Spooky story telling around the campfire, frightful decorations haunting the yard, and fanciful costumes excite and delight, as bags are filled with candy and laughter drifts upon the air. Halloween will soon be here. Celebrate this popular holiday and dance like nobody’s watching! First you’ll need a few decorative ideas to set the stage for your celebration. Let’s get started…

Many people enjoy the warm summer nights by candlelight. With Halloween approaching, transform your lanterns into Halloween décor by adding a few decals to the glass.

Lighting is so important to setting the mood. Carved pumpkins can be lit with standard candles or opt for the battery operated flameless variety. Luminaries can be made from glass jars and decals or simply draw a design with Sharpie markers.

Tombstones and skeletons are a Halloween classic. This one has a more menacing appearance with its glowing red eyes and the bright light from below, giving the impression he’s climbing out of his grave.

If elaborate carving seems a bit too daunting, these mini pumpkins will make you smile.   Cut out a rectangle in the front, large enough to fit plastic teeth as shown above. Draw eyeballs or use olives as an alternative. Attach the eyes with toothpicks and you have silly extraterrestrial pumpkins to delight your guests. Green pumpkins would be even better!

Do you have an old cage in your garage? People can’t resist looking, wondering what’s hidden inside. A glowing pumpkin in a dark cage will certainly keep them guessing. To kick the fear factor up, you could carve a big bite mark in the side or add some jagged claw marks.

Strings of orange lights are perfect accents on decks and patios for railings, pergolas, and arbors. There is a wide variety of bulb shapes and sizes, and the LED strands will last a long time.

Silhouettes of bats, crows, spiders and more are readily available online. Print out several, cut them out and tape them inside your front windows. The lights in your home will provide the eerie glow they need to be seen every evening.

Having a party? Create a castle using a roll of pre-printed blocks. This one was “built” along walls and around a china closet. Crenulations were cut in the top for the true castle experience. Owls and other figures were perched on top.

It wouldn’t be a castle without a menacing gate. To make one, cardboard toilet paper tubes and a long box lid were shaped, assembled, and painted black.

Seeing double? A rubber snake dangles from atop this mirror. At times it’s a little difficult to tell which one is the reflection.

Strange gourds make their debut in the fall. Combine a few with rubber spiders, snakes, rats or any other creepy crawlers you care to include. Be sure to include a few critters on your food table as well. It will keep your guests on their toes.

There are plenty of opportunities for Halloween themed food at your party.

Beverages can be served in cups and glasses decorated with festive faces, created with Sharpie markers or Halloween decals.

Spiders appear to have spun webs across this tabletop and over the cupcakes on this dessert table.

A simple pumpkin becomes a bewitching character with the perfect hat. A glow in the dark tablecloth can be used as a wall hanging.

Not all skeletons are scary. This clever homeowner has a wonderful sense of humor with this updated version of “Hear no evil – Speak no evil – See no evil.”

From kid-friendly Casper the Ghost to a nightmare on Elm Street, there’s Halloween décor for every party, home, or office. Over time you will collect an interesting collection of favorites. Decorating for Halloween is fun for the whole family, and you will enjoy your handiwork all month long.

Be sure to check out part 1 of this article for more Halloween Decorating tips.

Happy Halloween & Happy Crafting!

One of my favorite holidays is Halloween. It brings back such happy memories of dressing up as a child, and the excitement has continued as an adult. Apparently many people agree, because Halloween has become the second biggest holiday of the year. Decorating your home is a fun activity for the whole family. Here are a few ideas for inspiration:

Halloween Wreath
Greet your guests at the front door with a boldly decorated Halloween wreath. The humorous witch’s legs were the inspiration for the purple and black color scheme with accents of orange and white. The wire wreath frame was wrapped first with tissue paper to add bulk, and then fabric for color and texture. The witch’s legs came mounted on a dowel, which was secured to the frame. A metallic garland conceals the dowel and an owl was tied in the center using matching ribbon. The witch’s hat, ghosts, pumpkins, and spiders complete the design.

