Create Simple and Free Halloween Decorations From Things You Already Have
Halloween is almost here and you forgot to decorate. Maybe you didn’t have time or didn’t think that someone would come, but suddenly the plans got off the ground and you need to make your home festive. You can recycle things you already have into cheap and easy décor to do it quickly, and then recycle it all when you’re done so you don’t have to clean up a big box of junk for next year.
Reuse potion jars
Reusing old jars is a great idea all year round , but for Halloween, your old jam or peanut butter jars can easily become decorations too. Wash jars, olive oil containers, and any other glass or plastic utensils you have in your pantry, stick labels like “blood” and “mouse liver” on them, and lay them out on a table covered with stretched cotton balls for a cobweb effect. Bonus points if you paint an old bowl black to make it the centerpiece of the cauldron and add some dry ice to make it steamy .
Gauze Plain Ghost Drapery
You could make free-standing gauze ghosts in elementary school, but if you remember, it took several days – you had to apply liquid starch or papier-mâché liquid and let it dry between each layer. According to Brightley , you can make a lighter version of this classic decoration by simply throwing old cheesecloth over a glass or jar. It won’t be freestanding or rigid, but your guests shouldn’t fiddle around with your decorations long enough to realize just how lazy it really is. Cut out a few circles from black construction paper for the eyes, glue them on and call it ready.
Weave a large web from an old shirt
All you need to make a kitschy web is some old fabric or string and a few sticks. Rip an old white shirt into strips of fabric or take a piece of string from the garage, cross six or eight sticks in the middle and arrange them like knitting needles, glue them together where they meet in the middle, and glue the fabric between the sticks in a web. sample. This can serve as a wreath on your door and takes very little time to make.
Make antique candles from paper towel rolls.
With a few electric tealights, old paper towel rolls (or toilet paper rolls), hot glue and paint, you can make spooky-looking fake pole candles to hang around the house. Paint your cardboard rolls any color you want, glue a tea light on top, and use a hot glue gun to drip the “wax” on the side. These are a safer and cheaper alternative to real pillar candles, and with some arts and crafts magic, you can make them look spooky pretty quickly.
Make a skeleton out of old plastic bags.
You probably have a drawer full of old plastic grocery bags that you can turn into a skeleton. According to Instructables , you’ll need 20 to 30 bags, two wire clothes hangers, and clear tape. Flatten the bags and roll them into cylinders to make four arm bones and four leg bones. Glue them an inch or so from the end, fluff the ends outward so they resemble the ends of bones. Use tape to make all your shapes, but get creative; it can look the way you want. As for the hands, you need to lay two bags on a flat surface, then manipulate them and tape them until they look like fingers and palms, gathering them at the bottom to form a wrist. This may be too hard for your feet, so you can just stuff two bags with paper towels or other bags and draw your toes in front. Bend one of your hangers outwards to make hips and hang the other upside down for collarbones, then wrap both strips of the bag and use additional strips to drape the ribs. The head is just one big stuffed bag with a painted face that you can manipulate and stick on until it looks the way you want. Sew it all together or tape it and hang it over your head. Full instructions can be found here .
Carve mini pumpkin lamps out of oranges.
If you don’t have the time or energy to make real pumpkin lanterns , or you just want to set the table with something cute and petite, cut off some of the top of an orange, carve it, and cut it face down into the remaining peel. Place the candle inside, and lo and behold, you have a little glowing decoration that not only looks pretty, but also smells good. Compost it when your party is over. Check out Rebecca’s DIY Picture Masterclass.