Today, we delve into the bewitching world of DIY Halloween decorations made from paper. Not only will you discover cost-effective alternatives to store-bought decor, but you'll also experience the joy of crafting unique pieces that reflect your style and imagination.
With these paper-based Halloween decoration ideas awaiting your creative touch, let's dive into the enchanting realm of crafting spooky magic.
Once our fall decorations adorn our home, an irresistible urge takes hold – the urge to embark on DIY Halloween decorations. Among the various creative mediums, paper stands out as a clear favorite.
With an established Etsy shop that we've previously adorned with Halloween-themed creations, I had a brilliant idea: why not consolidate all these paper-based treasures into a single, comprehensive blog post?
Now that you know the back story of how we got to this blog post idea, let's start with our Halloween mantel from last year.
This post contains affiliate links, meaning I receive a commission if you purchase using the links below at no extra cost to you. All opinions are all my own.
Are Paper DIY Halloween Decorations Difficult to Make?
Paper DIY Halloween decorations are an easy way to decorate for Halloween. You don't have to be highly artistic; we have printable templates that allow you to print, cut, and tape your decorations together. You'll find these easy Halloween paper crafts a snap to make and will get you in the Halloween mood. I also think they are a fun alternative to the scary Halloween decorations we often see.
Are Paper DIY Halloween Decorations Expensive to Make?
These easy halloween crafts are also inexpensive. Most of the printables on my Etsy site are under $5 and only require twine, tape, or hot glue. And your paper halloween crafts can be stored and reused year after year, making them a great way to save money. And with the printables from my Etsy shop, you can reuse the templates as often as necessary.
Paper DIY Halloween Decorations
Before we dive into the first paper step-by-step paper DIY Halloween decorations, I want to share a list of Halloween paper crafts we will be talking about today.
- Halloween Wall Art
- Silhouette Flying Bats
- Happy Halloween Pennant Garland
- Silhouette Bat and Pom Pom Garland
- Silhouette Bat Dishes
- Paper Leaf Garland
- Vintage Art Handpainted Ghosts
- Book Page Ghost Garland
Printable Halloween Wall Art
Halloween printables are an easy and inexpensive way to change your art. On our mantel last Halloween, we started with a design created by Hannah, our daughter. This Halloween retro design was the inspiration and color scheme for the whole mantel.
After having it printed at the photo department at Walgreens, we framed it and began styling the mantel to go with it in orange, black, grey, and white colors.
See how the colors in the art ended up being the color scheme for this Halloween. Let's build on this piece of art and talk about another paper DIY for Halloween.
Halloween Silhouette Flying Bats
In addition to the Halloween printable art, we created another paper decoration – Halloween silhouette flying bats.
Like the Halloween retro art, these bats are for sale in our Etsy shop. These paper bats are so versatile and a fun way to decorate. You can use the template to cut your own from black card stock paper or have them printed at a copy shop. There are three different sizes that you can vary on the wall.
I love how these bats look like they all come from the antique mora clock. Talk about spooky fun! And they are drawn to the moon's face. We also have a moon face printable in our Etsy shop.
Halloween Bat and Pom Pom Garland
Did you see the cute bat and pom pom garland hanging across the front of the fireplace mantel? Well, we decided to recreate him with the printable bat silhouettes, but this time, I decorated our hutch in the kitchen. This was a really fun idea.
This is another easy paper DIY Halloween decoration. I love this idea for a Halloween party. Simply follow the step-by-step instructions on this blog post on how to make a pom pom and make pompoms of your favorite color. It's an easy craft and a fun project to do with the whole family. Then print and cut out the silhouette bats and use a twine and a yarn needle to thread the twine through the pom poms and bats wings.
Here are a few tips. I found making a hole through the top of the wings helped the bats to hang better. And I found the black and white twine at Dollar Tree, but you can use anything as long as it is thin.
Now, adorn your mantel, hutch, wall, or any space where you desire a Halloween-themed garland.
Paper Happy Halloween Pennant Garland
Nestled on each side of the bat and pom pom garland is Happy Halloween written on pennants. This easy-to-create pennant garland is another printable for sale in our Etsy shop. I love this printable because it is customizable and comes in black and white, which saves on ink and matches everything.
Simply determine what you want your pennant garland to say and cut out those letters. Then fold the extra paper on top and sandwich twine into the fold. Next, use clear tape to secure the folded paper. Keep adding your letters until you are done.
