DIY: Halloween Spider Puff Decoration

These"not too spooky" Halloween Puff Spiders are full of personality. Created with chocolate brown poly deco mesh and metallic tinsel garland, these spiders are weather resistant and durable  so they can be hung anywhere outdoors! Add them to some fake spider webbing for cute Halloween decorations that will not scare the little ones away! Keep reading to find out how we created them.

SUPPLY LIST

To purchase these products from www.mardigrasoutlet.com, click on the individual product link below or click here.

21" Poly Deco Mesh: Metallic Chocolate
Metallic Tinsel Roping: Chocolate
Craft Wire
1.5" Wire Ball (in a coordinating color)
Scissors

COST/TIME:
This spider puff decoration took approximately 20 minutes to make.. You will need  4 yards of mesh per spider leaving you about 6 yards on the mesh roll left over! The materials cost about $10.00 with enough material for 2 spiders.

Pre-cut approximately 30 pieces of craft wire (5"-6" pieces).

Using the 21" wide mesh, cut small lengths/curls of mesh, then cut in half length-wise as show. Or you can use 10" wide mesh with out cutting them in half.

You will need approximately 30 pieces of mesh curls for the spider.

Continue adding onto the wire ball until you have uniformly covered the whole surface.

Make the spider legs out of the metallic tinsel garland in chocolate. Cut four 2' long sections. Bend in the middle to form legs.

Attach the tinsel legs into the wire ties- two on each side.

Bend the tinsel in the middle and at the ends to form your spider legs.

Create silly or spooky eyes with card stock paper or plastic googly eyes. Glue or wire the eyes into the puff to create your spooky spider full of personality.

Silly Spider Success!

DIY: Halloween Ghosts made with Deco Mesh

As promised, here is the tutorial for these cute deco mesh Halloween ghosts. With inexpensive white deco mesh, black masquerade masks and white balloons create these breezy whimsical ghosts for easy Halloween decorations.

SUPPLIES

(will make apx.4-5 ghosts depending on the length of deco mesh cut)

1 roll of 21" roll of metallic white-iridescent deco mesh

1 roll of 2.5" wide orange deco mesh ribbon

black pipe cleaners (5 per ghost)

black masquerade mask

11" white latex balloon (1 per ghost)

adhesive of your choice (glue dots)

scissors

wire or string (for hanging the ghosts)

Lay the deco mesh on a flat surface. Cut a piece of white deco mesh approximately 5 feet long. The longer the piece of mesh, the larger the ghost. The three ghosts pictured above are made with three different lengths of mesh.

Layer another piece of mesh across going the opposite direction (form a cross shape). Cut this piece the same length as the first.  

Trim and finish off the ends of both pieces of deco mesh with a large irregular zig-zag pattern.

Fill one of the white latex balloons with air. The balloon should be the size of a large cantaloupe. Place the balloon in the center-cross point- of the mesh. Gather up the first piece of mesh around the neck of the balloon and hold. Gather up the second piece of mesh. Hold in place.

Tie a piece of the 2.5" orange deco mesh ribbon around the neck of the ghost to secure. Cut an addition loop of ribbon approximately 3 feet long. Create a big loop and tie into the ribbon on the neck to form a bow.

Make a ghost mouth:

The fun part is creating a mouth for your ghost with a black pipe cleaner.

Bend it in half and form it into what-ever silly mouth shape you like. We created three different versions on our ghosts featured above- pick one you like!

Attach the black mask and pipe cleaner mouth to the ghost head with your preferred type of adhesive. We used glue dots. Depending on the weight of your mask you may need additional adhesive.

Each of our ghosts has one of these cute spooky spiders! 

How to create spooky pipe cleaner spiders:

Twist four black pipe cleaners together in the center as shown.

Bend each of the 4  legs on each side into a V shape to make the spider legs.

Our bunch of whimsical ghosts 

Wire, mono-filament or string tied to the top of these whimsical ghosts allow you to hang them indoors or out. The deco mesh is weatherproof !

Our top 20 funny group costume ideas for Halloween!

It is more fun to dress up with a group for Halloween. Whether you are going to a costume party or headed out for the Halloween costume festivities at a local bar or restaurant, funny group costumes are sure to be a hit. The larger the group, the more impressive you will be. A great funny costume will get some laughs, but a big group of them will be hilarious!

So here is some inspiration for your own big entrance! Hope you find something humorous or interesting on our list of top 20 funny costumes for a group.

1. Peanuts costumes

Not the kind you eat, although that would be funny. We mean the comic strip with Charlie Brown, Linus, Lucy, Snoopy and Woodstock. Charles Schulz beloved characters can come to life for Halloween night.  Don’t forget to bring a football for Charlie Brown or Lucy. Looking for a few other costumes to coordinate with the peanut gang? Add in a few sheet covered ghosts to complete the bunch. A mud, smudged Pig-Pen ghost would be funny. Get creative and have someone dress in a cardboard dog house for Snoopy. Or what about a great pumpkin with our bobble-headed pumpkin costume. Just add a sign for the “Great Pumpkin.” Finally a Halloween where the Great Pumpkin arrives! OH, brother!

2. Fraggle Rock costumes

“Dance your cares away, worries for another day…”  Ring any bells?  I am dating myself. I loved this show in its heyday. Bring back the group from Fraggle rock: Gobo, Red, Mokey and Wembley. Jim Henson created this legendary group. I think it is time for reunion. Be sure to bring along the theme song. I can see the “light bulb” looks you are going to get.

