Hello my fellow doggos and their pup moms, dads and treat givers. Happy HOWLoween!

It’s my favorite time of the year – FALL! Which means more walks, more food (people at football parties sure don’t know how to keep their food in their plates… lucky for me) and the furriest fangtastic event of the year – TRICK AND TREAT! And no, not just because it has the word treat in it. But, because I get to see so many other pups just like me, get plenty plenty of pets from their owners and we all get to flaunt our stuff during the costume contest which is all about showcasing the paw-some creativity of the doggy pals and their loving owners. This year’s event is happening in just 4 days so let’s talk costumes.

Now I wouldn’t call myself an expert, but I have watched the costume contest for many years in a row now. So, since they refuse to let me be a judge, I figured I’d take over this blog and show you some of my favorite costumes from throughout the years and even give you a little DIY idea of your own!  

Cooper's Favorite Costumes Throughout the Years!

 Those are some amazing costumes, right?! Want to make one of your own and aren't sure where to start? My best friend and I put together step by step of how we put together my costume for you. 

 DIY Dog Halloween Costume - Perfect for Gouda Boys like me! 

 Supplies Needed:

• Cardboard box (wide enough to fit over your pup, but not longer than his or her body)
• Blue posterboard
• Blue and yellow felt (We opted for a stronger felt sheet for the blue and your regular felt for the yellow)
• Gold cardstock (We used 12x12 sheets)
• Ruler
• Scissors
• Elastic
• Hot glue gun
• Printed logo
• Optional: Box Filler + Needle and thread

1. Find + prep your box. 

• Remove all top flaps on box.
• Cut out the to sides to that the box can rest over your dogs back (open ends facing towards the head and tail)

2. Sketch your bowl shape on the poster board and then cut. 

• Mark the size of the side of your box on the posterboard so you create a bowl shape that is large enough to cover the whole side.
• Once you’ve cut out one bowl shape, trace this shape on the remaining posterboard so that the two sides are identical

3. Trace your bowl shapes onto your blue felt and then cut.
 

4. Glue the posterboard and felt shaped bowls together.

5. Glue on your logo to both shapes.
I found a Kraft Macaroni and Cheese logo and customized it to say “Coops Mac and Cheese”

6. Glue on completed bowl shapes to both sides of the box. 

7. Cover the remaining center of the box with yellow felt to hide the brown.

8. Let's start making the noodles! Using any size gold cardstock, measure out even squares to cut out.

• Using a 12x12 sheet of cardstock, measure 3 columns 4 inches each and half your sheet at 6 inches. This will give you 6 “noodles” per sheet. Each shape is 4x6”.
• The amount of sheets you will need will depend on your amount of area to cover.
• We used about 4 sheets for mine!

9. Gently roll the cut-out shapes to connect the top and bottom of the sheets. Glue them together, making a cylinder.

10. Glue down your noodles first starting with a base layer and then freely gluing them at different angles.

11. Glue on your elastic underneath the box.

• Measure out a strip of elastic to fit around your dog's belly
• Then glue each side to the center underneath your box so that it can strap around your pup's stomach keeping the costume in place. 
  *Make sure the elastic is a little less than needed that way it fits snug
  

AND COMPLETE!
 

Feel free to add some of your own touches like melting cheese, a border around the top of the bowl or make a small noodle hat like us!

So there you have it, my fur-real friends! We're just in stretching distance of this year's costume contest so now's the time to make sure your costumes are almost complete! But the event isn't only about us four-legged friends in our fetching costumes, so learn more about Trick and Treat: Art Unleashed here! 

Made a costume of your own? I want to see how furrr-ific you look in it! Make sure to tag @brec_parks in your photo!

Have a happy HOWLoween!

 Cooper 

Check out our reels on the project on BREC's social media!