4 Paper Crafts For A Spooktacular Halloween

“Double, double, toil and trouble; Fire burn and cauldron bubble” [1]

As the nights draw in and the days grow colder, our attention once again turns to witches, ghouls and things that go bump in the night. Halloween is a time when shadows play tricks and imaginations run wild… and what better way to put an over-fertile imagination to use than in the creation of some scary paper crafts!

This time of year, the shops are full of off-the-shelf decorations tempting us to part with our hard-earned cash; however, we might need to cast a spell or two over our cauldrons to magic the money – and deal with the environmental impact of many of these items. According to The Fairyland Trust, “The scariest thing about Halloween is the plastic.” [2]

Paper, on the other hand, is one of the most sustainable and widely recycled products there is, and it is brilliant for DIY crafts with children. Plus, there is as much fun to be had in the making of Halloween decorations as in the displaying, as these four spooky Halloween papercraft ideas illustrate.

1. Make A Witch’s Hat

I made one of these when I was in the Brownies (more years ago than I care to remember), and I have remembered the fun of making it every Halloween since.

You will need:

2 pieces of stiff black paper. The size of card needed depends upon whether the hat is to be worn or purely for decorative purposes. If you are planning to wear the hat then you will probably need A2 size, or you could tape smaller sheets together.
Scissors
PVA glue or double-sided tape
Decorations of your choice

You can learn how to make the hats shown in this image on YouTube

4 Paper Halloween Crafts - Paper Witch's Hat

How to make it:

Create a cone shape by rolling the paper, long edge to long edge. The top of the cone will form the top of your witch’s hat, the bottom end will sit on your head. Glue along the edge to hold the cone together. You will be left with an uneven edge at the wide, open end; trim this off to create an even edge.
On the second piece of paper, draw a large circle and carefully cut it out.
Using the wide end of your cone for size, draw and cut out a smaller circle from the middle of the larger one.
Snip vertical cuts, about 2 cm long and 2 cm apart, all around the bottom edge of the cone. Fold these outwards to create a flat rim – your cone should now be able to stand up on its own.
Place the large circle (now with a hole in the middle of it) over the top of the cone to create the brim of your hat. Check it fits before applying glue (you might need to adjust the brim to fit – you can do this by cutting it to create an opening which you can then overlap and glue to make the brim fit more snugly around the cone).
Finally, choose your decorations! A large part of my memory of making this hat was going for a walk beforehand to forage leaves and berries from hedgerows, which I then stuck all over the hat, but you could stick on spooky paper shapes or biodegradable glitter instead.

2. Halloween Paper Chains

Instead of plastic shop-bought streamers, make your own paper chains! These devilish delights can be hung from ceilings and then carefully saved for next year or recycled.

You will need:

Several sheets of A4 paper in a variety of spooky colours, such as black, purple, bright green and orange
PVA glue or double-sided tape
Colouring pens, including a white ink pen for drawing on black paper
Stickers of your choice

How to make them:

Cut each sheet of paper, long edge to long edge, into nine strips, each approximately 3 cm wide.
Using pens and stickers, decorate each strip. For example, you could draw cobwebs or ghoulish faces on them.
Make the first link of the chain by sticking together the short ends of one of the paper strips, then loop the next piece of paper through before sticking. Repeat until you have a chain of the desired length.

3. Hanging Paper Ghosts

These little paper phantoms are easy to make and look great hung in groups from the ceiling or in a window to create a spooky scene.

4 Paper Halloween Crafts - Hanging Paper Ghosts

You will need:

White tissue paper
Black marker pen
White cotton thread

How to make them:

The size of the ghost will depend on the size of the sheet of paper. Assuming your sheet of tissue paper is rectangular, form a square by folding one of the corners over to the opposite long edge. Cut off the strip of excess paper – this will be used to create the head.
Roll the strip of excess paper into a ball and place it into the middle of the square.
Gather the paper around the ball and squeeze gently to form the neck of the ghost.
Wind a piece of cotton, approximately 80-100 cm in length, around the neck before tying. Be sure to leave enough cotton to form a hanging loop.
Draw a face on the head using a marker pen.
Hang for a scary display.

4. Monster windsocks

These will look scary hanging from a tree in the garden or from the ceiling, and they are super easy to make.

You will need:

Sheets of A4 paper in a variety of spooky colours, such as black, purple, bright green and orange
PVA glue or double-sided tape
Sticky tape
Colouring pens, including a white ink pen for drawing on black paper
Stickers of your choice
Crepe paper streamers
String or ribbon for hanging

How to make them

Draw a scary face using pens, stickers, or whatever you have to hand. For the best effect when hanging, draw the face in the centre of the paper.
Roll the paper, long edge to long edge (assuming the face was drawn with the paper orientated that way) and stick.
Attach a loop of string or ribbon to the top, for hanging purposes.
Attach lengths of streamers to the base.
Hang and enjoy!

These are just a few examples of the fun to be had crafting with paper – an imaginative, inexpensive, and sustainable way to decorate your home this Halloween. There are lots more Halloween papercraft ideas to be found on the internet, or have a look at our other Halloween-related articles:

References