The Biggest DIY Halloween Contest on the Web!

Fclr2I9Flrolu07
We teamed up with our pals from Instructables for what is the biggest Halloween contest on the web. In honor of the best DIY holiday ever, we’re having a party — and everyone’s invited! Elaborate costumes for the whole family, gadgets that go “zzzZAP!,” gross-looking foods, creepy decorations that turn your house into a forbidding castle, and spooky jack-o-lanterns guarding your front door: these are the things we look forward to all year.

We want to see what delightfully frightful items you’ve made and we have dozens of awesome prizes to give away! You can enter an Instructable, photos, or video, just make it amazing and it will be eligible to win in one of our six categories: Hack-o-Lantern, Costume, Gadgets and Gizmos, Decorations, Food, and Green, or our Photo and Video categories!

Hallow07-2T
Before you get started be sure to pick up a copy of our MAKE DIY Halloween issue! DIY HALLOWEEN from the editors of MAKE and CRAFT brings you 40-plus DIY projects for the holiday that’s made for makers. From the craftiest costumes to amazing animated props and the latest in computer-controlled haunted house effects.

Note: You do not have to choose your category. We will select the best fit when awarding prizes.

Prizes
Win $250 gift certificates to the Maker Shed, Etsy shopping sprees, EL-wire packages that light up with sound, cool books from Quirk Books, a MAKE Controller kit, $250 gift certificates from Plaid, The Best of Instructables Volume I, gift certificates for Ponoko, a Fuel Cell Car & Experiment Kit, gift certificates for Hack n Mod, a Singer sewing machine, zombie gift packs from ThinkGeek, a “Make: Open Sourcerer” Leatherman Juice CS4 Tool, Make: The Third Year Collector’s Box Set, DNA Kit, ProdMod LED Camera Light Kit v1.1, Instructables robot t-shirts, stickers, and patches!

Enter as many times as you like, but since you can only win one prize be sure each entry shows off your best efforts! The only restriction is that the contest is US-only!

There are lots of ways to enter!
– Enter individual photos and videos through the diyhalloween08 DIY Halloween 08 Flickr group and YouTube group.
– Post your Instructables, photo slideshows, or videos on Instructables.

Grand Prize

Tech grand prize:
$250 Shopping spree at the Maker Shed Store
$250 gift certificate to Plaid Craft Express
$100 gift certificate to Hack N Mod

Craft grand prize:
$250 Shopping spree in the craft kits section of the Maker Shed Store
$250 gift certificate to Plaid Craft Express
8763 Curvy sewing machine from Singer

Category Prizes


Hack-o-Lantern: grab the nearest pumpkin (real or faux) and get to work. These make great photo entries, but creative work may warrant a video or a full Instructable!
Prizes:
1st (1 winner) – EL-wire package from Cool Neon and “Make: Open Sourcerer” Leatherman Juice CS4 Tool.
2nd (3 winners) – Set of books from Quirk Books, and an Instructables t-shirt, patch, and stickers.
3rd (5 winners) – Instructables t-shirt, patch, and stickers.


Costume: Show off your best homemade costumes! Whether you made it for you kids, your hamster, or even the office party, we want to see how you made it.
Prizes:
1st (1 winner) – $250 worth of jewelry supplies from Plaid, Make: The Third Year Collector’s Box Set, and a $50 voucher from Ponoko.
2nd (3 winners) – Set of books from Quirk Books, and an Instructables t-shirt, patch, and stickers.
3rd (5 winners) – Instructables t-shirt, patch, and stickers.


Gagdets and Gizmos: Share the mechanics behind the spooky shapes, creepy noises, and sudden movements you’ve created to scare us senseless!
Prizes:
1st (1 winner) – EL-wire package from Cool Neon, MAKE controller kit, $50 voucher from Ponoko, and a $50 gift certificate to Hack N Mod
2nd (3 winners) – Set of books from Quirk Books, and an Instructables t-shirt, patch, and stickers.
3rd (5 winners) – Instructables t-shirt, patch, and stickers.


Decorations: Show us how you made your surroundings spooky enough to make all the neighborhood kids think twice about trick or treating.
Prizes:
1st (1 winner) – $250 paint package from Plaid, The Best of Instructables Volume I and a $50 voucher from Ponoko,
2nd (3 winners) – Set of books from Quirk Books, and an Instructables t-shirt, patch, and stickers.
3rd (5 winners) – Instructables t-shirt, patch, and stickers.


Food: The grosser the better! What if you served this at your Halloween party and nobody ate it? Well, we’d probably give you a prize!
Prizes:
1st (1 winner) – Knife set and DNA Kit.
2nd (3 winners) – Set of books from Quirk Books, and an Instructables t-shirt, patch, and stickers.
3rd (5 winners) – Instructables t-shirt, patch, and stickers.


Green Halloween: Did you manage to provide a spoooky haunted house with recycled goods? Is your costume a clever use of materials destined for the dump? Tell us all about it!
Prizes:
1st (1 winner) – EL-wire package from Cool Neon and Fuel Cell Car & Experiment Kit.
2nd (3 winners) – Set of books from Quirk Books, and an Instructables t-shirt, patch, and stickers.
3rd (5 winners) – Instructables t-shirt, patch, and stickers.


Photo Prizes:
1st (1 winner): EL-wire package from Cool Neon, ProdMod LED Camera Light Kit v1.1, Instructables t-shirt, patch, and stickers.
2nd (5 winners) – Sound activated EL-wire from Cool Neon.


Video Prizes:
1st (1 winner): EL-wire package from Cool Neon, ProdMod LED Camera Light Kit v1.1, Instructables t-shirt, patch, and stickers.
2nd (5 winners) – Sound activated EL-wire from Cool Neon.

CONTEST STARTS: Nov 5, 2007 (Yes, you can enter your projects from 2007!)
ENTRY DEADLINE: Nov 9, 2008
VOTING STARTS: Nov 10, 2008
VOTING ENDS: Nov 16, 2008
JUDGING STARTS: Nov 17, 2008
JUDGING ENDS: Nov 24, 2008

Partners:
F4Zwd99Flxylbw5
Instructables, BoingBoing, Core77, CRAFT, Etsy, Hack n Mod, IndyMogul, Lion Brand Yarn, MAKE, Toolmonger, Plaid, Ponoko, PopSci, Singer, ThinkGeek, and Threadbanger all have come together to bring you a contest worthy of your creations! Be sure to check out the Instructables contest page for some offers from Ponoko and Etsy too.

Discuss this article with the rest of the community on our Discord server!

Becky Stern is a Content Creator at Autodesk/Instructables, and part time faculty at New York’s School of Visual Arts Products of Design grad program. Making and sharing are her two biggest passions, and she's created hundreds of free online DIY tutorials and videos, mostly about technology and its intersection with crafts. Find her @bekathwia on YouTube/Twitter/Instagram.

View more articles by Becky Stern

ADVERTISEMENT

Escape to an island of imagination + innovation as Maker Faire Bay Area returns for its 16th iteration!

Prices Increase in....

Days
Hours
Minutes
Seconds
FEEDBACK