DIY Life

Fairies or (faeries) are mythical creatures with wings and often, supernatural powers. Interestingly, though fairies are often thought to be tiny, innocent, and typically feminine, folklore has it that fairies were often known to be mischievous or even malicious.

Either way, modern fairies are often associated with nature and are pretty popular right now, both with children (think Tinkerbell) as well as older kids, teens, and adults. Chances are that if you don't already have a doll house hanging around your attic or playroom, you can get your hands on one at a garage sale or rummage sale for a few dollars or less.

Once you do, you can spend an afternoon converting that plastic plaything into a fairy fantasy land. All you need is some gray or brown spray paint, a hot glue gun, and then an assortment of natural materials of your choosing. It's bound to thrill the fairy fanatic in your life!

Have you ever wished for wings?

Costume shops are full of fairy wings at this time of year, but they tend to carry the same models over and over. If you want something more unique, there are at least half-a-dozen websites where you can order custom wings to your specifications, ranging from cartoon-cute to something as lifelike and colorful as a butterfly.

However, most styles of fairy wings are not very difficult to make, if you have the time and determination. Find out more after the break: we have links to plenty of tutorials, videos, and visual inspirations!

M.A.C. Cosmetics is known for their glamorous makeup: available in a bewildering array of shades and renowned for quality, many items in the line don't cost much more than their higher-end drug-store counterparts. The line was created for film and photo studio use, but is quite popular with beauty devotees as well.

Now M.A.C. has created a group of Halloween costume makeup ideas, and put it on their site. There's a series of categories: Dark Side has spooky-glam monster makeup, the looks under Graphically are all patterns, the Optical Illusion category is self-explanatory (and would take a lot of skill to replicate), Pretty Things is full of more illusion makeup (feminine "masks" and animals), and Robotniks is all about our shiny metal friends.

The person who suggested this post to CRAFT said that they believed the looks could be replicated with any Halloween makeup. I think that depends on the skill of the artist. You're definitely going to have an easier time getting good results with higher-end products than you will with a $4 greasepaint palette, but these ideas are a good starting point.

However, you might not find it worthwhile to buy all the suggested shades if you only want them for one night; some of these looks require ten different products. Keep in mind that M.A.C. cosmetics have fine textures and are highly pigmented, if you're trying to find substitutes. (L'Oreal's H.I.P. line would probably be a good starting point, along with some theatrical products from Ben Nye that are available at many costume and theatrical supply shops.) Though it's not DIY, you could also always contact your local M.A.C. counter about having one of their artists try to replicate the look you like.

[via CRAFT.]