Oh yes, my crafty ghosts and goblins, we’re holding the ultimate handmade costume contest, and awarding eighteen winners with over $2,000 worth of goods and prizes. Three winners will be selected in each of the following six categories: Pet, Kid & Baby, T-Shirt Costume, Sci-Fi, Green, and General Awesomeness!

Judges from Treehugger.com, Boingboing.net, Craftzine.com, Makezine.com, Babble.com, Threadless.com, and Tcritic.com are helping us pick the winners and donating cool prizes. 

The Rules:
To enter make a handmade costume and put it for sale in your Etsy shop no later than 11:59 EDT, October 26, 2007.

• All entries must be tagged 'costumecon'.
• All entries must comply with Etsy's Terms of Use, Dos and Don'ts and other Site Policies.
• Entrants must specify which categories they want their items to be submitted by stating so in their item description. All entries will be considered for the general awesomeness category.
• Each Etsy seller may have up to three entries in each category, but may submit the same item into as many categories as they think apply.    
• Contest is open to U.S. residents only, due to dumb laws that we hate.
• No purchase necessary.  You can also send us your photos and a written description (See legalities).

Categories:

Green:

Enter your sustainable, upcycled, and eco-friendly costumes! The gracious folks from Treehugger.com will be helping us judge, so get your solar-powered thinking caps on! Treehugger will also be featuring entries periodically on their website! Entries will be judged based on quality of craftsmanship, originality, and eco-bility.

Judges: Etsy and Treehugger.com (Your one-stop shop for green news, solutions, and product information.)

1st Place: $150 Etsy shopping spree and a $100 donation, in your name, to Conservation International.

2nd Place: A big bag of limited edition Etsy goodies: T-shirt, poster, postcards, stickers, lip balm, buttons, and a tote bag.

3rd Place: A Limited Edition Etsy Totebag.

Pet:

Dress up your hedgehogs, turtles, pups, and kittens. Entries will be judged based on best animal usage, quality of craftsmanship, and originality.

Judges: Etsy & Natalie Zee Drieu from Craftzine.com, the first project-based magazine dedicated to the renaissance that is occurring within the world of crafts.

1st Place: $150 Etsy shopping spree and The First Year of Craft (vol. 1 - 4), courtesy of the good people over at Craft!

2nd Place: A big bag of limited edition Etsy goodies: T-shirt, poster, postcards, stickers, lip balm, buttons, and a tote bag!

3rd Place: A limited edition etsy totebag.

Kid & Baby:

Get those tumbling toddlers and chubby little baby legs into a handmade costume and enter to win! Entrants will be judged on their creativity, craftsmanship, and overall adorability.

Judges: Etsy & Babble.com, the magazine and community for a new generation of parents.

1st Place: $150 Etsy shopping spree and a feature in Babble.com's Droolicious blog for must have baby products!

2nd Place: A big bag of limited edition Etsy goodies: T-shirt, poster, postcards, stickers, lip balm, buttons, and a tote bag.

3rd Place: A limited edition etsy totebag.

T-Shirt:

Reconstruct, print and/or embellish a new or old t-shirt into a costume and enter it to win great prizes from Etsy, Threadless.com, and T-critic.com. Tees will be judged on craftsmanship and creativity.

Judges: Etsy, Threadless.com and Tcritic.com.

1st Place: $150 Etsy shopping spree and $150 Threadless bucks and a feature on Tcritic.com, the best t-shirt blog on the web!

2nd Place: A big bag of limited edition Etsy goodies: T-shirt, poster, postcards, stickers, lip balm, buttons, and a tote bag, $100 Threadless bucks and a feature on Tcritic.com.

3rd Place: A limited edition etsy totebag, $50 Threadless bucks, and a feature on Tcritic.com.

Sci-fi:

Alright, Sci-fi fans this one's for you! Put down those soft-core Star Trek pics, and start dorking out on your handmade Halloween costume.  Makezine.com is one of our judges so you may want to include some special effects — I'm sure that will get you bonus points. Entries will be judged on originality, science-fictitiousness, and craftsmanship.

Judges: Etsy and the lovely Phil from Makezine.com.

1st Place: $150 Etsy shopping spree and Make volume 1 and volume 2 (over $100 value!)

2nd Place: A big bag of limited edition Etsy goodies: T-shirt, poster, postcards, stickers, lip balm, buttons, and a tote bag.

3rd Place: A limited edition etsy totebag.

General Awesomeness:

Sky’s the limit here. Make whatever costume you wish, just make sure it’s awesome.  Entries will be judged on imagination, creativity, awesomeness, and craftsmanship.
 
Judges: Etsy and BoingBoing.net, ranked second popular blog in the world!

1st Place: $150 Etsy shopping spree and a surprise grab bag of handmade goods from Etsy sellers, courtesy of BoingBoing.net.

2nd Place: A big bag of limited edition Etsy goodies: T-shirt, poster, postcards, stickers, lip balm, buttons, and a tote bag.

3rd Place: A limited edition etsy totebag.

FAQ:

Q: What's the deadline?
A: 11:59 EDT, October 26, 2007.

Q: How do I tag my Etsy listing "costumecon"?
A: Use the first tag to determine which of the main categories your item fits in. Use the second and third tags to choose subcategories. The rest of the tags are descriptive. One of these should be your "costumecon" tag.

Q: What if my Etsy listing sells?
A: Even if the item sells, the judges will have a way to find your item, thanks to our brilliant engineers.

Q: Are non-US residents allowed to enter?
A: No, sorry! See the dumb fine print below. But know you aren't alone! Check out this thread!

Q: How many pieces can I submit?
A: Up to three per category (for a total of 18 tagged "costumecon").

Q: Can I enter one costume in more than one category?
A: Yes! Just remember to note this in your item description.

Q: Do I have to submit a full costume or can I submit an accessory?
A: You can submit an accessory — just make it amazing!

Q: How does the shopping spree work?
A: You will be given a $150 spending limit to pick from the Etsy shops of your choice! Etsy will also cover the shipping fees as stated in the item description.

By entering this contest I agree to the terms and conditions expressed here.