GI Joe and Barbie Couples CostumeThe perfect couples costume for childhood sweethearts!In the slide show above, you're viewing pictures of the GI Joe and Barbie costumes made by Jill Corcoran of Washington and her husband. On this page, Jill explains how she & hubby made this fun couples costume. How to make this fun GI Joe & Barbie couples costumeby Jill CorcoranHere are the materials you'll need to gather before beginning your GI Joe and Barbie costume project:1.) 2 Wardrobe boxes Making the GI Joe and Barbie Doll Boxes1.) First, we had to find boxes large enough to fit over us. We ended up purchasing the wardrobe boxes that you use when moving clothing.2.) Painting the boxes: Next, we spray painted the Barbie box in all pink, and the G.I. Joe in black/army green and brown. Then, we cut out holes/windows using a Exacto knife. We purchased clear vinyl at a local fabric store (they sell it by the yard) and adhered that with duck tape to the inside of the box. 3.) Labeling the boxes: We used chalk to write the logos for G.I. Joe and Barbie, and once that looked good (chalk erases easy) we used white paint to fill it in. This is an important step to do carefully. Without a realistic-looking logo, your costume won't be nearly as impressive. 4.) Adding sound: At our local Build a Bear Workshop, we discovered gadgets on which you can record your own voice or music onto it. For the Barbie box we recorded part of the song "I'm a Barbie Girl" and for the G.I. Joe button, we recorded a bit of the theme song from the G.I. Joe cartoon. We drilled a small hole on the front of the box and put the buttons in there, and adhered them with zip ties. Wrote "Try Me" or "Push Me" by the buttons. Decorating the boxes: Next, we purchased some cheap plastic accessories - tiara, sparkley wallet, plastic gun, plastic grenade and binoculars. Adhered those with zip ties to the front of the box, but drilling small holes and threading the zip ties through the holes. Added "Ages 4 +" on the G.I. Joe box and added "Accessories Includes" and "Mattel" logo on the Barbie box. The Wardrobe boxes had built in handles, so we used that to walk around with the boxes on. Dressing up as Barbie and GI Joe: Preparing the boxes was the most time-consuming part of making the costumes. Getting dressed up as Barbie and GI Joe was easy to do right before our costume party. GI Joe's makeup is an important part of the costume, so be sure to purchase it in advance to have it on hand. While most women will have the right makeup to create a "Barbie" look on hand at home already, men won't. Any costume store will have the inexpensive cream makeup needed to create the GI Joe camouflage look. Some thoughts about our GI Joe & Barbie CostumesThere are a few things we didn't think about until the day we wore the costumes. You might want to keep these things in mind if you decide to re-create these costumes for your own Halloween disguises.A. It is pretty hot inside these boxes, and not a lot of ventilation B. It is hard to get in and out of the boxes, and if you want to eat or drink, it's a bit difficult. We took off the boxes for most of the night, but we plan on adjusting the boxes by cutting a large opening in the back and using either Velcro or some type of ribbon to open and close the box for easier access. We might possibly choose to cut holes in the sides so we can bring things in and out of holes (food/drinks). Lastly, we would use some sort of straps to hold the boxes on to our shoulders, similar to a back pack. That way, we wouldn't have to carry the boxes the whole time.
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