Easy Pumpkin Pail Crafts

Did you know that those inexpensive  Halloween candy pails, actually can be used for many things and not just to collect candy. 

This past weekend, I used some of those pails to decorate our front porch. 

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I think this pumpkin witch is my favorite. In addition to a pumpkin you  will need a couple of items that can be found at the Dollar Tree. 

You will need two sets of hanging witch legs, and a witch hat. 

Since they only sell with legs at the Dollar Tree, and not witch arms, we will have to alter one of the set of legs. 

The legs are sold hanging on a ring.  Cut the legs off the ring at your desired length for your pumpkin witch. I left my witch legs on the longer side. 

To give the legs some dimension, I stuffed each one with a plastic bag. (I have plenty of Dollar Tree bags from shopping there so much. LOL)  

It is pretty easy to make the hands.  I cut a hand shape out of the felt shoes.

Once all for limbs were stuffed, I hot glued them to the sides and bottom of the pumpkin. 

The last step is also pretty easy. Cut off the plastic handle, because we will not be needing it.  Place hot glue around 1/2 to 2/3 of the rim of the pumpkin. The reason why you do not put it around the entire rim is you want to leave enough space under the hat so you can place a light inside, and be able to turn it on and off.  

I left the unglued portion at the back of the hat.  

Another really easy craft is to turn one of the pumpkins into a hanging lantern.  

The first step is to cut off the plastic handle. I made the hole a little bit bigger, so I could add a hanging plant chain.  I found the chain in the garden section of the Dollar Tree.  

The chain actually had three hanging pieces to hang plants.  Since I only needed two pieces for the two holes, I removed the third piece. I am saving it in case I need it for something else later.  

I originally used a flameless candle as my light source but I wanted it a bit brighter, so I put in a push light from the electronics aisle. 

The last craft is my pumpkin votive. I was recording these crafts for a reel, and realized after I was finished that I did not have still photos to post on the blog from when I was making it.  I glued the pumpkin and a gem spider onto a black candlestick you can sometimes find in the candle aisle. I placed a flameless candle inside the pumpkin.  If you would like to see a video, you can see it on my Instagram here.

 

While we will still have more decorating to do before trick or treat night, being greeted by all the smiling pumpkins on our porch makes me happy. 

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How to Make a Dollar Tree Light Up Ghost

I made both of these ghosts using only Dollar Tree products. They are really easy to make, and look so cute hanging out on the table.  

** This post also contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links

The first ghost I made was the mop head ghost. To make this ghost you will need a mop head, a plastic vase (it's upside down in this photo) and some black felt. I found this multipack of 8 sheets of felt in the craft aisle. 

Using my glue gun, I glued the mop head on top of the upside down plastic vase. It should look like Cousin It from the Addams family but with white hair.  :)  You can leave the strands of the mop in one piece, or separate them like I did in the next photo.  

I personally like the look of separated strands for my ghost.  The string looks lighter and fluffier, and it is a little easier for light to shine through.  

   

Using the black felt in the multipack and cut out two circles for the eyes of the ghost.  

I added the eyes with my glue gun. I also used the felt to make my ghost a hat. While I like his hat, I thought I might find something else that might work better.   

I found this hanging ghost with the perfect hat.  I removed the hat from this ghost and saved the fabric. 

Doesn't this hat look so much better.  I used my glue gun to keep it in place.  

The taller ghost is even easier to make. You will need one of these 36 inch hanging ghost , another vase or paper towel holder.  My store was completely out of paper towel holders, so I used another yellow vase.  

Underneath the white sheet of the hanging ghost is this Styrofoam head and arms. You are going use this as the base of your ghost. 

There are two ways you can make this ghost.  You can attach the head to one of Dollar Tree's paper towel holders, if you can find one.  I have not been able to find one recently, but when I do, I plan on making another ghost.  Instead, I attached the head to the top of the upside down plastic vase like we did to the other ghost. 

I folded over the fabric, and draped it over the head and vase. I hid the pre-printed face on the bottom side of the fabric.  

I used the green hat version of the hanging ghost for this ghost's hat. Since I was not able to keep that ghost in one piece while trying to remove it's hat, I reused it's eyes for this ghost.  I also decided to add a small green pumpkin that I found in the Halloween aisle. 

I used the Dollar Tree push lights for both ghosts.  You will need three AAA batteries per light.  I placed the light underneath the vases, and they lit up nicely. 

Which type of ghost do you like better?  If you would like to see a quick reel tutorial on how to make the mop ghost, you can see how on my Instagram page here.

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How to Have a Frugal Halloween

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It is only a little over a week to Halloween.  While I LOVE this time of year, if you are not careful it can cost a lot of money especially if you have more than one child.   Here are some ways you can have a Happy Halloween and not break the bank.  

