Halloween Decorations You Can Make From Home

The scariest house in the neighborhood might be yours with these simple, yet fun homemade Halloween decorations ideas. Stir up some wicked fun with these inexpensive projects. Rattle your guests with paper chains hanging from the walls. Intimidate trick-or-treaters with giant garbage bag pumpkins. Create sweet lollipop ghosts as party favors, or frighten friends with giant kitchen bag ghosts swaying ominously from the treetops. Build an eerie graveyard in the front yard with hauntingly realistic cardboard tombstones. Follow these easy instructions for making Halloween decorations and turn your home into a haunted house.

Things You'll Need

• Chains:
• Orange and black craft paper
• Pencil
• Ruler
• Scissors
• Tape
• ----------------
• Garbage Bag Pumpkins:
• Orange garbage bags
• Dried leaves
• Twist ties
• Sharpie marker
• Lollipop Ghosts:
• Lollipops
• Face tissues
• White yarn
• Marker
• Kitchen Bag Ghosts:
• Newspaper
• Tall white kitchen bags
• Kite string
• Graveyard Tombstone:
• Cardboard box
• Gray spray paint
• Paintbrush
• Black acrylic paint
• Tomato stake
• Duct tape

Instructions

Chains

1. Measure and divide craft paper into 2-inch sections that are 10 to 12 inches long.

2. Cut the craft paper into strips with scissors.

3. Make a loop with a strip of craft paper to make the first link of chain and tape it closed. Loop the next strip through the previous and tape it closed.

4. Continue until the chain is the desired length.

Garbage Bag Pumpkins

1. Fill garbage bags with dried leaves.

2. Close each bag with a twist tie.

3. Draw a pumpkin face on each bag.

4. Display the bags on a porch or yard.

Lollipop Ghosts

1. Place a lollipop in the center of a face tissue.

2. Wrap the tissue around the top of the lollipop.

3. Secure the tissue to the lollipop with yarn, making a lollipop ghost.

4. Draw a face on the lollipop ghost's head.

5. String the lollipop ghost from a ceiling or use it to decorate a room. Make as many as desired.

Kitchen Bag Ghosts

1. Crumple newspaper, enough to make a head-sized ball.

2. Insert the wadded newspaper into the bottom of a tall white kitchen bag, making a ghost.

3. Grasp the base of the ghost's head and twist tightly.

4. Tie it firmly with kite string.

5. Cut jagged edges on the bottom of the bag to give it a ghostly effect.

6. Draw a terrifying face on the head.

7. Suspend the ghost from a ceiling or tree using string.

Graveyard Tombstone

1. Draw a tombstone shape on a cardboard box.

2. Cut out the tombstone shape with scissors.

3. Lay the cardboard shape on newspaper and spray it with gray spray paint. Cover it completely. Allow it to dry. Repeat painting on other side.

4. Sketch a tombstone message on the painted cardboard with a pencil.

5. Paint the tombstone message with black paint. Allow it to dry.

6. Attach a tomato stake to the back of tombstone and secure it with duct tape.

7. Insert the stake into the ground.

Tips & Warnings

• Chains--Chains also may be attached with staples or glue. Decorate them with Halloween stickers, such as images of bats, spiders and black cats. Stickers are available at many hobby and craft stores, retail stores and most grocery outlets. If no ruler is available, any straight edge works as longs as the chain strips are the same size and length. Thumbtacks may be used in lieu of tape when hanging chains. ---------------- Garbage Bag Pumpkins--If no dried leaves are available, fill the bag with old clothes, blankets or pillows. Mix and match autumn colors, such as orange, yellow and green. ---------------- Lollipop Ghosts--Lollipops and face tissues are available in most grocery stores, retail stores and drugstores. Alternatives to yarn include kite string, white embroidery floss and white thread. Lollipop Ghosts are best for indoor use. For outdoor Lollipop Ghosts, use white plastic kitchen bags instead of tissue and cut them to size. ---------------- Kitchen Bag Ghosts--Any paper material may be used for stuffing. Alternatives include paper bags, magazines and junk mail. ---------------- Graveyard Tombstone--Give your tombstone an aged stone texture by dabbing it with white acrylic paint and a sponge. Alternatives for a tomato stake include leftover lumber, paint stirrers, sticks and clothes hangers. Make several tombstones and create a graveyard. Suggestions for spooky tombstone greetings include. R.I.P., Beware and Ben Better. Cardboard may be affected by weather; cover it with a plastic kitchen bag to protect from rain or dew.

• Use scissors carefully. Adult supervision is recommended.

References

• Extreme Halloween: the ultimate guide to making Halloween scary again; Tom Nardone; 2009
• How to Haunt Your House; Shaun and Lynne Mitchell: 2009

Resources

• MarthaStewart.com: Halloween Party Center Pumpkins