When it comes to Halloween decorating, all eyes are on the porch. Be the spookiest house on the block with these fun, easy, do-it-yourself decorating ideas!
1. Ghosts Galore
Ghosts never go out of style, and are easy and inexpensive to make. You can use an old white sheet for the body of your ghosts, or buy a piece of white fabric from a craft store. Decide how long you want the tail of your ghost to be, and then cut out a square with the width doubling that length.
Gently crush old newspapers into about the size of an orange and place directly in the middle of your square. This will be the head of the ghost. Drape the tail-ends of the fabric over the head and wrap fishing line (available at most craft and hardware stores) a few times around the base of the head and tie, to keep the newspaper stuffing in place.
You can also use the fishing line to hang the ghosts- its clear color will make them look like they are floating. Finally, use permanent markers to draw scary faces on them.
Hang your ghosts around your porch and from trees in your yard and let them work their frightening charm!
2. Au Naturel
Spice up the spooky by making your porch look old and rustic. Encircle columns with broom corn stalks, or arrange them propped up against a wall. To ensure they don’t get knocked over, hold them in place with the same fishing line used with the ghosts.
Bring in a few props like an old broomstick and traditional Halloween cob-webs. Along with your lit-up pumpkins, you may want to add an assortment of guords, squashes, kale and hay.
3. Scary Luminaries
Make sure to lead all of your trick-or-treating monsters in with a safely lit pathway. You can easily make traditional luminaries using brown paper lunch sacks, cutting out Halloween shapes, and placing a tea candle inside.
For something a little different, try making ghost lanterns out of recycled gallon milk jugs. First, wash out the cartons making sure they are clean and free from any milk residue. Take off all labels. Then, draw faces with a permanent marker, making sure to color-in the eyes and mouth. Use different designs, similar to what you would cut out on a pumpkin.
After you have created a face, cut out a medium-sized opening in the back of the lantern with a craft knife. You can use this opening to insert and remove tea candles, which can be used to light up the face. Once you have finished your lanterns, place them outside and light the candles to illuminate a walkway for trick-or-treaters.
As always, don’t forget to take lots of pictures! Check out our new Halloween collages, scrapbooks, slideshows and more for inspiration!
Barbie is a drill team director from Pearland, Texas. On her blog, 
