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With Halloween right around the corner, now’s the perfect time to decorate your home for a good old-fashioned holiday haunting. Not sure where to begin? Ask Team Clean is here to show you how to create do-it-yourself Halloween decorations that are fun, easy and also sustainable—because even wicked old witches recycle. So, grab your kids—and a few things from around the house—and let’s get started!
You can find great sources and tons of inspiration all over the internet, but here are a few of our favorite decorations from these two lists that bring just the right touch of fright to your Halloween night:
- Effortless Eerie Living Room. Get the classic “abandoned haunted house” look by simply draping white sheets over your furniture, then finish the look off with cheesecloth hung as cobwebs and wispy branches stuck in candle holders. You can also pre-burn candles in empty wine bottles so the wax melts and drips down the sides, for added effect. Be sure to use Snuggle® Fabric Softener on the sheets beforehand because even ghosts love the smell of fresh-scented laundry.
- Bubbly Witch Cauldron. Having some friends over for a little monster mash? Bring your serving table to life with battery-operated LED lights tucked into a grapevine wreath to make the faux “wood” for your fire. Then, place orange and yellow tissue paper around the top to resemble flames. Finally, place your “cauldron” (any deep kitchen pot will do) on top and fill it with dry ice for an eerie, smokey effect. Friendly reminder: dry ice is fun but it is not a play toy. Please be sure to not touch the dry ice and ensure that it does not come in contact with any food you plan to consume. Never touch it without proper protection and don’t let it come in contact with your skin or food.
- Ghost Windsock. Using an empty, large tin can (be careful with sharp edges!), turn it upside down and poke a hole in the center bottom with an awl or screwdriver. Paint the can white and while it’s drying, cut 10-12 sections of 24-inch long white ribbons. After the can is dry, here is where it gets interesting: use a hot glue gun to attach the ribbons around the open side of the can so they can hang down and blow in the wind. Be sure to have parental supervision for the glue gun use. Next, draw a ghostly face on the can (eyes should be toward the closed end of the can, mouth near the open end) using black paint or a permanent black marker. To hang your ghastly ghouls around the yard, simply tie some fishing string to a paperclip, then thread it up through the hole you made in the can, so the paperclip acts as a stopper.
- DIY Bat Branch. Bring a little nightlife inside with this surefire conversation piece. Gather two to three sections of 3-foot long tree branches, picked clean of leaves. Draw a 4” x 2” bat-shaped stencil and use it to trace ~30 bats onto black card stock paper. Carefully cut the bats out and use a hot glue gun to attach the bats onto the tree branches so they appear to be fluttering through the night. Again, please be sure to have parental supervision for any glue gun use. Place branches in a vase and use as a spooky centerpiece for fall family meals.
- Painted Pumpkins. Don’t want to deal with the mess of an overripe Jack O’ Lantern? Consider painting your pumpkins this year. You can use just about any type of paint, but if you’re going for a complete cover, spray paint works great. If you want more detail, such as stripes or a scary monster face, grab some acrylic paint and go to town. Painted pumpkins can adorn front porches, replace logs in the fireplace or even serve as centerpieces for family meals. You can even paint plastic pumpkins instead of real ones for an even easier cleanup.
- Mummy Pillow. So soft, so scary! Start off with a throw-pillow insert and a sheet of white fabric that resembles cloth bandages when ripped. Tear strips of the cloth crosswise into different sizes and then wrap the pillow so it looks like a mummy. Then use a glue gun to secure two circles of black felt onto two larger circles of white felt to create “googly eyes” which are then glued into place ont0 the front of the pillow.
If you and your loved ones had fun making your own Halloween decorations, keep the tradition going with our favorite DIY Christmas table decorations and DIY New Year’s decorations. If you’re already planning for next Halloween here’s how to plant and grow your own pumpkin.