Our 100+ Favorite DIY Halloween Decorating Ideas
Get ready to spook up your home — both indoors and out — with our favorite ideas for handmade Halloween decorations you can craft.

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Haunt Your House — Both Indoors and Out
It's that magical time of the year when — if you've got it — haunt it! From giving your front porch a slightly sinister seasonal makeover to transforming any room in your home with a frightening fix-up, keep reading for our most bewitching ideas for both indoor and outdoor Halloween decorations you can create.
Start With the Front Porch
Even if Halloween guests never enter your home — like trick-or-treaters — they'll definitely see the front porch so give it a festive feel with a colorful rug, lanterns, mums and piles of pumpkins. For a spooktastic finishing touch, we added a pair of gnarled faux trees that are wrapped in mini orange lights to cast a spell long after the witching hour.
See More Photos: 73 Front Porch Decorating Ideas for Halloween
Indoors or Out: Pick a Palette
Limiting your decor's color palette to just a few shades creates a look that's perfectly pulled together. For our Halloween mantel, we chose black-and-white and shades of orange. Metallics are a must for any well-style vignette so mix in copper, gold or silver for an added touch of glam.
DIY Some Spooky Spiders
Easily craft these larger-than-life spiders with the kiddos for a fun Halloween craft you can tackle together. Inexpensive craft store materials and a little imagination are all you need to build these creepy Halloween props. Make your own with our instructions, below.
Get the How-To: How to Make DIY Oversized Spooky Spiders
Or, Go a Little Batty
Our free bat template, scissors and black card stock are all you need to give your front door a batty transformation. You can keep it simple and just add a few flapping paper bats or really make Halloween magic and first cover the door in purple bulletin board paper and add a glowing city skyline.
See More Photos: 25 Spellbinding DIY Halloween Door Decorations
Safely Set a Sinister Tone
Dry ice + spooky decor = a match made in Halloween heaven — but, you must use this subzero substance safely. Get all our tips for adding an eerie effect to your haunted house without getting burned, below.
Learn More: Learn How to Safely Use Dry Ice This Halloween
Or, Opt for Scare-Free Decor Instead
If your Halloween celebrations will include folks who are sensitive to scares or aren't fans of Halloween's more macabre aspects, skip the spooky decor altogether and opt instead for a classic fall front porch. Planters filled with a candle lantern and an assortment of pumpkins, gourds and fall foliage will suit the season from now till Thanksgiving.
See More Photos: Our Favorite Fall Decorating Ideas
Mummify Your Front Door
Easily trick out your front door with this frightful facelift that's a snap to craft — and is also a snap to remove when Halloween has passed. Learn how with our step-by-step tips, below.
Get the How-To: How to Mummify Your Front Door for Halloween
Or, Mummy Up a Fall Planter
For less than $10, you can easily transition your front porch planter from fall-tastic to spooktacular with this totally removable mummy makeover. Get our tips and tricks, below.
Get the How-To: Halloween in a Hurry: Easily Mummify a Fall Planter
Craft Some Spellbooks
Make brand new books look like old leather-bound tomes by covering them in a removable leather jacket that you've distressed and antiqued. Stack them as part of a vignette with lit taper candles for a touch of spooky sophistication. Magic up your own with our instructions, below.
Get the How-To: How to Make Distressed Leather-Wrapped Books
Or, Make Your Front Porch More Magical
Let your imagination take flight (or show your neighbors who they're really dealing with!) by crafting your very own besom, or traditional twig broom. Prop a besom next to your front door or in your foyer, as if you just arrived home from a midnight ride, or craft a pair and use them to Halloween-up your front porch planters.
Get the How-To: How to Make a Witch's Broom or Besom
Let Creepy Critters Take Over a Chair
Okay, this looks a lot creepier (and more destructive) than it actually is. Just place some fabric batting and stuffed mice on a little-used antique chair to give the appearance of a once-treasured piece of furniture being torn apart by a mouse infestation. Get more tips for haunting your foyer, below.
learn more: 7 Ways to Haunt Your Foyer for Halloween
Or, Let Spiders Overtake a Stairwell
Faux spider web is everywhere this time of year, including most dollar stores. Put this budget-friendly material to work anywhere you want to up the creepy factor — and don't forget to work a few plastic spiders into the web. Safety note: When using this flammable material, use extra care around any source of flame and always sub in battery-operated candles, instead of using the real deal.
