Homemade Halloween - DIY decorations for a spooky display
The shops have long been full of all things Halloween, from sweets and treats to costumes and decorations. For those that don't have the cash to splash on a big fright night bash, it's time to get creative and make your home spooky with these easy DIY decoration ideas.
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Pumpkins
Halloween just wouldn't be the same without a few carved pumpkins and you don't have to go for the giant-sized veg if you're on a budget. Smaller pumpkins can be snapped up from the supermarkets for around the £1 mark, and that means you can buy a few and carve a range of expressions and creepy faces to place around the home, in windows or even in the garden. Don't rule out squash either - different shapes will only add to the effect. Of course, it goes without saying that little ones should be supervised if they're keen to carve their own.
Bats
One of the easiest creepy creatures to recreate is the bat. All you need is some black card from your local arts and crafts store and a basic template. Cut out as many bats of different shapes and sizes as you please. You can then either hang them from lights or lintels, or stick them onto windows, into glass jars with a tea light inside or onto an old lampshade for a fabulous silhouette effect. It doesn't have to be just bats either. A spooky haunted house, foreboding crow or scary face will work just as well.
Ghosts
White fabric with holes cut out to form a face is a classic homemade Halloween costume, and you can use the same principle for some surprisingly effective decorations. Take some old white fabric and cut it to smaller pieces, then all you need is a ball shape for the head. Polystyrene balls are perfect for the job and can be bought cheaply at the likes of Amazon, eBay or your local crafts store. Simply draw your ghoulish face onto the fabric and cover the ball, then hang around the home or stick them on garden canes for a ghostly garden experience. With the latter, try placing a few 'ghosts' in a circle and tying the corners of the fabric so that it appears the ghosts are dancing. Indoors you can try the same decoration using black balloons and just cut the eyes and mouth out of the cloth to create a floating ghoul.
Sinister science
Set aside a room in your house for the mad scientist within. You'll need old, empty glass jars and bottles (and the chances are you'll have a range of sizes and shapes), and a few bargain basement Halloween toys like eyeballs, insects or severed fingers. Fill the jars with water and add various food colourings to make a creepy concoction, drop an item or two into each, then add a couple of tablespoons of milk for murkiness. Then place your spooky specimen jars around the room.
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Frights outside
You don't have to limit your decorating to the inside of your home. For example, if you have a hedge or bushes in your garden, you can make eerie eyes by cutting designs out of the cardboard tubes from toilet rolls. Grab yourself a handful of glow sticks from your local party shop, place them inside the rolls, and hide them amongst bushes, shrubs and trees to give trick or treaters the feeling that someone (or something) is watching. And if you really want to give guests a fright, invest in a bottle of PVA glue and some red food colouring. By combining the two and painting it onto your hand, you can leave bloody handprints on windows or doors.
These easy DIY ideas are simple and cheap, so don't spend a fortune on Halloween decor this year - let your twisted imagination run wild instead.
Do you have any easy ideas for DIY decorations? Leave your comments below...
