FRESNO, Calif. -- A glue gun, fabric, odds and ends plus a great imagination are all Tracy Bohren needs to create a photo-worthy Halloween costume. The Clovis, Calif., resident has been making homemade costumes for years.

The former craft-store employee says inspiration is as close as your closet. She shared her ideas on how to create inexpensive costumes as clever as those priced much higher in stores.

"The best advice I can give is start early," Bohren says. "Start at home. Once you have an idea for a costume, start thinking about what you can use that you already have. You can do a lot with an old white T-shirt."

This year, inspired by an idea at the Martha Stewart Web site, marthastewart.com, Bohren is making a chicken costume for her daughter using feathers from a feather boa, a white baseball cap with red felt "comb" and yellow rubber gloves for feet. "I made my own little adjustments," she says.

Last year, the stay-at-home mom made her toddler, Katie, a King Kong outfit for less than $5.

"I used a black-hooded sweatshirt that she already had, found some black pants on sale and used a pair of old socks. With the hood up, I used rubber bands to make ears and I hand-stitched toes in the socks that I stuffed with cotton balls. The only thing ruined were the old socks. The sweatshirt and pants were usable again."

She also suggests checking out community Web sites for costumes for sale or trade.

"You can also try asking for specific items that you may need, such as leggings, wings, old sports uniforms, all things that moms will gladly swap or lend," Bohren says.

Clovis resident and day-care provider Carolynn Flores recalls making homemade costumes when her children, Brittany, Justin and Melanie, were little.

"It was a way to save money and be creative," she says. "I made Justin a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle costume using a green sweat suit and felt for the shell," she says. "That was really easy. He was really excited about not having the same look as the store-bought costumes."

Flores, who enjoys decorating her home for Halloween, gets ideas from the Internet and Pack-O-Fun craft magazine.

One year, Flores made a not-so-perfect angel costume using a white cotton dress with a tilted halo. "It was a cute one," she says. "Melanie had a devil tail on the back. She really fit that costume."

Sara Kelly of Hanford, Calif., also recalls making her children, Conor and Devin, now 28 and 26, respectively, their Halloween costumes.

"It's been many years since I've had to make a Halloween costume. I recall going to thrift stores for funky old clothes and bedsheets," says Kelly, an award-winning quilter. "One year, the old clothes acquired cat's ears and a tail. A bedsheet was adorned by a red cross to become a medieval crusader."

Bohren says costumes are easier to create if they aren't tied to a specific character.