Spooky Spider Halloween Wreath DIY!

As promised on my twitter a few weeks ago, I'm going to be sharing *4* fun ideas for making your own halloween wreath this October.

I really hope you give one a go and follow along with my blog, which you can do on bloglovin or through your google reader or other RSS reader :-)

First up is:

You will need:

Wreath form (see below for how to make your own wreath form)

Pack of spooky halloween webbing 

Plastic spiders/other creepy bugs

5m strips of white material if your wreath form isn't white already

5m strips of netting or old net curtain

4+ small toys

Glue Gun

My spiders came with my webbing which cost 90p altogether. Your local pound shop should have something similar in stock, or you can make spiders from black pipe cleaners!

Remember those long floaty sticks at the pool? They are called 'pool noodles'. I found them 2 for a pound at the pound shop. Yes, I love the pound shop, I know. Cut one in half, and sellotape the ends together with a few layers of tape. You have just  made your own wreath form! Simple right? You could also buy one from the craft shop but this is much cheaper and gives you control over the size.

1. My pool noodle was yellow. I wrapped it in cut up strips of an old pillowcase to cover the brightness. Simply blob a bit of glue on the ring, press the end of the strip to it, wait a few seconds and then wrap until you reach the end. Seal with another blob of glue, pulling the fabric tightly. Pop another blob of glue on the top and start again with another strip until you get all the way around.

2. This step doesn't have to be neat, because this won't be seen. You can entirely skip this if you have used a craft-store bought polystyrene wreath, because it will be white anyway.

3. Using a glue gun, stick your small plastic toys evenly around the ring. I've used four, but you could use more. This will create a spooky bumpy effect for your wreath, making it look like the scary spiders have wrapped up lots of things in their webbing ready to eat later!

4. The bumpier the better for your toys, I picked these dinosaurs because of all their sticky outy bits.

5. Starting wrapped the wreath with strips of net. Pull tightly and seal each strip with a blob of hot glue, as before. At this point, it doesn't matter if the ends are at the front. When you get to the toys, wrap around the base and then two layers of netting over each one. You could spray paint them white and have bits poking out, but I wanted to make sure mine were totally covered.

6. When you have wrapped the whole ring, make the end of your last strip of netting into a loop and put a blob of glue in between the layers to secure it. Pull tightly on either side of your glue blob and the glue will seep through the netting. This will form a permanent loop to hang your wreath later on.

 

7. Start wrapping the wreath in the fake webbing. You'll need to pull it into strip shapes. It's pretty flimsy (as you would expect from 90p Halloween decor!) so this stage is fun and easy. I pulled of a large piece from the bundle, and spread it open with my fingers. Then I wrapped these thick strips of web round the wreath. Some pieces I left loose, and some I pulled very tightly, especially around the lumps and bumps :-)

8. Blobs of glue should be at the back at this stage, and be very careful not to burn your fingers on hot glue, as you press the webbing onto the spots you might feel it seep through.

9. Take a small piece of webbing and stretch it out across the back of the wreath. Secure in place by putting hot glue on the back of a few of your plastic spiders, and using the spider to stick the webbing to the inside-back part. Looking spooky already!

 10. Glue the rest of the spiders all over the wreath, inside and out, like they are creepily crawling all over it, waiting to devour what they have caught inside. (Okay, I know, I need to calm down. I just really like Halloween!)

My spiders had hollow backs, so I was able to pop the glue in there and then quickly press the little guy into his place on the wreath. Don't worry about getting messy with the glue gun - glue gun glue looks exactly like spider webs when it goes stringy.

 

11. Done! Hang your wreath on your front door to scare your postman.

note: yes, I banged a nail into my UPVC door. No, I don't recommend it as there is now a small split on the outside. Why not try this trick for hanging a wreath if you have a similar front door?

I hope you love this DIY, I have three more fab Halloween wreath tutorials coming these next few weeks :-)