Halloween Lights to go with your Costumes

Just What Halloween Lights Should You Get?

Many of us choose to have Halloween lights for the celebration at this time of the year. They work well to show off your funny Halloween costume ideas. You can of course choose to buy your lights, however you can also just as easily make your own. These homemade lights are called luminaries. They can give a spooky and eerie shadow that just can not compare to string lights. Making these lights can become an annual family activity, and also help the entire neighborhood look more festive.

Lights can be made from many different types of material, but a lot of people choose tin cans as their base. For this project you will need tin cans, a hammer, nails, cookie cutters, paper, pencils or markers, tape, sand, and tea light candles. Once you have gathered all of your supplies, the fun of making your own Halloween lights can begin.

Make sure that all of the cans are clean. Wash and dry them thoroughly. You will begin by tracing the inside of the cookie cutters with the pencil. Place it on the paper to make a template. When you have all the pictures you want to use, you can proceed to the next step. Choose one of the templates and wrap it around a can, using tape to secure it in place. You need to be sure that the shape you traced is on the outside facing you. Punch holes around the shape on the paper by using the hammer and a nail.

You can choose to make a single design for all of the cans, such as a jack-o-lantern face, or use many different Halloween designs. It is totally up to you and your creativity. Whether you choose a uniform look or a mix and match appearance, the over all effect is amazing.

The next step in making these special Halloween lights is putting the sand in the bottom of each can. The reason for doing this is to ensure that the can does not tip over. Be careful not to cover the holes for your design. Set a tea light candle in the middle of each can on top of the sand. Now, you are ready to line your driveway, sidewalk, or the edge of your lawn with the cans.

At Halloween time, as soon as it starts to get dark, light all of your candles. This causes a rather spooky effect, and nearly everyone loves it. In fact, some of your neighbors may want to get together with you in making some lights for their own homes. This looks especially nice if your immediate neighbors also choose to make their own Halloween lights to set up. Anyone entering your street will be enchanted by the glow coming from all of these super Halloween lights. Your neighborhood could well become the talk of the town especially with everyone dressed in funny Halloween costumes too.

Halloween Props – Magic Broomstick

How to make a Halloween Magic Broomstick

Many of us enjoy adding Halloween props to our parties, or just when decorating for this special occasion. These can be items such as skeletons, witches, ghosts, or any number of Halloween decorations. One prop that is quite a lot of fun is a Magic Broomstick. These can be incorporated into classroom or home craft activities for children, too. Anyone should be able to make these, and children love watching them come to life.

For each broom, you will need to gather 3 empty paper towel roll tubes, 2 small brown paper lunch bags, brown and yellow yarn, 1 sheet of construction paper, scissors, glue, stapler, paint, masking tape, markers, and a paint brush. Once you have gathered all of your supplies, you are ready to begin.

To start creating your own Halloween Props, paint the tubes whatever color you choose. Many people go with black for this. Cut a couple of strips from the construction paper measuring 6” long and 2” wide. When assembling the broom handle, put the tubes together using the masking tape to keep them connected together. Add a few drops of glue to the paper strips and wrap them around the tape, as you don’t want the tape to show.

To make the broom base of these Halloween props, cut the paper bag into a rectangle. This is done by cutting both sides and the bottom edge from the front of the bag. Cut 8 slits measuring 5” in the base. These serve as the broom bristles. Cover the bristles in glue and add 15 – 20 pieces of the 5” lengths of yarn.  Make sure that you lay the yarn so that the top lines up.

The brown yarn needs to be cut into 5 pieces and glued over the edge of the yellow pieces to look like a border. You can now cut the other paper bag the same way as the first one. This makes the other side of the broom bristles. Once this is done, staple the sides, but not the top, together.

Now, you are ready to add the handle between the bristles to complete the look of these Halloween props. Put the handle about an inch down, and staple the top together. Add a string tied into the shape of a bow around the top of the bristles where the handle comes together. Once the glue has completely dried, you have your very own Magic Broom.

Making several of these and using them to hang up in various parts of the party room will add a look of magic and fun to your gathering. You can bet lots of people will want to know how you made them, so be prepared to explain how you made your Halloween Magic Broomsticks.

