Three Cheap and Easy Halloween Decorations
Hi Ya'll, it's Dottie! Aside from Virginia Tech football season, my second favorite part of the year is creeping up.... Halloween! With the leaves finally turning the most beautiful colors (maroon and orange of course), the crisp air creeping its way into the atmosphere, and pumpkins finally peeping out of every field, Halloween inspiration can be found everywhere. And honestly, what better way to get in the spooky spirit than by decorating for Halloween?
While decorations can undoubtedly be expensive, there are always cheats and shortcuts around high prices. With the popularity and admiration surrounding Do-It-Yourself (DIY) projects, there are hundreds of Pinterest ideas for some super spooky, Hokie-fied Halloween decorations. With these decorations, you’re one step closer to being the world’s most haunting Hokie.
1.) Eye-zaleas
This simple Halloween decoration can be created by all— even for you artistically challenged folks.
What you’ll need:
Plastic Eyeballs
Hot Glue
Bouquet of Fake Flowers
Vase/Jar/Bucket
Budget: $10.00
First, you’ll need to purchase all your supplies for this craft. A twelve count of plastic eyeballs can be purchased on Amazon for about $5.00. With that said, I’m sure a local Walmart carries plastic eyeballs in the Halloween section. Second, a bouquet of fake flowers can be found for free around the house, or be purchased at your local Dollar Tree for. If you have a glue gun, no purchase is necessary; however, cheap glue guns are just fine.
To create these monstrous bouquets, take one of your fake flowers and dab the center of the flower with hot glue. Place the eyeball on the hot glue and hold it there for a few seconds until it has time to dry. Repeat these steps for the remainder of the flowers. Finally, place your frightening flowers in an equally spooky vase, and BOO! Terrifying.
To Hokify this simply decoration, try using maroon and orange flowers.
Milk Jug Monsters are a great craft for kids, but they’re also a great way to use free materials to spookify your home. With this simple craft, parents can bond with their children, college roommates can share a laugh, and newlyweds can decorate their new homes for free.
What You’ll Need:
Empty milk jugs
A Black Marker OR Black Construction Paper
Battery powered tea candles
Budget: Free - $5.00
This craft is as simple as the first. If you’re feeling extra crafty, you can cut face designs out of black construction paper and glue them onto the empty jugs. However, most people just draw various faces on each empty jug. You can draw scary ghost faces, goofy ghost faces, or happy ghost faces: it just depends on personal style. Then, cut a hole big enough for a tea candle to be placed in the jug. Turn on the tea candle and you’ll scream in terror.
To Hokify this craft try drawing Hokie feet on one of your jugs.
3.) Egg Carton Bats
This craft is a little more advanced, but the steps are fairly simple. You can hang these little critters from the ceiling, from doors, or from light fixtures.
What You’ll Need:
Empty Egg Carton
Scissors
Black paint (Acrylic or Spray Paint)
Ribbon of choice
Googly Eyes
Hot Glue
Budget: $10.00-15.00
The good news is that Amazon has all of the items you need for this craft AND they will deliver them to your door. You can get a 500 pack of Googly eyes for $5.00 from Amazon. You can also get black paint from Amazon for about $5.00 as well. Although it would be easier to spray paint these creatures, I recommend acrylic paint because it typically runs cheaper and lasts longer. Ribbon ranges from $1.00 to $5.00, so depending on your budget, the price will vary
First, take your egg carton and paint it black. Let your carton dry and grab your scissors. Cut a piece of three-egged length of carton: two of these are the wings and the middle one is the head. On the two end pieces, cut a triangular shaped pattern across the bottom to create the shape of wings. Afterwards, make two small holes to run your ribbon through it the top of your bat’s head. Run one end of your ribbon through the top of the first hole, and then run the ribbon through the bottom of the second hole. After you complete this task, you should have two ends of ribbon that can be tied like a shoelace. Afterwards, glue on your eyes, and choose a place to hang your creation. Viola! You now have flying bats.
To Hokify this craft, paint them maroon and orange instead.
There you have it: three cheap and easy ways to liven up your living space. To make your place even creepier, try adding caution tape, spider webs, and red candles. You can purchase each of these items for about a dollar each. Also, don’t forget your Jack-o-lantern’s! You can’t have Halloween without a carved pumpkin! Impress your friends by carving the VT logo on your pumpkin. Most importantly, have a spooktacular time!