Tag Archives: budget Halloween

Vintage/Nostalgic Jack O’ Lantern Halloween Decoration

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So, I made a quick & cheap Jack O’ Lantern Halloween decoration. OK, I made 8 of them. The pumpkins are $1.97 at Walmart, although the teal one was from CVS and $4.49 because not wanting to kill kids with peanuts or chocolate is definitely something that should be cost prohibitive.

I saw these all over social media, and I had to try it out.

Two tall stacks of colorful plastic jack-o'-lantern trick-or-treat buckets standing on a dark surface in front of a white door. The left stack features orange, black, orange, and white buckets from top to bottom. The right stack features teal, orange, black, and orange buckets.

I grabbed some acrylic makers from the craft section, but had to get the green one online. I got orange, black, white, & yellow in a few different tip sizes. I kept it simple, and sort of like those paper Halloween decorations that were shiny on one site and matte on the other that were everywhere from the 50s to the 90s.

I’m probably gonna hit them with a clearcoat spray so they can survive a bit outside.

You should try ’em out and make your own!

A close-up of an orange plastic jack-o'-lantern bucket featuring green cat-like eyes, a nose painted to look like a piece of candy corn, and a broad smile showing white teeth.
A close-up of a teal blue plastic jack-o'-lantern bucket featuring stylized orange-and-black eyes with short painted eyebrows and eyelashes, an orange nose, and a wide orange-lined grin. (For the Teal Pumpkin Project & Food Allergy Awareness!)
A close-up of a black plastic jack-o'-lantern bucket featuring painted orange triangular eyes with small black pupils, an orange nose, and an orange-accented smiling mouth
A close-up shot of an orange plastic jack-o'-lantern bucket with painted black triangular eyes, a small triangular nose, and a wide grinning mouth, with the top of a teal bucket visible just above it.
A close-up of an orange plastic jack-o'-lantern bucket featuring triangular eyes with round, surprised-looking orange-and-green pupils, a small nose, and a classic carved grin.
A close-up of a black plastic jack-o'-lantern bucket featuring bright green cat-like eyes with vertical pupils inside yellow triangles, a yellow nose, and a wide yellow-lined grin
A close-up of a white plastic jack-o'-lantern bucket with black triangular eyes containing white highlights, a black nose, and a wide black-and-white toothy smile. (An amalgamation of a classic 🎃 & the Misfits' FIEND or Crimson Ghost logo.)
A close-up of an orange plastic jack-o'-lantern bucket featuring green eyes inside yellow triangles and a wide, mischievous grin filled with many white teeth.

Which one’s your favorite? Hit me with some of your creations in the comments!

As always, you ought to listen to some Halloween jams, and maybe try out some of my free Halloween mazes if you’re gonna do this as a Halloween party activity! I got you with Halloween pasta & hot dog ghosts too.

🎃

Skeleton Dungeon DIY Halloween Decoration 💀

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I really enjoy setting up Halloween decorations. I have been thinking I should do one of these “skeletons escaping a dungeon” pallet things for years. Finally did it.

Halloween decoration featuring skeletons appearing to escape from a wooden dungeon, complete with chains and hands reaching out.
A Halloween decoration featuring a wooden pallet with skulls and skeleton hands appearing to escape, secured by chains.
A spooky Halloween decoration featuring skeletons appearing to escape from a wooden crate illuminated by purple lights.
A spooky Halloween decoration featuring skeletons trapped under a wooden pallet with purple lights and chains.

💀💀

It really didn’t take long, and I neglected to look at any instructions online. Some other ones have a definite “burning pit of hell” vibe. I just went pretty spooky/chill. I have seen some people using Saran Wrap and heat guns or hair dryers to make sinewy gross zombie-ish skeletons, or people painting or staining the bones. I may get to that later, but these looked pretty neat as is for now.

The wood came from a recently town-down old swing set. I didn’t like the two pallets I had on hand for this. I had an old rattle can of black paint that I used to just barely darken it up & kind of make it look more aged.

I got the one skull & forearms/hands from Giant Eagle. I got the other skull, hands, chains, lights, & netting for the back at Dollar Tree. All-in, I think I have around $20 to $25 in this? I swapped the hands for the skulls because the sizes made more sense to me.

After letting the pallet dry, I stapled the lights into the bottom, then I stapled a weird grey ratty cloth under that. Then, I just picked a spot, positioned the skulls, arms/hands, & chains, then plugged it in. OH yeah, I put a weird motion-sensor screamy thing in the one corner too, because it was super-annoying everywhere else.

Do you like to put a DIY spin on Halloween or other holiday decorations? Show me what ya got!

💀☠️💀