5 Easy Halloween Crafts for Adults to Make at Home
A slightly crooked roof? Definitely a haunted house. Uneven eyes? Your ghost has personality. A mysterious trail of paper scraps across the kitchen? Evidence of a very good evening.
Halloween is a lovely excuse to play with your creativity. You can try something unfamiliar, use colours you wouldn’t normally choose and make decorations that are as cheerful or spooky as you like.
These five easy Halloween crafts for adults use straightforward techniques and materials you may already have at home. Each includes enough guidance to get you started, with room to add your own ideas.
Put the kettle on, clear a little space and choose something that makes you curious.
1. Paper bats for a Halloween garland
A few paper bats can transform a shelf, mirror or doorway. Make them all the same size for a neat garland, or mix large and small shapes for a slightly more chaotic gathering.
You’ll need:
Black paper or lightweight card.
Scrap paper for a template.
A pencil and scissors.
String and sticky tape.
How to make them:
Fold your scrap paper in half.
Draw half a bat, placing the centre of its body against the fold. Give it a small pointed ear and a broad wing with a scalloped lower edge.
Cut around the outline, leaving the folded centre intact.
Open the paper to reveal a symmetrical bat.
Use your template to draw and cut several bats from black paper.
Arrange them along your string and tape the backs of their bodies into place.
Fold the wings gently forward if you’d like a little dimension. Leave enough string at either end to hang your garland.
Make it your own: Try deep purple bats, patterned paper or a mixture of colours. Halloween decorations can suit your home and your imagination.
2. A haunted-house window silhouette
Paper silhouettes are particularly effective in a window, where the contrast between the dark shape and the light behind it brings the scene to life.
Start with one house. You can always add a moon, bats or a crooked tree afterwards.
You’ll need:
Black or dark-coloured paper.
A pencil and scissors.
Pale paper for the windows.
Glue.
Removable fixings suitable for glass.
How to make it:
Draw a broad house shape with a tall roof and a chimney. Keep the outline simple enough to cut comfortably.
Cut around the outside.
Cut small rectangles from pale paper and glue them onto the house as windows.
Add a door, a paper moon or a few bats.
Arrange your scene against the window before fixing it in place.
For a version with light shining through the windows, cut openings instead of adding pale paper. Use a suitable craft knife on a cutting mat, keeping your supporting hand clear of the blade’s path.
Our October Halloween paper-cutting window display explored this idea with spooky silhouettes. Take a look for inspiration, then see what sort of little haunted world you’d like to create.
Make it your own: Give each window a different shape or add a tiny cat silhouette beside the door. A few distinctive details can make a simple design feel entirely yours.
3. A glowing ghost jar
An empty jar can become a friendly little ghost with tissue paper, glue and a face. Make one for a shelf or a small collection for your Halloween table.
You’ll need:
A clean, dry glass jar.
White tissue paper.
Craft glue suitable for the materials.
A brush for applying glue.
Black paper and scissors.
A battery-powered LED tealight.
How to make it:
Tear the tissue into small pieces.
Brush a thin layer of glue onto the outside of the jar.
Add the tissue pieces, overlapping them slightly. Keep the covering fairly light so the glow can show through.
Allow the glue to dry fully.
Cut eyes and a mouth from black paper and glue them onto the outside.
Place a battery-powered LED tealight inside.
Use an LED light only. Paper-covered jars aren’t suitable for real candles.
Make it your own: Try a sleepy ghost, a surprised ghost or one with an enormous smile. Sketch a few expressions on scrap paper before choosing your favourite.
4. Pumpkin place cards for a Halloween supper
If you’re having friends over, handmade place cards are a small project that makes the table feel personal. They also work as little seasonal decorations with messages instead of names.
You’ll need:
Orange and green card.
Plain card for the folded bases.
A pencil, scissors and glue.
A pen.
How to make them:
Cut a small rectangle of plain card and fold it in half so it stands like a tent.
Draw a pumpkin on orange card, making it slightly smaller than the front of your folded base.
Cut out the pumpkin and add a green paper stalk.
Draw curved lines down the pumpkin to suggest its rounded sections.
Write a name across the middle.
Glue the pumpkin to the front of the folded card.
Make one first to check the proportions before cutting the rest.
Make it your own: Use cream, purple or patterned pumpkins. You could write “Something wickedly delicious” on one and place it beside the pudding.
5. A spooky paper-collage card
Collage is a good place to experiment because you can move everything around before committing to glue.
You don’t need to draw a detailed scene. A rectangle becomes a house, a triangle becomes its roof and a pale circle becomes the moon.
You’ll need:
A folded card blank.
Coloured paper or suitable paper scraps.
Scissors and glue.
A pencil or pen for optional details.
How to make it:
Choose a dark background and a pale colour for the moon.
Tear a strip of paper to make a hill across the bottom of the card.
Cut out a moon, a house and a roof.
Arrange the shapes, trying different positions before gluing.
Add little paper windows, a path or a few stars.
Glue the background pieces first, then build your scene on top.
Leave some empty sky around your shapes so the picture doesn’t feel crowded.
Make it your own: Use magazine scraps or patterned paper for unexpected textures. A haunted house with a floral roof can be rather wonderful.
Turn one project into a Halloween craft night
Choose one of these Halloween crafts for adults and invite a friend to make it with you. Put the materials in the middle of the table, protect the surface where needed and give everyone room to take the idea in their own direction.
If you’re making alone, you can still make an occasion of it. Choose some music, put your supplies within reach and give yourself an evening to explore.
Start with one finished bat, one decorated jar or one collage. See whether you enjoy it before deciding to make an entire collection.
A few questions before you start
Which Halloween craft is easiest for a beginner?
The pumpkin place cards and paper collage are useful starting points. Both use simple shapes, and you can arrange the pieces before gluing them down.
Can I make Halloween decorations without a craft knife?
Yes. The bat garland, collage cards and pumpkin place cards can all be made with scissors. For the haunted house, glue on pale paper windows instead of cutting openings.
Can I keep paper decorations for next year?
Store them flat in a dry place. Wind garland string carefully around a piece of card to help prevent tangles, and protect delicate shapes from being crushed.
Keep your curiosity going with more Halloween crafts for adults
At Curious Octopus, we want to make it easier to sit down, try something new and enjoy making things with your own hands.
A seasonal project can be a lovely starting point. Perhaps you discover that you love cutting paper, choosing colours or making something alongside other people.
Explore Curious Octopus craft boxes for more ways to make creativity part of your month.
For now, choose your first little project. There’s a bat, pumpkin or slightly surprised ghost waiting to see what you do with it.
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