It’s no secret — I LOVE Halloween. It’s my favorite holiday, and not just because of the candy. It’s a holiday that reminds us of the cycle of life and death. It reminds us that we’re more than biology and that life is more than the everyday things we can quantify and qualify.

For instance, there’s CANDY.

*ahem*

As always, I like to decorate our place to suit the season. This year, I’m really proud of  the wreath I made for the front door! It came together really well, and here’s how I did it.

You will need:

• Plain white cheesecloth
• A grapevine wreath
• A pre-made bow OR ribbon(s) of choice, wire-edged
• Prop of choice (I used a big posable spider from JoAnn)
• Fake spider webbing
• Twine or string or yarn or whatever
• A few inches of craft wire

Step 1:

Grab your plain white cheesecloth. You can get this anywhere that sells food or culinary paraphernalia. (It’s way, way cheaper than buying the “Spooky Cloth” they haul out with the other Halloween decor.)

Next, you want to mess up that pretty cloth! Just pull and rub the cloth between your hands, making the spaces between the threads uneven.

(I reused a cloth I hung in our living room window last year, when it was covered with plastic spiders. I had hung it in the window lengthwise after cutting it into strips and roughing them up a bit.)

Step 2:

Wrap your grapevine wreath with the freshly spooky cheesecloth.

If you cut strips into your cheesecloth, like I did, place the uncut portion along the outer curve of the wreath, then wrap the strip around the wreath to secure it.

Step 3:

Take a small wad of the fake spider webbing and start pulling it and hooking it onto the bits of grapevine sticking through the sides and back of the cheesecloth. Keep pulling and snagging in all different directions until you’re happy with the way it looks.

 Step 4:

If you’re making your own bow, get to it! (Super-awesome bow-making tutorial coming soon!!) When it’s ready, or if you’re using a pre-made bow, attach your bow to the wreath with a bit of twine. Just tie that sucker on there; nobody will see the back. I like to try to place my bows to cover a not-so-perfect spot on the wreath. In this case, it’s hiding an area that wasn’t as well-wrapped with cheesecloth as the rest.

Step 5:

Using your wire, carefully attach the topmost prop bit to the top of the wreath. The closer your craft wire is in color to your prop, the better. (Black wire on a black spider — you can hardly make it out in the photo below, right?) This will secure the prop to the wreath to keep weather (or curious hands) from dislodging it.

Step 6:

Admire your spookiness!