This friendly ghost flag looks great hanging in a tree or near your front door.
What you’ll need:

1 white garbage bag
Large branch
Scissors
Purple and black craft foam
3 large buttons
6-8 flat marbles
White craft glue
3-4 feet of yarn
Clear sturdy tape, such as shipping or packaging tape

How to make it:

Lay branch on work surface.
Place closed end of plastic garbage bag near the branch. Insert branch into the bag, poking through the side, running branch through the bag and out the other side (see image).
On the side of the bag that is attached to the branch, use scissors to cut two triangles; these will create the space between the head and arms. (Note: Cut only the two sloping sides of the triangles so that all of the pieces remain attached the bag. See image)
Tape the excess bag that you just cut, attach it to the branch.
Cut two ovals from black foam for eyes, and a simple mouth as well. Glue to the head portion of the bag (see image).
Cut out a simple bow tie from purple foam and glue under smile.
Glue 3 buttons down the front of the ghost’s body.
Go to the bottom of your ghost, which is the open end of the bag, and cut a triangle type pattern to create a jagged edge (see image).
Line up the jagged triangles on top of each other. Glue flat marbles in between a front and back jagged triangle. You do not have to glue them to every one, just put enough in to give your ghost some weight.
Tie yarn to one end of the branch. Wrap around several times to secure well. Tie the other end of the yarn to the other end of the branch, thus creating your hanger.

Tips:

Buy construction paper at the dollar store for plenty of fun projects.
For smaller circles, wrap paper around a small paint brush handle.
White craft glue is perfect for this project, however white school glue will work as well.

Finger puppets have long been a favorite for kids. This year, make some fun and ghoulish creatures to put on your hands. Invite your friends over to make some with you!

What you’ll need:

Patterns (Pattern 1, Pattern 2)
Construction paper (black, white, orange, green, purple, yellow)
Black craft pen or Sharpie marker
Scissors
White craft glue
Hot glue or tape

How to make it:

Print off both sets of patterns.
Cut out the patterns and trace onto construction paper: white for mummy and ghost, black for cat and vampire, orange for pumpkin and green for witch. If you prefer, place the construction paper on the table, place pattern sheet over the top and use a ball point pen to trace the lines on the printed pattern, creating an indent on the construction paper underneath. Cut out finger puppets.
Use a black craft pen to decorate each puppet. Draw wiggly lines across the front of the mummy, draw lines and facial features on the pumpkin, and draw a face on the ghost.
Cut pieces of construction paper out to decorate the witch’s hat and dress, as well as the vampire’s purple face and shirt, and the cat’s yellow eyes. Use white craft glue to stick them on.
Once you are finished decorating the puppets, wrap the bottom square section around your child’s finger for sizing. Remove from finger and hot glue them back together to form the tube.

Having a Halloween party, or just want something fun to adorn your table this season? These friendly spiders are easy to make and fun to look at.

What you’ll need:

Styrofoam ball, approximately 4” in diameter
Purple acrylic paint
Sponge applicator
2 large wiggle eyes
Hot glue
9 black chenille sticks
Colorful craft gems OR purple sequins and sequin pins

How to make it:

Using the sponge applicator, paint the entire Styrofoam ball and allow to dry completely.
Use eight of the chenille sticks for legs. To do this, at the bottom of each one, bend into a foot, about 1” long. Bend at the “knee” about halfway up the stick.
When the ball is dry, insert the chenille sticks into the body, four on each side.
Cut the last chenille stick in half, and then cut one of those halves in half again. Bend the quartered chenille stick to create a “feeler” (officially known as a “palp,” for those budding scientists) about ½” long and place one on either side of the face (on either side of where the mouth would be).
Hot glue the wiggle eyes onto the spider’s face.
Decorate the spider’s back with purple sequins, securing them in place with sequin pins. Alternatively, especially with younger children, you can glue colorful craft gems to the back instead.
Adjust the legs so that the spider stands on its own.

Tips:

Sequin pins are tiny and can be hard for younger children to manipulate. Using craft gems is a great alternative. Craft gems can be found in any discount department store or craft supply store.
Sponge applicators can be found by the paintbrushes in any craft supply or discount department store. They are also available at building supply stores as they are commonly used for applying stains and varnishes.
Styrofoam is very porous and can take a little while to dry. Plan something fun during drying time so that the children aren’t impatiently waiting at the table to begin the next step. This is also a good time to cut and bend the chenille sticks.

Check out these spooky little creatures as they fly overhead. This fun Halloween mobile uses pennies for weights that also act as the bats’ heads.

What you’ll need:

1 sheet black construction paper
Black thread, cut into 6 different lengths
White craft glue
6 pennies
2- 12″ wooden dowels
Orange paint
Paintbrush
Black permanent marker
Black jewelry cord or yarn
Scissors
Bat wing pattern

How to make it:

Paint the dowels with orange paint and let them dry. (See photo.)
Using the pattern, cut out 6 bat wings from black construction paper by folding the black paper in half and place pattern along fold where indicated. Once cut out, open the bat wings. (See photo 1, 2.)
Place a dot of glue onto the center of the bat wings and place a piece of black thread into the glue. Press a penny into the glue on top of the thread. Repeat for all 6 bats. (See photo.)
Color the pennies with black permanent marker. (See photo.)
Cut two lengths of jewelry cord, 24″ long each. Tie one end of cord to the center of one of the dowels. Tie the other end to the center of the second dowel. Tie the other piece of jewelry cord to the center of one of the dowels, leaving the end loose; this will be the end from which you’ll hang the mobile. (See photo.)
Lay your mobile flat on the work surface. Tie two hanging bats from the top dowel, on the left and the right. They should be short enough that they do not reach the bottom dowel. (See photo.)
Tie the other four bats to the bottom dowel. The first one should be long, second short, third long and the fourth one short.
Hang your mobile to see if everything is evenly spaced. If one side is too heavy, glue a penny to the other side of the lightweight bat.

Tips:

Instead of dowels you can use twigs or even a coat hanger.
Thread can tangle easily, so be very careful when putting this together. For younger kids, use yarn instead.
If you would like a friendlier looking mobile, add little wiggle eyes to your bats.

These cute little vampires lollipops will make great party favors for your Halloween party — be sure to make plenty, they’ll fly off before you know it.

What you’ll need:

Red cellophane
Lollipops
Black felt
Twist ties
White address labels
Scissors
Peel and stick wiggle eyes
Pattern

How to make it:

Using the pattern, cut capes (one for each lollipop) from black felt.
Cut a piece of cellophane into a square, large enough to wrap around the head of the lollipop. (See photo.)
Loosely wrap the cellophane around the lollipop and place the wrapped lollipop onto the felt cape. (See photo.)
Wrap twist tie around both at the neck of the lollipop. (See photo.)
Cut fangs from white address labels and stick to the front of the lollipop. Attach peel and stick wiggle eyes to the front of the lollipop. (See photo.)

Tips:

To add some variety, try using different colors of cellophane such as orange, green, or purple.
Bend the ends of the twist ties to look like bow ties.
Try creepy eye Halloween stickers instead of wiggle eyes.