See More Photos: 60 Halloween Dollar Store Hacks That Give You More Boo For Your Buck
Distressingly Dress the Windows
Give the front of your home a haunting makeover in a flash with curtains stencilled with Halloween designs to transform windows or clear doors into a spooktacular scene.
See More Photos: Halloween Decorating Ideas With Stencils
Or, Create a Shadowy Scene
Adhesive black vinyl sheets and a bit of creativity turned this ordinary garage door into a shadowy Halloween scene. Best of all: It's easily removable when the season has passed. Get more tips for recreating this look, below.
Get the How-To: Make Frightening Garden Silhouettes for Halloween
Turn Pumpkins Into Black Cats
Welcome trick-or-treaters and Halloween guests with a litter of black cat pumpkins. These carve-free kitties are easy to craft, making them a fun project for older children or small kids with a little help from a crafty adult.
Get the How-To: How to Make Black Cat Pumpkins
Or, Magic Up a Lucky Black Cat Mum-ster
Add a little personality to your planters with our tips for dressing up a fall mum as a lucky black cat — just in time for Halloween. Craft your own with our instructions, below.
Get the How-To: Monstrous Mums: Craft a Lucky Black Cat
Mummify a Beverage Tub
Need a quick and easy decorating idea for your monster mash? Turn a galvanized tub into a friendly mummy, ready to keep ice and cold drinks easily at hand. Just a few craft materials and our tips, below, are all you need.
Get the How-To: Halloween Entertaining: Make a Mummy Beverage Tub
Or, Witch Up Your Pumpkin
Magic up this not-too-scary witch for your front porch or entryway using a faux pumpkin and basic supplies from the craft store. Create a friendly witch to welcome Halloween guests or a scowling witch to keep mischief-makers at bay.
Get the How-To: How to Make a Bewitching Halloween Pumpkin
Create a Candy Corn Piñata
What's Halloween without the candy, right? Construct this colorful piñata to serve as both a party decoration and crowd-pleasing game for your Halloween get-together. Get started with our free templates and step-by-step instructions, below.
Get the How-To: How to Make a Candy Corn Pinata for Halloween
Or, Just Rock Candy Corn Colors
Make a grand entrance with front porch planters filled with colorful fall annuals — like purple fountain grass, mums and ornamental sweet potato vine — surrounded by piles of pumpkins and candle-filled lanterns.
See More Photos: 60 Fall Front Porch Decorating Ideas to Celebrate Autumn
Summon Up Some Ghosts for Your Yard
Create these fun, floating ghostly shapes with a little formed chicken wire. The larger-than-lifesize decorations are perfect for front yards and take on an eerie vibe when illuminated with color-changing spotlights.
get the how-to: How to Make Human-Size Chicken Wire Ghosts for Halloween
Or, a Wayward Witch for Your Planter
Garden stakes, pillow stuffing and a thrifted pair of stockings and shoes will add a playful twist to a flower bed or front porch planter.
Learn More: Crafty Fall: Create These Kooky Witch Legs Just in Time for Halloween
Repurpose an Old Frame Into a Spooky Sign
Shop your basement, attic or garage (or hit your local thrift store) for an interesting old frame. Remove the glass, paint the backing with chalkboard paint, then use a chalk marker to add a punny phrase.
Get the How-To: How to Make a Witch's Broom or Besom
Or, Turn a Frame Into a Crafty Candy Hanger
Delight trick-or-treaters by turning a faux pumpkin and an old frame into a playful black cat-themed candy holder. Hang or lean it against an interior or exterior wall to create an interactive candy bowl the kiddos will love.
Get the How-To: Wow Trick-or-Treaters With a DIY Black Cat Candy Hanger
Eerily Greet Guests
Give trick-or-treaters and Halloween party guests a (slight!) scare with this smaller-than-life-size headless horseman figure. Add his jack-o'-lantern head to one hand and a sign leading the way to the festivities in the other. Add a little character to your front porch with our free template and instructions, below.
Get the How-To: Make a Headless Horseman Figure for Halloween
Or, Give Them a Giggle
Seriously, where would our digital lives be without the handy emoji? Give your Halloween pumpkins the same shorthand sense of fun with a little yellow paint and construction paper.
