Cardboard boxes and $5 are all this mom needs to create show-stopping Halloween costumes

For many, finding the right Halloween costume can be extremely daunting — not to mention expensive. For one mom, a few cardboard boxes and a few dollars is all she needs to make incredible, head-turning costumes for her little ones. 

Danielle Bevens from Alberta, Canada, posts photographs of her unique creations on Instagram. Her hand-crafted cardboard-based costumes have encompassed an array of themes — from a vending machine to a dragon. 

Bevens wrote that she posts these “easy to make” costumes as a cost-effective alternative to the typical expensive and wasteful costumes consumers gravitate toward, and she also does it simply for “a good laugh.”

“The general idea is all costumes are made from thrifted items, boxes, outgrown clothes or usual things you can find around the house!” said Bevens. 

Danielle Bevens recycles old cardboard boxes and thrifted clothes to make show-stopping Halloween costumes.

Halloween is a day Bevens and her two sons look forward to all year because she said it is a chance for her family to be creative, and a reminder that there’s more to Halloween than candy. 

Thousands of people make their way to Bevens’ Instagram page, praising her designs, which include a realistic-looking cardboard porcupine costume that was made from an old brown pillow case and a thrifted onesie.

Bevens makes a few costumes throughout October and makes sure they don’t go to waste. 

She told Yahoo News that at the end of the month she gives the costumes away for other kids to use. 

This story was reported from Los Angeles.