HALLOWEEN CRAFT – HOW TO MAKE A CREEPY, SPOOKY, HAUNTED HOUSE

Welcome to another Wacky Workshops project – this time for a Halloween haunted house.

It’s going to be creepy, it’s going to be spooky, but most of all fun and a little bit kooky.

My favourite crafts to do with kids are the ones that really encourage them to use their imagination and come up with their own ideas.

With all the step by step ‘how-tos’ out there it’s easy to get caught up in the instructions and forget the importance of imagination in the creative process.

ENCOURAGE CREATIVITY FOR KIDS

I remember years ago (nearly 30!) when my oldest son was a toddler we went to a big department store where there was a Bunnykins promotion going on. You could purchase a Bunnykins plate or bowl and paint it then leave it there for a few hours and on return, your artwork would be forever immortalised on the plate.

Ashley (my son) and I were there with another mum and her child. I watched in amazement as the other mum kept drawing hand over hand with her child and then finally took over to ensure there was a beautiful piece of art.

Even though I knew the plate was going to be expensive, I let Ash go for it. The result? A big, brown smear on the plate, with beautiful brushwork.

OK, so it may not be the most beautiful plate that Bunnykins ever produced but at least it was Ashley’s work and not mine. What is the point otherwise?

KEEP THE KIDS INVOLVED IN THE DESIGN PROCESS

When my four-year-old Goddess and I made the snapping crocodile puppets (Trash to Treasure), even though I was designing them as we went along I kept asking her advice; “should we use this paper (crepe) or this green paper for the head?”, “do you think we should use pom poms under the eyes?”. This kept her involved in the whole process (she was, after all, the inspiration for that craft).

Proof that making those choices and being involved stimulated her imagination came shortly afterwards when she asked if we could make a golf course “like where Grandad goes”.

Naturally, we did this too and the Goddess was the one to plan the golf ball and club and therefore determine the size of our play golf course.

This week’s project is for Halloween and leaves the door wide open for imaginative creations by the kids. It’s a creepy, spooky haunted house.

CREEPY, SPOOKY, HALLOWEEN HAUNTED HOUSE

            SUPPLIES

• Box – I used one from our new kettle (coolest kettle, it lights up!) as it was sturdy and the top flaps were big enough to kind of make a roof.
• Box cutters
• Black paint – I used spray paint as it’s so much faster. TIP: always wear disposable gloves when spray painting
• White paper – great for ghosts
• Black cardboard – a must for bats and black cats
• Coloured paper – orange is good for jack-o-lanterns, red and green for monsters
• Foam balls and crepe paper make awesome and easy ghosts
• Googly eyes are a fun addition to bats/cats/monsters
• Wire – the most important ingredient as it gives your haunted Halloween house an even creepier effect
• Scissors, glue, masking tape.

METHOD

• Use the box cutters to cut windows and doors in your house. I didn’t bother with back door and windows as our Halloween haunted house will be sitting against a wall. I did, however, put windows on the side so that if I decided to put a battery tea light candle in there the light will have more places to shine through. Don’t worry if your windows are slightly crooked, or different sizes, this just adds to the creepy look.
• Paint the whole house black, ensuring you get the inside of doors as well as the outside.
• While your paint is drying, start making the decorations.

DECORATIONS FOR YOUR HAUNTED HOUSE

• Make ghosts by wrapping the crepe paper around the foam balls, tightening to form a ‘neck’ and attach a thin wire to the neck so you can make the ghost appear to hover over your Halloween haunted house. Use a black marker to draw eyes and mouth on ghosts.
• Draw small jack-o-lanterns on the orange paper and cut out
• Create ghost shapes, a block letter ‘boo’ and whatever else you can think of on the white paper and cut out.
•  

  

   

• Use a small glass to draw circles or draw rectangles/squares on coloured paper and cut out. Let your toddler use these shapes to make monster faces.
• Cut a body shape with the black cardboard and get your toddler to wrap it in masking tape to make a mummy

• Cut bats and cats out of your black cardboard
• Use cotton balls to create giant spider webs. Pipe cleaners make scary spiders.

PUT YOUR HAUNTED HOUSE TOGETHER

Once your house is dry you can decide where to attach all your creepy creatures. Notice in the picture how the ghosts and bats appear to be hovering over the house? This is because of the thin wire connecting the house and ghosts/bats.

Let your imagination (and especially that of the children participating) go wild. You could add a whole graveyard out the front with black cats walking among the graves and a witches’ gathering around a steaming cauldron. The ideas are endless!

Want more great Halloween crafts and recipes? Head on over to my Pinterest board for some great inspiration.

You can check out some more of my Halloween craft projects by clicking on the Halloween subheading to Wacky Workshops in the menu.

If you enjoyed this craft spread the joy and share on Facebook or Pinterest.

Happy crafting and have a gleeful week, Tamuria