5 Simple Halloween Crafts You Can Make This October

 October is almost here; Halloween is just around the corner, which means it is already time to start setting up skeletons and stockpiling candy. As horror author Paula Guran wrote, “The further we’ve gotten from the magic and mystery of our past, the more we’ve come to need Halloween.” That has never been more applicable then now, which is why these innovative crafts should spruce up this year’s Halloween. Fun for the whole family, these decorations only require common household items and should be easy for children and adults to make and enjoy together for this annual celebration of ghouls and goods.

• Halloween Window Clings

  

Window clings are a pretty popular form of decoration, for any holiday, but especially Halloween. As a bonus, they also turn out to be really easy and inexpensive to make. All required for these fun decorations is food dye, Elmer’s glue, and a clear plastic sheet, like the ones commonly found on binders. Trace around any spooky designs with the glue (remember, a little can go a long way) and wipe away any mistakes with a damp paper towel. Then, let set until fully dry (two to three days is recommended) and they are ready to go. These are definitely a great way to just get into the

Halloween spirit, let loose your artistic side, or showcase something someone important to you made.

• Halloween Origami

This fun paper-folding craft has been alive for centuries; and it is still going strong. From animals to people, it seems like anything can be made, with just a square sheet of paper — including cute and stylish Halloween decor. For these two origami crafts, origami paper, (click here to learn how to turn regular paper into origami paper) scissors, a glue stick and/or tape, and anything used to color paper are needed.

• Origami Pumpkins

Pumpkins are round, which can be difficult to replicate when folding paper, but where there is a will, there is a way. There are several different ways to make origami pumpkins, all with varying styles and

levels of difficulty. This video is easiest, and probably best for any children ages 3 to 8, whereas this video is intermediate, and would probably fit more for anyone 9 to 12. For anyone who is looking for a challenge, this hard video would probably be better for anyone 13 and older. Do not forget to add features to customize the pumpkin when finished.

• Origami Witch Hat

Which hats are a classic symbol of Halloween, just like the pumpkin, and thus make for a great and recognizable Halloween symbol. What better way to add this symbol to any Halloween collection than using paper and scissors? There’s an easy and a hard video for these cute witches’ hats. 

• Mini Ghost

These little ghosts are must-haves in the cute Halloween decor realm. Made with only cotton balls, glue, tissues, an empty orange bag, scissors and toothpicks, these easy to make and inexpensive ghosts are sure to add just a little bit of cuteness to anything. In order to make them, first glue the toothpick base, made of a toothpick square with a cross in the center and one sticking up, together.

After that, glue the cotton balls together (three should work best) and to the toothpick sticking out. Grab a few tissues and an orange bag, along with some scissors. Cut a long, thick strip out of the orange bag. Put a tissue over the cotton balls, and then tie the orange bag strip right below the cotton balls and cut off any excess. After that, add any features that seem good to put on a ghost’s face, and it will be ready to be cute on any surface.

• Candy Corn Jar

  

Perfect for holding things like small candies, dips, or even tea candles, this stylish little craft is sure to brighten up any Halloween gathering. All that is required is a jar of some sort (a fancy mason jar tucked away in the basement, or even just a cleaned out peanut butter jar should work) and paint. Do not worry about the paint though, because food should be safe to eat when put in it as long as there is no paint in contact with the food. The first thing is to clean out the jar thoroughly; nobody likes eating germs. Then, after that, put a layer of white paint on the outside of the jar, and let it dry. Then, after that, mark about ⅓ of the way up on the jar with yellow paint and fill it in. Do the same in the middle with orange, and then put more white paint on the very top. Add an optional little string or tie, to help

complete the look, and the jar is ready to be displayed.

• Bonus decoration

For only a few dollars, there are tons of cute things that can be done with mini pumpkins. Check out how to spruce up any pumpkin this Halloween, no carving required, with these fun paint splatter, tissue paper, melted crayon wax, sparkle, or confetti pumpkins. And, finally, make sure to have a great fall and a happy Halloween.