Homemade Halloween Decorations Made Easy

Homemade Halloween decorations can easily become your favorite seasonal decoration. They don't have to be complicated or expensive. A few quick and easy homemade Halloween decorating touches to some picture frames is all you need to complete these clever ideas. Framing some relatives is just one way to create an unexpected Halloween fright. Set some especially ghastly framed pics on a bookshelf, back of the piano, or on a table. Make an off-hand comment about "Uncle Igor's picture" and leave your Halloween guests wondering who else might be lurking in your family tree. Or bring a vintage or simple, designer look to your Halloween picture frames. Here's how to do it.

Homemade Halloween Decorating Ideas: Instant Spooky Relatives

For this Homemade Halloween decorating idea you need to dig up some old frames or purchase some plain black frames at craft stores, yard sales, or other discount stores. For your old frames, remove the frame glass and frame back. Spray paint your old frames black if they aren't already that color. Don't worry about getting it perfect. These frames need to look old, unwanted, and creepy. Let your frame die, I mean, dry, several hours or overnight.

Search the Internet (Google images, Flickr, morgue file, etc.) for an image of Dracula, a witch, monster, Igor, the Wolfman, etc. When you find one you like, print it in black and white. For instance, this picture of Igor would be perfect for this project. Or click here for one of Dracula.

If you decide to mat your photo, stick with a black, dull gray, or an off-white mat. The simpler you keep things, the better it will look.

Keeping the dimensions of the mat in mind, enlarge or reduce the size of your photo on a copier if necessary. If enlarging the photo makes it look bad (grainy, faded, pixelated), that's okay. That's sort of the point. Your selected pic should look as spooky as possible.

Put photo and mat in your finished frame.

Place your homemade Halloween instant spooky relative among pictures of your "real" relatives. Spread some fake spider webs over and around all of your family pics and add some plastic spiders to the web if you'd like.

Homemade Halloween Picture Frame Decorating Idea: Cats or Batsor Pumpkins, Oh My

A variation of the spooky relatives photo frame is making a frame with a simple homemade Halloween motif.

Prepare a black frame as described in the directions for the spooky relative frame above. You don't even need a mat for your "cats and bats" picture frame.

Background for frame: Simply cut a piece of off-white cardstock or construction paper (5 x 7 or 8 x 10, for example) to fit the full-size of the frame.

Halloween Motif: Using a template with a simple bat, cat, pumpkin, or other Halloween shape, trace the template on a piece of black construction paper and cut out the shape with scissors and/or an exacto knife. Affix the black shape to your off-white paper with spray fixative. Place paper in frame.

This makes a simple, "Martha Stewart" type Halloween decoration. Just a note, however. When choosing the size of your Halloween cat, bat, or pumpkin shape, leave plenty of white space between your shape and the sides of the frame. This homemade Halloween decorating idea should look very quaint and simple.

You can vary the colors if you'd like. For instance, use an orange or dull gray color for your cardstock instead of off-white. But stick with the black frame for best effect. These homemade Halloween decorations look nice in a grouping of frames.

Templates for your bat, cat, pumpkin and other Halloween shapes can be found here at Martha Stewart Living. Or select your on from coloring pages or Halloween coloring books.

Homemade Halloween Decorating Idea: Vintage Halloween Postcards and Frame

Using the procedures outlined for the spooky relatives and the background directions for the simple Halloween motifs, frame a real vintage Halloween Postcard or a copy of one. True vintage cards or reproductions can be purchased at antique shops or online.

You can also find pictures of vintage Halloween postcards by searching Google images. Dover publications also publishes books with vintage postcards that are copyright free for personal use.

Again, do more than one of these these framed vintage Halloween postcards. They will look very nice if grouped together.

Homemade Halloween Decorating Idea: Quick and Easy Framed Fall Leaf

The simplest homemade Halloween decorating idea involves framing a simple fall leaf. You can dry your own leaves, try using a fresh one for a few days, or purchase realistic-looking "fake" leaves at the craft store.

Each leaf can be attached to a background sheet (off-white, dull gray, or black) and framed - matted or unmatted - for a simple Halloween decoration that can transcend on through to the Thanksgiving holiday.

Set several frames together for a beautiful fall grouping or scatter them amongst your other homemade Halloween decorations.

Homemade Halloween Decorating Ideas for Frames: Materials List

The following materials are needed to complete the Halloween motif framing ideas listed above.

Black, Orange, Dull Gray, and Off-White Construction or Scrapbook Paper

Black Spray Paint

Scissors

Exacto knife for making precise cuts

Old Picture Frames (preferably black)

Printer and Scanner or Copier (for Enlargements)

Templates - free from the Internet

Glue or Spray Fixative

Spray Sealer (in Glossy or Matte)

Fake Spider Webbing from craft store, WalMart, Target

Plastic spiders or creepy bugs from the Dollar Store

Fake fall leaves or fresh ones from outdoors