It’s that time of the year when the nights turn colder, college kids become stressed, and little goblins and ghouls roam the streets. It’s almost Halloween! Halloween is one of the holidays where some parents go all-out with their decorations to get their kids ready for the holiday. As for us college students, we can only afford so much, and have very little time for decorating. Sometimes, the dollar section decorations at Target aren’t enough to get into the Halloween spirit. Lucky for you, I have scoured the depths of the DIY tutorials and home improvement blogs to find four decorations that are very easy to make and are college-student affordable.
Mason Jar Mummy Lanterns
Supplies
1 Mason Jar per lantern
Gauze (preferably in roll form)
Tape
Glue
Scissors
1 pair googly eyes per lantern
1 battery-powered tealight per lantern
Directions
This mummy lantern is super easy to make. I found the mason jars at Walmart in the craft isle. They are the smaller ones that Walmart has available, but they were super cheap. I started with cutting about 4 strips of gauze, each between 6 and 8 inches in length. I taped one end of the gauze to the jar, then wrapped the strip around the jar, starting at the bottom. I only did one layer of gauze. You can do as many layers as you want, but the gauze needs to overlap in order to cover the glass. I glued the eyes onto one side of the jar. The blog where I found this project said to glue the eyes on first, but I decided to glue them on last so if I wanted to use the mason jar for something else, I could just take the gauze off.
Original idea: http://www.ramblingrenovators.ca/2012/10/diy-mason-jar-mummy-lantern.html
Toilet Paper Roll Bats
Supplies
1 used toilet paper roll per bat
1 pair of googly eyes per bat
Black construction paper
Scissors
Glue and/or tape
Black paint and paint brushes
Directions
These bats are super cute! You will first want to paint the toilet paper rolls, then set them aside to dry. While they are drying, you can cut out the wings. On a piece of black construction paper, trace a bat wing shape. It can either be in one piece or in two separate pieces. If you need to, print out an outline and trace it, which is easier than free handing the outline. Cut the wings out, and wait for the roll to finish drying. Once the roll is dry, you will need to fold the ends in so they overlap and create a u-shape. This is the tricky part, but the original blog has great tutorial on how to do it. Once the ends have been folded and taped, you may need to go over the tape with the black paint, and/or touch up any areas you may have missed the first time around. After the paint has dried, tape or glue the wings on one side of the roll, and the googly eyes on the other.
Original post: https://www.craftymorning.com/toilet-paper-roll-bat-craft-kids/
Skull String Art
Supplies
1 wooden board, any size, thicker back
Black paint and paint brushes
White nails, thinner/smaller
White yarn or string
Hammer
Paper skull outline
Directions
This is the project that I was most excited for. I’ve never made string art before, and I was super excited to try it. I started out with painting the board black and setting it aside to dry. I then printed out a basic skull outline, which I had to resize a few times to get it to fit the board. After the paint had dried, I placed the paper over the board, and hammered the nails around the outline. The nails need to be spaced apart about an inch, and they need to be placed around the open spots (eyes, nose, and mouth). A nail also needs to be placed anywhere the shape changes direction. After I had the nails in place, I carefully removed the paper. Next, I tied one end of the yarn around a nail, and wound it all the way around the outline. After I had the outline filled in, I went through and randomly stringed the yarn around the empty spaces. If you’ve never seen string art, lots of videos and blogs have tutorials on making string art. It takes time to figure out how it works. When I was done, I tied off the other end and cut the tail so it wasn’t visible.
Tutorial: https://abeautifulmess.com/2013/10/make-your-own-skull-string-art.html
Glow Stick Broomsticks
Supplies
1 glow stick per broomstick
Brown paper
Scissors
Tape
Directions
This one was the easiest decoration to make and it took less than 5 minutes to make. You start with a long strip of brown paper, which you’ll then cut small horizontal strips into. Tape one end, then wrap it around the end of an unbroken glow stick. You can experiment with the size of the paper strip. I made a larger one and a smaller one. I preferred the larger one because it looked more like a broomstick, but the smaller one was easier to handle.
Original idea: https://onelittleproject.com/glow-stick-broomsticks/
To make all of these decorations, I used what I had at home and what I could find at Wal-Mart and Dollar Tree. The most expensive item needed are the mason jars. I got them from Wal-Mart for around $4.00 each. In total, all the supplies cost less than $20, and they can be bought in bulk so they can be used in future projects.