Halloween may be all about costumes and trick-or-treating, but crafting is another fun and creative way to ring in the spooky season.

There are endless options for easy projects that the whole family can do together. Whether your kids are into scary witches and creepy crawlers or candy corn and happy pumpkins, you can find a DIY Halloween project that will suit their fancy.

Ahead is a collection of original Halloween-themed crafts that are fit for all ages. Pick one to take on together, and help your family get in the holiday spirit while spending quality time together!

Friendly Felt Ghosts

These happy little ghosts, designed by the Crafted Content Team at Joann, are not only adorable, but they are also pretty simple to make. While you can craft these with a Cricut Maker, you can also always cut the shapes out of felt with a pair of scissors! Otherwise, a hot glue gun and some felt are essential. Wooden dowel rods are used to keep the ghosts sturdy, so your kids can parade around the house toting these tiny ghouls with ease.

Directions

  • Open Design Space and insert image #MCB6BBD39 of three ghosts.
  • Size the ghosts to be about 4 inches wide.
  • Cut with the Cricut Maker. Be sure to change the setting to Felt Wool Bonded for a nice cut.
  • Or, if you don’t have a Cricut, cut the shapes out of felt.
  • Cut dowel rods to be 14 inches long.
  • Glue ghost parts together. The rod should be sandwiched between layers.

Spider Web Game

This interactive craft, designed by the Crafted Content Team at Joann, doubles as a fun game. Each family member can make their own spider to use in a family spider race! You can roll dice, answer questions, or more to move spiders from the outside to the inside of the web. The first spider to reach the end of the web wins.

Materials

  • Cricut MakerCricut Fabric Mat 12 inch by 12 inchWhite, black, and pink felt14-inch dowel rodsHot glue gun/glue gun sticksScissors

  • Place the black felt onto the foam to make sure it fits. Roll the felt back and hot glue it in place. Make sure to wrap the edges of the foam board with the black felt and glue them to the backside of the board.Make the painted spider web on the front of the felt-covered board. Draw the radiating lines first, then add the web. Start in the middle and working your way to the outer edges. Let the web dry overnight while you make the spiders.Take four pipe cleaners in a bunch and twist them together in the middle to create the legs. If you feel the legs are too long, trim them with wire cutters.With the hot glue gun and glue sticks, attach two pom poms in the center of the twisted pipe cleaners.Place a sticky Velcro square on the underside of the spider.Use the white dimensional paint to make eyes on the face of the spiders.

Spooky Stamped T-Shirt

Kids will love creating a custom stamped shirt, designed by the Crafted Content Team at Joann, that they can rock all October long. Harness their creativity by using different shapes and colors! Materials needed for this craft are pretty simple, so even the youngest kids can get involved.

  • One package of assorted pipe cleanersOne package of assorted pom-pomsOne bottle of matte white dimensional paintHot glue gun and glue gun sticksOne sheet of black felt, 30 inches by 36 inchesOne package of velcro sticky backsOne sheet of foam board, 30 inches by 36 inchesWire cuttersScissors

  • Lay the T-shirt on a flat working surface. Slide a piece of cardboard into the shirt to prevent the paint from bleeding through to the backside of the shirt.Squirt a quarter-sized amount of paint onto the plate.With your brush, apply paint onto the first foam stamp. Make sure it is evenly coated with paint.Flip the stamp over and press onto the T-shirt, trying not to move it when you place it onto the shirt.Press evenly onto the back of the stamp. Lift the stamp straight up off of the shirt.Repeat this process every time you are stamping an image onto the shirt.Stamp randomly all over the shirt until you make your desired pattern or image.Rinse out your foam stamp and let it dry.Let T-shirts dry fully before washing and wearing.

Hanging Bat Banner

This eye-catching bat banner designed by the Crafted Content Team at Joann will surely bring a spooky vibe into your home. Hang it up by your front door to greet guests as they enter. Or, make a few banners to decorate each room in the house. Either way, the whole family will feel the spirit of the season with these cute critters.

  • One package of Halloween foam stampsBottles of soft fabric paint (suggested colors: purple, white, and black)Disposable plates (one per color of paint)Flat medium paintbrushPaper towelsT-shirt

  • Using acrylic paints and glitter glue, paint and decorate the paper rolls—these will be the bats’ bodies.Using pre-cut foam shapes (or, after cutting out a bat head and batwing shape from a sheet of foam), paint and decorate the wings of each foam bat.If you are using pre-cut foam bats, follow the curved shape of the wings and remove the heads from the foam bats. Glue the foam bat heads to the front inside of the painted paper rolls.Glue wings to the back of each bat’s body.Add googly eyes.To make each pair of bat legs, fold one pipe cleaner in half and cut. Measure and cut 1 inch off each pipe cleaner. Wrap this 1-inch piece around the end of each leg to make the “claws.” Glue to the inside of the paper roll.

Chocolate Wrappers

These playful chocolate wrappers designed by Diane Lampert of Creative Memories are the perfect way to put a personal touch on your Halloween candy this year. Go all out with stickers or keep it simple with some shimmery paper. Hand these out to trick-or-treaters for a fun and memorable experience!

