Halloween Crafts to Spookify your House Part 1

Whats more fun that having a decked out house of spooky decorations, creepy treats and all the Halloween fun you can think of? Whats even better is if it doesn't cost you an arm and a leg, and you can have some fun with the family making it.

These Halloween character cans are versatile they can just sit on a bookshelf, hold treats for the kids, or can even be filled with party favors for guest if you are throwing a Monster Mash this year. As you see in the picture we have a jack-o-lantern, a mummy, Dracula, and Frankenstein. But anything you can imagine can be done.

For this craft the supplies you will need are tin cans, acrylic paints, brushes and maybe some creativity. Save all the food cans you open for a few weeks, (depending on how many spooks you are planning on making). When we made them we let the kids paint too, so we went through a lot of cans!

Wash the cans well, dry them and begin painting. First paint the cans the base color, (orange for a pumpkin, white for a ghost, green for Frank) you get the picture. Let that dry and then go ahead with the rest of the features. A few coats will be necessary depending on how dark of a color you are going for. One tip you may want to try is using a clear coat to follow up with after everything is dry. We didn't use one and as you can see, in the picture, the cans are now a little chipped and worn. (This is due to children playing, stacking, and doing what kids do with things). I would suggest a gloss coat. We use something called Mod Podge gloss, its a water-based glue that looks kind of white when it goes on but dries clear. You know even a thin layer of Elmers glue may do the trick but since I haven't actually tested that, someone will have to let me know if they give it a try.

Another variation you can give it is a handle, poke some holes in the side and either use string, some wire or anything else that seems good to you.

Anyway this is a simple idea for a fun family craft that you can do. I hope you have some fun with these. Be on the look-out for more simple ways to spookify your house coming in later posts.

Sydney