Spider's Egg Sac Decoration

arach·no·pho·bia

Pronunciation: \ə-ˌrak-nə-ˈfō-bē-ə\

Function: noun

: pathological fear or loathing of spiders

Arachnophobia is one of the most common fears among us, so it is obvious why so many decorations are based around the scary little eight-legged pests. Today I will show you how to make a spider's egg sac decoration that will make Aragog proud!

Aragog, the giant spider from the Harry
Potter series

You Will Need:

• A ball of any size (I usually use multiple golf balls for smaller sacs and one larger ball, like a softball.)
• A few pairs of white stockings (must be footed)
• "Spiderwebs"
• Fake spiders (optional)

First, cut the stockings at the length you want the egg sacs to hang. I usually cut at the knee and go shorter if I want to later. Next, you put one of the balls in the foot and hang the stocking from where you want the sac to be displayed, adjusting the length of the stocking as you go. After the stocking is secured, web it up with the "spiderweb" stuff, covering every bit of visible stocking but letting the shape of the ball still be round. Finally, you can add fake spiders to the sac, and be prepared to send all the arachnophobes running for the hills! (We really do love you!)

Martha Is Just So Darn Crafty! (The Magic of Martha #1)

I have a confession to make - not all of the decorations I use during Halloween are designed and crafted by me (like the Halloween Tree) or are store-bought (be sure to check out the new products from Spirit online if you haven't already done so!) Some of the best ideas are from... wait for it... Martha Stewart! No joke! I actually anticipate her Halloween issue, which is chock full of really nifty decorating ideas, so I am starting a new segment on La Vie Macabre, and it is called "The Magic of Martha"! Each post, I will share a tutorial, recipe, idea, or inspiration photos from Martha Stewart's Halloween section on her website.

One of my personal favorites from a past issue (Halloween Issue 2004, to be exact) can be found at her website's Halloween Central, which has hundreds of pictures of her own creepy creations. It is called the Head Waiter Tray, and this serving tray is a sure fire way to make your next gathering a bit creepier.

You Will Need:

• 10 paper towels (crumpled)
• Enough swaths of gauze to cover the display surface of the tray
• Brewed coffee or strong black tea
• Two tablespoons flour
• One tablespoon corn syrup or Mod Podge glue
• Craft stick
• Styrofoam head (A cheap one can be purchased at Sally's Beauty online for $3.99)

You will start by dipping the paper towels and gauze in the coffee or tea, wringing them out of they don't have any extra liquid, crumpling them up, and leaving them to dry for a couple of days while they are still crumpled. You will have to wait two days or so before they dry, but when they do, you mix the solution of two tablespoons flour, one tablespoon tea or coffee, and one tablespoon of corn syrup or Mod Podge. Mix the ingredients together with a craft stick, and you apply the mixture in a thin layer on one section of the head. This is when you take the dried paper towels, uncrumple them, tear them into smaller pieces or strips, and spread over the section of the head. Repeat until the head is covered, and then arrange the gauze at the base of the head on the tray. You are now ready to serve your guests in a scary style!

If you want more detailed instructions or would rather watch an instructional video, here is the original post on Martha's website.

The Halloween Tree

Ever since my earliest memories, Halloween was my favorite holiday. No doubt about it. Not even the family and presents of Christmas or the general Irish-ness of St. Patrick's Day with my family could hold a candle to October 31st.

Now, I started planning the decorations for my front yard on November 1st, nearly a whole year before Halloween. With all the anticipation and planning, I usually became anxious to start physically decorating in September, but my mother usually persuaded me to wait until the first weekend of October so our neighbors wouldn't think we were freaks. Whatever...

My yard has a teen-aged Bradford Pear Tree in it, and by October, the leaves are beginning to turn into a fiery red color sprinkled with a few harvest yellow leaves. Keep in mind that something has been interfering with the growth of my tree, causing the branches to be sparser and more spread out than normal, but that makes it an excellent tree to hang decorations from.

Halloween Tree Tutorial

Start by finding a tree that has low branches that aren't too large or too weak. Once the tree is selected, you can find assorted Halloween decoration that you can hang from the lower branches of the trees.

I usually start by disassembling these skeletons from the main garland so that they are all separate, and then I hot glue the tops of individual skeletons to all-natural hemp twine, and after allowing the glue to dry, I hang the skeletons from the branches.

Skeletons on garland.

Next, I like to find skulls to put on the tree. I had a garland much like the one shown below, and I disassembled the individual skulls from the rest of the garland and glued twine to the bottom of each skull, and after setting the skulls on the branch, I tie the twine underneath, securing it in place on the branch.

Skull garland

I also have some very nice flying witch decorations that hang, and they look very nice on the tree as well. Just find a sturdy branch and hang her.

I love this decoration!

Another great decoration to add is a braid of garlic. This website has a phenomenal tutorial on how to make a garlic braid, even though I don't usually make mine that large. You can attach the garlic braid to the tree by using twine.

Mine are usually about half this size

You can also hang bunches of dried flowers and plants for an earthy feel.

Another decoration that you can add that gives the tree a new level of creepiness is that fibrous spiderweb stuff. You know what I'm talking about. 

You can add in small spiders to the spiderwebs.

You can also find these realistic crows that you can easily attach to thicker branches. They come with wire attached to their feet, so all you have to do is wrap the wire around the tree.

From just a few feet away, these birds look creepily real

Those are my staples for my Halloween Tree, but you can find even more creepy decorations to put in yours, such as shrunken heads, bags of bones, ghosts, and carved turnips. Happy decorating!