Get the How-To: Create a Fun Fall Front Porch With Emoji Pumpkins
Turn a Peaceful Plant Into a Man-Eating Monster
Betcha never thought about giving your houseplants a Halloween makeover, right?! Hit the hardware and craft stores for supplies to turn the humblest of household residents into a devilish denizen.
Get the How-To: Halloween Decor: Turn a Peaceful Plant Into a Man-Eating Monster
Or, Monster Up Your Mum
Give your entryway a not-too-scary Halloween update with this easy-to-craft blooming beastie. Our tutorial, below, makes this front porch fix-up a snap.
Get the How-To: Halloween Front Porch Fix-Up: Magic a Mum Into a Monster
Find a Monstruous Use for Paper Pennants
Inexpensive paper party bunting, colorful card stock and double-sided tape are all you need to turn an interior wall or door into a menacing monster. Best of all, you can make your beastie as large or small as you'd like and it's a snap to make this denizen disappear when Halloween's over.
Or, Turn 'Em Into a Sweet Treat, Instead
Whether you're a fan of the candy or not, there's no denying the appeal of this sweet front door that upgrades a standard white paper pennant-style banner with painted-on bands of orange and yellow. Bonus: This candy-colored makeover works for Thanksgiving too, so just leave it up thru Turkey Day.
See More Photos: 73 Front Porch Decorating Ideas for Halloween
Give Arachnophobes a Fright, Indoors
Inexpensive (and removable) supplies give an everyday shade a creepy-crawly makeover that's only visible when illuminated. Learn how to craft this lampshade with a scary surprise, below.
Get the How-To: Spook Up an Everyday Lampshade With a Spiderweb Silhouette
Outdoors: Give Passersby a Fright
Neighbors are sure to do a double take when they catch a glimpse of your home's façade seemingly overrun by monster-sized spiders. While these beasties certainly look menacing, they're actually easy to upcycle from hardware store supplies, then hang using clear fishing line. Learn how to craft your own, below.
get the how-to: Two Ways to DIY a Giant Spider for Halloween
Make a Mini "Pumpkin" Wreath
Although the tiny orange shapes covering this wreath look like diminutive pumpkins, they're actually putka pods. A great stand-in for mini pumpkins, the dried organic seed pods don't deteriorate so your wreath can be displayed year after year.
Get the How-To: Make a Mini Pumpkin Wreath for Fall
Or, Ditch the Wreath for a Basket Instead
1 basket, 3 holidays. Make swapping out your Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas decorations a snap by trading multiple wreaths for a single straw tote or basket you can fill to fit the season. Bonus: Add vinyl house numbers for a personalized touch.
See More Photos: Skip the Wreath: Try a Holiday-Spanning Front Door Basket Instead
Scare Up Dollar Store Crafts
Get creative to turn $1 finds and basic craft supplies into creepy-crawly wall art. Plus, check out four more Halloween decor DIYs you can craft on the cheap, below.
Get the How-To: 5 DIY Dollar Store Halloween Decor Ideas
Or, Hit the Hardware Store
For a pumpkin that'll last for many years to come, follow our tricks, below, to dramatically age a new galvanized metal bucket, then paint on a friendly (or not so friendly) jack-o'-lantern grin.
Get the How-To: 3 Pumpkin Projects That Will Outlast the Season
Upcycle Old Hanging Planters Into Pumpkins
Hit the hardware store (or your potting shed) to gather the inexpensive materials you'll need to create blooming 'pumpkins' you can display all fall long. Tip: Because the pumpkin's body is made out of porous coco mat, these are best displayed (and watered) outdoors.
Get the How-To: 3 Pumpkin Projects That Will Outlast the Season
Or, Spook-Up Spare Wood
Give those wood scraps in your garage a decorative afterlife as a friendly gaggle of ghosts. Just paint the boards white, add facial features, then distress a bit with a hand sander for a timeworn look.
See More Photos: Say No to New: Scare Up What You Have This Halloween, Instead
Incorporate Antiques
'Haunt' local estate sales, thrift stores and antique shops to pick up everyday items, like this serrated knife, with a rusty or timeworn patina that gives them a slightly sinister appearance.
And, Crafts That'll Stand the Test of Time
Give faux pumpkins a glamorous makeover with gold, silver and copper leaf. They'll add just the right amount of sparkle to any fall display and can be left out till time to deck the halls for Christmas.
