Easy Halloween Crafts

Handy fall craft items -- It’s helpful to have a few basic craft items for the season on hand. If you’re working in a group, have members (plus staff or volunteers) donate some things they may have at home. Like: all décor with an autumn theme, artificial flowers, ribbon, pipe cleaners, colored paper, fake spider webs, dried moss, orange, gold and black glitter, acrylic paints, fall and Halloween garlands (including tinsel garlands), candles (especially faux battery operated types), fabric pieces, burlap, markers, terra cotta clay pots, black lace, candle holders and candelabras, pumpkins and gourds, old vases and wine glasses, colored Indian corn, etc. This is just a start for making some fun and easy Halloween crafts!

These lacy lights are elegant and very easy Halloween crafts, using only a bit of black lace and a candle-- this one is a faux battery-operated type ,which is especially good in crafts for the elderly. They are also nice gifts you can make.

Materials:
Pillar candle (i.e. a gold color)
Black lace
Craft glue
Candle holder

Cut your piece of lace to size so that it will fit and wrap around the candle tightly, with a slight ½ inch overlap in back. I then made a few small dots of glue on the overlaps and pressed them firmly together. I was careful not to get glue on the candle in case I wanted to remove the lace later and re-use the candle. Then put it on a black candle holder. You can also set it in a small Halloween garland or candle ring.

Scarecrow heads are easy Halloween crafts and can be used in many ways: put them on top of a broom stick, create a full scarecrow body, or hang it from the ceiling, mobile style.

Materials:
Old ball
Or newspapers to stuff the head instead
Masking tape
Large piece of burlap to go around head
Acrylic or craft paints: black, blue, white, red
Twine or string
Autumn colored ribbon – optional
Paint brushes, rag, water
Old hat
Broom stick

The size of the piece of burlap you use will depend on the size of the ball for your scarecrow head. Or make tight wads of newspaper and form into a ball, using masking tape to keep them together. Cut a square of burlap large enough to fully wrap around the head form. Gather it at the bottom. Take your twine or string and begin tying it, but not tightly, as you still need to insert the broom stick. Insert the broom stick at the back of the head if you are using a ball, or into the center of the newspaper wads. Finish tying the twine or string securely at the “neck.”

Next paint a simple face. This one used basic circles and ovals to make eyes, nose and cheeks. The mouth is a simple grin with rectangular white teeth. These types of faces are easy to make and mistake-proof! If you’re making a lady, add a few eyelashes and maybe some lipstick. You may need to put on a couple coats, as burlap is rough to paint on. You can also add ribbon if you’re making a lady, or an old necktie if it’s a man. Add the hat on top. You can adhere it with a little glue, if needed, or tack it on with thread, running through the burlap and hat. Then lean your scarecrow broom against a wall or tree. To hang it like a mobile, double up a long (strong) thread in a needle, and loop it tightly through the top of the head a couple times, and then up through the top of the hat. You could also make a full scarecrow body (instructions not included here). Scarecrow heads make delightful easy Halloween crafts, and if you have a group, different people can work on different aspects of the project.

Terra cotta clay pots are already an orange-ish color so perfect for easy Halloween crafts. There are unlimited designs you can use including nature patterns; even adhering simple decals and stickers. And what you put in the pot can range from traditional to quirky Halloween items. Also take a look at our page on painting clay pots – you may find other design ideas; just change out the colors for Halloween or autumn.

Materials
Clay pot, your choice of size
Acrylic paints – black, orange, gold, purple, etc.
3D squirt craft paint
Paint brushes, rag, water container
Moss or other stuffing for pot
Artificial or real plants
Long wooden kabob skewer
Black construction paper
Scissors
Craft glue
Ribbon - optional

First clean and wash the clay pot so there is no residue on the surface. When dry, paint on your design in acrylics. For this one, I started at the top, making squiggles with 3D squirt paint in a light orange, with black dots between. I let it dry slightly before doing the middle.

On the mid section I traced a moon pattern, then painted it with light orange. You may need to do two coats. Using a bat template, I traced 3 bats onto the pot at angles, slightly overlapping the moon. Then painted them in black with two coats. At the very bottom of the pot, I made a loose stripe in a darker orange paint. When dry, a row of dots with 3D squirt paint. When all the paint is dry, add your moss to the top, then your autumn arrangement.

