5 Halloween décor ideas that don’t break the bank
October means it's time to spruce up your place with scented candles, fall-colored throw pillows and autumn wreaths. But it's also time to decorate for Halloween! Take a look at five easy, thrifty ways to transform your home.
Reuse your wine bottles.
If you have extra wine bottles laying around, reuse them to create sleek Halloween decor. In a well-ventilated area, coat each bottle with two to three coats of flat black or silver spray paint. Let dry. Decorate each bottle with blank labels (usually sold at craft and scrapbooking stores) or use paint to draw on Halloween-themed images. Gather a few of these decorations to create a centerpiece.
Bring scented candles outdoors.
Scented candles are an easy, inexpensive way to decorate and warm up your home during cooler months. Try this easy craft to give your porch a sweet scent for trick-or-treaters. Place orange pillar candles (the small ones) inside clear glass candle holders and fill each holder halfway with candy corn- soon the aroma will follow!
No-carve pumpkins.
If you don't want to spend hours carving a pumpkin, or if your kids are too young to use knives, try these DIY projects. Your pumpkins will be just as unique, but you'll save tons of time.
- Confetti pumpkins: Outside or in a well-ventilated room, spray paint the pumpkin the color of your choice. Once dry, paint mod podge over the area you want covered in confetti. Sprinkle confetti over the glue-covered area and tap the pumpkin to shake off any extra. Let dry, then seal on another layer. Let the second layer dry, then place the flashy centerpiece anywhere in your home.
- Black cat pumpkins: If glitter isn’t your style, make these spooky black cat pumpkins instead. Paint a pumpkin with one coat of exterior black paint. While the paint is drying, make the cat’s ears and eyes with simple craft materials you have lying around. Cut two arrow-shaped ears out of black craft foam, then hot glue them to the top of the pumpkin once it’s dry. Create its nose by using use a black marker to draw an arch on a corner of a felt sheet, then cut across the marked line. Use hot glue to attach the nose below the eyes. Lastly, cut three pipe cleaners in half and glue them to the nose's edges to create whiskers.
Get crafty with mini pumpkins.
Mini pumpkins (real or fake) alone are an inexpensive, classy way to add harvest decor to your home. You can also get crafty and use them to create “critters” for your front porch. Just hot glue black pipers cleaners as legs to the bottom. Then hot glue beans or lentils to the front of the pumpkin for eyes. Use a drop of black paint for a pupil and white for the highlight. Let the glue dry overnight before placing outside.
Light it up.
If you want to take your Halloween decor to the next level, create this light-up ghost garland for your fireplace mantle or porch. All you need is a strand of white lantern lights, two yards of white cotton fabric, white thread, scissors and a black sharpie.
Start by cutting the fabric into ten squares, about 14 inches each. Fold them into triangles and cut the tip off to create a hole in the center. Next, remove the lanterns from the light string. Thread the light string through the hole in the square piece of fabric. Carefully secure the lantern back in place, then wrap the fabric around the lantern. Tie a piece of string around the bottom of the lantern to hold the fabric in place. Using a sharpie to draw eyes and a mouth. Finish by plugging the garland into the nearest outlet.