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diy: paper pumpkins in 5 ways

(Above) Papier-mâché pumpkin from At the Picket Fence

I was inspired to make a Halloween post after I saw a picture of a paper pumpkin from a twitter contact. For the past few years, Halloween suddenly became an official “holiday” here in Manila, with several households already starting a tradition of decorating their homes accordingly. So, for additional ideas, here’s a roundup of the paper pumpkins tutorials that I found online.

Take your pick!

Pumpkin from a book from Sagebrush Ridge

Easy paper pumpkin from about.com

Paper pumpkin lanterns from Elise Blaha

Layered paper pumpkin using printed craft paper from Prairie Story

diy: halloween decor ideas

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here are some of my finds while searching for halloween eye candies over the internet. make your own version of these decors using paper plates, scrap fabrics and patterned paper, dry branches from a tree in your garden, the ever dependable black cartolina, and a lot of black and orange acrylic paints.

happy halloween!

♦ halloween bunting and tree of mini treat bags from womensday

♦ spooky plates from design mom

♦ halloween dining setup from apartment therapy

♦ heirloom gem spiders from design*sponge

♦ halloween crafts from martha stewart living

♦ halloween decors from pottery barn kids

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best-of series: design-it-yourself

When df started in 2009, all three of us were still “freelancers”. Because we had a lot of extra time in our hands, we managed to whip up some craft projects ourselves. Here are the first diy projects that we made in time for Halloween and Christmas. Hopefully, these will put you in the mood to get started with your decorations to avoid cramming on the last minute. Besides, Christmas season in the Philippines starts in October, right?! -ardel

• manananggal in the city
• monster candle votives
• recycled paper gift bows
• christmas twine balls
• tabletop christmas tree
• christmas stocking
• practical princess’s christmas decorating tips

diy project: harmless monsters

Like our manananggal shadows, these candleholder covers are inspired by a craft project we saw at marthastewart.com (we’re Martha fans!). Follow these steps and make your halloween party extra special:

1)    On a sheet of tracing paper, draw your own harmless monsters with a pentel pen. You can download our template for reference. You can also print our template on tracing paper but this produces smears and blotches.

2)    After the ink has dried, wrap the paper around the glass candleholder. Cut off any excess paper then secure it on the candleholder with double-sided tape.

3)    Light the candle and you’re done.

A few of these plus bowls of candy and you have a fun trick-or-treat centerpiece. Have a happy and harmless halloween!

diy project: manananggal in the city

We absolutely loved this craft project from marthastewart.com so we decided to make a local version for our halloween DIY. Create your own scary manananggal shadows with these few simple steps:

1)    Draw a silhouette of a manananggal on a black cardboard. If you are not that confident with your artistic skills, you can just download and print the template that we made.

2)    For the stand, cut a 6-inch long wire. Loop both ends, one to hold the card figure and the other to loop around the lip of the candleholder.

3)    Use a votive that is taller than the candle to keep the cutout away from the flame. Adjust the position of the manananggal to make the shadows look bigger or smaller.

Advanced Happy Halloween from the Design Folder team!