How to Design Homemade Halloween Decorations on a Budget

Ever wondered how to haunt your home without emptying your wallet?

Halloween is the perfect time to craft homemade Halloween decorations using everyday items like jars, sheets, and cardboard. These projects are budget-friendly, eco-conscious, and packed with nostalgic charm, creating a spooky yet cozy vibe for kids and adults alike.

This guide offers 10 step-by-step DIY Halloween decorations to transform your space. From glowing lanterns to eerie outdoor stakes, each craft is quick, reusable, and uses simple supplies.

Whether you’re aiming for creepy or cute, these ideas make your home the talk of the neighborhood. Grab your glue gun and get ready to create a festive, haunted masterpiece!

1. Glowing Mason Jar Lanterns

Mason jars become spooky DIY Halloween decorations with a glowing, eerie effect. This craft creates versatile lanterns for tabletops or porches.

Here’s how to make them in about 20 minutes.

Gather clean mason jars, matte black or white acrylic paint, glow-in-the-dark paint, and battery-powered tea lights. Paint the jar’s exterior with a base color, let dry, then draw bats, skulls, or ghosts with glow-in-the-dark paint.

For a creepy Halloween decorations DIY look, glue black paper web cut-outs. Place a tea light inside for a safe glow. Arrange in groups for a haunting display.

• Steps: Clean jar, paint base, add spooky designs, insert LED
• Safety Tip: Use LEDs to avoid fire hazards
• Pinterest Idea: Add green tissue paper inside for an ectoplasm effect

2. DIY Ghosts from Old Sheets

Old sheets turn into floating ghosts for a classic homemade Halloween decor project. This eco-friendly craft creates swaying specters for porches or indoors.

Follow these steps for a 45-minute project.

Collect white bed sheets, balloons or wire frames, liquid starch, black felt, and fishing line. Inflate a balloon or shape wire into a head form, drape the sheet over it, and soak with starch to hold shape.

Dry overnight, remove the form, and glue on felt eyes. Hang with fishing line for a DIY Halloween decorations outdoor effect. Secure outdoor ghosts with stakes for wind resistance.

• Steps: Shape frame, drape sheet, apply starch, dry, add eyes, hang
• Eco Tip: Reuse old linens to reduce waste
• Pinterest Hack: Use glow sticks inside for a glowing night-time look

3. Pumpkin Planter Pots

Turn pumpkins into planters for a cute DIY Halloween decorations easy craft. These add a natural, earthy vibe to porches or sills.

This 30-minute project is simple and reusable.

Get small real or faux pumpkins, soil, succulents or moss, neutral acrylic paint, and optional glitter. Cut the top off, hollow out the pumpkin, and fill with soil. Plant succulents or moss, then paint the exterior beige or gray.

Add glitter for sparkle if desired. Place along walkways or indoors. Seal with UV-resistant spray for outdoor use to maintain color.

• Steps: Hollow pumpkin, fill with soil, plant, paint exterior, seal
• Eco Fact: Faux pumpkins are reusable for multiple seasons
• Style Tip: Use neutral tones for a modern, cohesive display

4. Creepy Crawly Bug Jars

Bug-filled jars create a chilling creepy Halloween decorations DIY accent for mantels or party tables. These glowing jars add a mad-scientist vibe.

Make them in about 25 minutes.

Gather mason jars, plastic spiders or beetles, tissue paper, Mod Podge, and green or purple LED lights. Glue bugs inside the jar, then layer tissue paper with Mod Podge for a foggy effect. Insert LEDs for a spooky glow.

Use these for DIY Halloween party decorations outdoor on porches. Group jars for impact.

• Steps: Glue bugs, apply tissue and Mod Podge, add LEDs
• Safety Tip: Use hypoallergenic glue for kid-friendly crafting
• Pinterest Idea: Add glow sticks for a vibrant, shareable effect

5. Witch Hat Yard Stakes

Witch hat stakes add whimsy to DIY Halloween decorations outdoor. These enchanted accents line pathways or gardens.

Craft them in about 40 minutes.

Collect black felt or foam, ribbons, plastic spiders, wooden dowels, and battery-powered fairy lights. Cut hat shapes from felt or foam, glue on ribbons or spiders for decoration, and attach to dowels.

