Halloween Decor On A Budget

Hey, happy fall y'all! I am sure that after my last post about 30 pinterest projects in 30 days, you all have been wondering where I have been & more importantly why have I not done another post?! Well, I have been busy working on a few to share & I promise that you won't be disappointed! With Halloween soon approaching I have dedicated my next post to some fall decor DIY decor projects and I have been running around here like a mad woman all weekend trying to get it all done!

I love to decorate my home and change things up with the seasons, but buying new decor accessories and decorations each season can become hard on the pockets. My goal this year was to set out to decorate the whole house for Halloween for less than $40. Now, keep in mind that we are technically still 'newlyweds' and have only been in our home for a little over a year & 1/2. So that means that we really have NO holiday decor (or very little). Last year I only bought some leaf garland and 2 fake pumpkins. I was nearly 8 months pregnant and surely did not feel like getting my pumpkin of a belly up on a ladder and decorating the whole house! So that's all I had to work with, we are starting from scratch here!


Check it out: I am featured over at Liz Marie Blog
Click on the link for even more Halloween & Fall decor ideas over at Liz Marie Blog



The first thing I did was search around my house to see what I could use. I dug through storage bins, closets, anywhere something good might be hiding! Here is what I came up with:

- a roll of brown craft paper
- 3 yards of linen fabric
- 2 wooden frames
- scrap wood from other projects
- old family daguerreotype photographs
- some old papers
- newspaper
- scrap booking paper
- felt fabric
- scraps of burlap

(there were a few more items that I found that aren't on the list,
but those I will explain later with another post)

Next thing I did was start searching Pinterest and old magazines that I had for inspiration...
Before I start decorating or getting myself into any craft project, I draw out my plan first. This helps me stay on track whenever I have to run into Michael's or any other store to complete my projects. I write down the supplies that I need & have a guideline to where I am going to place everything in my home once all of my craft projects are completed. I gather everything I need & then get started! Here is the start to our Halloween home decor, I hope you enjoy!


The first thing I ended up making were the "trick" & "treat" banners.
I used about a yard & 1/2 of fabric for each.


To paint the letters, I chose the font that I liked and then printed them out on card stock, cut them out, placed accordingly and traced onto the fabric with a black pen



Next step is to paint in the letters. For this I used Martha Stewart craft 
chalkboard paint because I like the flat matte look of it.




To hang the banners I used two dowel rods and twine, then hot glued the fabric to the dowels. 
NO SEWing!!!



This project total took be about 2 hours to do, but with a baby in the house, 
it honestly look me about 2 days to complete ;)


As seen on:

For the glass doors in the hutch, I wasn't loving the fact that you could see everything inside. I felt that It took away from the overall look of the decor, so I decided to use newspaper and tape it to the back of the doors for an easy fix.


Other projects that I created included:
These simple Halloween banners that I made out of brown craft paper. I cut out the shape that I wanted, printed the letters off of my computer onto card stock then used double sided tape for adhesive.


I found this skull at Michael's for only $5.99! I placed it on a cake stand for a more "specimen" look


This frame was only $1.99 at Michael's. I covered it with scrap booking paper, lined the inside of the frame with linen fabric, printed the letters off of my computer & made two rosettes out of the left over linen.


This pumpkin was left over from last year. All I did was spray paint it white & hand painted the "C" 


This chalkboard sign was simple and easy to make. I had the extra piece of wood laying around my house, painted it with chalkboard paint & now I have a sign that I can change as the seasons come and go!


This tree has to be one of my favorites! It was actually one of the centerpieces from our wedding. I spray painted it white, wrapped some linen around the bottom wooden box to fit the decor and added the crows (from Michael's: $2.99 & $3.99)


So in TOTAL I only spent $13 on this whole room!
Hoping that this post has inspired you & don't forget, great decor doesn't have to cost you a ton of money!


Check back soon for more Halloween decor to come. For now here is a little sneak peek...




DIY Map Art


I originally found this project on Pinterest awhile back, and instantly fell in love with the idea. You see, I grew up in California, but our family is originally from Rush Springs, Oklahoma. My Oklahoma memories are near and dear to my heart, the family reunions, watermelon festivals & summers on the family farm. Oklahoma holds my heart and forever will. My Husband's family on the other hand lives in Greenwood, South Carolina. We currently reside in California due to my Husband's career in the Marine Corps, but our hearts are spread out all over the country from one coast to the other, which is why I found this project to be so fitting for our family. 


the state maps were found HERE
the frame is from Michael's (8x10)
& the backing is just regular brown craft paper

Here is hoping that this project inspires you to do one for your own home & will remind you, that no matter when you might reside...
home is wherever your heart is

(just a few more ideas that you could do for this project...)
If you have a loved one who has served overseas in the Military, or you have moved from state to state over the years, add those to your collage with the location and dates of deployment/ dates that you resided there. It will be a great memory to have displayed in your home

& feel free to follow me on PINTEREST! http://pinterest.com/jenniferciani
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