Use 2 Common Household Items To DIY A Cute Halloween Garland In Minutes

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The best Halloween-inspired decor trends don't always come from the store. Instead, they're lurking like a ghost in our craft room, just waiting for us to expand upon them. Odds are, you already have everything you need to make the paper ghost garland we're discussing today. Once it's ready, the ghostly garland will accordion out, making itself wide enough to cover our windows, our fireplace mantels, and our holiday tables.

If you made paper snowflakes at Christmastime as a kid, you already appreciate the power of cutting up folded paper to make decorations. There are plenty of cheap and easy Halloween decorations out there already, but few are as simple as this ghost garland. If you have white paper, a pair of scissors, an X-Acto Utility Knife, and a pencil, you're only a few strategic folds and snips away from forming a string of ghosts holding hands.

You can use any paper you'd like, including printer paper. However, if you'd like to make a long garland of spooky little ghosts, you'll need some clear plastic tape, like Scotch Invisible Gift-Wrap Tape, which will allow you to tape two or three ghost garlands together without messing up the pattern. Alternatively, you can opt for an 11-inch by 14-inch sheet of paper — or larger if you can find it — to make a longer garland. But if you're in the mood to reuse materials, you can also make a stunning fall garland with Dollar Tree paper bags.

To begin, you need to fold your paper in half vertically, then cut down the center of the fold. If you're working with a standard 8 ½-inch by 11-inch sheet, the two halves will measure 4 ¼ inches by 11 inches each. Fold one of the papers in half so that the two shorter ends meet. Then, fold that in half and in half again until you've folded it three times.

Next, fold the creases of the paper in the opposite direction. If you've done this correctly, the paper should unfold like an accordion. Once this is done, draw a half outline of a ghost on the paper. The ghost's arms should be stretched out so they meet the edge of the paper, not the fold. On the fold, draw a small semicircle where you want the mouth. Then, draw one eye and cut it out using the tip of the utility knife. Cut out the ghost's mouth and outlines and unfold it, and your garland should be ready!

If you'd like to use the repeating ghost pattern in your decor, but don't want to hang it as a garland, make it into a cheap picture. Paste a short ghost garland onto a sheet of some Erfoni Black Peel and Stick Wallpaper Black Floral Embossed Contact Paper. Slide the ghost picture into a cheap Dollar Store Special Moments Black with Double Gold Trim Picture Frame and display it on a table near your Halloween treats.