Happy Vintage Halloween!

Rare vintage paper Halloween decorations. They didn't always make it through the season!

We see vintage Halloween decorations like these German papier-mache Jack-O-Lanterns quite a bit. But this black cat was new to us! We think it is a luminary from the 1940s with transparent paper in the eyes, nose, and mouth to give off a creepy glow. We just looked on eBay and saw one with a "Buy It Now" price of $150. Now that's scary!

Meet The Mummies!

Great trick-or-treaters with a kooky undead family that glows in the dark!

Make a mini mummy family for Halloween!

Materials

2 plastic bottles, 1-liter size

1 plastic bottle, short and fat, 16 oz. (like a powdered coffee creamer)

1 plastic food storage container, 14 oz. (like a Ziploc Smart Seal small bowl)

2 Styrofoam balls, 5" diameter

2 Styrofoam balls, 4" diameter

1 old white sheet or 2 yards of muslin

3 rolls gauze, 4" wide or 2 yards cheesecloth

1 scrap of cardboard, 6" x 6"

Martha Stewart Crafts Acrylic Craft Paint, Glow-In-Dark

1 craft foam sheet, purple

1 craft foam sheet, black

sand, beans, or pebbles (for weight)

Tools

2 large paper cups

5 paper plates

craft stick

foam paintbrush

white craft glue

scissors

Steps For Each Mummy

1. Remove the bottle cap. Add some sand, beans, or pebbles to the bottom of the bottle for weight. Poke the neck of the bottle into the Styrofoam ball. (Use the 5" Styrofoam balls for the large bottles and the 4" ball for the short bottle.) You may need to scrape out some Styrofoam with scissors to make neck of the bottle fit.

2. Tear the sheet into long strips about 1" to 2" wide. Make a watered-down glue mixture in the cup that is half glue and half water. Dip a strip in the glue-water, squeeze off excess, and wrap it onto the bottle and ball. Continue wrapping until the mummy is covered.

3. Cut the gauze into 2"-wide strips. Wrap the mummy completely in gauze.

4. Dilute the Glow-In-Dark paint with water in a cup, mixing half paint and half water. Dab the paint-water onto the mummy with a foam paintbrush. Stand the mummy on a paper plate to dry (as it will drip quite a bit).

5. Cut two 1" circles out of purple craft foam. Cut four straight strips about 1 1/2" long our of black craft foam. Crisscross two strips over each purple circle and glue in place. Glue onto the mummy's face about halfway down the head. Cut a semi-circle smile out of black craft foam and glue below the eyes.

Steps For Cat Mummy

1. Add some sand, beans, or pebbles to the plastic bowl for weight. Turn the bowl (lid on) upside down. Make a slit in the top edge of the bowl with scissors. Poke one end of a craft stick into the 4" ball. Poke the other end of the craft stick into the bowl.

2. Cut two triangle ears out of cardboard. Poke each ear into the top of the Styrofoam ball. Cut a tail shape out of cardboard. Cut a slit in the side of the bowl and slide the tail in.

3. Dip strips of sheet in glue-water, squeeze off the excess, and wrap onto the bowl, head, ears, and tail. Continue wrapping until the cat mummy is covered.

4. Cut gauze into 1" to 2"-wide strips. Wrap the cat mummy completely in gauze.

5. Dab the Glow-In-Dark paint-water onto the cat mummy with a foam paintbrush. Stand the cat mummy on a paper plate to dry.

6. Cut two 1" circles out of purple craft foam. Cut four straight strips about 1 1/2" long. Crisscross two strips over each purple circle and glue in place. Glue on the cat mummy's face about halfway down the head. Cut a small circle nose out of black craft foam and glue under the eyes.

Vintage Victorian Halloween Cloche

Love this Victorian inspired skeleton!

We love holiday vignettes under glass, but mostly think of them as Christmas decorations. We even made our own Winter Wonderland with a tiny deer in a snowy scene under a gardening cloche.  So we were thrilled to see this spooky spin on dome decorations at A Room With A Past. We especially love the crown and gilded wings on the skeleton and the silver and orange tinsel. They really give it that Victorian touch!

A Chic Little Halloween Decorating Idea

We saw this little pumpkin sittin' on a little chair at an antiques fair. What an easy Halloween decorating idea! We think it would be fun to paint a little chair like this black and spritz the pumpkin with Orange Burst Glitter Blast. (This antique chair is tagged $35, but we see little chairs like this at thrift stores all the time for about a buck.) Glitter + Pumpkin = Halloween Chic!

My Candy Corn Cups Runneth Over!

Candy Corn Cupcake Cups

These Halloween party favors are super-easy to make. Just punch a hole on either side of silver cupcake cups. Twist two black pipe cleaners together and feed the ends through the holes. Curl one end up and one end down to make a kooky handle. Fill with...what else? Candy corn!

To The Bat Mobile! Let's Go!

Haunt your house with a bevvy of bats!

Make a spooky mobile for Halloween! Cut the bat shapes out of black craft foam. Stick on self-adhesive rhinestone eyes. (We chose green and lime!) Spray a big stick with Krylon Glitter Blast Bronze Glaze, then string the bats up with fishing line!

Witchy Pinecone Owl

Who's scary? Who! Who!

Here's a fun Halloween craft for kids. Collect pinecones from the yard and dress them up as witches! Make the hat and eyes from craft foam or felt.

Set one by the front door to greet guests. Line up a row of them on your mantle. Or use them as placecard holders for your Halloween party!

Bring old bottles back from the dead!

Cast a spell with these bewitching candlesticks! Start by cleaning glass bottles inside and out. Give them a thrilling finish with Krylon Glitter Blast in Starry Night Sky, Citrus Dream, and Twilight Sky. Use sparkly stickers to label each bottle’s "hazardous contents." Top the bottles with candles and give your haunted house a ghoulish glow.

Instant Halloween!

Oh no, Halloween has snuck up on us! No worries. Jennifer took her gorgeous fall wreath and gave it an instant frightfully-fun makeover. She took a drugstore spider and wrapped his legs around the edge of the wreath. Enter if you dare!

Spider Attack! Instant Halloween Wreath!