Get the How-To: Make Metallic Copper, Gold and Silver Pumpkins for a Chic Fall Display
Repurpose Summer's Beach Ball
Turn balls in assorted sizes into giant bloodshot eyeballs that'll add a creeptastic touch to your indoor or outdoor Halloween decor. Kids are sure to get a kick out of them.
Or, Keep Your 'Eye' on the Ping Pong Ball
Break out the Christmas string lights a little early this year, then give them a spooktacular Halloween makeover with ping pong balls and a little craft paint.
Set Up an Outdoor Trick-or-Treat Station
Weather permitting, bring a lightweight table or shelf outside, then fill it with an assortment of kids' favorite treats packaged using one of our free printable templates. Have adults on hand to make sure everyone gets their fair share and with cameras at the ready to snap photos of the neighborhood kids enjoying the spread.
See More Photos: Halloween Trick-or-Treat Candy Station
Or, Win at Trunk-or-Treat
Craft store supplies and a red flat sheet or tablecloth are all you need to give your trunk a great white shark-themed makeover that'll draw kids over for a quick bite.
Get the How-To: How to Make Your Own Shark-Style Trunk-or-Treat Halloween Decoration
Turn a Pallet Into a Jack-O'-Lantern
Spook up your front porch, walkway, foyer or any dark corner with this rustic recycling project that uses a (free!) wood pallet to craft a Halloween pumpkin you can display year after year.
Get the How-To: Turn a Wood Pallet Into a Halloween Jack-O'-Lantern
Or, a Board Into a Scarecrow
Greet trick-or-treaters with this friendly character that — surprise! — is backed by an equally cheerful snowman so this one easy project will have your front porch decor covered from fall thru winter.
Get the How-To: Snowman + Scarecrow: Two-in-One Front Porch Decor
Transform a Pumpkin Into an Owl
You don't need an intricate pattern or advanced pumpkin-carving skills to turn a fresh pumpkin and wee white gourds into this adorable decoration.
Get the How-To: Cute Owl Pumpkin
Or, a Mum Into a Friendly Ghost
This project's easy assembly makes it perfect to craft with the kiddos. Get an assist from your little ghouls to make this cute ghost planter with personality. Our tutorial, below, shows you how.
Get the How-To: Halloween Kids' Craft: Make a Friendly Ghost Mum-ster
Get Crafty With a Stencil + Paint
Pumpkin-carving patterns aren't just for pumpkins. Put a few of our free templates to work to give a plain white tablecloth an easy Halloween makeover.
Get the How-To: Halloween Decorating Ideas With Stencils
Or, Freehand a Pretty Pumpkin
Painter Amy Moffat creates a head-turning porch display with this collection of hand-painted faux pumpkins. Timeless blue+white chinoiserie and glam, gilded pumpkins act as a backdrop to the flirty, floral stunners in front. Learn how to recreate these gorgeous designs and more at the link, below.
See More Photos: 40+ Painted Pumpkin Ideas
Conjure Up a Tiny Ghost Town
Matte black spray paint turns craft store birdhouses into an eerie mini landscape. To bump up the creep factor, add oversized spiders, rubber snakes or faux birds to your scene.
Or, DIY a Dismembered Hand
Make a plaster cast of a family member's or your own hand for a lifelike and decidedly creepy addition to a bookcase or mantel. Watch our quick video to learn the two-step process for creating the cast, below.
Watch Video: DIY Hand Sculpture
Craft a Litter of Black Cats
Turn a sheet of plywood into these simple cat silhouettes that keep a baleful eye on Halloween visitors with glowing eyes created by backing moon-shaped cut-outs with small, battery-powered lights. Get more tips for decking out your home with silhouettes, below.
See More Photos: Make Frightening Garden Silhouettes for Halloween
Or, Let Your Yard Go to the Birds
Print out our free template, below, to turn plywood and paint into a larger-than-life raven you can display either indoors or out.
Get the How-To: Giant Raven Outdoor Halloween Decoration
Go Glam With Glittered Pumpkins
School glue and black glitter are all you need to give natural or faux pumpkins a chic makeover. Choose an easy pattern for crafting with kids or go with a timeless design, like a monogram or graphic pattern, for a sophisticated look.
