Halloween is around the corner, and this year 3D printing offers a way to tie some design and engineering to costumes and decorations.

Cubify is offering 3D printing patterns that are free to download. Along with pumpkin accessories, you can choose masks, mustaches and other spooky decorations. Even better, have a look at these patterns for inspiration and then use one of the simple software programs — such as 123D Design (free from Autodesk), Sculptris (free from Pixologic), or Doodle3D (requires WiFi box), or Makers Empire (free app to download)–  to create your own designs.

And now you can choose from a number of options assuming that, like most people, you don’t have a 3D printer. Options include:

The UPS store, which has rolled out 3D printing services at a number of stores in the US

A few public libraries and many schools

3D printing services such as Sculpteo, i.materialize, and Shapeways

On the subject of costumes, have a look at an amazing suit one woman created through 3D printing.

It’s a Varia Suit worn by the character Samus Aran in the video game series Metroid. But even if you’re like me and you’ve never heard of the game, it’s still impressive, and all the more inspiring when a woman takes on a project like this (if she is a woman…she’s a bit mysterious). This article (at 3Dprint.com) tells more of the story.