Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Halloween How-To: Haunted Window

I love decorating for Halloween almost as much as I love Halloween candy.  Every year I'm tempted to make the front of my house look like a creepy haunted house with different scary scenes in every window and a scarecrow on the porch and every year I have to remember that the only person those decorations would scare...would be me.  I can imagine putting a sillouette on my front window, forgetting I did it and then running for my life, every night when I get home.  I'm sure the thought of that would have my Sister, and chief childhood tormentor, rolling on the floor laughing her face off. 

So this year, I decided to make this awesome INDOOR haunted window and you can too!!

To make, you'll need:
  • an old window frame
  • a string of spooky Halloween lights
  • a plastic window cover w/Halloween image
  • hot glue gun
  • scissors
  • duct tape
Step 1: Gather your supplies-

I'm using this old window frame we salvaged (aka took from the neighbor's trash) a couple years ago as the base of my project- 

And this plastic window cover left over from last year's Halloween party (cut in half)-


Step 2: Applying plastic sheeting-

Place your window frame and plastic face down on your work surface-

Heat up your glue gun and place a small line of glue along the inside ledge of the window-
Line your plastic up with the top of the window and press into place either with your fingers or with a tool, the eraser end of a pencil perhaps-

Repeat on all sides.

***CAREFUL!!  GLUE IS HOT!!!***

At this point you may have some extra plastic hangin' over the side, you can either- a) fold it and glue it down like you're wrapping a present or b) just cut it off:

When you turn your project right side up, you should have something that looks like this:

If that is the case, please move on to Step 3.  If not, please return to Step 2. 


Step 3: LIGHTS!-

I'm using a string of purple and orange lights that flicker and mimic fire when lit up, so spooky, if you don't have any you can buy them here or here.

LED lights are a good idea to make sure you don't melt the plastic sheeting and then hate me forever for ruining Halloween.
At this point, having a black cat to check your lights (aka tangle them up) is not necessary but it will add authenticity to your project- mine is probably at her food dish if you'd like to borrow her:
Once again, turn your window face down on your work surface and tape your lights onto the back in whatever pattern works for you, making sure the plug is left out on the bottom. 

I chose an octagon because it was the only way the lights fit properly:

Step 4: Hang it up!

Now the only thing left to do is fill a bowl with eyeballs and dig out your favorite severed hand to create a super spooooooky indoor haunted window display that won't make you run for your life!

Happy Halloween!
         ~mandee rae
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