Looking for some great Halloween crafts for your Halloween party, haunted house, or just for trick-or-treaters?

A fun craft is something that can keep you occupied for hours on end especially if you enjoy it. Here are some ideas that will hopefully set you on your way in preparation for your next Halloween...

Halloween Crafts Part 1:

If you live in a house that has a wood-burning fireplace, then chances are that you have access to tree stumps or large blocks of wood. These are great for making stands for your Jack O'Lanterns. You could use a chisel to slightly hollow out the middle of the stump so that the lantern can sit stably or simply use some Blu-Tack or Velcro.

Get some small or mini pumpkins and hollow them out to use as candle holders. If open flames are out of the question, you can put glow sticks instead of candles for a different effect. You can carve, draw or paint faces on the pumpkins too. Instead of pumpkins, you could use apples as well. Ensure that you choose apples that sit well and flat or cut off the bottom to make a flat surface. Remove the stem and cut around it deep enough for the candle. It is best to use taper candles for a better fit.

Get a large pumpkin and hollow it out to use as a salad bowl or to serve fresh vegetables. Cut off the top, hollow and clean it out and let it dry in the sun. You could carve a jagged edge design on the top. Do the same with some smaller or mini pumpkins to use for dips or salad dressings.

Make a scarecrow in your front yard. You need two pieces of wood, one put into the ground and the other nailed across for the arms. Use old jeans and a shirt and stuff them with newspaper. Add some straw for effect. You can use a plastic pumpkin for the head and draw a face on it. This makes a great Halloween craft for the whole family.

Tie glow sticks to helium balloons and let them float around the house. Ensure that some string extends below so that people can easily reach them if they get stuck somewhere or simply to play with them.

Use publicly available Halloween fonts on your computer to make banners or invitations for your party. It's a fast, easy Halloween craft you can use instantly to enhance your party theme. Print them onto inkjet iron-on transfer paper and put them onto your favourite t-shirt or Halloween outfit.

Halloween Crafts Part 2. OK, Now We Are Getting Scary...

A visit to your local hardware store for some basic items and you could make your own tombstones transforming your garden into an instant graveyard. Paint them grey to resemble stone. Do not worry about the details as it will be dark, but do put on some exciting or scary wordings. By the way, your local hardware store is loaded with Halloween craft ideas.

Going trick or treating? Why not make a special jug to collect candies? Cut off the top two inches of a gallon milk jug. Soak to remove any labels. Paint orange. Once dry, paint or stick on eyes nose and mouth resembling a Jack O'Lantern. Use

Using six pipe cleaners, you can make your own skeleton. Bend one pipe cleaner into two for the backbone. Twist another around the bottom of the backbone to make into the legs. Do the same for the arms. Join two pipe cleaners and twist them around the backbone leaving some space forming a ribcage. Twist the last pipe cleaner for a head and glue on some eyes. Hang with a rubber band for a bouncing effect. Your kids will love making halloween crafts with pipe cleaners. But be careful when cutting and keep them out of their mouth.

Using glue and food coloring, you can make a see through painting. Paint a Halloween image onto a piece of plastic wrap. Before the mixture dries, put another piece of plastic wrap on. Cut it out and hang it in front of a light source for a see through effect. You could also frame the plastic pictures using wood or cardboard if you want them to be longer lasting.

Halloween Crafts Part 3. The Real Scary Stuff...

Make some hand printed spiders. Apply black paint to your palm and 4 fingers leaving out the thumb. Place palm onto a piece of paper. Turn the paper 180 degrees and print again making sure the palm overlaps. Add some wiggly eyes using either paint or sticks. This is suitable for even 2 or 3 year olds.

Make your own blood. It is less expensive than buying ready made blood from the Halloween shops. It's not difficult; all you need is Karo syrup and food coloring. While you're at it, why not make some slime using glue, water and borax powder. This is an advanced Hallween craft, so take your time and be careful.

Using apples, you can make dried, shrunken heads. Peel the apples and coat with a mixture of lemon juice and salt to prevent browning. Carve out a face of eyes, nose and mouth. Do not worry about the finer details as they will probably be lost when the apple dries. You can use whole cloves for the eyes and rice grains for the teeth. Let the apples sit out in a warm place for about 2 weeks. If you don't have 2 weeks, you can speed up the drying by putting them into an oven on the lowest temperature for about 45 minutes and then to dry out naturally for the next 2 days or so. Once dried, they shrink and deform into weird and scary looking faces.

Says Angie Maroevich, "You don't have to spend a fortune on commercial Halloween supplies to have a great party. There are many inexpensive alternatives laying around the house or at your local store you can use to create a Halloween theme that will impress all your friends."

Angie Maroevich is an arts and crafts enthusiast, business owner, and athlete. Her arts and crafts articles and be found at http://www.craft-ideas-guide.com.

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