  • Toilet paper rolls or paper towel rolls cut to 4-inch lengthsFoam bat shapes (or, foam and scissors)Black and purple pipe cleanersAcrylic paints (suggested colors: yellow, orange, purple, grey, and white)Glitter glue (suggested colors: purple, silver, and black)PaintbrushesAssorted googly eyesGlue and tape or hot glue gun/glue gun sticks

  • To create a wrapped chocolate miniature, cut a 1.5-inch by 3-inch strip of paper.Adhere the paper to a piece of candy with the tape, attaching the bottom of the chocolate to the paper and wrapping it around the chocolate. Use additional adhesive to adhere the end of the paper.Decorate with stickers!

Halloween Card

A personalized Halloween card is great to make and use with family and friends. This fun card, designed by Diane Lampert of Creative Memories, might look hard to recreate, but there’s really not much to it. You can make it with the Original Border Maker System, or just by using scissors. Remember, you can use any papers or other materials you have on hand!

  • Colored paper pack Halloween stickersTapeScissorsMiniature candies

  • To create the card base, cut an 8.5-inch by 5.5-inch piece of orange shimmer cardstock with the 12-inch Trimmer, or a pair of scissors. Then if you have one, you can use the Scoring Blade to score along the long edge at 4.25 inches and fold in half. Otherwise, simply fold the sheet in half.Cut a 4-inch by 5.25-inch piece of black paper and adhere it to the front of the card using a tape runner.If you have the Border Maker System, punch a border using the Ghost Chain Border Maker Cartridge with the Original Border Maker System and trim it at 4 inches to create three border pieces. If you don’t have one, you can cut out ghost shapes from paper, or use stickers. Attach the cut-out ghost borders with the tape runner. Alternate with spider web stickers.Adhere stickers and borders to the card with foam squares for added dimension.

Trick or Treat Bag

Why carry a typical jack-o-lantern bucket on Halloween when you can make your very own trick-or-treat bag? With this project, designed by Diane Lampert of Creative Memories, each child can decorate their bag to their liking with different colors, textures, and icons.

  • Cardstock (suggested colors: orange shimmer, black)

  • Original Border Maker System

  • Ghost Chain Border Maker Cartridge

  • Halloween-themed stickers

  • 12-inch Trimmer

  • Scoring Blade

  • Tape runner

  • Foam Squares

  • Use a lunch-sized paper bag that is 5.5 inches by 8 inches.You can decorate these bags however you want! An easy way to start is to attach a colored base to the bag. Cut out a 5.25-inch by 7-inch piece of colored or patterned paper and glue or tape it to one side of the bag.To create a border, cut two 5.25-inch by 1-inch strips out of contrasting colored paper for the top and bottom. You can continue to add layers by cutting thinner strips.Adhere the base first and then place the two 1-inch strips on the top and bottom over the base sheet. Then add the 0.5-inch strips between to create borders between the 1-inch strip and the base (under the top strip and above the bottom strip).Adhere stickers with Foam Squares for added dimension.

Clay Spider

This silly spider craft from crafter and blogger Dmitry Mintz is so fun and easy to make! You will need air-dry clay (which can be found at any crafts store) to make the base and pipe cleaners for the legs. Pop some googly eyes on the head and draw in whichever facial expression you like—the sillier the better!

  • Brown paper bagColored paper (suggested colors: orange, black, purple, or white)Glue or tapeScissorsFoam SquaresHalloween stickers

  • Use the air-dry clay to create a large ball-shaped body and head.Connect the body and head with a toothpick.Push googly eyes into the head.Cut pipe cleaners to make a total of eight legs.Add a few beads to each leg and shape the spider legs by bending each leg downward at the halfway point and towards the ends.Push the pipe cleaners into the sides of the body about one inch in.Use a marker to draw points on the body as well as the mouth on the spider’s head.

Spooky Spider Webs

Every spider needs a web. Pair this craft from Dmitry Mintz with the last to take your DIY-ing to the next level. Color coordinate your web to your spider to make a set or mix and match different colors and styles. When all finished, hang your spider and webs on the wall or place them on your porch for a festive look.

  • Air-dry clayToothpickPipe cleanersBeadsGoogly eyesPaint markersGlueScissors

  • Glue the three craft sticks together to create a base for a web.Color or paint the craft sticks in desired colors.Cut a long piece of yarn—the longer, the better.Tie one end of the yarn towards the middle of the craft stick base.Wrap the yarn around each craft stick, going under, over, around. Repeat until you reach the end of the craft stick.After you are done wrapping, tie the end of the yarn to the top of a craft stick and leave a little bit extra to use for hanging.Add the googly eyes to complete your web.

Origami Pumpkins

If you are looking for a no-frills craft that anyone can do (regardless of skill level or age), this is it. All you need is Mr. Mintz’s template and some markers. If your kids can color and fold, they can make these pretty pumpkins in no time!

  • Three craft sticks for each spider webYarnScissorsGlueGoogly eyesPaint or markers

  • Download Mr. Mintz Pumpkin Template.Cut out origami pumpkin shapes.Color in your origami pumpkin.Fold the paper along the lines to create your own Halloween origami.

  • Mr. Mintz Pumpkin Template

  • Paint or markers