ShareAlright, it’s countdown time people. Just 8 weeks until Halloween; it’s time to get a jump on making outdoor decorations. You’re in luck because I’ve gathered 4 killer projects, with accompanying printable templates, so you can haunt your home in style.
You could let your yard go to the birds with our Giant Raven Cut-Out:
Or give trick-or-treaters a fright with our Life-Size (Well, at least Afterlife-Size) Gauzy Ghost:
Share“Hoo” says a pumpkin can’t be trendy? This adorable Halloween owl pumpkin is — well, adorable.
Do you have any neat ideas brewing for your 2012 Halloween pumpkin? Tell me in the comments below.
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HALLOWEEN MANTEL
ShareHappy Halloween, design lovers! I couldn’t get my act together this year, so no costume for me, but perhaps an evening of spooky TV shows and movies is in order. Top of the list? My ’90s favorite, The X-Files, as inspired by the out-of-this-world UFO room of Sweden’s Treehotel in Harads, near the Lule River.
Each treehouse room of Treehotel has a unique look and theme, but I especially appreciate the eerie shape and spotlight of The UFO against the tall forest trees. (Maybe I’m reading too much into it, but it looks oddly familiar. Exhibit A: Fox Mulder’s iconic poster.) Gorgeous other-worldly design and man-made creature comforts in the middle of nature? Is Treehotel too good to be true? As the X-Files’ title sequence famously stated, “The truth is out there.”
ShareIt’s National Candy Corn Day, and while the tiny triangles tend to get a bad rap in the flavor department, as far as design goes, it’s hard to beat their geometric shape and tri-color stripes. That’s why I love these DIY candy corn treat bags from The Purl Bee.
They’re cute, festive, and the flavor’s not even a factor. You know, there’s still time to whip one of these up before the kids go trick or treating tomorrow. They won’t miss that old plastic pumpkin or their pillowcase, promise.
ShareWhen we’re not out trendspotting or dreaming up spooky Halloween decor, the team here at HGTV.com likes to put the ideas we’ve been tacking on our pinboards (real and virtual) to the test.
Pumpkin photos by Jeff Romaniuk.
Since there’s no better way to celebrate Halloween than with a bedazzled pumpkin, we stockpiled some craft supplies and procured as many pumpkins as we could carry (both real and faux) and got to work. Halloween candy, of course, was the fuel for our creativity.
The team at work during Pumpkin-palooza.
After hot-gluing, painting and pinning all afternoon, here’s some of our best work. There’s still time to try ‘em before October 31!
Spider Webs:Â Halloween and spider webs go together like milk and cookies — that’s why so many of us ended up with webbed pumpkins. Make a spider web pattern along the grooves of your pumpkin with glass beads, sequins or stick-on jewels, or make a bold statement on the front of your pumpkin with a nail head (or thumb tack) pattern.
ShareCall me old-fashioned, but I never thought of Halloween as a very mantel-y holiday. Christmas, natch. New Year’s Eve, or perhaps a romantic Valentine’s Day, sure. But Halloween? Not so much, until I saw this darling fireplace on Blue Eyed Yonder.
I see my new favorite Halloween element, silhouettes, in a prominent place, and the bunting is bang on-trend, too. But filling the fireplace up with wood is an especially nifty trick that turns the whole thing into a real treat for me.
ShareIf you’re a regular reader of The Bloggess (aka Jenny Lawson), you know she’s capable of turning ordinary things into pure gold with her irreverent words. But check out what she can do with her hands: Turn an ordinary dollhouse into pure haunted Halloween gold.
She’s been outfitting this dollhouse for ten years with creepy miniatures inspired by horror and fantasy books. The details are all very crafty, as Jenny “built, sculpted, or antiqued most of the stuff” that fills the rooms. For my favorite piece, the Ouija board (top left), she reduced a photo she had taken of a real Ouija board, and painted it to make it look appropriately worn. What literary allusions can you spot in the house? I saw some spot-on Harry Potter references, Neil Gaiman nods and Hitchcock props. Check out all of the spectacular photos here.
ShareIs it just me, or do balloons seem to be having another renaissance these days? I keep spotting happy helium-inspired objects everywhere. First there were the balloon dog bookends, then groovy balloon lights on Design Milk, stunning marbleized balloons in the new issue of House Beautiful, and balloon ice cream cones and today’s delight — these Halloween-ready spiderweb balloons — on Pinterest.
Apparently, the web effect is created with just a few pumps of Hi-Float, and the spider is one of those rubber or plastic spiders you see a lot this time of year. (Get the instructions here.) Despite my paralyzing arachnophobia, these balloons really appeal to me. How do you plan to decorate for Halloween?
ShareDidn’t get your Missoni fix from Target’s collection? (As of this writing, I’m still waiting on the zig-zag socks I ordered to be shipped to me. Frowny face.) Well, never fear. You can make your own Missoni magic on a pumpkin, like artist/blogger Alisa Burke did here!
Paint is a playful way to give Halloween pumpkins some flair without resorting to the hassle and mess of carving. You don’t have to stop at one pattern, either. Alisa gave one gourd a black and white ikat print, and another a colorful suzani. If you keep the color palettes similar, all the prints will look pretty together. Get more fun Halloween decorating tips and entertaining tricks from HGTV here.
ShareSilhouette pumpkins are spooky chic, so why stop there? Silhouette your windows for Halloween! All you need to make your house haunted are some simple supplies and these cool ideas from paper whiz Jeffery Rudell.
I particularly love the shape of this evil witch casting spells over her cauldron, but the only limits to this project are what you can do with your imagination and a good pair of scissors. Take a peek at the rest of the designs (zombies, and rats, and killers, oh my!) and get some free PDF templates on the Craft blog.
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