With Halloween, just around the corner, what better way is there to get into the spooky spirit than by unleashing your creativity with some bewitching beading projects. There are endless possibilities for crafting frightfully fun jewellery, decorations and treats. Grab your beads, thread and imagination as we delve into some spooktacular Halloween beading ideas!
It’s always nice to have some superior gifts at the ready for any Trick or Treaters who knock on your door but first, we have some history! This Halloween ritual is synonymous with America, however it actually dates back to 16th century Britain. People would go from door to door on the 31st of October begging for ‘Soul Cakes’ in return for praying for their souls. Standing under windows they would chant “Soul, souls, for a soul-cake, Pray you good mistress, a soul-cake”. This became known as ‘Souling’, and Shakespeare even mentions Trick or Treating in his play The Two Gentlemen of Verona.
The modern day Treat or Treating is very different and was popularised back in the 1920’s in America. Children dress up in costume and walk around the neighbourhood asking for candy. They cry ‘Trick or Treat’ at each door. The treats are usually sweets but if you don’t hand over the goods then sometimes you’ll get a Trick. Tricks don’t usually happen but when they do it’s something tame like having toilet paper thrown over your front garden.
A fun alternative to giving out treats is a spider ice cube. Simply buy a pack of plastic spiders, half fill an ice cube tray with resin, drop your spider in, then fill with resin to the top. Allow to dry and you’ll have a great Trick for the kids to play with!
If you’ve never used resin before it’s super easy. Heidi holds regular workshops at Riverside. To book your place click here.
Another alternative idea to candy and sweets are simple, stretchy bracelets. These are super easy, even for the most novice of beaders. Just take a length of elastic cord, thread a selection of orange and black beads (the amount is dependant on the size you require). Add a single charm in the middle, then thread a duplicate number of orange and black beads on so that the charm is central. Tie the elastic cord tight and seal with a drop of clear nail varnish, to make sure it doesn’t slip.
We’ve got a fabulous range of beads and charms both instore and online, plus the elastic cord required for this bracelet. Click here to shop for yours now.
Riverside have a fabulous stock of Halloween kits, including our very own Willow Witch, Blaze the Beaded Cat and of course Winsy and Incy Spider! Click here to view our range of Halloween themed kits, beads and charms.
If you are planning on going Trick or Treating yourself, or you have a costume party to go to, then you might want to consider making something to wear. Costume making at Halloween can get pretty competitive and you’ll always have the edge if yours is bespoke. A great accessory to consider is making your own fingerless gloves. For some reason, witches always seem unable to wear a pair of gloves which don’t have the fingers chopped off. Therefore why not consider creating your own at Eve Marshall’s Wet Felted classes? This class will give you the ability to wet felt your own creations. You could even incorporate some kind of spiders web pattern if you get really good at it! There’s more detail here.
Eve has also created some gorgeous felted pumpkins in the past. Not only are these beautiful decorations but they also make great table place markers. On the theme of decorations, if you’re having a Halloween supper and want a heart warming dish to serve your guests, then you can’t go wrong with a delicious pumpkin soup. For a really cute serving display, why not hollow out a large pumpkin and use as a tureen to serve the soup in.
Click here for my favourite pumpkin soup recipe from Jamie Oliver. I add cream for a silkier taste and sometimes coconut milk for a Thai twist.
A quick and super cheap decoration for your home or party is making faux candles. These are great to dress a table or to add atmospheric lighting to a room. Take a toilet roll or paper towel cardboard tube and tape over one end with thick masking tape. Tape the second end but make your tape slightly loose, so it creates a cradle inside the end of the tube. Your cradle wants to be deep enough to sit an LED tea light inside it. Once you’ve made your cradle paint the whole thing white. Then simply pop an LED tea light inside and there you have it. instant candles. Do NOT use a real flame tea light as this would not be safe!
