YAH: Homemade Halloween Decor

I spent the weekend putting up all my Halloween decorations and I thought I'd share them with you. First I traced a picture of a bat onto black construction paper and cut out four copies.

Then I taped them to the inside of a lamp shade.

I also made some really tiny ones for another lamp.

I'd like to say I used a hole punch for these, but no. I cut each one out with a regular scissors.

I also cut out some small ghosts, a cat, and a "melting face." I taped them to some glass cylinder candle holders that I got from the dollar store and then wrapped white tissue paper around them. (See my tutorial for those here.) Then I dropped in battery-operated flickering tea lights.

The purple bat lights across the fireplace are for my husband. He loves bats.

Last year I took a wedding photo and turned us into vampires. I used some website, I don't remember which, but I think you can do it through Picnik this year.

My husband can't look at the regular photo now without seeing us as vampires! Anyway, I got that photo out again and added some "scary" books and topped it with a ghost candle that I've had for years. I added the word "Boo" with scrabble tiles to cover up a part of the candle that was broken.

And check out the cutest candy dish ever!

I added some "bleeding" candles that I made by dripping red wax on the white candles.

And I finally finished my pumpkin porch display. I cleaned all the pumpkins, then sprayed them with a clear protective coat to make them shine. (Last year I used vaseline -- this was so much easier!)

I got some very cool gourds this year. That green one is called a swan gourd and those little white ones are called finger or ghost gourds. I just used a black sharpie to draw on a face!

Last year I made a ghost family by spray painting gourds and then using black acrylic paint for the faces.

They looked so cute on my porch!

I like them better than this year's ghosts, but it was a lot more work. Who knows what I'll do next year?!