Get the How-To: Halloween Decorating Idea: Black-Glittered Pumpkins
Or, Fill Your Fireplace With a Pile O' Pumpkins
If, like us, you've amassed quite the faux pumpkin collection, put 'em to use to give an empty hearth a colorful Halloween makeover. Tip: Create height and minimize the number of pumpkins you'll need by strategically stashing pillows or rolls of bubble wrap under the mound of pumpkins.
learn more: How to Decorate Your Fireplace for Halloween: Two Ways
Craft a Cheery Orange Wreath
Bright orange tow rope makes it a snap to craft a cheery orange wreath you can display from Halloween till Thanksgiving. Just swap out the saying on the mini pumpkins for an easy holiday update.
Get the How-To: DIY Halloween Decor: A Tow Rope Wreath
Or, Give Any Wreath the Creepy Crawlies
Inexpensive spider webs and plastic spiders from your local craft or dollar store are all you need to give an everyday wreath a holiday makeover in a flash.
See More Photos: 60 Halloween Dollar Store Hacks That Give You More Boo For Your Buck
Whip Up a Little Poison
Don't toss that old bottle. Instead turn it into sleek Halloween decor. To get the look: Thoroughly clean the glass; once dry, coat each bottle with one coat of spray primer and 2-3 coats of matte black spray paint. Add a handwritten label and display your potent potables as a group.
See More Photos: 20+ Hip Halloween Decorating Ideas
And, Make Wine More Wicked
Don't forget to deck out your Halloween party. Get crafty to turn a party staple, like boxed wine, into dastardly decor that'll cast a spell over your guests.
Get the How-To: Halloween Party Magic: Make a Wicked Wine Cauldron + Ghostly Garnishes
Keep It Classic
Lend your front porch or foyer a warm, welcoming feel with a grouping of candle lanterns and bundled wheat sheaves for a vignette that'll stay seasonally stylish until winter. Learn how to make your own dried grass bundles at the link, below.
Get the How-To: Natural Wheat Bundle Centerpiece
Or, Cue the Kitsch
Who says trees are just for Christmas? Certainly not crafter Jennifer Perkins who fills her home with an assortment of crafty, kooky and spooky Halloween trees, each decked out with an assortment of vintage Halloween trinkets and handmade ornaments.
Haunt a Terrarium or Cookie Jar
Add a little Halloween spirit to your kitchen counter. All you need is a large glass jar, basic craft supplies and a little imagination. This easy project is perfect to do with kids, they'll love coming up with ideas for the terrarium's spooky scene.
Get the How-To: How to Make a Haunted Terrarium for Halloween
Or, Craft a Gaggle of Ghosties
This quick-and-easy craft is a great Halloween project to do with the kids. Best of all, the inexpensive materials ensure you can whip up a whole gaggle of ghosts for your front yard.
Get the How-To: Outdoor Halloween Decoration: Hanging Ghosts
Invite Bugs to the Dinner Table
Give inexpensive white dinner plates a creepy-crawly makeover with black ceramic paint and bug silhouettes. Learn how to make the painted plates food-safe, below.
Get the How-To: Hand-Painted Insect Plates
And, Ever-Watchful Owls to the Porch
These denizens of the dark are a just-spooky-enough way to decorate your front porch without making it too scary for the littlest trick-or-treaters. Learn how to attach them to the banister, below.
Get the How-To: Outdoor Halloween Decoration: Banister Owls
Turn Your Family Into Pumpkins
OK, not really, but you can add signature characteristics to pumpkins and gourds that resemble your nearest and dearest. Fresh produce, felt, a permanent marker and a few bits of clothing are all you need.
Get the How-To: Parsnip and Carrot Pumpkin Characters
And, Bring Your Living Room to Life
Hit your local craft or dollar store for googly eyes in assorted sizes and shapes to give everyday objects big and small an ever-watchful gaze.
Create Critters With the Kiddos
Black craft foam, googly eyes and fishing line are all you need to create a colony of swooping, weatherproof bats. Kids big and small will love this quick and easy Halloween craft, that's perfect for adding a spooky touch to your front yard.
Get the How-To: Halloween Kids' Craft: Hanging Foam Bats
Fake Some Formaldehyde
Fill lidded jars with water, green food coloring, rubber creatures (like mice, snakes, bats or insects), leaves or dried flowers to give any room the look of a mad scientist's lab.
