Where Creative Passions Become Life-Changing Journeys

Have you pulled the Halloween box out of the closet yet and then just stood there looking at it? It happens to most of us, because the box is usually full of small things in a lot of different colors, and once they're all out on the shelf the whole thing looks busy.

Here's the thing. You probably don't need to buy anything else, because what makes a shelf look cluttered is usually the colors and the spacing rather than the number of decorations.

So before you add one more pumpkin to the cart, here's a way to make what you already own look like somebody planned it.

This Week's Creative Pick · October Edition

One sheet of black paper and the frames you already own

Black paper cut into a simple shape is about the cheapest Halloween decoration there is, and it works because a solid silhouette reads clearly from across the room. A cat, a bat, a crooked little tree or a plain crescent moon will all do the job, and you don't have to draw well to get there, because the shape is filled in and small wobbly edges disappear once it's up on the wall.

Take the photos out of two or three picture frames you already have around the house, slide a cut shape in behind the glass, and set the frames back exactly where the photos were sitting. Tape a handful of bats straight onto the wall so they climb toward the corner of the ceiling, and tape a cat shape inside a window facing out, because that one shows up from the street at night whenever the lamp is on. Then on November 1 you pull the paper out and the photos go back in, and the whole job takes about five minutes.

📖 More project ideas on the blog →

Registration Is Open · Free To Attend

Festive Fall Workshop Series

📅 October 13–15, 2026  |  🕘 9 AM ET each day, up for 24 hours  |  💻 100% Online  |  🎟 Free to Attend

If paper cats and bats are your speed, you're going to like day three, which is called Cozy Treats & Halloween Fun. Here are four of the teachers on that day and what each one is making with you.

• Elyse Dean paints Boo to You: Spooky Watercolor Cat
• Morena Hockley walks you through a Painted Glass Poison Apple DIY
• Heather Paulsen shows you how to sew a custom felt trick-or-treat basket in an afternoon
• Emily Hunsaker has 3 easy crescent roll Halloween recipes, all ready in under 30 minutes

That's one day out of three. Day one is Fall Decor & Gathering and day two is Paper, Stitch & Fiber Crafts, so it adds up to 26 workshops in all, and every one of them is free to watch while it's up.

From Our Community

Show us what you made

If you've made something from a HobbyScool workshop, at one of our free summits or in the Craft & Create Club, we'd love to see it, because we're putting together a gallery on hobbyscool.com of projects our community has made.

It takes about a minute to upload a photo, and it doesn't matter if it was your first try.

📸 Submit your project here →

Until next Sunday, cut one shape out of black paper and put it where you'd normally put nothing, and see how much it changes the room.

Warmly,
Destini