Our Halloween Mantel – easy decor tips

A quick tour of our Halloween mantel, all decked out for the holiday.

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This year, I decided to break out the Halloween decorations a little early. And I’m having so much fun!

I know that everyone has their own traditions when it comes to decorating. I used to decorate for Halloween the week before. This year, I needed a change. My kids are getting older and they really appreciate the festive look around the house. I know I did as I kid!

Our Halloween Mantel

I’m excited to show you guys our Halloween mantel this year. With just a few cheap and easy Halloween decorations, you can really make anything look spooky.

Spooky Black Gauze

First things first. To give your mantel a spooky look, I recommend draping it with either black gauze or faux stretch spider webbing. You can buy this black gauze anywhere these days – Dollar Stores, Target and Amazon to name a few.

You don’t have to remove your mirror or artwork that’s hanging up there. Unless you want to. Simple drape the black gauze or spider webbing over it.

It’s amazing the difference this simple item makes! I bought two of these gauze sets and I have the other one in my kitchen area. (More to come on that.)

Mice, Bats, and Skeletons – Oh my!

This is such an easy one!

I went to the Dollar Tree and Target and I loaded up on inexpensive bugs, mice and bats. Dollar Tree sells these cool skeleton spiders and birds for a buck each. Such a steal and you can sprinkle them throughout the house.

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The black gauze makes it easy to hang things in it – these skeleton spiders literally hang right on it. You could get the same effect with a bunch of black spiders.

And of course – I fell in love with the hanging bats when I saw it on Martha Stewart. So, I knew I had to recreate the look. I used simple Command strips to attach the bats to the wall. I like the look of the bats spreading out across the ceiling and above the doorway.

Some other ideas for eerie display items? Skulls and Black Crows! I may try to pick up a few of those for next year.

Pumpkins (and a Sharpie)

Time for some arts and crafts.

Grab a black sharpie marker and a bag of those mini pumpkins and get to work!

You can easily pop on Pinterest to get some inspiration for making pumpkin faces on them. I initially tried to display these pumpkins plain, without the faces, and it felt like something was missing.

Drawing the little eyes, nose and mouths on these pumpkins took me all of ten minutes and it really gave the mantel more of that Halloween look I was going for.

Where to Buy Halloween Decor Items

Any of the big stores (Pottery Barn, Grandin Road) sell these Halloween decorations. But, I like to go cheaper. Don’t you?

I recommend Target, Walmart, Dollar Store, and Amazon. I have even picked up a few Halloween decorations from my grocery store.

I’ve picked out a few decorations you might like! Click on any photo for more information.

xo Karen