Spider Web Placemat

Pumpkin Placemat
Setting a Spooky Table – Whether you are having a Halloween party, or want to spice up your breakfast table, an inexpensive solution is layering placemats. Laser cutting technology has produced beautifully detailed, lace-like products with both style and durability. A Spider Web placemat (from Wegmans) was layered with a Metallic Finish Pumpkin placemat (from AC Moore) to create this lively place setting. The blue tablecloth peeks out from underneath like a midnight sky and creates great contrast to the orange and black. As alternatives, you could use a yellow tablecloth (think full moon) or green tablecloth (think forest).

Arachnophobia? No Problem with this tablecloth.
Halloween themed tablecloths can be difficult to find and pricey, especially for large dining room tables. There’s an easy alternative. Measure your table, and go to a fabric store, such as Jo Ann Crafts. It’s amazing to see some of the scary patterns that have been developed over the last several years. The semi-sheer fabric in the photo above is layered over a gold tablecloth I already had. If you prefer an opaque table cover, there are ghosts, skeletons and witches. Oh My! Some fabrics have entire haunted scenes emblazoned across the surface suitable for covering tables, or as wall hangings. There’s no need to hem the edges. It’s Halloween – a few ragged edges only adds to the haunted house vibe.

Inside Out Pumpkin
Glowing Illusion Pumpkin – We are all accustomed to seeing the typical orange pumpkin with an interior that is either candlelit or dark & shadowy. That color scheme has been turned inside out by painting the outside black and the inside fluorescent orange. When placed near any light source (lamp, ceiling light, or sunlight), the result is a scary glowing pumpkin without the need for electricity or batteries. I can’t tell you how many times well-meaning co-workers have warned me about the company’s strict no candle burning policy, until they see for themselves that it’s completely empty. It’s easy to fool the eye with this illusion.

Pumpkins for All Seasons
Craft Pumpkins – If you have ever decorated your yard with live pumpkins, you probably lost a few, if not all, to squirrels, slugs or other hungry critters. Craft pumpkins look like the real thing, but are made of foam or resin, which is not on the menu for wildlife. These pumpkins are ready to display as is, or they can be carved or painted with exterior paint. Craft pumpkins are for indoor and outdoor use, inexpensive, will last years, and are nice for Thanksgiving too.

To the Bat Cave! (which in this case is a Chandelier)
Bats – A cluster of bats hanging over your table will surprise and delight party guests. The faux fur bodies are a simple tube shape with a slightly larger, rounded end and ears for the head. The owl in the center is from Pier 1, and the pumpkin garland is from AC Moore.

Bat Making Instructions:
Supplies:
Brown or black faux fur (from Jo Ann Crafts)
Shiny black fabric (for wings)
Fishing tackle
Sewing needle and black thread
Foam filler or batting
Cardboard (for pattern making)

Bat Wing & Body Patterns
Make patterns for the body and wings as follows:
Draw a thick capital letter “T” on cardboard – vertically 6” x 2”; top of “T” is 4”x 1” thick.
Carefully cut it out. This will be the pattern for the bat’s body.
Draw a bat wing on cardboard, approximately 9”x4. Cut out wing. Now flip it over, trace onto cardboard, and cut it out for the other wing.

Finished Bat
Using the body pattern, cut out two pieces of faux fur for the front and back of each bat.
Sew the fur by hand, leaving the bottom open for filling later.
Trace each bat wing pattern onto shiny black fabric and cut out both wings.
Hand-sew the wings on either side of the body; fill it with foam or batting and stitch closed.
Remember bats hang upside down, so add fishing tackle on the bottom of each bat for hanging from a chandelier or wall sconce.

Please click here to see part 2 of this Halloween decorating article.

Happy Halloween & Happy Crafting!