You won't have to go to Infinity or beyond to make your kid a great Buzz Lightyear costume this World Book Day, you just need this easy-to-follow guide! Top tips for making World Book Day costumes

Elmer is a colourful patchwork elephant. He is the joker in the herd, but he wants to blend in with the other elephants. However he comes to realise that his colours are what makes him him, and that his friends love him in spite of his difference in appearance. It’s a sweet tale; I’m not sure that my eldest ‘gets’ the underlying message, but she enjoys the colourful pictures and humour.Think about sleepwear - Pyjamas and nighties can work for all sorts of costumes, like The Darlings from Peter Pan or Sophie from The BFG. Make a simple mask. Paper plates are great for making simple masks. You can turn your child into pretty much any World Book Day character they fancy with a little crafting. One the paint was dried we attached the head and ears then made a tail from woven cord. Glue the cord or ribbon to the inside of the top hole to create straps. Get creative with cardboard. There's almost nothing you can't make with some cardboard, scissors, and a good idea.

If you love making things with cardboard boxes, you might like Adventures In Cardboard; our new kids craft book all about the creative adventures you can have with cardboard boxes! FIND OUT MORE >>> Look through EVERYONE'S wardrobes. Dad's tie may make a great Penny Crayon costume and an apron could be fashioned into an Alice in Wonderland dress. The construction of the actual dress was really straightforward – it was the piecing of all those squares that took forever. I did have a little helper who was passing the squares to me to sew. I also had a little monster who kept walking aimlessly through the carefully laid out pieces on the floor…

Add the elastic

Get the face paints out. Book characters can easily come to life with cute painted faces. Think The Tiger Who Came to Tea or the Cheshire Cat. Start with a stripey jumper. It can be the start of many an easy costume including Dennis the Menace, Minnie the Minx, Where's Wally, or Horrid Henry. Adapt a PE or sports kit, or their school uniform - think Football Academy for sports kit, Harry Potter and St Trinian's for the uniform.

This is one of my all time favourite projects we have made together recently, this Elmer Elephant costume will be a fantastic book week costume! I’ve not met a child who doesn’t like Elmer. Did you know it was originally published in 1968? And there are now nearly 30 spin-offs! Now, a couple of weeks ago I asked my daughter what her favourite book is. She replied with “Cinderella.” Hmm. That could be true; we are looking forward to seeing the new film in the cinema soon. But, like Snow White and fairies, it’s not very original. She has a nice Cinderella dress in her dressing-up box. I guess I could have made her an outfit for another character from the story, but I had a different idea… On the 1st of January I made some sewing goals; one of them was to actually make a costume for WBD.I was very aware that I was making it for one day’s wear so didn’t stress about matching the squares exactly – which was just as well, really. Also I didn’t finish any of the seams, so I’m glad it came home from school clean as it’ll probably fall apart in the wash! The ears are big and floppy – a bit heavy, perhaps; my daughter didn’t wear them all day, but I couldn’t make a funky elephant costume with small ears! I was going to make a plain old grey elephant but realised we had run out of grey paint so my 4yr old came up with the idea to paint him like Elmer! MATERIALS: