Pick Your Poison Do not toss that empty bottle. Instead make it a portion of your spooky Halloween decor. Collect empty glass bottles throughout the year, particularly those with interesting shapes. At a well-ventilated place, coat each with two to three coats of flat black spray paint. Check your regional craft shop's scrapbooking area to get blank labels or create your own with card stock and a permanent marker.
The Walls Have Eyes Cheap components, like classic art, can add a surprising effect to any room. Shop your local flea market or thrift shop to pick up a group of portraits and pop art featuring faces. Hang them together gallery-style to provide guests the feeling they're being watched.
A Mini Ghost Town Create the look of a haunted shrunken city with craft shop birdhouses or cheap Christmas village sculptures painted flat black. Select pieces in various shapes and sizes to the very best appearance then coat them with spray primer then with two coats of flat black spray paint. Tip: To get a more glam look, use gloss paint rather than flat.
Give Them the Evil Eye Give a devilish look to framed art or family photos using blacked-out eyes. Simply cut on black construction paper to size, then attach it directly to the canvas or glass with double-sided tape. Hint: It's important not to use packaging tape, gift-wrap tape or duct tape when attaching eyes to a painted canvas because it can damage the surface.
Black Poisoned Apples Don't worry, these apples are not actually deadly -- but they certainly look it. To make them you will want: apples, twigs which have been washed and trimmed, granulated sugar, light corn syrup, water, cinnamon-flavored oil, red food coloring, black food coloring and a candy thermometer. Gently wash each apple, remove the stem and add a twig (you may need to sharpen the finish first). Next, stir sugar, corn syrup and water together in a saucepan until the sugar melts. Boil till the syrup reaches 300 degrees F on a candy thermometer. Remove the saucepan from heat and stir in jojoba oil and food coloring. To coat the apple, dip thoroughly in the syrup and swirl it. Hold the apple above the saucepan so that the excess coating can drain off. Place candied apple onto a baking sheet that has been greased or lined to let it cool.
Faux Formaldehyde Add touches of a mad scientist's lab to your Halloween decor with apothecary jars and food coloring. To create the bright green appearance of formaldehyde, combine water with green food coloring, then pour into clear apothecary jars. Place plastic creatures or dried botanicals, such as lotus pods, to the jars.
Shackled Napkins Hit the hardware shop to make an abrupt napkin ring. Pick up a bolt of little metal chain, luggage padlocks and a lightweight bolt cutter. Cut a section of chain that is approximately five to eight inches long then wrap it around a folded napkin and secure with a padlock.
Fastened for Feasting Insert leather straps to ordinary dining chairs to get your guests wondering when they were invited to your home to eat dinner -- or to be dinner. Tip: make certain to turn the buckles into the back to prevent visitors from leaning against the sharp metal edges.
Fangs and Names Put plastic vampire teeth to work as clever place-card holders. Simply open them up and pop into a handwritten card. If white does not work together with your decor, go glam with metallic spray paint.
Terror-Packed Terrariums DIY terrariums are simple to make, affordable and offer endless ways to make spooky scenes. Pick up wooden bases and glass vases, candleholders or fishbowls at your local craft store. Fill with twigs, live leaves and moss topped with plastic insects, snakes or artificial birds.
House of Hitchcock Movie-inspired vignettes are excellent conversation-starters, particularly at dinner parties at which guests could possibly be meeting for the first time. Get your visitors buzzing with nods to scenes from classic thrillers like this small seating area that's reminiscent of the 1954 Hitchcock classic Dial M for Murder.
Afterlife Arrangements Offer your dining room table a suitably dramatic focal point with a dead-branch centerpiece. Just collect a set of large bare branches, then cut them into the appropriate size with a hacksaw or clippers then spray-paint them with a matte black finish. Once dry, place painted branches at a heavy urn or planter that has been filled with pea gravel or pebbles topped with floral foam. Cover the foam with Spanish moss held in place with hot glue. For a finishing touch, hang Halloweeny objects, like rubber bats, snakes or lightweight votive lanterns, from the branches.
Watch Your Head Mannequin heads are a means to add kitschy creepiness for a Halloween decor. As a nod to our celebration's midcentury motif, we dressed our dismembered heads in '50s and '60s fashions then displayed them close to the cocktails and appetizers.
The Living and the Dead A combo of living and dead components equals Halloween decor that's dark and chic. This mantel was decorated with organic elements like moss and twigs while the stuffed fox certainly fits the dead invoice. Tip: Taxidermy is frequently pricey, especially when bought through designer showrooms or antique shops. Look for local flea markets to pick up authentic or faux taxidermy for a fraction of the retail price.
Put a Lid On It Located in craft shops and wholesale floral markets, a cloche or bell jar is a tall glass container available in a variety of shapes and dimensions that's used primarily to maintain dust off objects. Great options for Halloween bell jar displays include taxidermy, rock bust bookends, antique dolls and toys, and vintage laboratory or surgical gear.
Casts of Characters Creep your guests out with mummified legs and arms. You'll need a patient and prepared buddy, plaster gauze from a medical supply shop, petroleum jelly and a spoonful of warm water. First thoroughly coat any area you intend to cover with petroleum jelly then dip gauze in warm water and coating strips around a friend's arms or legs. Allow 30 to 60 minutes to the gauze to fully dry. Once it has hardened, cut off it slowly straight up the fundamental rear part of the cast with round-edge scissors.
Head of the Table Brave souls eager to take mummified decor up a notch can try their hand at casting faces. Locate a non-claustrophobic friend willing to sit still and upright for 30 to 45 minutes. Make sure you thoroughly coat their entire neck and face in petroleum jelly and pull their own hair back so it doesn't get caught in the plaster. Then, layer plaster gauze strips around their face and neck, ensuring you depart unobstructed nostril holes for breathing. When the gauze has hardened, slowly get rid of the cast and wash skin thoroughly.
Jarred Parts Apothecary jars are an superb way to turn just about anything into a displayed object, especially small body components like cast feet, hands and forearms.
Bats from the Branches Insert some overhead interest to your dinner table with bats suspended out of bare branches. All you'll need are rubber bats in the craft store and clear fishing line. Before attaching the bats, make sure that the selected branch is strong enough to support your weight.
Orange You Currently? While orange and black has become the go-to Halloween color scheme for a long time, it's seldom regarded as sophisticated. To decorate your Halloween dinner party in this palette using a twist twist, consider integrating the orange strictly through accents, then layering gray and brown tones with the dark.
