The best time of year has officially begun (in my opinion) and I’m not just talking about Christmas. Fall is the gateway to all the fun celebrations starting with Halloween. DIY Halloween decorations give each house it’s own spookiness and charm. I love making something that’s not mass produced and knowing that my home offers something unique.
Every year I try to add something new to my outdoor decorations every year and this year, a few new ideas came to mind. I definitely have more of a do-it-yourself attitude when it comes to Halloween. Plus let’s face it, most DIY projects do not come out picture perfect and that it OK on Halloween! It adds to the creepy, Frankenstein, zombie vibe. Here are a few of my DIY Halloween Decorations.
Skeleton in a Cage
My sister sent me a picture she came across of skeleton in cages. How clever and easy! 2 plastic laundry baskets, that I found at the .99 cent store, a skeleton and black zip ties.
Adding the chain was simple too. I just drilled 4 holes in the top basket, looped a zip tie through and attached it to my chain.
Scary Lady
This year I needed to give my “scary lady” as we call her a much needed face lift. Her hips were falling apart as well as her dress. I decided to take a small embroidery hoop and attach that to my scarecrow-like base, giving her some faux hips and then draping her dress around it. I added some garden mesh screen I had laying around to poof up her dress and give her body some dimension and voila! She looks scarier than ever! Her head is a Styrofoam skull I got from Michaels and the wig is Cher inspired you can find in any Halloween section of the store. Her “skeleton” are 2x2s that I sawed and screwed together to make makeshift shoulders, arms, and hips. Underneath her clothes it’s a very elementary version of a scarecrow and let’s face it, she looks a little janky. But hey, it’s Halloween and she definitely looks like she’s seen better days crawling from the grave.
Glowing Eerie Moon
Buying that embroidery hoop gave me another idea. I can use a hoop to make an eerie, glowing moon. It was super easy to make.
Gather your supplies: an embroidery hoop, a white sheet, orange mini lights, and safety pins. I bought a super cheap sheet at Target and I found some battery operated timer orange lights at Target so I didn’t have to worry about plugging in a cord. A 30 strand light seemed to give off enough life. The embroidery hoop was from the craft/fabric store.
I laid the flat sheet out on my table. Then I separated the embroidery hoop and laid in inside hoop on top of the sheet.
Then I started placing the lights in a circular pattern starting on the outside and working my way in. Every few inches, I pinned the cord in place with a safety pin.
The end of the lights nicely ended in the middle of the circle. Then I folded the sheet back over on top of the embroidery hoop. I placed the outer part of the embroidery hoop over the sheet and secured in place to the inside hoop.
Finally, I trimmed off the excess sheet sticking out and I was left with a nice looking white circle.
The magic was when I installed it between two tree branches in my yard. I tied it to the branches using invisible wire and turned it on after the sun went down. I got the glowing, eerie moon I was hoping for and it really gave my yard an extra special feature.
Another DIY Halloween decoration done and I can reuse year after year.
Splish Spash, Skeleton in the Bath
Lastly, we were gifted this metal drink server that is perfect for parties. I only host a large party maybe twice a year so I began to think what else can I do with this? It sort of reminds me of a tub….hmmm….
I bought a medium sized skeleton, added a shower cap and created a ghoulish bath theme in my front yard. Add a battery operated candle for a more eerie glow at night.
Using props from around your home, you can make easy DIY Halloween decorations too! Happy Halloween!