For the planter bat: First paint a kabob skewer black (or just use a thin stick). Then draw a bat onto folded construction paper, and cut it out so you have a double bat. Insert the stick about a half an inch up into the middle of the bat(s) from the bottom. Put a little glue on the end of the stick to secure it. Then glue the edges of the double bats together. Insert the bat into your arrangement. (You could easily make a pumpkin, black cat, witch hat, etc., instead of a bat.) See below for the bat template and moon. It’s easy to enlarge or reduce the size on your computer or copy machine.

Using old-fashioned lanterns for easy Halloween crafts is a great way to make a centerpiece. This one has a spooky theme. I used a red and black theme for this, rather than the standard orange. See what you have around to use, or get your group or family to pitch in with materials.

Materials:
Colored plate or placemat for base
Hurricane style lantern
Artificial flowers or garland
Halloween themed candle (i.e. a bat)
Fake cobwebs (from craft store)

This is just a matter of assembling the various elements of your centerpiece. I used a black plate for the base with the black-based lantern on top. (You can also paint designs on the base of the lantern first.) Insert your candle. Then arrange your garland or artificial flowers around the base. Drape with a few cobwebs, and presto! You have a really fast and easy centerpiece.

This is one of our most easy Halloween crafts and can also be used within a centerpiece, or by nesting a few cobs upon moss in a Halloween bowl. In this photo there is red striped backdrop and red-white-and-blue colors – we have used these for patriotic events too. You can use an orange or black backdrop instead. Artificial cobs found at the craft store can be used.

Materials:
Several ears of colored corn with husks
String
Wide ribbon with fall colors
Artificial berries
Narrow wire to attach berries

Tie together two or three cobs, husks on top as shown. I tie them first with string, as it is easier to handle. Then ribbon gets tied over that. Most artificial berries will have their own wire; if not you may need to use your own wire to attach them into the center of the bow. Wire attached to the backs can also be used to hang them up. Or use old ornament hooks.

Ornaments are not just for Christmas, but can also be used for other holidays; certainly for easy Halloween crafts. All you need is an old, plain colored ornament to start with. Since you paint them, the color doesn’t really matter, although gold would be ideal (as I used here). This ornament is painted in stages, so it may be a project to do over a couple days’ time.

Materials:

Ornament balls, plain color
Glitter craft paint, orange or even black
Craft water based varnish
Paint brush, rag, water
Bat pattern if needed (see above)
Artificial flower in fall colors for hat
Thread, and wire if needed
Scissors

Hold the ornament by its hanger on top while you paint. You will need to apply two or three coats for good coverage. Hang it to dry. Cover the ball with two or three coats of orange glitter paint, drying between each coat. Then paint a simple jack-o-lantern face in black. It can be crooked looking and does not have to be perfect. On the “cheek” I added a bat shape. Dry paint thoroughly. Then brush on a protective coating of water-based varnish from the craft store. Let dry. Attach an artificial flower to the hanger with wire or thread. And it’s ready to hang! Ornaments look great clustered in groups or strung together. You can also insert them into centerpieces. We have other ornament design ideas -- see the link towards the end of the page for 4th of July and patriotic themes, because all you have to do is change out the colors and turn them into unique and easy Halloween crafts.

Our list of easy Halloween crafts included painting on pumpkins. A nice and quick alternative to carving a pumpkin, and you can make them as detailed at you’d like, even using markers.

The leaves on the pumpkin to the right were painted with acrylics, as usual, using a couple coats of paint. See our page with leaf template ideas, for more patterns to choose from. And the Painting On Pumpkins page (link above) has another leaf motif idea.

These easy Halloween crafts can really be used throughout the fall months if you use a basic leaf motif with a long, curved vine line, and a few round berries. But of course you can make something very Halloween-ish. Try bats, moons, black cats, ghosts, pumpkins.

A basic good design for glassware is to have it swoop diagonally down the glass. Grouping and overlapping keeps a nice tight design, instead of it looking scattered. Also, use some large and small sizes together. And don’t forget to add a little decorating to the stem and bottom.

When painting on glass, always start at least an inch down from the rim, as you do not want to have the mouth touching the painted area. Follow the link for full instructions about how to paint glass (and perhaps get more design ideas).

