In the middle of autumn landscapes colours and temperatures change and you can start feeling the atmosphere of festivities. Did you notice the arrival of pumpkins in every supermarket? It is almost time to celebrate Halloween, All Saints’ Eve , which finds its origin in celtic tradition and it is now popular all over the world, including in Italian houses .
Would you like to decorate the house and organize a scary dinner with your friends? If you don’t really like the decorations supplied by the large-scale distribution that often come with bright colours, a bit kitsch and showy, then do it yourself! Here are some ideas for your Halloween DIY decorations : so terrifying to create a ghostly atmosphere.
Halloween DIY decoration #1: Green lover? Convert the pumpkin into a vase for autumn compositions
An easy project to be realized that will get you in touch with nature and will fill you with genuine feelings released by the contact with earth. First of all you need to buy one or more pumpkins and you can choose sizes and colours that you love more.
If you are tired of the orange colour of the usual pumpkin, you can look for the white
“Lumina” di Cucurbita maxima
variety, or the unusual ones, like yellow and green. If you don’t succeed in finding the one you are looking for, find out how to unleash your creativity in painting and change the colour of your future vase in the next Halloween idea coming below.
Once you have the pumpkin, it is time to choose the plant: a good idea could be the succulents , because of the season and their sculptural beauty. An example is aloe, one of the best plants to be placed in your bedroom . Thanks to its beneficial functions it reduces stress and improves quality of sleeping and of the air we breath. Provide yourself a carving kit from DIY stores, a spoon to get rid of seeds and a container for the plant to be placed inside the pumpkin.
Removing the stalk and digging, you will create an adequate space for the plant container: after having taken out every seed, you can insert some potting soil for the plant. Loosen the roots and plant the succulent, a quick brush stroke to clean leaves and here you are: you will have created precious vases to be placed along the driveway home or, if small, on the table as a decoration for the Halloween dinner.
Halloween DIY decoration #2: Painting lover? Use the action painting technique to decorate the table
Pumpkins turn into small artworks. Action painting focuses on creativity as a way to reflect yourself in it. In order to realise this Halloween DIY decoration you will only need: white spray paint and black acrylic (or you can choose your favourite colours), a dish brush, a paintbrush and tape.
-
Ph. Anita Austvika -
Ph. Anita Austvika -
Ph. Anita Austvika
Action Painting
refers to the pictorial language born after World War II in the USA and to the so-called New York School (
J. Pollock
,
W. de Kooning
,
F. Kline
). Painting, or abstract expressionism, is featured by the use of colours and the spontaneous and almost violent technique.
Before starting decorate you should think about the colours of your dining room and table. It is important to combine colours to find harmony between furnitures and decorations to get a gloomy but also tasteful atmosphere.
For those who have minimal tastes , you can simply paint the small pumpkins in white or black, if they get in contrast with the table cloth. You only have to coat the pumpkin stem with some tape to keep it natural, and paint them (you should do it outside with spray paint). Instead if you want to apply Action painting: soak the paintbrush or the dish brush in black paint and splash it firmly towards the pumpkin, once the white background is dried. Let it dry then take off the tape: your decorations are ready to be shown to friends and relatives.
Halloween DIY decoration #3: Dark and gloomy atmosphere. Spider webs and skulls
A classic never out of fashion. Among Halloween symbols we always find cobwebs , skulls , spiders , skeletons and so on… But let’s find a way to make them different and original . Spider webs, for example, are very easy to be made with cotton, but how to place them in interiors? The most realistic idea is to let them lay on furniture as if they were real, on stairs handrail, around closet doors or on chandeliers and lamps.
An advice to make them resist the party? Spray a bit
hair spray
on the cotton you used to make your Halloween DIY decorations and they will seem more realistic than ever, as if the woods humidity comes into your house.
There are million types of skeletons, from drawing decorations to ornaments, to the ones for those who love distant cultures: Mexican skulls. In Mexico the colourful Calaveras are made with sugar and are decorated with calendula flowers or marigold : the skulls are used as a tribute to death spirits during the Dia de los muertos. This is an Halloween idea that finds its inspiration in distant cultures. In this way, you can decor the interiors with an ethnic taste and bring colours to dark and gloomy decorations.
Halloween DIY decoration #4: Lights and candles. DIY lantern for a dark, gloomy and suggestive party
Imagine to invite guests in your horror house: the atmosphere changes if, after turning off the lights, you switch on your hand-made candles because they carry a special charm. You can use recycled cans and color them with nail varnish and dye of any colour and drill some small holes using a screwdriver and hammer. Once you have decorated the cans, you can insert a small candle into them and here you are: the lantern is ready.
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Ph. Jorge Rosales -
Ph. David Menidrey
You can do the same with pumpkins: it will be a bit more complicated but very impressive. To create an intense atmosphere you can interchange candles, lanterns and lights and place them uniformly to get an extraordinary play of lights.
Halloween DIY decoration #5: Match the autumn atmosphere. Halloween and everyday scented wreaths
Wreaths are DIY decorations you can use for Halloween day and during the autumn in general cause of their scent and delicacy. All you need is: acorns, yellow leaves, red berries, flowers or dried fruit, some tree branches, a wire to shape the wreath and glue to stick the elements together.
The orange tone, typical of this festivity, and red and brown nuances make the wreath a perfect DIY idea to be joined together with other decorations such as skulls and cobwebs, if placed carefully in interiors. Wreaths can be used as table centerpiece as well, near the small pumpkins.
