Halloween crafts to use up your yarn stash

This post may include sponsored links. All opinions are my own

If you're anything like me, you have *somehow* accumulated more yarn than you'll ever be able to use. It's hard to let go of that precious yarn because you know it's worth. 

However, if you've realized it's time to use some of it up, here are a few fun Halloween crafts/activities to do so:

1. Giant spider's web: let your kids go wild between two trees/other objects in your front yard. I made a giant spider's web one year, and ever since, my kids love doing it themselves. This year, my 9 year old made our spider's web on her own and spent hours happily working on it.

Just hand them the skeins of yarn you're ready to let go of, and set them loose!

Handprint Bats

 

Here's a quick Halloween craft you can do with your kids...handprint bats! You can have different sized bats if parents and kids all participate.

1. Trace and cut out two of your child's (or your own) handprints. We did purple construction paper for some more color contrast.
2. Cut out:
1. A purple oval and a smaller black oval.
2. A purple circle for the head.
3. Two purple triangles.
4. Two little feet.
3. Glue the handprints to the purple oval, and attach all of the other shapes.
4. Add on some googly eyes, and draw on a little mouth. We used chalkboard markers, but any marker will work.
5. Hang your cute little creation upside down and admire your work.

Thank you Simple Everyday Mom for the cute idea!

Reclaimed Wood Candy Corn Sign

We have a bunch of old fence panels and I am having fun finding ways to use them for different signs. I was pretty pleased with how this Candy Corn Sign ended up:

Five Little "Thumbkin" craft

Fall is one of the funnest times to do crafts with kids...the possibilities are endless! Have your kids make a Five Little Thumbkin craft, and the plus side is that it's so easy to customize to your kids' age and ability level.

Halloween Craft: Spider Orb

Here's a fun, simple craft for your kids to enjoy, then you get to display for the holidays: a spider orb!

Dress Shirt to Doctor's Coat

When my daughter was 2, she loved Doc McStuffins, so I knew a doctor's costume would be perfect for Halloween for her. I didn't want to spend a fortune on a doctor's coat or lab coat, so I used one of my son's shirts to make her lab coat!

Cheesecloth Ghost without Starch

I love the cute cheesecloth ghosts that everyone makes, but most of the tutorials I read required using starch to give the ghosts their shape. I didn't have starch on hand, so I was thrilled when I found a different technique that uses corn starch (which is still probably technically starch, but not the stinky spray kind)!

I found the idea at Love and Laundry...and I'm so glad I did. My kids had a blast making these ghosts.

Couple/Maternity Costume: Peanuts

Last year, my husband and I featured my pregnant belly in our costumes for Halloween...we dressed as part of the Peanuts gang:

For my husband, I turned a yellow shirt he had inside out and basted on some black fabric to make the zig-zag of Charlie Brown's shirt. He wore black short, long socks, a ball-cap and a baseball glove to complete his ensemble. A simple Charlie Brown costume.

For myself, I found a white maternity shirt, and quickly sewed on some eyes, ears, and a black pom-pom that I made out of yarn for Snoopy's nose. Our costumes were done within an hour and hardly cost us anything! A simple maternity costume. After Halloween, I took all the pieces off our shirts and we got to keep wearing them :).

Now to figure out what we're wearing this year...

Here's where I found my Snoopy inspiration. Here's how to make a pom-pom. I'll be linking up to Tip Me Tuesday at Tip Junkie.

5 Little Pumpkins Craft

My daughter fell in love with the book "5 Little Pumpkins" and asked me to read it to her again...and again...and again! So, I knew that this 5 Little Pumpkins Crafts would be perfect for her.

All you need is: construction paper (black, orange, brown, yellow), or craft foam, Popsicle sticks, glue sticks, and a toddler to help :).

Toddler Fun: Cotton-Ball Ghost

My daughter has been running around saying something to the effect of aw-oooo, but it took me forever to figure out that she was making a ghost sound! Now that Halloween's almost here, we've started crafting in full-swing and she adored making this cotton-ball ghost recently!

Just cut out a ghost from paper or card-stock and put some glue on it (or if you're feeling brave, let them spread the glue). Let your toddler place the cotton ball's to their heart's content.

Once the cotton balls have dried in place, you can cut out some black eyes and have them glue those on too!

My daughter loves carrying her ghost around with her and is SO PROUD of it! I hope your little one loves it too.

