Haunted Halloween Crafting and Decor

Spooky greetings ghouls and ghosts! Halloween is such a fun holiday to decorate for, whether you want to add a few pumpkins or go full haunted house. The spookier the better, for me! All these decorations are easy and fun to make, perfect for an afternoon of crafting or last minute decorating. 

Felt Gnomes

Gnomes are an excellent Halloween decoration. They bring lots of character to the table and are an unexpected surprise beyond bats and spiders. 

Materials

• Foam cone
• Black felt
• Lacy/ragged material
• Sheer material/tulle
• Faux fur
• Pompoms
• Hot glue gun
• Scissors

Instructions

1. Cut out three pieces of felt for the body, hat brim and hat. I draped and cut with printer paper first, then felt, aiming for approximately the above shapes. Cut an x in the center of the hat brim where the red lines are. 

2. Use the hot glue to glue body felt to the bottom half of the cone. 

3. Cut a long strip of ragged material and wrap it around over the felt. The more uneven this is, the better. 

4. Cut out a rectangle of tulle and glue it on the back for a cape.

5. Cut a triangle of faux fur for the beard. I gave my gnomes pretty long, bushy beards and some extra hair, but that's up to your discretion. Glue on the beard. 

6. Pull the hat brim down onto the cone and glue in place.

7. Wrap the triangular piece of felt around the top of the gnome and glue the edges together for the hat. 

8. Wrap a thin, long piece of tulle around the hat for trim and glue in place. 

9. Glue on a pompom nose. 

Halloween Garland

This garland is super cute, easy to make and kid friendly! The pumpkins, ghosts and spiders are made with yarn puff balls and pipe cleaners, perfect for an afternoon craft project for all ages. The only other supplies you need are some twine, clear string and a scissors. Hang this garland on your door, above your fireplace or across a bookshelf for adorably spooky decor!

Materials

• White yarn
• Orange yarn
• Black yarn
• Black pipe cleaners - 6
• Green pipe cleaner - 1
• Twine 
• Fishing line or clear string
• Scissors

Instructions

1. Wrap yarn around something chair-sized 75 times, then tie bundle off in three places: in the middle and a couple inches from both ends. Leave the ties long.

2. Cut the bundle twice, creating three evenly sized puffs. 

3. Trim the pumpkins so they're cute and puffy. Don't cut the long ties!

4. Cut an ~2 inch piece of pipe cleaner and fold it in half, curling the ends in a cute little spiral. I wrapped the pipe cleaner around the end of a pen to get that perfect twist!

5. Tie the pipe cleaner onto the pumpkin using the long ties. Trim the ties.

6. To make the spider, use the black yarn and follow steps 1-3. 

7. Cut the black pipe cleaners in half, then fold over the ends for feet. I used black and white pipe cleaners because if I had eight legs, I'd want multi-colored ones. 

8. Cross the legs over each other and tie them onto the spider puff using the long ties. Trim the ties. 

9. To make the ghosts, wrap the white yarn, this time 150 times. Cut the bundle in half, creating one long bunch. Set aside 6 strands, then cut the bunch in thirds. 

10. Tie each third in the middle, then fold it over. 

11. Tie a neck around your ghost. 

12. Trim your ghost evenly. 

13. Use the clear string to add a loop to each pumpkin, spider and ghost. I used a large needle and threaded the string through the center of the pompom. 

14. String your spooky friends on some twine, then hang your garland up next to some Jack o' lanterns for a perfect Halloween scene!

 

Easy Extra Spooky DIY Decorations

These are a few more Halloween decorations that you can't miss! They're super simple but add a whole lot to the overall look of your house. If you only have a few minutes or crafting just isn't for you but you want some holiday decor, these are the projects for you! 

Perfect Haunted House Spider Webs

Spider webs are a haunted house classic! Available at nearly any dollar store, grocery store or anywhere selling Halloween supplies, spider webs really complete the haunted house look. To get the best spidey look, use a small piece of cotton per area and pull tiny pieces to hook around lights, corners and windows. Add a few plastic spiders or, if you let daddy long legs reside in the upper corners of your bedroom to keep the bug population under control, simply let them know that you've provided them with some new real estate and watch them move in for a truly realistic experience. 

Last Minute Tombstones

Yes, the craft for the procrastinator! These babies literally take a couple minutes max and add so much to any scene. Sure, they're a little cheesy but c'mon, they're cute and kind of funny! Fold a piece of paper, cut out a tombstone shape, leaving the top connected and a foldable edge at the bottom. I used some white paint to add the obligatory RIP and spooky death dates. 

Uh oh, Bats!

Another super simple paper craft that adds tons of character to a room, these bats are a must! Same as the tombstones, fold some paper in half and cut out a bat shape. I googled "bat outline," found a shape I liked, printed it and traced. Cut out your bats and tape them up on the wall for your own bat cauldron! If you're not particularly artistic, like me,  I traced a couple different sizes for a little variation. Cut them out and tape them on the wall in a nice cauldron. Yes, a group of bats is called a cauldron.

As a finishing spooky touch, make your cat a hat! Already spooky by nature, a good pointy hat is the perfect addition to your feline friend. I made this hat the same way as the gnome hats, without the cone. I added sparkly trim for Alfie and red velvet trim for Gilly, the kitten. Gilly has no interest in fashion and used her hat as a chew toy, but I think Alf really fancied his. 

Happy haunting! 

- xx Laura