I love Halloween.  Really though, who doesn’t?  Being able to dress up for one night like anything you want is absolutely liberating and, of course, just plain fun.  However, buying a costume can often be expensive, as well as the look generic.  Plus, making a DIY costume is an engaging creative process and the results are endlessly unique.  If you’re anything like me, you come up with some great ideas but never end up seeing them through, so keeping a few key pieces like these are helpful to keep on hand.  Here are some great DIY Halloween staples found on Etsy that you can mix and match and maybe even wear time and time again, long after the Halloween parties are over!

These high-waisted shorts painted with a skeleton back are creative, and only $35 here.

This glowing corset dress is made of black PVC to glow icy blue in dark light and brighter blue in black light.  It starts to glow in the dark 10 minutes after being in light exposure, and stays for the next 12 hours.  It’s $120, and worth every penny to be shining star on Halloween.  Get it here.

This skeleton hands headband is a fun touch to any spooky outfit.  Check out the creator, Janine Basil’s Etsy shop here for other interesting headbands, like comic book style and sugar skulls.

What could be more fun than dressing up like the galaxy?  It couldn’t be more fitting with the cosmic fashion trend right now, and these bad boys are only $50.  Get the above gear here.

Okay, so I can’t pretend like you will be wearing this past Halloween (well, unless you count fashion week next February), but it is so detailed and intricate I couldn’t resist.  It’s perfect for a Lady Gage costume or Marie Antoinette, or…  well, who am I kidding, you can be anything with this as a statement piece. The Etsy shop is worth checking out, if not only to gape at the other headdresses.

This pair of cross and inverted cross earrings would be great paired with a denim dress as the “Jean Genie”.  Browse them here.

This skull dress can be found here, and would look great paired with leggings (maybe a skeleton bones pair?), or on its own with a pair of Jeffrey Campbells.

These corset style arm warmers are a great touch to any victorian-era costume, vampire, or to simply add a touch of seduction to your outfit.  Check out the ones pictured along with many other sensual pieces here.

What are your thoughts on these Halloween pieces?  What are you planning on dressing up as, if anything?