to secure ship in place onto boxes/plywood form. Wrap greenery/leaves around base to conceal any wiring/staples as needed. Viola... a wrecked space ship and clan of aliens!
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