I'd like ideas for decorating my yard and house for Halloween. My kids are 9, 7, & 3. We've never decorated before and it means a lot to my kids. They're actually grieving over it every holiday. It's just that my husband always talks us out of it as it costs money and time.
Add your voice! Click below to answer. ThriftyFun is powered by your wisdom!
My husband had leftover plywood from a home project. He cut 6 "deadstones" (as our daughter named them) and 6 spikes which he nailed on the back. Each was painted grey and then he used stencils and black paint to write funny epitaphs, like RIP Disco with some dates, and other silly phrases. The adults walking the kids got a laugh as they could easily relate and the kids all just thought it was neat! His next plan is to build an old fashioned coffin -- big enough to lie in and be a ghastly corpse. Another time he stuffed old jeans and a plaid shirt with newspaper, set his boots on the ground and placed the "body" on the porch bench.
When I was in grade school, one of our teachers made a marvelous "spook house" for us. We went into the darkened classroom and there were a bunch of scary eyes staring out at us. Turns out, she used glow-in-the-dark paint on black construction paper and painted the eyes herself. She may have had an inexpensive black light on them; it's been many years and I cannot remember this detail.
Like Trisch's husband, mine also made "deadstones" one year for Halloween; only since we didn't have any plywood, he bought that 1 inch thick, rigid styrofoam and used that. He used gray spraypaint and we wrote the "RIP" and other epitaphs with a wide-tip black Sharpie (permanent marker made to write on *anything*).
My husband and I take large, white leaf sized trash bags and use a basket ball or soccer ball for a head. Tie a rope or string at the end of the bags and tie these as ghosts in trees. If you do not have any types of balls to use for the heads, just stuff each ghost with crumpled news papers or more plastic grocery bags. This will be lighter weight and may be easier to hanging in the trees. You can also tie a few magnets to the bottom to weight the bottom down a little. You can use small little bags in orange and make little pumpkins out of them. You can either leave plain or paint faces on them as you wish with either craft paints or permanent markers.
We also take black trash bags and stuff with newspapers. We use the points to make ears foe a cat head , also use orange bags to make into pumpkins. These hold up well if they get wet too. We also added a few large rocks or sand in bottoms to weight these down a little in case of a windy day.
You can also use Styrofoam to make "RIP headstones and use a stick to secure them into the ground. You can paint them a gray color and write in black paint or markers. Ad a few crocked lines for cracks to make them look old. Also use yarn as cob webs or spider webs. We have also used old jeans and old shirts and stuff them with either newspaper or plastic bags. We add old straw hats to make scare crows or add some straw in ends of sleeves and legs to make them look more authentic.
Just use your imagination to make creatures like Frankensteins, bats, witches and all sorts of cute, yet spooky characters. Foam is also a cool thing to use for cutting shapes like shadows of cats and bats and things like this.
They also sell Halloween lights you can hang just like we do at Christmas time. They come in pumpkins and all sorts of Halloween type decorative lights.
There are so many stes on line that have suggestions on how to decorate. www.marthastewart.com is one also try www.hgtv.com as they too have many suggestions too.
Can't wait to see if you post pics of your decorated home once you have it completed! Have fun!
I did ghosts last year and they were simple, easy and fun...everyone loved them. Take Styrofoam balls or you can use crumbled newspaper for the heads. I got cheesecloth at Wal-Mart and I think it was only a couple dollars. I cut ragged edged squares and drape them over the balls. Tie fishing line around the neck and then it can also be used to hang them. They flow in the wind. If you want them stiffer, dip the cheesecloth in a glue water mix that will stiffen when it dries but it doesn't need to be done. If you want, you can paint over the cheesecloth with glow-in-the-dark paint too.
Also, here is a site with inexpensive Halloween projects too...I am also gonna make the milk jug heads.
www.kidsturncentral.com/
Don't forget spiders and webs A few black garbage bags, one large and eight smaller, stuffed with leaves or newspaper.Fill the large bag so it is round and the smaller bags so they are thin and long. Tie off the tops with twist ties or string. Stick on huge paper eyes( I like yellow or red) with black center and two white fangs in the right places one the round bag.Or use dollar store colored electric tape to make eyes and teeth. Get some black yarn and weave a huge spider web to set the spider on. Dab on some sparkly glue so people can see it. Have fun and don't worry about how the web looks, each spider's web is unique, and that goes double(or even triple) for giant Halloween spiders!:]
Hi, well I'm kinda the queen for kid crafts, decorating and with 4 of my own kids. Money was always a issue, creative ways. 1/2 fill white garbage bags with your raked up leaves, tie string to middle, leaving skirt type flare. Tie one of the top corners with a string. This will allow you to hang from branch. Use permanent marker make ghost faces on puffy part. Enjoy, tidying your yard and having ghost faces all over your trees.
When I first started decorating for Halloween I made my deadstones out of cardboard, just make sure that the ribs run up and down otherwise it will curl I painted both sides with leftover house paint and use a magic marker for the epitaph.
