Easy, crafty methods to ‘spookify’ your home this halloween

Do you ever feel tired of buying the same Halloween decorations? Those weird sticky cobwebs and the sparkly skull faces to put in your window, you know the ones that drop glitter everywhere? Me too. Here’s a couple simple craft ideas that will make your house stand out this Halloween!

Bunting

In order to make really simple and cheap bunting, print off a few templates of pumpkins and spend some time decorating them with your flat or housemates. Draw some funny faces, some bats, maybe even a cobweb if you’re feeling artistic. Once that’s done, get a nice long piece of string and some Command Strips and stick the string to the wall. Then get some pegs, the type that you use on the washing line, and clip them onto the bunting with the pumpkins! After that, with any remaining pegs, you can use the leftover string and print out some silhouettes of ghosts and spiders, thread them through the string using a hole punch and dangle them from the bunting! After that you should have some nifty, spooky Halloween decorations.

Pumpkins

Honestly, pumpkins are so fun to create. This is no doubt my favourite part of Halloween. I can’t speak for my mum though, who in her typical arty fashion would stress out and scream at the pumpkin when she made the wrong incision – funny for me, maybe not for her! If you want to make some crafty designs this Halloween, better than the usual bat or skull face, take some ideas from these photos, or browse the spooky side of Instagram yourself.

Now there are three ways to do a pumpkin.

Number 1: Carve it. I know – scandalous.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BpNmsEjHngl/

Take this pumpkin for example. Its a really easy, but really unique design, and if you do it the first time, it will take probably 10 minutes, minus the scraping out the insides of the pumpkin (yuck). In order to get precision on your pumpkin, all you have to do is a bit of craftwork. Print out the stencil you like, cut it down, stick it on the pumpkin, and carve around the black lines. It’s really just that easy, and remember to have fun – because who wants to end up like my mum screaming at a pumpkin?

Number 2: Shave it. (Or draw on it if you can’t master the art of shaving a pumpkin)

https://www.instagram.com/p/BplqKdol3Z7/

Now, this requires a few tools that are rather expensive, but if you don’t fancy spending more than just the pumpkin’s price on your pumpkin, then just use a knife. It’s kind of like peeling a potato, but harder. So be really careful, and don’t let your fingers get in the way – otherwise you won’t need to add fake blood to your spooky shopping list! The trick to this is getting a really smooth pumpkin with little to no blemishes. Difficult to find, but it will make your job so much easier in the end. Obviously, this pumpkin is a bit advanced – but a bit of practice is all it takes!

Following designs is a bit tricker than if you were carving it, as you need a bit more precision with this task. Instead of sticking the design on, trace the lines with a pen on your pumpkin, using the stencil as a guide. Alternatively, stick the stencil on and dent the pumpkin with a pizza cutter, not too hard or you’ll go through the thin layer! Then trace the lines with a pen and begin!

Take the lid off the pumpkin like you usually would, but make sure you take out the pumpkin’s insides and scrape out the inner layer as much as you can so the pumpkin has a thin shell. Find the most outwards point of the pumpkin and make the first shave incision. You may need to buy more than one pumpkin!

Number 3: Just decorate it!

https://www.instagram.com/p/BMKbd1GgIXv/

If you really can’t stand the smell, or you don’t have that artistic hand, this is a much easier (and cuter) way to do things. Stick some autumn flowers in the pumpkin instead of a candle, tie a bow around it or put your sweets in it (trick or treat!). There are some really creative and fun ways to decorate a pumpkin so do some research and get down to it!

Hosting a Party

Now if you’re planning on throwing a party for Halloween, you’ll obviously need some spooky games and autumn style drinks to set the mood of the event! My favourite game is Toilet Paper Mummy – you race each other in groups to see who can make the best mummy from toilet paper (with a willing victim of course) in a short space of time! As for drinks, try making a Jekyll & Gin – it glows in the dark!

Have fun this Halloween! Dress up, let loose and get spooky. But remember to stay safe and aware, you never know what scary ghouls are around the corner…*evil laugh inserted here*.