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DIY: TMNT Turtle Shells

I have the perfect DIY costume accessory to top off your little turtle’s Halloween costume. Remember a few weeks back when I shared my son’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Party? You probably spotted those super cute TMNT turtle shells—I promised I’d share the how to with you, and here it is!

DIY TMNT Turtle Shell Tutorial - Project Nursery

Materials: veggie trays, spray paint, drill, ribbon

I found these veggie trays at the Dollar Store…yep, just $1.00 each! What???!!! I also picked up my ribbon at the Dollar Store, and I chose a can of green spray paint that I already had on hand. (Editor’s Note: we found them online in case you can’t find them in your local store; they are more money but you can buy them in green, which means you won’t need spray paint)

Materials for DIY TMNT Turtle Shells

The back side of each tray was given a couple of coats of spray paint.

DIY TMNT Turtle Shells

Once the trays were dry, I used a drill to make four holes in each tray for the ribbon that I planned to use for the straps. I wanted the straps to wear similar to a backpack, so I made two holes on the top and two holes on the bottom.

DIY TMNT Turtle Shells

DIY TMNT Turtle Shells

Then I cut the ribbon into two strips, pulled one ribbon through each of the top holes and tied a simple knot to hold it in place. I made sure to cut the ribbon so that it was long enough to be threaded through the bottom holes too.

DIY TMNT Turtle Shells

That’s it! The kids were instantly thrilled with their new turtle shells! Don’t they look AWESOME?

DIY TMNT Turtle Shells

DIY TMNT Turtle Shells

I have a feeling there are going to be a lot of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle costumes this Halloween, but keep in mind that these TMNT turtle shells would also work great for a basic turtle costume. Do you have an awesome Halloween DIY you want to share? Upload your project to the Project Gallery!

Jessica Thielen

Saturday 16th of July 2022

What color spray paint is that?

Cowabunga! Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Party

Sunday 15th of March 2015

[…] After lunch, the boys dressed up in their TMNT masks and DIY turtle shells. […]