❈Sac Thrift Chick❈

Every Halloween I get a little more crafty and the house looks just a bit more awesome as my outdoor Halloween decorations grow in number and size. This year, I added the Nightmare Before Christmas Jack Skellington garage, a large garbage bag spider for the porch, new garbage bag ghosts, a duct tape Ghostbusters logo ghost, a garbage bag grim reaper silhouette and tombstones made from political yard signs. The only outdoor Halloween decorations actually purchased this year included two packs of candy corn lights from Home Depot and a foam skull from the 99 Cent Store at half off for about $9 total. Here's the rundown of my decorations: Michael Myers: Old Halloween costume stuffed with furniture foam . Grim Reaper Silhouette : Black garbage bags. I looked at pictures and then free-handed it with scissors. Ghostbusters Logo: Duck Tape, cardboard and furniture foam . Window Lights: Repurposed Christmas lights passed down from Aaron's childhood

If there's something strange, in your neighborhood, who you gonna call? GHOSTBUSTERS!  "I could make that!" It's a common utterance that either my husband or I make when browsing decor. This time, the self-assured proclamation came from my husband while we were browsing Halloween decorations at Walmart. The big-box retailer had a 3D ghost that stuck to windows with suction cups.  My husband is a handy guy who is more than capable of designing all sorts of cool things, from crafts to furniture, but he doesn't always follow through on his many ideas. I didn't put too much stock into his claim until he bought white and red Duck Tape for the project and got right down to work. Here's how he did it, and how you can create your own 3D Ghostbusters logo in 10 simple steps. Supplies: Soft foam (like furniture foam) Scissors Cardboard White and red duct tape Black duct tape or black craft foam Optional: Hot glue gun DIY

So I was Googling "Nightmare Before Christmas decorations" for Halloween and came across a picture of a Jack Skellington garage door decal on Pinterest. My immediate California girl response was like, "That's hella sweet!" I clicked the Pinterest pin and found that the giant decal used to be sold on Etsy for $75. And I was like, "Dang. That's a lot of money. But it's still pretty cool. I bet I could make that!" So I did. Or at least, the thrifty version. Making Jack Skellington Garage Decoration  For my Nightmare Before Christmas Jack Skellington garage decoration, I used 2 heavy-duty yard waste bags for the eyes. I could have used just 1 bag for the eyes, but I kept the bags doubled up; that is, I didn't pull apart the two sides. I figured the eyes would be a little sturdier and darker that way. I snipped and snipped to create the eye shapes. Once I had the eyes to my liking, I stapled the two sides together. I used Duck

Halloween, my favorite holiday season is here. The season where I get to turn my modest suburban home into a creepy attraction filled with dead bodies, goblins, ghost, and of course, Michael Myers standing watch at the window, day and night . Every year I like to add to my outdoor Halloween decor, but I like to do so without spending any money. This year's project: Upcycle political yard signs into Halloween tombstones! Beyond the  environmental reasons of turning trash into treasure, I love making my own decor because it fits best with my thrifty, low-budget lifestyle. I've also discovered that people love our homemade, upcycled and DIY decorations more than the store-bought decor. We get far more compliments and "That's creepy!" comments on the flying monster we assembled with a graduation robe and mask and gloves from the 99 Cent Store than we do the light-up Marcus the Carcus from Target buried in the front yard. When it comes to outdoor Halloween