If you need some really easy Halloween crafts, how about doing dipping chocolate? Making pretzels “wands” is one of our easiest. We used large, thick pretzels, dark chocolate and orange sprinkles (but you can use white and add a little orange food coloring, along with black candies). See our page on dipping chocolate for full instructions if you have never done this.

This project does take different types of candy, so it’s ideal to make in a group where everyone can bring in a little something from the list of materials.

Materials:
Make a large chocolate dipped pretzel
Small candies for eyes and mouth
Squirt frosting in a tube, for “glue”
....chocolate blends in better
Flat chocolate candy for hat brim
Licorice piece for main hat shape
Chocolate chip for hat point
Thin pretzel for broom handle
Piece of string cheese pulled and “frayed” at end for broom
Knife to cut cheese, if needed
Large black gum drop for cat body
Small black gum drop for cat head
Black round candies for cat paws and nose
Licorice rope for tail
Licorice piece cut in triangles for ears
Round candies for cat eyes…or craft googly eyes
Chocolate cupcake for base
Plate

Easy Halloween crafts like this one of the edible nature, are even simpler when using the squirt chocolate frosting as “glue,” to attach the various parts...although I used white frosting for the hair. So just "glue" on the various parts for the witch. Assemble the hat pieces in the same manner and set in the hair. Carefully insert the pretzel witch into the top of the cupcake, as a stand. Cut a chunk of string cheese and carefully cut or pull to fray it at the ends to make it look broom-ish. Poke the small pretzel stick into the top of the cheese broom. Lean the broom against the witch and “glue” it in place with a bit of frosting. Assemble the cat and set it on the plate next to the witch. Also, a seasonally colored plate always looks more in sync with your easy Halloween crafts.

Apple dolls are good, old-fashioned, easy Halloween crafts. It does take several days to dehydrate the apples (it can be done in the microwave), so this is a project to be done in stages. But well worth it!

You can also add a mini witch hat (from the craft store) or make a simple one yourself with a colored paper cone shape glued to a circle brim. Or you may have your own ideas. In this case, making a hat of the same matching black print fabric would look fun too. For full instructions go to our apple doll page.

Speaking of witches and other wonderful gourd ghouls, they make very easy Halloween crafts. A local activities director has used this project (with assistance) with her memory care group. Lumpy bumpy gourds can be found in abundance during the fall and are really fun to get creative with.

To get many more ideas, visit our page on gourd craft ideas. You will see that you can use a lot of items to decorate them that you might have around the house. Others can be found inexpensively at thrift stores.

This hanging ghost craft idea was submitted by one of our readers in our Share Your Crafts section. It’s made with a standard white plastic trash bag which you can get in different sizes – a grouping would look great. These would also work wonderfully hanging indoors at a party, from the ceiling or on a door. Very easy to do. Follow the link to this ghost craft page. You may find more ideas on that page to turn into easy Halloween crafts too.

It is almost a must to include a mouse in one’s easy Halloween crafts. Making mouse crafts has become very popular. This one is made of a tiny clay pot and Styrofoam ball painted black, plus a shoe lace tale, felt ears, and of course googly eyes. And a candy (or bead) nose. The sample here is perched upon a piece of wrapped cheese. But you can certainly add a mouse to almost to the top of a candy dish, plant, centerpiece, or even hang it. See our page on mouse crafts for more ideas. Like making Hershey's Kiss mice (with orange and black wrappers, of course). For most of the mouse projects there, you can use the Halloween color scheme.

Be sure to visit our other craft pages.
Often it is just a matter of switching out colors and themes for a new season – the general ideas and instructions will still be very helpful, and may trigger some new projects in your imagination with more easy Halloween crafts…For instance….

Easy Crafts and Gifts You Can Make, -- Lots more crafts and templates, including for Halloween. Find out about getting lots more easy yet quality craft ideas for many seasons, reasons, ages and ability levels; plus free templates you can use for a variety of projects.

4th Of July Crafts -- This page has several general design ideas, and it would be very easy to switch color schemes.
Cornhusk Doll -- Learn how to make an old-fashioned cornhusk doll. Although this one is made into an angel, it can also be turned into anything you’d like, including for Halloween. They’re great gifts you can make too.
Valentines Crafts -- This page has several ideas that could be turned into easy Halloween crafts, including the candle with the mini foil garland around it. These garlands can be found at craft stores with bats and pumpkins as well, which would look perfect with a black or orange candle, and an imaginative base.

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