Kayleigh O'Connor

"The Shining" nail art

For British nail artist Kayleigh O'Connor, dressing up your hands isn't something to do just for Halloween, it's an everyday hobby. The 25-year-old from Birmingham, England got her start as a teenager 9 years ago when she started using simple, plain colors to cover up her badly-bitten nails.

Kayleigh O'Connor

"Hocus Pocus"

Now her intricate pop culture and 3D designs are receiving international attention since she began posting photos of them on Facebook and deviantArt.

Kayleigh O'Connor

"Harry Potter" sorting hat design

"I was just happy to have a hobby that I enjoy so I have been amazed at all the positive feedback I've been getting online through it, I'm really amazed!" O'Connor, who recently got a university degree in media and communications, told TODAY.com in an email.  

Kayleigh O'Connor

"Doctor Who" Eleventh Doctor

As complicated as her designs appear they don't take her long to create at all. When O'Connor gets an idea she jumps right in, taking about 10 minutes to plan the design and 1 to 2 hours to complete a set.

"My favorite thing about starting a new set is working out what to put on each nail (and seeing it all come together in the end). And wearing them, of course!" said O'Connor, who is setting up a small video production company with friends.

Kayleigh O'Connor

"Batman"

While replicating her intricate designs may seem daunting to a nail art newbie, O'Connor shared with us some simple steps you can take to give your nails a Halloween theme this year with one of her "The Shining" designs.

Kayleigh O'Connor

Give yourself "The Shining" Grady twins and carpet nails.

Tutorial for "The Shining" Grady twins and carpet pattern nails:

Materials

• Seven different shades of nail polish (light blue, cream, white, pink, orange, brown and red)
• A thin paintbrush or toothpick

Kayleigh's tutorial

1. I decided to paint the Grady twins’ dresses on my ring and middle fingers but you can choose any two of your nails which you think will be best. The first step is to paint both nails light blue and then wait for these to dry.
2. From now on you must use a thin paintbrush or a toothpick to create the look for the rest of the outfits. Once the blue has dried, use a cream colored varnish to paint thin triangles on both sides of these nails. These act as the twins’ arms and create the dress shapes.
3. Use a white varnish to paint two small, joined semi-circles at the tips of the nails to create a collar. Then, add dots to the ‘sleeves’ of the dresses to create a frilly look.
4. Now use a pink varnish to paint a thin line across the middle of the dresses, where you imagine the waist would fall.
5. Little flicks with the pink varnish (falling downwards from the center of the line) create ribbons, completing the dresses.
6. Moving on to the rest of the design, begin by painting your other nails orange and wait for these to dry.
7. Paint a brown line upwards from your cuticle, stopping around two thirds of the way up your nails. Use your paintbrush or toothpick for this and for the next steps if you find this easier.
8. Create a 'V’ shape on top of this line, connecting it with the top corners of your nails.
9. Leaving a gap for the orange to show through, use the 'Y' shape you’ve now created as a guide to complete the other brown sections of the carpet pattern.
10. Fill in the top and side areas with red varnish as shown and the design is finished! After everything dries, use a clear top coat to give the nails an extra sleek finish and to prevent the design from chipping.

Now that you know how to create this design you will be able to feature the Grady girls on your nails “for ever, and ever, and ever…”  Happy Halloween!

TODAY.com writer Lisa Granshaw just had to talk to O'Connor after seeing her "Harry Potter" sorting hat nails. If she had an ounce of artistic talent, she would definitely try to replicate that design for Halloween!

More:

• Bobbie's buzz: DIY costume ideas
• Hottest nail polish colors for fall
• Video: Most popular adult Halloween costumes
• Get creative with your nails: 7 awesome nail art ideas

So you waited until the last minute to put together a costume — again. But before you reach for that little black dress and dig out a pointed hat from Halloween’s of yore (calling yourself a witch, of course), take a look at these cleverly simple ensembles. Most require materials you already have around the house — and perhaps some skill with the scissors. Why not raid your own closet and avoid the tsktsks at this year's Halloween bash.

More:
'Loofah,' 'Slender Man' among top DIY costume searches
Cereal killer? 11 punny costumes for Halloween 2012
Terrifyingly cute: 31 Halloween costumes for babies

Courtesy Costume-Works.com

But where's the soap? Halloween revelers dress up as colorful loofahs, which they made themselves.

You could buy the "it" getup of the year — Big Bird — at your local costume store. Or you can join the DIY revolution and use your spooky blood, sweat and tears to make your own creepy-cool creation. DIY Halloween costume searches are up 90 percent year over year, according to Google data.

But just what are creative masterminds out there crafting for themselves? Some popular costume searches, like those for "mermaid" or "pirate," are to be expected. But others — like, oh, say, "loofah" or "Slender Man" — are downright baffling (and, c'mon, a little disconcerting). Below are the top 10 DIY costume searches for October 2012:

1. How to Train Your Dragon
2. Minnie Mouse
3. Loofah
4. Zombie
5. Ninja mask
6. Slender Man
7. Peacock
8. Mermaid
9. Pirate
10. Superhero

According to Morphsuits, the Slender Man can "cause memory loss, insomnia and paranoia."

What is the "Slender Man"? Meant to be a costume that requires minimal effort, it pays homage to the urban legend of a paranormal, white figure with an affinity for James Bond attire and, possibly, for snatching children and causing paranoia. The character supposedly originated in an online forum in 2009 and has been described as "passive aggressive". The outfit requires a faceless white mask, white gloves, black suit and a creepy pose.

As for loofah, it's exactly what you think: a big, fluffy ball meant for washing. In a surprising move, ladies have taken to this new tulle-heavy costume so that they can travel in packs as a "bunch of loofahs." (Which is silly, since everyone knows loofahs are solo travelers.) And in case you think this new trend is turning back the clock on revealing costumes, don't worry: women generally wear the loofah — and nothing else.

Standard disguises like princesses, pirates and peacocks have fallen since 2011, a simpler time when less confusing Halloween costumes weren't clogging our search portals. Perhaps the oddest standout from last year was simply "a Mortal Kombat" costume, if only because it seemed more relevant in the '90s. The top DIY costumes searches of 2011 gave more respect to the fantastical than to the spooky:

1. How to make a Mortal Kombat costume
2. DIY pirate costume
3. DIY princess costume
4. How to make a Harry Potter costume
5. DIY peacock costume
6. How to make a zombie costume
7. DIY Rapunzel costume
8. DIY Minnie Mouse costume
9. DIY vampire costume
10. How to make a mummy costume

One costume I wish had made the top 10 list this season? Clint Eastwood and chair.

Courtesy Sabrina Weiss / VH1.com

Get political this Halloween by dressing up as actor / director Clint Eastwood and his RNC chair (a.k.a. invisible President Barack Obama).

What's your favorite DIY costume? Let us know!

Rina Raphael is a TODAY.com editor going as the Arab Spring (i.e, wearing a keffiyeh and holding a bouquet of flowers) this Halloween.

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• Sponge Babe? Sexy Halloween garb gets weirder
• Do craft kits still count as DIY?
• Cereal killer? 12 punny costumes for Halloween 2012
• Slideshow: Coveted creations from DIY style bloggers