DIY Last Minute Halloween Decoration

Don't panic, I tell myself. Yes, there's less than one week to go before Halloween, and I haven't prepared anything for my party yet. Just don't panic ... oh, I'm afraid I actually DO panic!

If you are like me and tend to leave things to the very last minute, you might be in desperate need for a Halloween decoration that

- is easy and quick to do,
- doesn't strain your budget too much and
- will earn you some admiring 'Ohs' and 'Ahs' from your guests.


Here comes the 'Spooky Bouquet' to the rescue! For one bouquet you'll need:

- four high quality 11" latex balloons, preferably with Halloween design, but if you can't get those, three plain black and one plain orange balloon will do as well,
- color matching curling ribbon (5mm wide),
- a plastic or ceramic pumpkin for the base (or any other small item that fits the theme and to which you can attach the ribbons) and
- a small flask of helium to fill the balloons.

How to make it?

You start with inflating the first of your black balloons with helium. Before you tie the knot you should make sure that the balloon is fully inflated to its 11" size. This is important as the bouquet will only look good if all balloons are blown up to the same size. There are two easy ways to do this: you could make yourself a simple 'balloon sizer' by cutting a circle of 11" diameter out of a piece of cardboard or you could set up two chairs back to back, so that the distance between them equals 11".

So, before you knot the balloon, pass it through your sizer and if necessary, deflate or inflate the balloon until it fits. Now take about 1m length from your curling ribbon and tie it to the balloon neck, leaving ca. 30cm loose for curling. Then attach the other end of the ribbon to your base. The overall height from the base to the top of the balloon should be about 80cm.

Repeat these steps for the other two black balloons. Position all three balloons at the same height.

O.k., just one more step to finish your Spooky Bouquet. Take the last balloon, in our example that would be the orange balloon, inflate it as described above and attach it to the base, so that it floats in the center of the three black balloons and just above them. You found the perfect position, when the top balloon just slightly touches the three black balloons.

Congratulations. You're done! Now stand back and admire your floating bouquet. There are so many Halloween themed balloons, both latex and foil, that you can easily create variations of this basic design. For example, you'll get a nice effect, if you replace the top latex balloon with a foil balloon - it could be a crazy pumpkin, a flying witch or a ghastly ghost ... whatever you prefer.

One special tip: as this is a last minute decoration idea, it might be too late to order a helium tank from a specialised balloon supplier. Maybe you know a small corner shop in your neighborhood that sells balloons. They probably have helium too. If it's not for sale, ask them to inflate your balloons on the spot and take the inflated balloons home with you. Of course, you should go there prepared and take the curling ribbon and the balloon sizer with you.

DIY Costume Ideas for Halloween – Easy & Low-Cost

Let’s face it, not everybody can afford to spend lots of money on elaborate Halloween costumes, especially if you’re living on a fixed income. As well as not everybody can afford to spend lots of time making them either, especially those without sewing abilities. Wouldn’t it be nice if you could create your own costumes with little time or money invested? Well you can. In fact, there are many costume ideas that can be produced by you for next to nothing. Better still, there’s little or no sewing involved. All you need is an imagination and creativity, something most of us already have tucked away somewhere inside us. And if for some reason you don’t have it, I’m sure the kids do.

An exciting way to come up with ideas for costumes is to keep a box or trunk somewhere handy and fill it with assorted items. This can help spark the imagination. For instance, load it up with old clothing, fabric of varying lengths, pantyhose, fashion accessories, artificial flowers, pipe cleaners and other craft supplies, aluminum foil, yarn, old sheets or curtains, etc. Nearly anything can be used. As a replacement for of traditional Halloween bags for candy, use other items related to your costume and store them in the ‘imagination box.’ For example, you can implement items such as pillowcases, old pocketbooks, garbage bags, baskets, small backpacks, doctor’s bags, or even diaper bags.

Ever since my kids were old enough to take part in trick-or-treating activities, I have made their costumes. Once Halloween approaches, I start on asking them what they would like to be. Then I scour the house and our box of goodies to find whatever I might already have on hand, making a list of the items with which I need. Generally, these few items can be bought at the local thrift shop or dollar store so there usually isn’t extra money invested in the project.

For safety reasons, I prefer to use make-up or face paint as opposed to masks. You can simply make your own out of corn starch and food coloring. This is not only safer than using masks, but it’s also cheaper, easier to apply, and comes off just as easily with mild soap and water. A simple cream can be made with one part corn starch and two parts food coloring to create the desired shade for your costume. Apply to the face with your fingers just like foundation. And with a little corn syrup and a few drops of red food coloring, you have homemade blood for those ghoulish costumes. Read more…

Make a Candy-Filled Halloween Pumpkin

This Candy-Filled Halloween Pumpkin looks great on your party table, makes a great kids classroom decoration, or you can use it to hold your trick-or-treat candy.

MATERIALS:

One large pumpkin

Pumpkin carving tools

Black marker

METHOD:

Take your pumpkin carving knife and cut a round hole in the bottom of the pumpkin, NOT the top around the stem as is traditional.

This leaves the stem and entire pumpkin top intact, except for a "trap door" in the bottom by which to insert the candy.

Carefully remove the round trap door, scrape the pulp off it and set it aside.

Scoop all the pulp out of your pumpkin and scrape the sides clean with the scraping tool.

Draw a pumpkin face outline to follow when you carve. Make the eyes and nose high up on the pumpkin, leaving room for a very generous mouth as shown.

When you are satisfied with the pumpkin face you have drawn, carve it out carefully with a pumpkin carving tool , using small sawing strokes. Clean and remove any remaining pulp and strings from the openings.

Fill the pumpkin with assorted wrapped candies and replace the trap door in the bottom.

Your candy filled pumpkin is now ready to display.



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