Safely Light Up the Night
Make it easy for trick-or-treaters or Halloween party guests to find their way to your front door by lighting the way with hanging solar lamps, strands of bistro lights or candle-filled lanterns.
Get the How-To: String Light Solution: Hang Patio Lights Using Planters and Wood Posts
And, Sweeten Up Candle Displays
Prep your front porch or entryway for the arrival of trick-or-treaters or Halloween guests with the sweet aroma of candy-corn-filled hurricanes. To create them, place pillar candles inside clear glass hurricanes of different sizes then fill each hurricane, roughly halfway, with candy corn. For safety, be sure to blow out the candle before it burns below the candy.
See More Photos: 73 Front Porch Decorating Ideas for Halloween
Magic Up Ghostly Draperies
These billowing, tattered draperies made from budget-friendly cheesecloth will add an eerie, haunted house atmosphere to your front porch or an interior doorway.
Get the How-To: Make Ghostly Outdoor Draperies for Halloween
Or, Conjure Up a Lifesize Ghost
Turn craft store materials into a lifesize (or at least afterlife-sized) ghost that appears to float several feet above the ground.
Get the How-To: How to Make a Life-Size Halloween Ghost
Impress Guests With Wee Witch's Broomsticks
Made from a twig, raffia and a scrap of paper, these diminutive brooms add an enchanting touch to any Halloween get-together, plus they're a fun party favor that guests can take home with them.
Get the How-To: Witch's Broom Halloween Place Card Holders
Turn Mini Pumpkins Into Itty-Bitty Bats
Mix a little mischief into your Halloween decorations with these mini bat pumpkins. These not-too-scary creatures are fun to create and will look great grouped together on your mantel, entry table or as a centerpiece.
Get the How-To: Mini Bat Pumpkins
Craft a Giant Rat
Our free printable template, below, makes it easy to turn plywood and paint into a creepy indoor or outdoor decoration in the shape of an oversized rat.
Get the How-To: Giant Rat Outdoor Halloween Decoration
Or, a Scaredy Cat Cut-Out
Create an arched-back black cat for your front yard to give trick-or-treaters and Halloween guests a fright. Download our free template, below.
Get the How-To: Black Cat Outdoor Halloween Decoration
Turn Scrapbook Paper Into "Specimens"
Another great craft to do with kids, this project couldn't be simpler. Just stamp creepy animal shapes — like vampire bats, snakes or spiders — out of colorful card stock to create a collection of "specimens" to fill a shadowbox-style frame.
Get the How-To: Creepy Specimen Art
Or, Yarn Into a Spider's Nest
Get an assist from your littlest bug aficionado to turn chunky white yarn and dollar store plastic spiders into an oversized nest full of creepy crawlers.
Craft a Classic Banner
You certainly don't need sorcery on your side to magic up this budget-friendly decoration. Our free printable template, below, makes it a snap.
Stick to Can't-Miss Colors
Black + white is a classic color combo for a reason: It never goes out of style. For a timeless look, stick to just the high-contrast hues or mix in pops of orange or red or green for a more colorful take.
See More Photos: 5 DIY Decorations That Transition From Halloween to Thanksgiving
Whip Up a Spider Web Pillow
Fuzzy yarn on gray wool fabric is used to make this arachnophobic (but cute!) Halloween pillow. This project involves basic machine- and hand-sewing, so it's a snap to make, even for crafters new to sewing.
Get the How-To: How to Make a Spider Web Pillow
Or, Send Foam Bats Flying
Easily create this sculptural Halloween wreath that resembles bats taking flight with craft foam, floral wire, fabric and yarn.
Get the How-To: Outdoor Halloween Decoration: Flying Bat Wreath
Stack a Jack-O'-Totem
Add some personality to your entry with a pumpkin topiary in the shape of a totem pole. All it takes is a few faux pumpkins, basic craft supplies and a little imagination.
Get the How-To: How to Make a Halloween Jack-O'-Stack
Or, Turn a Faux Pumpkin Into a Gumball Machine
Bubble gum fans, old and young, will love this vintage-inspired gumball machine that's easy to create from a faux pumpkin and ceramic pot.