I have finally moved to plywood, it's too hard to store Styrofoam. I have made candy corn and eyeballs in the bushes out of Styrofoam. This year I have made an fence out of bones that Is made out of papier-mâché and PVC pipe and The scarecrows made out a grape vines the ghost is made out of a disk of clear plastic which I painted a face on. a piece of wire and real lightweight clear plastic and I used fishing line to hang it.
Hope this will give you some Ideas
I make my ghost from old sheets, just rip the ends up a bit, for the inside of the head I use polyfill fiber (like pillows are made out of) a bag at walmart cost $1.99 and will do hundreds of craft projects. I use the same sheet fabric a strip of it tied around his neck to hang them or use rubberbands if you do not want it visable. Black markers for eyes & face.
For the spider I use a baby glove mitten. just fill it full of polyfill then put pipe clearners under neath turn the end of the cuff under and pin with safty pin. Add red buttons for eyes.
use 2 liter soda bottle any size really and spray them white use black markers to draw eyes mouth, hang from trees for ghost, leave off the caps, so they wind will catch them and will make them twirl easier and give you whistling noises, oh push a few pin holes in the bottoms to drain water that gets in there.do the same thing but paint it like pumpkins with face sit along trees driveways. since its in the woods you want it safe so add some sand inside for stability and put in glow sticks so they give light and look errie.
for tombstones take cereal boxes, instant mashed potatoe boxes, paint them gray write sayings on them like thses epitates with markers, fill the bottoms with sand, or dirt so they stay in place.
members.aol.com/
I once cut out cardboard in the shape of simple tombstones. Painted them black with regular house paint, let them dry a bit, and then spray painted over them with a "granite" look spray bought at wal-mart. It gave the cardboard a real granite look. For the epitaph, I used a slanted-edged spread knife to write in the words and then traced them with black permanent marker.
Paper mache is fun for kids recipe on internet I made pumpkins and even a witch head with it the witch pattern was on the website homemade Halloween decorations. I don't remember the name but you take a step ladder a black bag two sticks a pot an green lights it was so easy, I can't believe it. Put the stick behind the ladder the bag over it put your paper mache head on make a witch hat put it on put the pot in front and some green lights.
Use your imagination. I did all my decoration with old clothing and bags cheap, and round balloons. You can make those little kids they have in the store with your kids clothes and a head made of paper mache and a stick. Look at the way things are made at the store good luck from a grandma, who likes keeping the kids from tv. We will be starting Thanksgiving soon. Look on line, lots of ideas.
i need some easy easy things to make for Halloween. Can someone help me?
Good idea for halloween streamers and garlands, that cost next to nothing.
Cut across black bin-liners to make lots of black plastic rings, then link them together the same way you do with elastic bands, look great and cast good shadows.
cost matter of pennies, =D
Me and my sisters rake our yard every year just before Halloween we use the leafs for our ghost. What we do is get a white trash bag and stuff the leafs into them when it gets about half way full we tie a string around that part forming the head. Then we draw a face on the puffy part then we put a string through them, and attach them to our bushes trees and porch. You can also use orange bags stuff them full of leafs, and tie them shut. Then use black marker again and draw a face on them.
have fun doing theese wonderous crafts and enjoy dont forget to recycle after use""
Make a scarecrow body with old clothes and leaves, then use a pumpkin as the head. Add a hat and a face, then ta-da! A pumpkin man!
This is the best place to find great inspiration and ideas on home made halloween crafts. www.halloweenforum.com/
Her name is Terra and everything is homemade, which means it is much cheaper, and way more personalized, then what you would get from a store. Just glide through her albums to see the ideas. Be sure to read through the tutorial at the bottom. Enjoy.
Think about getting a balloon and a glow stick. Put the glow stick in the balloon and blow it up. Then get a black marker and draw a face and you have a ghost.
You can also do this: Get a sponge and draw a moster footprint on it. Then cut out the footprint. Paint it with washable paint and stamp the footprints leading to the door for trick or treaters to follow. Use the other side of the sponge for the other foot.
We do a 'Pirates Cove' kid-friendly theme for Halloween. We stay away from blood and gore but ensure to maintain a sense of mystery for the trick-or-treaters. I make homemade props for Halloween. Our pirate theme has a huge 40 foot long pirate ship that the kids get to walk into.
The ship breaks down to a small package for storage which is an important consideration. We also have a light house with a rotating light, a pirate lookout tower and a treasure chest with illuminated gold jewels. The treasure chest is visible inside the ship in this picture.
Take your leftover toilet paper rolls and cut scarey eyes into them. Buy the cheap glow sticks from dollar general and place them inside the rolls. Place the rolls in bushes or trees to seem as if there are eyes everywhere! They look so cool on Halloween night!
Add your voice! Click below to answer. ThriftyFun is powered by your wisdom!
