Thrifty Halloween Decor

Wow. First let me start off with a huge, 100% sincere THANK YOU for all your kind comments from the Budget Bathroom Makeover! I was blown away! It was my most popular post yet, which means you fabulous readers are sharing my blog, and that just makes my day week year! I get to see the numbers of people who've shared, but don't get the names, so if you're one of them, I give you a big ol' cyber hug right now;) If you don't follow me on Facebook, you can check out my page here, click "like," and I hope I can inspire you too, either by my posts, or the awesome bloggers out there that I stalk and share their oh-so-amazing ideas...And if you did miss the 1960s yellow-yucky bathroom turned 2011 yellow-cute bathroom, I've linked you up right...here.;)

Now, onto today's post...HALLOWEEN! Oh the fun, whether you entertain for grown-ups, or have lots of little peeps around you, it's pretty much impossible not to get wrapped up in this holiday. I could go nuts. There are so many crafty and crazy cheap decorations that can be done! You truly - truly - do not need to spend much on Halloween decor. In fact, I have some ideas for you here that are pretty darn close to F-R-E-E. Let's start with my buffet table:

First, I gathered some sticks from my backyard (FREE!), and spray painted them black, to spookify them. I had a glass vase gathering dust in the laundry room, and I kid you not - a bag of leftover candy corn (unopened) from LAST YEAR in my pantry. For some reason I kinda thought there might be a use for it, so I kept it hidden (and out of reach/sight of the small kiddos that love to rummage through the pantry on an hourly basis.) But of course, the vase is large, so the bag of candy filled only a small portion. I grabbed a very small strand of leaf garland I wasn't using this year (think it was from the Dollar Store?) and stuffed it in there. Since I had everything - even the spray paint - on hand, this cost me NADA. So that was my jumping off point. Then I gathered all the candle sticks we had (those cream ones are Dollar Store glass ones that I sprayed a while back), and plopped our fake pumpkins (again, already had!) on top. That little cloche is simply a candle stick with a plate that I sprayed to match and glued to it. Topped it off with a glass dome and I have a makeshift cloche. I placed a pumpkin inside, and tied a black satin bow around it, to Halloween-y it up. Yes, I'm making up a lot of words here...So all in all, this didn't cost me a cent, since I gathered things from around the house and outside. When you're decorating, ALWAYS look in other rooms to "shop." You'd be amazed what you have say, in your bedroom, that would work much better in the family room. I shop in my house ALL. THE. TIME. I'm talking, even furniture. End tables, nightstands, dressers. I've done it all. And it makes things feel totally new when they're placed elsewhere. I promise:)

Oh, and that cute moon thingy was something I bought a couple years ago, but had it on my kitchen counter. I hope to make a Trick-or-Treat banner to hang from the buffet, but we'll see if I get around to that this year...

Ok, moving onto the dining room table...

Each of my three kids picked out a pumpkin at the farm last weekend. I have to say, 3 kids works out perfectly for the 3 letters in BOO! So naturally, I had to bust out the stencils and Elmer's black paint marker. I love the way it looks, and it took maybe all of 3 minutes.

I had the runner (purchased at Kohls a couple years ago), and the little pumpkin, ghost, and witch hat candleholders, but the mummies were an easy, free (to me) craft. I collect spaghetti sauce jars and have a bin - I'm not even kidding - filled with them! You never know when you might want to spray paint them, or wrap ribbon around them and fill them with hydrangeas, stick lemon slices in them and add daisies - I mean, the possibilities are endless, and who doesn't buy spaghetti sauce (or jelly, or salsa) all the time? It's like free vases! Line a table with them filled with flowers, add some candles, and you've got one cute centerpiece! I digress, apparently I get waaayyy too excited about glass jars...moving on. So I got three out (one for each kid of course), and had some leftover white fabric from the budget bathroom shower sheet, and my trusty mod podge.

I just cut up a bunch of strips, and stuck them on there with mod podge (using a brush). After I covered them, I used a dab of mod podge to attach googly eyes (which I already had, big crafty geek that I am). I bought some flameless tealights and there you have it.

I can't even tell you how much my kids are digging these guys! They've each claimed one, and whenever someone comes over, they HAVE to show them right away. I gotta say, it feels pretty awesome when you're kids brag about the stuff you make;) "Look at what my mommy made! They're mummies from JARS! Cool, huh!?" Makes me smile...

Here are a couple other random things I've got going on in the dining room as well:

Nothing too exciting, but just a strand of fun garland (a Michael's purchase last year) makes the chandelier look festive. This is the first Halloween with our spiffed-out fabric shades, and I'm loving the way the black and cream look with the spooky decor! If you missed that post, you can read about it here.

And of COURSE, what would a room in the Naptime Decorator's house be without a chalkboard, right?!

This is up year-round, I just switched up the words;). But the black ribbon, the green frame, I mean COME ON! It's like my dining room was made for Halloween! This was just an old yucky framed print, and I removed the glass, sprayed it with chalkboard spray paint, sprayed the frame a green color, and plopped the glass back in. Hung it, then did a fake-out by hanging a black ribbon above it. Instant cute chalkboard. The kids think it's so fun, and point out the pumpkin, ghost, bat, spiders, etc., every night at dinner. Kids just see the fun in everything, don't they?!

Oh, and one last quick idea for you...Trashbag Ghosts.

We first started making these last year, and my daughters actually requested to make them again. They're just a bunch of newspapers wrapped in a ball, then wrap 2 or 3 white trashbags around the paper, tie with whatever you want - or just use rubber bands (that's what we do!). Use scissors to cut a jagged edge at the bottom (and in our case, to remove the plastic red drawstring!), then cut a small slit through the top of the head to thread a ribbon through it. Tie on a branch, and you're done. These guys stay put too - we've had a few rainy, windy days lately, and they've stayed 100% in tact. OH! Almost forgot the best part:

Give the kids a marker and let them make some faces:) My oldest even named hers....

Yes, Mis (note the one s!) Boo hangs outside on our tree, along with her two plastic friends. They adore these "ghost-es" and wave to them when we leave the house, and greet them on our return. Who knew trashbags could make kids so happy? ;)

Hopefully you've gotten an idea or two on ways to bring some Halloween festiveness (am I making that word up too?!) into your home without breaking the bank! Happy Halloween!