Tuck fairy lights inside for a glowing effect. Plant stakes in soil or along walkways. Use outdoor-safe glue for durability.

• Steps: Cut hat shape, decorate, attach to dowel, add lights, plant
• Durability Tip: Use weather-resistant materials for longevity
• Pinterest Hack: Vary hat sizes for a dynamic, eye-catching arrangement

6. Spider Web Tablecloth

A spider web tablecloth creates a creepy DIY indoor Halloween decorations centerpiece. Perfect for dining or buffet tables, it’s kid-friendly too.

This craft takes about 30 minutes.

Use a black or burlap fabric base, white or silver yarn, hot glue, and plastic spiders. Cut fabric to table size, weave yarn into web patterns, and glue to secure.

Scatter spiders for a Halloween decorations DIY for kids touch—kids can help place them. Use outdoor-safe yarn for porch setups. Fringe edges for texture.

• Steps: Cut fabric, weave yarn webs, glue, add spiders
• Style Tip: Neutral fabric pairs well with colorful accents
• Display Idea: Center with a small cauldron for extra spookiness

7. DIY Scarecrow

A scarecrow adds rustic charm to DIY Halloween decorations outdoor. This family-friendly craft creates a welcoming vibe.

Build one in about an hour.

Gather old clothes, straw or leaves, a burlap sack, a wooden frame, and paint. Stuff clothes with straw, attach to the frame, and paint a face on the sack for a goofy or eerie look.

Add a hat or scarf. Place on a porch or yard, securing with stakes for wind resistance. Add a lantern for personality.

• Steps: Stuff clothes, attach to frame, paint face, add accessories, stake
• Eco Tip: Reuse household items for sustainability
• Fun Idea: Pose in playful scenes, like holding a broom

8. Ghostly Door Wreath

A ghostly wreath makes a cute DIY Halloween decorations easy accent for doors or walls. It sets a spooky welcome.

Craft it in about 30 minutes.

Use a foam or twig base, black ribbon, tissue paper or clay for mini ghosts, and small spiders or bows. Wrap the base with ribbon, shape ghosts, and glue them on. Add spiders or orange bows for color. Hang with a loop.

Weave in glow-in-the-dark beads for nighttime charm.

• Steps: Wrap base, make ghosts, glue decorations, hang
• Style Tip: Twig bases add an organic, trendy look
• Pinterest Idea: Mix ghost sizes for a whimsical display

9. Skeleton Decorations

Skeletons create fun scary Halloween decorations DIY for yards or indoors.

Make them in about 20 minutes.

Get plastic skeletons or cardboard, white paint, and zip ties or string. Pose plastic skeletons in scenes—like sitting or climbing—or cut cardboard into skeleton shapes, paint, and string as a garland. Seal outdoor skeletons with waterproof spray.

Paint some bones neon for a trendy Halloween decorations DIY for kids twist.

• Steps: Pose or cut skeletons, paint, string or secure, seal for outdoors
• Fun Tip: Use zip ties for creative posing
• Display Idea: Hang garlands across mantels for indoor charm

10. Eerie Haunted Mirror

A haunted mirror creates a striking creepy Halloween decorations DIY focal point. It’s perfect for dim spaces.

Craft it in about 30 minutes.

Find a thrift store mirror, frost spray paint, black vinyl, and LED lights. Spray the mirror with frost paint, cut vinyl into silhouettes like bats, and place behind the glass. Add LED backlighting.

Set in a hallway or on a porch. Add red paint drips for a blood-like effect.

• Steps: Frost mirror, add vinyl silhouettes, backlight, place
• Style Tip: Gothic mirrors fit dark academia trends
• Pinterest Idea: Add cobwebs for a haunting look

Conclusion

These 10 DIY Halloween decorations make your home a spooky, budget-friendly haven.

From glowing mason jars to rustic scarecrows, each project uses simple materials like jars, sheets, and dollar store finds, keeping crafts quick and eco-friendly.

Whether creating homemade Halloween decor for indoors or outdoors, you’ll craft a festive vibe that’s both creepy and cozy. Perfect for family fun or solo projects, these ideas let creativity shine.

Get started, share your spooky creations, and let your home haunt in style!