Isn't that easy and wonderful?!
Silhouette Bats on Plates
After creating this next DIY paper Halloween decoration, my first thought was our hutch had a bat infestation. LOL!
These bats are different from the ones over the mantel because they are flying in different directions along with this guy whom I have named Dracula who is hanging upside down on the side of the hutch. You can use all your most creative ideas to decide how to decorate with these fun bats.
Dracula is seriously inspiring me to go all-out Dracula-themed for Halloween. What do you think? Should I do it?
Simply print and cut out the silhouette bats and use double-sided tape to add them to your hutch china cabinet. Place some on plates and some on the back, and if you have a spot hang one or two upsides down as I did on my hutch.
DIY Halloween Leaf Garland
One of my all-time favorite fall paper decorations is a leaf garland. I like it so much I have made two, but this year, I decided it was time for a Halloween one.
This is a simple DIY project, and all the directions are in my how to make a paper leaf garland post. The printable you will use for this project is free on my website. All you have to do is subscribe to my newsletter to access the leaf templates. You'll have access to this and more free printables. You can use the free template to make paper garlands as often as you'd like.
The most challenging part of this Halloween paper garland was determining the color scheme. So, I looked at everything already on the wall for inspiration.
I used paper napkins from the dollar tree and found the berries there, too. I also used black construction paper and brown paper bags. Tissue paper or plain black paper would also work great for this Halloween project. The Hearth and Hand blanket hanging on the wall inspired the colors and the berries I found at Dollar Tree. Pretty much everything came from Dollar Tree on this Halloween simple paper craft. This was the first time I added berries to a paper garland and it turned out to be such a good idea and the perfect addition to tie in all the colors.
Staying on this wall, let's take a closer look at the art in the ornate frame.
Vintage Art Handpainted Ghosts
Have you seen the thrifted ghost painting on Tiktok? Well, this ghost painting was born from that idea. Instead of spending hours searching for the right thrifted piece of art, we decided to print a few museum prints from our Etsy shop and paint ghosts on them. These may be my new favorite homemade Halloween decorations.
If painting isn't your thing but you adore this style, you have the option to purchase a set of three ghostly pieces that have been pre-painted by us. But if you want to paint your own, you can purchase a download and get to playing. This is the perfect craft for kids of all ages.
I love the autumn colors in this museum print; they are beautiful with my paper leaf garland. This blog post on how to paint a ghost on vintage prints will walk you through how to make your original ghostly art.
Book Page Ghost Garland
Since we are on the topic of ghosts, here is another fan-favorite garland – book page ghost garland. These sweet guys are adorning book page sheets.
This set of book page ghosts is available in our Etsy shop. I love that you don't have to destroy a book to make this garland because each one comes exactly as you see here.
Simply print the ghosts and thread twine through the tops of their heads. And the best part is hanging them over a bookcase or, even better, in a cozy book nook or reading corner.
With cooler days coming, here are ideas for cozy reading nooks.
Those are all my ideas for this year but keep a check back on this post because you know I will add more years to come.
Final Thoughts on Paper DIY Halloween Decorations
I hope you enjoyed these paper DIY Halloween decorations and that they put you in the Halloween spirit. I had so much fun creating and decorating with these paper decorations. Here is a link to my Etsy Halloween printable page. You will find more ideas in this category and videos showing how I made or decorated them.
Another of my favorites is the pastel ghost printables paired with the printable pennant garland. I share an idea using this printable in my Decorate for Halloween with Me video.
Oh, and I also love the letter and number scallop garland. I used the template to make a plaid skirt for my mantel when I was fall decorating. There are so many fun ideas. I will let you go now and check them out.
Looking for more DIY Halloween decor ideas? Check out these fun posts:
- DIY Sheet Ghost Halloween Decoration in 4 Simple Steps
- DIY Dollar Store Halloween Decoration (Painted Jack o Lanterns)
- How to Make a Witch Broom for Vintage Halloween Decorations
- DIY Harry Potter Flying Letters Halloween Room Decor
Are there any easy Halloween DIY projects you like to make? I'd love to hear your best ideas in the comments!
Again, thank you for stopping by, and I hope you found a few ideas to make for your Halloween decorations. Have a great time decorating for Halloween!
Happy Decorating!