Printable Halloween Stencils

You will probably want to decorate your home for the Halloween holiday. However you can keep things simple and cheap by using printable Halloween stencils. This gives you the ability to do more decorating with little expense, as well as using some of your creativity. Now that most of us have access to computers and printers, this is fun and easy.

You can find all the printable stencils for Halloween you could ever imagine online through a number of websites. They are all free and give you very clear instructions on how to use them. This allows you to print out multiple sets of stencils while bringing a whole new level to your decorating options. They can actually make you look like an artist.

Children of all ages will have fun printing out their stencils and making their Halloween decorations for the house. Allowing your children to participate in the Halloween decorating gives them a sense of personal achievement, and shows them that this is for them also. They love to be included in things such as decorating the house for holidays, and printable Halloween stencils gives them this opportunity to be creative little goblins.

You can use these stencils to make collages for the windows with washable paint. Having a moon and flying bats swarming around a witch flying on a broom stick will be loved by the entire neighborhood. The scene is only limited by your imagination and the time you spend looking for your stencils. When you do find them, you will be amazed at the variety of printable stencils that are available.

These easy, simple decorating tools will allow you to spend even more time getting your party theme together, and making sure you have enough candy for all those kids that will arrive on Halloween night. It must be said that printable Halloween stencils will save you loads of time and money in the long run. They can be used over and over again, year after year. This cuts down on having to buy cheaper decorations from major stores that never seem to make it through the night, let alone through to next year.

Now you have found your printable Halloween stencils, all you need to do is save them to your computer, print them out, and then cut out the image. Then it is just a matter of using them as a stencil and making memorable decorations. By the use of washable paints and markers you will probably find this the easiest way to utilize your stencils. However, you can also use them as cut outs to make fabric or cardboard decorations that your children can color or paint in the way they want to see them. Do let the children join in ansd let them have fun with decorating their own creations. This fun element is more imprtant than producing anything perfect. Just sit back and watch the smiles spread widely across their happy little faces as they create their own decorative Halloween pieces of art.

Halloween Decorations: The Ghost Tree

Lots of people use Halloween decorations for their homes or offices during the Halloween holiday. These decorations range from fake spider webs and plastic spiders, to streamers and lights. You are merely limited by your own imagination and creativity when it comes to making your personal space appear as festive and spooky as possible.

One great way to decorate your home for Halloween is by creating a Ghost Tree right in your front yard. It’s quite easy to do this as well as being a fun activity that even the kids will enjoy doing. This is also a cost saving idea since you don’t have to spend a lot of money on the supplies you will need.

For these Halloween decorations, you will need a flat bed sheet as the base for your ghosts. This can be an old white one, or even a colored one, just as long as you can make several ghosts from it. Using a pair of nice sharp scissors cut the sheet into 6 inch squares and set them aside. Gather rocks that are approximately half dollar sized, or pinecones, if you live in an area that has them. You will also need plenty of string, yarn, or ribbon. The choice on this is yours.

Now, you are ready to assemble your ghosts. Center a rock or pinecone in the middle of one of the squares you cut previously. Take the string, yarn or ribbon and tie it so that it makes a small ghost. Make as many of them as your materials will allow. Once they are all assembled, take them outside and choose your tree. Hang these fun little ghosts on as many branches as you like. You don’t need a pattern. Just hang them wherever you think they look cute. When there is a breeze, you will be able to watch these little ghosts swaying back and forth, just like a “real” ghost! You will find that everyone who sees these Halloween decorations will stop and watch them.

You can choose to do these ghosts in different colors and sizes. If you are feeling really creative, you can use a black marker to make eyes for your ghosts. Most people will not see these eyes from far away, but any friends or neighbors who want an up close look, will enjoy this extra feature. If you choose to make larger ghosts, the eyes will be more easily seen. Giving your ghosts a mouth is another variation. Simply use the same marker you used for the eyes, and draw an O shape for the mouth. Then just color it in.

There are so many different ways you can enhance and add to these Halloween decorations. After you have made a few of them, you might find yourself doing all sorts of different things to dress them up even more. The ghosts are easily stored after the Halloween holiday is over, and can be brought out again in the future years to come to be enjoyed by friends and family again and again.