Although it’s celebrated mainly in English-speaking countries, the fun and spooky holiday of Halloween is gaining more and more fans in Europe. In fact, it’s a Celtic holiday, not a North American one, as many people think. It comes from the ancient Celtic Samhain, which marked the end of summer. When Samhain arrived, the boundary separating this world from “the other” became thinner, allowing both good and bad spirits to enter.
The custom of wearing costumes and masks during this holiday was intended to ward off those unwanted evil spirits. By adopting the same appearance as them, anyone in disguise could avoid being harmed.
Halloween was later adopted by the Romans, and several centuries later, the Catholic Church replaced the ancient pagan festival with what we know today as All Saints’ Day. However, in countries such as the US and Canada, Halloween remains one of the most important holidays of the year and is gradually taking root again in the place where it was born.
Frances Janish via Parents.com
It’s lots of fun for the little ones and, let’s be honest, for us too! If you’re someone who really enjoys costumes and decorating, we have a few ideas so you can create your own Halloween DIY.
FUN IDEAS FOR A HALLOWEEN DIY.
Depending on how much you love Halloween, you can turn your home or business into a temple of terror or simply add a few strategic decorative elements that create a magical touch without overdoing it.
Pumpkin oranges by Pink-parsley.com
With some simple spider webs made from cotton batting that you can work with your own hands by stretching and fraying the fibers, you’ll be able to create the right atmosphere. A little corner with spider webs, pumpkins, and candles is always a guaranteed success, but be careful not to place the candles too close to the cotton!
Since hollowing out pumpkins yourself is quite a lot of work, if you don’t have much time you can replace them with oranges. A more original alternative is to turn the floor of any room into a giant spider web using low-tack white paper tape that’s easy to remove and leaves no residue.
Squashed witch by Parents.com
But the star idea we love and want to suggest for this year is this “squashed witch doormat” we found at Parents.com. It’s as easy as stuffing tights with cotton and adding a suitable pair of shoes. The best part is that the witch’s legs also seem perfect for placing in more locations: behind curtains, under the sofa, hanging from a living room picture, sticking out of the oven…
If you don’t have the time or desire to make a very elaborate costume, we suggest our tutorial for creating fabric wings. Although in the video you can see Laura creating some very colorful and cheerful ones, this time you could combine dark colors to match Halloween: black, red, purple… They’ll be the perfect finishing touch over a dark outfit, allowing your little creature of the night to happily flutter all around the house.
Mummified jars by Crafts Redesigned.
Another easy and inexpensive option is to use bandages and gauze to “mummify” all kinds of things—yourself included—or to hang them up as decorative elements. As an example, take a look at these adorable little jars for tea lights from Crafts Redesigned.
And although, as always, our intention is to provide a little inspiration for creating your Halloween DIY by selecting what we like best from around the web, you already know that you set the limit.
Stop by our craft store to see if there’s anything you like, and have a horrifying Halloween ;)