Cheap Halloween Decor - Shrunken Heads

It's not too late to set an eerie mood for Halloween. Scatter shrunken heads around your house and yard for a spooky setting.

Dried Apple Shrunken Heads

Materials:

• Apples


• 1/2 cup lemon juice


• 2 teaspoons salt


• Optional: Whole cloves


• Optional: Grains of raw rice

Instructions:

Mix lemon juice and salt in a bowl.
Peel apples and coat each with mixture to prevent browning.
Use a small knife or potato peeler to carve out eye sockets, a nose, mouth and ears.

Optional: Use whole cloves for eyes and raw rice grains for teeth

Bake heads in the oven set at 150F for 20 - 24 hours

Create your gruesome display!

Easy Budget Mother's Day Craft

Celebrate Mother's Day with a handmade picture frame. They're quick and easy to make, plus you probably have everything you need already.

Materials

• Picture frame or cardboard or poster board


• Decorative wrapping or origami paper or fabric scraps


• Scissors


• Craft glue


• Photograph


• Optional - Paint


• Optional - Magnet

Instructions
If using cardboard or poster board, use the photograph as a size guide to cut out the frame and a back. If you already have a picture frame, skip this step.

Place the decorative paper or fabric right-side down on your work surface. Put the cardboard pieces or the frame on your material lightly trace around it. If you want to make a collage or don't have large enough pieces of material, you can cut up your material into fun shapes and use paint to cover the other areas of the frame.

Cut out the patterns you just traced. Turn your material right side up and glue them to the cardboard, spreading the glue evenly so there aren't any bumps. Let dry and apply paint if you choose.

Line up your cardboard and backing and position the photograph. Glue it to the backing. If you already had a picture frame, insert the photograph.

Optional - Glue a magnet to the back of the frame

This craft can be done by all ages, even adults. Your mother would appreciate the whimsy of a handmade picture frame from her grown children.

Candy Cane Outdoor Christmas Decorations

Another outdoor Christmas decoration can be put together quickly and fairly cheaply. Candy Canes made out of PVC pipes and red duck tape are durable and weatherproof.

Materials

• PVC pipes, white, about 2-3 foot lengths


• Red duck tape


• Scissors


• Optional - Christmas lights

Instructions
Wrap the pipes with the tape to create the swirls.
Cut the tape and add pieces to the ends of the pipes if you choose.

You can connect the candy canes with Christmas lights or just line your driveway or walkway with them.

Wrapped Candy Outdoor Christmas Decoration

Save some money on your electric bill this year by decorating your yard with festive items rather than stringing Christmas lights and keeping them on all night. One quick cheap project is making oversized wrapped candy to hang or place in your yard.

Materials

• Heavy duty white paper plates


• Clear packing tape


• Colored cellophane


• Scissors


• Twine or thin weatherproof ribbon

Instructions
Tape two plates together with the bottoms facing outward.
Set the taped plates in the center of a large rectangle of cellophane and fold over the 2 long sides of the cellophane like you're wrapping a present. Tape the cellophane together
Twist one end of the cellophane like a candy wrapper and tie it with the twine or ribbon, then repeat with the other end. You may want to tape the ends before putting the twine around them for extra security.
Add a length of twine or ribbon across the back or a loop at the top of the candy with tape if you want to hang it.

Use different colors of cellophane for a bright display. You can also color the plates like peppermints before wrapping them in the cellophane.

Wednesday Budget Tip - Cheap Christmas Garlands

The idea of making garlands out of popcorn has been around a long time, but that's not the only thing that can be used. Uncooked pasta such as macaroni or penne painted in red and green, or construction paper cut and decorated on both sides then glued to yarn or string, or even cinnanmon sticks tied at intervals can make a festive garland to display. Glue wrapped peppermints from a dollar store, or make a pattern with several types of wrapped candy attached to a length of string. If you have any unused green glow sticks from Halloween make a garland out of them. Little matchbox cars can be tied onto a heavier weight string for a whimsical garland. Take the time to look through things you already have to save some money and make your own unique Christmas garlands.

Cheap and Easy Christmas Gift Bags

Get rid of those last bits of wrapping paper left on rolls that aren't enough to really cover any present by using them to make gift bags. All you need, aside from the wrapping paper, is glue and a package of paper lunch bags from the grocery store.

Cut pieces of the wrapping paper and glue them along the sides and bottom of the bag, keeping the paper smooth. If you have enough of one roll cover the entire bag, or piece multiple rolls of leftover wrapping paper together for an interesting collage. Allow them to dry and you have unique gift bags that are cheaper than store bought.

Let the kids do this craft for you to give them something to do and have one less thing to have to handle yourself this Christmas.