Happy Halloween!
PS Thanks Thriving Home for the fun idea.

Pumpkin Carving Tip

If you're carving pumpkins in the near future, be sure to pull out your ice cream scoop! Ours worked perfectly to pull the string goop away from the pumpkin when I was cooking one last year and I'm sure it will work perfectly for carving jack-o-lanterns too!

Candy Corn Cupcakes

Last weekend my church had their annual trunk-or-treat and I was in a hurry to come up with a festive dessert to take. When I found Candy Corn Cupcakes, I knew I had to make them...because who doesn't love candy corn?!

They were so easy to make and they turned out so cute! All you have to do is:

Kids Craft: Spiders

It's time for all sorts of creepy-crawlies...including the cute, homemade ones! My boys loved making these spiders out of pipe-cleaners :)

Put 4 pipe-cleaners together and bend in half. Twist the bent side into a head and fan out the legs.

Add beads at the joints and position your spider in various ways :)

Thanks Preschool Crafts for Kids for the fun idea! I’ll be linking up to Making Your Home Sing Sunday, Mama Moments Monday,  Mom’s Library, Clever Chicks Blog Hop, The Mommy Club. 

Acorn Jack-o-Lanterns

Here's a fun little craft to do with your kids in preparation for Halloween...Acorn Jack-o-Lanterns!

My boys gathered acorns from our front yard, painted them orange, and we had fun painting several different faces on them.

Happy Halloween!
Thanks Red Ted Art for the fun idea. I’ll be linking up to Making Your Home Sing Sunday, Mama Moments Monday,  Mom’s Library, Clever Chicks Blog Hop, The Mommy Club,

Footprint Ghost Sign

This time with my baby girl is going by WAY TOO FAST! I'm trying to just enjoy every stage but they pass all too soon. I wanted a way to preserve this time with her (and, of course, my boys) so I made this footprint ghost sign that I can pull out every Halloween...

I just sanded a random piece of wood we had in our house. Then I painted it black. I covered each of my children's feet with white paint and put their footprints on the board. Then I took some more white paint and filled in where their arches were and touched up any other spots. After the white paint was dry, I painted on ghost faces and added "Boo!" and "2014" in orange. To preserve it, I will spray it with a paint sealer.

All-in-all a simple project that took me one afternoon to complete, but it's something I will enjoy for years to come!

I’ll be linking up to Works for Me Wednesday, Mom’s Library, Clever Chicks Blog Hop, Share It Saturday, The Mommy Club, Fine Craft Guild,  Whatever Goes Wednesday.

Spooky Rocks

Here's a quick, fun craft for kids of all ages:

Spooky rocks are simple, cheap and cute. Have your kids gather some rocks from the backyard. Wash & dry them. Then paint them orange, white, yellow, or whatever color they want. Let dry, then add funny/spooky/crazy faces. Set them out in the flower beds for a fun Halloween decoration!

I’ll be linking up to Works For Me Wednesday, Kids Get Crafty, Look What We Did, Mom’s Library, Let's Hear it For the Boy! Clever Chicks Blog Hop,Share it Saturday, Fine Craft Guild, Share Wednesdays, TGIF.

Handprint Monsters

Last year for Halloween my 6 year old made these adorable handprint monsters at school…

They are so simple to make and turn out super cute! Just paint your child’s hand except for a few fingers and have them make handprints on paper. Add googly eyes and draw on some feet.

Have fun with your own little monsters! :)

Silly Pumpkin Game

It’s finally October! Halloween decorations are out and my boys are anxiously awaiting Halloween. I love this time of year…fall, holidays, etc.

Last week we kept ourselves entertained one afternoon with a silly pumpkin game and here was the result:

Framed Spiderweb

Last year I went on a little decorating spree for our new house and had to make a framed spiderweb after seeing Dana’s post…
All you need to make one of these cut little webs is an empty frame, yarn, and little spider, and something to hang it up with. Go check out Dana’s tutorial!

Frugal Holloween Décor: Ghost Garland

After my 5 year old saw the bats on our front door, he declared that we had to have ghosts as well. Thankfully, I was reminded of last year’s ghost garland and was able to quickly cut out some friendly little ghosts while he was gone…
His face lit up as soon as he saw the ghosts hanging in our front windows and I knew that was 20 minutes well spent!
So…if you need some quick decorations for a party or just to get in the Halloween spirit, head over to Fine Craft Guild :)