Trash to Treasure: Spooky-Cool Halloween Crafts from Your Garden and Recycling Bin
Turn your recycling bin into a source of Halloween décor! These nine crafts use everyday items like cardboard rolls, paper plates, and pine cones to create spooky decorations. Perfect for classrooms or home, these projects are simple, budget-friendly, and eco-conscious.
Hanging Cardboard Bats
Image credit: Elizabeth
Make bats from cardboard rolls to hang from ceilings.
How to:
- Wrap toilet paper or paper towel rolls in black paper or paint them black.
- Cut bat wings from black paper and glue them on.
- Add eyes with markers or googly eyes.
- Attach string inside the roll for hanging.
Cardboard Roll Spider
Image credit: Nathalie
Create a spider from recycled rolls as an easy craft activity for kids.
How to:
- Paint a toilet paper or paper towel roll black.
- Cut eight legs from black cardstock or use pipe cleaners and attach them.
- Add googly eyes or draw eyes with a marker.
- Hang with string or place on a shelf.
Popsicle Stick Spider Web
Image credit: Sondra Scofield
Craft a spider web from popsicle sticks and yarn for walls or windows.
How to:
- Glue 5–6 popsicle sticks in a star shape, overlapping at the center.
- Weave yarn around the sticks to form a web.
- Add paper spiders or beads for detail.
- Hang on walls or windows.
Rope and Stick Spider Web
Image credit: Nea
Build a rustic web with sticks and rope, topped with a spider.
How to:
- Arrange sticks in a radial pattern and secure the center with glue or string.
- Weave rope outward to create a web.
- Add a store-bought or handmade spider (felt and pipe cleaners).
Vase with Paper Bats
Image credit: Natasha
Make a spooky centerpiece with twigs and paper bats.
How to:
- Place twigs in a vase, optionally stabilized with stones or sand.
- Cut bat shapes from black paper.
- Attach bats to twigs with blu tack.
Mummy Jars
Image credit: Bambrise
Turn glass jars into mummy decorations or treat holders.
How to:
- Wrap empty jars with white gauze or cloth strips, leaving gaps for eyes.
- Secure with glue or tape.
- Add googly eyes or draw eyes in the gaps.
Paper Plate Spider Web
Image credit: Taty crea
Create a web from a paper plate and string or cut a circle from recycled cardboard.
How to:
- Cut out the center of a paper plate, leaving the rim.
- Punch holes around the rim.
- Weave string through the holes to form a web.
- Add a paper or pine cone spider in the center.
Paper Cup Ghosts
Image credit: Tracy Lefferts
Make floating ghosts from paper cups for ceilings or windows.
How to:
- Glue tissue paper strips inside a paper cup for the ghost’s body.
- Draw or attach eyes and a mouth.
- Add string to the top for hanging.
Paper Plate Pumpkin
Image credit: WendyGo
Craft a jack-o’-lantern from a paper plate or cut a circle from recycled cardboard.
How to:
- Paint a paper plate orange.
- Cut a stem and leaves from green paper and glue them on.
- Draw or glue on a face with black paper or markers.
Egg Carton Witch
Image credit: Alejandra Correa
Make a whimsical witch from an egg carton.
How to:
- Cut an egg carton cup to form the witch’s face and paint it green.
- Create a pointed hat from black paper and glue it on.
- Add facial features with markers, googly eyes, or paper cutouts.
- Attach tissue paper for hair.
Handprint Witches
Image credit: Claudia Merlani
Craft witches using kids’ handprints.
How to:
- Paint a child’s hand with green, orange, purple, or black paint and press onto paper for the witch’s body.
- Draw or glue a twig and string broomstick.
- Add a paper hat, googly eyes, and facial details with markers or cutouts.
Halloween Painted Leaves
Image credit: TBQT
Decorate autumn leaves with Halloween designs for the home.
How to:
- Collect and dry fallen leaves.
- Paint leaves with Halloween colors (orange, black, purple, green).
- Add details like faces, bats, ghosts, or spider webs with markers or fine brushes.
Egg Carton Ghosts
Image credit: Mirkka Harmainen
Create tiny ghosts from egg carton cups for tables or hanging décor.
How to:
- Cut out the pointed centers of an egg carton.
- Paint them white to form ghost bodies.
- Add googly eyes or draw eyes and a mouth with a marker.
- Attach string to hang from ceilings or branches.
Cork Bats
Image credit: Dashausundich
Make hanging bats from wine corks and hang from garden twigs.
How to:
- Use a wine cork as the bat’s body.
- Cut bat wings from black paper and glue them to the sides.
- Add googly eyes or draw eyes with a marker.
Pine Cone Spider
Image credit: Manda Panda Projects
Craft a spider from a pine cone for tables or shelves.
How to:
- Use a medium pine cone as the spider’s body.
- Attach eight pipe cleaner legs, bending them to shape.
- Add googly eyes or draw eyes on the pine cone.
- Optionally, paint the pine cone black for a spookier look.
Pine Cone Owls
Image credit: Boireau Agnes
Create woodland owls from pine cones for Halloween or autumn décor.
How to:
- Use a small to medium pine cone as the owl’s body.
- Cut wings, a beak, and eyes from felt or paper.
- Glue wings to the sides, the beak to the front, and eyes above.
- Add googly eyes for the face.
Pine Cone Bats
Image credit: Uelfet
Make bats from pine cones for tabletop or hanging decorations.
How to:
- Use a small to medium pine cone as the bat’s body.
- Cut bat wings from black paper and glue them to the sides.
- Add googly eyes for the face.
- Optionally, attach string to hang from ceilings.