Instead of buying an expensive costume, we have always made ours. Over the years we have had a lot of great memories and it became a yearly tradition.  My son's favorite costume was his Flying Chameleon.  We used sweats we already had in his closet, a T shirt one sale at the craft store and a couple of yards of felt.  Almost anything can become a costume.  I am putting mine together this year for under $5. I found a green tutu on sale for only $2 at Claires, a pair of dollar store butterfly/fairy wings, and a will be making a head piece that will be on the blog soon with supplies I already have on hand. I will be wearing to the local Halloween festival if the weather holds out.  

If you need some ideas for easy homemade costumes,  just do a search for Inexpensive DIY costumes and literally hundreds will come up.  I found this buzzfeed post with some really good ones that anyone can do. 

Some of our favorite Halloween decorations were homemade.  Last year I had a several Glowing Alien Heads leading up to our front door.  We used recycled milk jugs and glow sticks from the dollar store.  Total cost $2. 

I made this fun Witch Themed Halloween Wreath using just a few items from the dollar store.   

I made this Black Feathered Owl  using a $1 placement and a small bag of feathers.  I love how it turned out.  

Want an easy an inexpensive treat idea.  These Spider and Cat Cupcakes are made with a box of cupcake mix, a bag of Oreos, and a few pieces of candy and licorice.  

Do you need to take a treat to the class party?  You can make these Halloween Treat Boxes  for just pennies a piece.  You can find the containers in packs of 10 at the dollar store.  You will have enough for the entire class for $2-$3.  Make the faces with google eyes (also at the dollar store) and some cardstock.  

Is there anything frugal you do for Halloween? I would love to hear about it. 

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Dare to Share FEATURES of the Day

This week I am changing things up again. Between Labor Day, the start  of school. a substitute teacher meeting (I am going to be a sub!) and very, very slow internet service this week, I have not had a lot of time to post. While going through the Dare to Share  party, I saw so many awesome ideas.  I chose five (one for each weekday) of the things that I loved, and are very timely to what is going on right now. 

With the start of school, many families find themselves trying to adjust to getting back on schedule. This is especially true when you have a  child on the spectrum like me and Lisa of A Day in Our Shoes. She shared 20 visual printable schedules that may help  to get this school year on the right track.   

I don't know about you, but I am still having a tough time adjusting that it is September, let alone that  Halloween is NEXT MONTH!  For the last several years I had made homemade Halloween costumes for my kids, while they are a bit on the older side now, I do have a special nine year old in my life that hope  I can make one for this year. I think this Easy Candy Corn Costume by The Mom Creative  is adorable, and simple enough for everyone to make.  The smiling baby in the is super cute too! 

Apple season is here!  I love to go apple picking every year.  A fun thing you can do with all those apples is Host a Caramel Apple Bar like Momma DJane. Everything looks so yummy, and it is sure to be something that you friends enjoy. 

I love the Disney channel.  Confession time, I even watch Disney channel without my kids. This past summer the Descendants movie was a huge hit.  They are spinning off an animated show this fall, and will be making Descendants 2 in the near future. If you have kids who are fans, they may have some of the dolls and accessories.  Views from the Ville shared this fun craft to make Descendant themed storage for your kids toys. 

This treat looks amazing to me. Not only are the fries made from funnel cake, but they are dipped in S'Mores dip That sounds heavenly to me. You can see how the full recipe on how to make your own on Bombshell Bling. 

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Halloween Witch Crafts

This week I knew I wanted to make a few more crafts with the Halloween items in my craft stash.    Well one craft lead to another craft, which lead to an idea for my entire porch for Halloween.  

I pulled out black cat, purple ribbon, a shiny purple witch broom (that really reflects sunlight!) and a wreath form. All of these items I had bought at the dollar store awhile back.  I knew they would make a good wreath for the front door, and since they were dollar store items, it would be okay to be out in the elements without worry they would get ruined.  I put the wreath together, and then hung it on the front door.  

I then pulled out a paper mache witch hat that I recently bought at the craft store and painted it black.  I used some of the leftover ribbon from my wreath and strips of tulle to decorate it.  

I thought the witch hat would be a fun way to decorate a pumpkin if we do not end up carving all of them.  

Then it hit me..  With the black cat wreath, and the witch pumpkin hat, I unintentionally had a theme going.  I have many other witch items in my boxes of  Halloween decor such as a large plastic cauldron, a few standing black cats, and a witch broom. I think even have some Wizard of Oz witch legs somewhere. I also have a 2-3 foot standing painted witch that painted many years ago in a tole painting class.  This year for Halloween, I am going to do my entire porch in the witch theme.  I don't like super scary, as I don't like to scare the little ones,so the witches won't be too wicked.  I am pretty excited now as my easy Halloween Witch Crafts have started something much bigger..  Stay tuned..  

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Glowing Owl Candles - Feature of the Day

I LOVE these glowing owl candles by the Crafty Lumberjacks.  They are actually not that difficult to make, and they really catch your attention. The added branches that  make it look like the owls are sitting in a tree really give them a Halloween feel..  All you need to make these are just a few items that you might even already have.  Be sure to stop over to the Crafty Lumberjacks to see how to make your own glowing owl candles.   Thank you so much guys for linking up this awesome craft to Dare to Share!

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