Get the How-To: How to Make a Gumball Machine Pumpkin
Craft Kid-Friendly Luminaries
Fill clear buckets or cylindrical glass vases with battery-operated tea lights to easily craft kid- and pet-safe, fireproof luminaries to light up your Halloween celebrations.
Get the How-To: Halloween Jack-o'-Lantern Luminaries
Tempt Them With Edible Candy Topiaries
Cover inexpensive foam topiary forms with fondant and candy to create a sweet Halloween decoration or centerpiece that kids will love helping to craft. After the festivities are over, they'll have just as much fun pulling the candy off and devouring it.
Get the How-To: Halloween Decorating Idea: Make a Candy Topiary
Conjure Up a Ghostly Slipcover
Use gauzy fabric and cheesecloth to give a traditional dining chair a tattered, ghostly silhouette for Halloween. With raw edges and a simple shape, this slipcover is a snap to make using basic sewing skills.
Get the How-To: Easy-Sew Ghostly Chair Slipcover
Craft a Creep-Tastic Wreath
Give your front door a fun Halloween touch with one of our easy-to-craft wreaths.
See More Photos: 35 Creep-Tastic DIY Halloween Wreaths
Add a Trendy Silhouette
Add a timeless twist to your Halloween decor by embellishing a faux pumpkin with a trendy Victorian-inspired silhouette. Our tutorial, below, shows you how.
Get the How-To: How to Make a Silhouette Pumpkin
Play Peekaboo With Pumpkins
Kids will love helping you create a spooktacular vignette of peeking pumpkins with mini gourds and a variety of inexpensive bowls and lidded dishes.
Get the How-To: How to Make Peekaboo Pumpkins
Make Your Mark With a Monogram
Add a sophisticated touch to your Halloween decor with this personalized pumpkin you can display year after year.
Get the How-To: How to Make a Monogrammed Pumpkin
Turn a Pumpkin Into a Candy Dish
Cut a faux pumpkin in half to create a handy lidded container for serving Halloween candy. The waterproof interior also makes foam pumpkins a great cooler stand-in when filled with ice and beverages.
Get the How-To: How to Make a Pumpkin Candy Dish
Haunt an Old Mirror
Transform a thrifted modern mirror into a centuries-old looking glass with our tips, below. Select a mirror in an ornate frame, as we have, to boost the haunted house vibes.
Get the How-To: How to Make a Ghostly Antiqued Mirror
Go for a Gothic Look
Give a humble pumpkin sophisticated style by painting it to resemble an antique European grain sack. Our step-by-step instructions, below, show you how.
Get the How-To: How to Make a Lettered Pumpkin
Set the Scene for a Fiendish Feast
Gather a few of your favorite ghouls for a dinner party where handmade Halloween decor with a macabre twist sets the scene.
See More Photos: 30 Haunting Halloween Table Settings + DIY Table Decorating Ideas
Turn Bats Into a Pillow
This oh-so-cute felt pillow requires basic sewing skills and will bring a handmade touch to your Halloween decor — our free template, below, makes stitching one up a snap.
Get the How-To: How to Make a Halloween Applique Pillow
Or, a Fashion-Forward Wreath
Wrap chevron fabric around a foam wreath form to craft this trendy wreath that'll add a big graphic punch to your front door, living room, kitchen or anywhere. Learn how to make the bat garland, below.
Get the How-To: Halloween Chevron Wreath
Make a Pretty Fretwork Pumpkin
Looking for a new pumpkin-carving technique? Requiring just two different-size drill bits, this intricate design is much easier to create than you may think.
Get the How-To: How to Make a Pretty Fretwork Pumpkin
Craft an Upcycled Cloche
Repurpose a metal lamp frame and chicken wire into a rustic cloche you can use year-round. Add pumpkins, plastic spiders and webbing for a not-too-scary Halloween vignette.
Get the How-To: How to Make a Chicken Wire Cloche for Halloween
Turn Felt Into a Holiday-Spanning Wreath
This grapevine wreath covered with double-sided felt leaves is a colorful way to add festive fall color to your front door from Halloween till Thanksgiving.
Get the How-To: How to Make a Fall Felt Leaf Wreath
Turn Your Front Yard Into a Graveyard
Whether you choose to add funny sayings or be deathly serious with traditional designs, we'll show you how to turn inexpensive foam boards into realistic-looking grave markers.
Get the How-To: How to Make Foam Halloween Tombstones