Easy Hanging Halloween Decorations

When I say easy, I mean it.  My mom has saved the Halloween issues of Martha Stewart Living for at least the last 10 years.  I saw these hanging decorations and thought they looked like something I might be able to tackle.  The three of these took me about 30 minutes, though I did fold the paper in advance while I was watching TV.

The Materials

Michael’s has packs of single colored construction paper that are about $2.00 each. I bought a pack of orange and another of black. I also bought a hot glue gun for a whopping $2.99. I believe extra glue sticks were also about the same price. This will leave you with more supplies than you’ll need.

Folding The Paper

Just eyeball the recommended widths.  It’s pretty hard to fold in exact 3/4″ widths.  Some of mine wound up being 1″ or lopsided.  It doesn’t matter.

For large size (not pictured):  Accordion fold the 11.5″ side of the paper to about 3/4″ widths.

For medium size:  Accordion fold the 8.5″ side of the paper to about 3/4″ widths.

For smaller size:  These are a little easier. You’ll need 3-4 pieces of paper. Accordion fold the 11″ side to 1/2-3/4″ widths. Then fold ends upward, like in the photo.

You Need Hot Glue

The hot glue gun is key, as I don’t think the centers of these will stick together as well without hot glue. I hot glued the sides of the folded paper together to make a complete circle and then put a giant lump of hot glue in the center to close the folds there.  Make sure you have newspaper or something similar below the center before you do that to catch any dripping glue.  Hold circle in place for a minute or so until the center glue starts to harden. I grasped the decoration at about 10 and 2 o’clock and pressed the bottom edge into my stomach (was sitting at the table) to compress it all together.

You Can Wing The Rest Of It

You can follow Martha’s instructions and print out templates for the eyes, ears, noses, etc.  The template needs to then be enlarged to specific sizes, depending on the size of the hanging  decorations.  I didn’t use the template because it was easier to scissor up construction paper.  I’d make one eye in the best circle I could, then plop it on top of another piece of paper and cut another one.  I’m sure Martha’s look much nicer than mine, but my copy machine is fussy and I just didn’t feel like taking the time to make templates.  These will hang from my ceiling so there won’t be any close inspection. Unless you’re a perfectionist, you don’t need the templates. However, here are the links to the them:

Pumpkin
Cat
Owl

You can punch a hole in the top of the hanging decorations, tie a string or fishing wire around the hole, and hang these from the ceiling or on walls. I hung them from 3M Command Mini Hooks which don’t leave residue on walls, unless you really yank them off.

The bottom line is they look better than store bought decor (even La Jolla Dad said so) and they are probably less expensive if you make quite a few.  Plus, now La Jolla Girl thinks I’m the coolest thing ever.

Easy peasy.  Also see Halloween Party Ideas and Halloween Party Food.

Tagged as: Halloween, Hanging Halloween Decorations, Holidays, Home, Kids, Kids Crafts, Martha Stewart