Always fun, never scary!

by Meg Gleason

E-mail this | Print | Save | Comments (3)

It's all about dressing up. But as you pay attention to the costumes, don't forget to decorate the house as well. Display your creativity with these fun do-it-yourself crafts. Everyone gets candy!

For Toddlers and Preschoolers:

SPIDER WEB TRICK-OR-TREAT BAG

Materials:

• 12 x 17 inch orange paper bag with handles (available at party supply or stationery stores)
• 1 roll 1/2-inch-wide black masking tape
• 1 quarter
• Scissors
• Pencil
• White craft glue
• 1 black pom-pom, 2 inches in diameter
• 1 black pom-pom, 3/4-inch in diameter
• 2 black pipe cleaners, 12 inches long
• 2-inch strand of wire
• 1 pair 6-mm googly eyes

Instructions:

1. Select a spot in the middle of the front side of the bag to be the center of the spider web. Place the quarter there and trace its edge lightly with a pencil.
2. Run a strip of black masking tape from the edge of the quarter circle to the edge of the front side of the bag; cut the tape at the edge.
3. Moving clockwise, continue to run pieces of tape from the edge of the center circle to the edges of the front of the bag until you have nine "legs" for the web.
4. One inch from the outside of the circle, run tape pieces between the "legs" so that they are all connected.
5. Moving outward from the center continue to connect the "legs" with tape pieces at about 1 1/2-inch intervals until the web fills the front of the bag. Put the bag aside.
6. Glue the 3/4-inch pom-pom to the 2-inch pom-pom.
7. Glue the two eyes to the top of the smaller pom-pom.
8. Cut each pipe cleaner in half so that you have 4 pieces, approximately 6 inches long. These will be the spider legs.
9. Place the four pieces side by side and bind them together with the wire at their center point.
10. Fan out the ends of the pipe cleaners so that you have an hourglass shape and then bend each leg in half to create an inverted V shape.
11. Glue the pipe cleaners to the bottom of the larger pom-pom at the spot where they are wired together.
12. Glue the spider to the web on the front of the bag and get ready to collect treats!

For Grade-Schoolers:

SOCK MONSTER

Materials:

• 1 pair ladies' knee-high socks — we used an orange-and-black striped pair to give our monster a Halloween look
• Embroidery thread in colors to match the socks
• Embroidery needle
• 1 bag of batting or polyester stuffing
• 1 pair 1-1/2-inch diameter googly eyes
• 3 buttons

Instructions:

1. Turn one sock inside out and lay it flat so that the heel is facing you.
2. Starting at the toe of the sock, sew a 1-inch high U-shape that connects the two side edges of the sock. This creates the monster's ears. Cut away the extra sock material in the center of the U.
3. At the open end of the sock, sew an L-shaped seam on each side of the sock to create the monster's legs. Be sure to leave space open between the legs to fill the monster with stuffing. Cut away the excess fabric between the legs.
4. Turn the sock right side out.
5. Stuff the monster with the batting through the opening between the legs.
6. Once the monster is fully stuffed, sew up the opening.
7. Take the other sock and cut it in half vertically. These will become the monster's arms. Sew up the sides of each, but leave an opening for the batting. Stuff them with batting. Sew the opening and one of the ends on each arm.
8. Sew the other open ends of the arms to the side of the monster's body.
9. Glue the googly eyes and buttons to the front of the monster.

For Older Grandchildren:

BAT WREATH

Materials:

• 16-inch wreath form (available at floral supply or crafts stores)
• 1 roll orange crepe paper, standard-size width
• White craft glue
• Scissors
• 14 black pom-poms, 3/4-inch in diameter
• 14 black pom-poms, 2 inches in diameter
• 28 googly eyes, 6mm
• 20 x 26 inch sheet of black card stock

Instructions:

1. Glue the end of the crepe paper to the back of the wreath form and wind it around the shape, overlapping each piece by about 1 1/2 inches until the wreath form is fully covered with the paper. Glue the end to the back of the from to secure it.
2. Glue each of the 3/4-inch pom-poms to a 2-inch pom-pom until you have 14 sets. These will be the head and body of the bat.
3. Glue 2 googly eyes on each of the small pom-poms.
4. Print and cut out the template below and trace it onto the black card stock 14 times to create bat wings.
5. Cut out the 14 wings and glue them to the back of the large pom-poms.
6. Cut out 28 small triangles from the rest of the black cardstock and glue them to the tops of the small pom-poms to create the bat ears.
7. When the glue on the bats is dry, arrange them on the front of the wreath form and glue them down. Hang the wreath on the door and get ready to greet Halloween guests.

Download Bat Wing Template