Too young to remember this classic? Check out this video on youtube: Fraggle Rock

3. Gossip Magazines  costumes

We all love to read them, but hate to admit to it! In our media obsessed world, masquerading as a gossip magazine is so appropriate. Get a few friends together to go as a mass of magazines. You will get to be the “new party girl” on The Enquirer and or show off your "bikini body" on Star magazine. Who can resist America’s new “heart throb” on the cover of the National Enquirer. We even have adult magazine cover costumes.  Be sure to include your own paparazzi (black clothes and BIG cameras are a must!)

4. Beer Theme costumes
The variations of this beer theme are endless. Here are a few options: Beer Keg, Beer Mug, Beer Bottle, Beer Can. Get a group together to form a six or twelve pack. Want some variety? Add in a Beer Pong game or how about a Breathalyzer costume. Or maybe even a Frank the Tank costume…from the looks of him I would bet he drinks a lot of beer.

5. Shark Attack
A half eaten man in a shark costume is sure to garner some attention. Add in a few bathing suit clad ladies and maybe a life guard or two and you have a show stopper.

6. Game Night costumes

Everyone loves games. Why not wear a few to the party? Tic-tac-toe and  the Dart Board costumes are sure to be a party hit (no pun intended.) These two games come in a unisex style and a sexy ladies dress style. Need more ideas for the group? How about  playing card costumes and maybe some dice for a complete game night line up.

7. Aqua Teen Hunger Force costumes
The cult following behind ATHF will need not explanations of these characters. But for the rest, the characters: Carl, Frylock, Master Shake and Meatwad are part of a long running adult animated TV show. Funny, bizarre and surreal these characters will fit right in on Halloween.

8. Money costumes
Dollars, Bucks, Dead presidents, Cash and Dough, what ever you want to call it…Cold hard cash is one of the most recognizable items in our culture! Get together with a big group and go as 20 bucks! Looking for some funny accents for your dollar costumes: Don’t’ forget to bring your fifty cents (costume) or even Uncle Sam (he always wants his cut.)

9. Saints Fans- Flying Pigs
This one is for you Saints fans. It was years in the making. Years of brown bag on your head support for the Saints team, but it finally happened. The Saints won the Super Bowl. Many said, it will never happen or maybe when “hell freezes over” or when “pigs fly.” Well the time has come! Pigs are flying. Picture it….a flock of flying pigs descends on the party with Saints paraphernalia blazing: Saints pom-poms, beads and pennants. Be a flying pig and be proud! Way to go Saints!

10. World Famous Framed Art 

Want to be the face recognized by millions each generations? Halloween night is your chance! Dress up as a famous painting. Be Mona Lisa for a night. Or Vincent van Gogh in his famous self portrait. Or the most familiar images in American art, American gothic by Grant Wood. Can’t you just picture yourself in these artful costumes?

11. Food/ Cereal costumes
Everyone recognizes these food icons. We grew up watching them on commercials and eating the products they market. Here are some funny food mascot costumes:
Hamburger Helper, the jolly Green Giant, a Wheaties cereal box, the Trix rabbit. Kellogg Keebler Elf: Ernie, Kellogg’s Tony the Tiger, and Luck Charms: Cereal box, Lucky Charms: Lucky the Leprechaun. You could just do a whole group of cereal costumes. If you do, don’t forget the milk costume. You can’t have cereal with out milk.

12. Chick Magnet/ Peeps  costumes
This one is great for a group of girls with a special guy friend. One Chick Magnet  costume and a group of chicks or peeps. This would work for a couple too!

13. Candy costumes
For those of you with a sweet tooth, here is a great costume idea for you. A bunch of candy costumes: Pez dispenser, Peeps, Candy Corn witch and the Tootsie roll owl. Be sure to bring a bunch of tootsie roll pops…you know everyone will want to know how many licks it takes to get to the center of a tootsie roll pop.

14. Bar/Drinks costumes
What goes best with an outrageous costume? A good drink! Sometimes you need it to get the courage to go out dressed at a giant ____ (insert your costume here.) Bring the cocktails with you, with these funny bottle costumes:  Champagne, tequila  (don’t forget the lime and salt shaker costume) and vodka. Other costumes that coordinate with these bottle costumes are the cosmo girl in blue or pink and a cute White Russian.

15.Travelocity Gnome 
He seems to be everywhere, this little Travelocity gnome. Gather a group together for a gnome party!

16. Show guys costumes
For those adventurous out there, I think a group of show guys in these Oh La La costumes would be hysterical. Now, let us see those legs!

17. Vintage Prom costumes
What was once a fashion statement is not a joke! Bring out the pastel and brightly colored tuxedos for a fun night reliving vintage style. I am sure you can still fit in that prom dress, right?

 

18. Mexican
Everyone loves a fiesta. Bring Cinco de Mayo to the party. A funny Taco custome starts the party; add in tequila, lime and salt then a fiesty cha-cha dancer and a sexy tequila shooter.

19. 50’s / Grease costumes
The movie Grease costumes of T-birds and Pink ladies are so much fun. Who would not want to be Sandy and Danny?  Relive this musical classic with vintage styles that is so in right now. Poodle skirt costumes are cute, too.

20. the Fatty costumes
From super heros past there prime to rock and rollers revealing too much gut, these hysterical fatty costumes would be fun for a group. Would you be rather be Elvis, a real American Hero or your Spider-Hero once youth has past you by?