Here is a super-simple and fast Halloween decoration you can make now or even at the last minute. Additionally, it is truly, deeply, disgustingly GROSS! I can’t stand bugs – and spiders and cockroaches are at the absolute top of my list of most hated things on this planet. Best of all, though, this Halloween craft is totally budget-friendly. Almost everything we used to make this project we found at the dollar store, and the total cost was less than $5. And you can make several more of these by only purchasing extra picture frames, because the rest of the materials will make multiple insect collections for you to… um… “enjoy”.
Make a Creepy Halloween Insect Collection Wall Display
What You Need to Make this Insect Collection Halloween Decoration:
- Dollar store picture frame
- Foam core board
- Packages of plastic insects. We used roaches, butterflies and also those easy-to-find plastic spider rings – all were found at the dollar store, too!
- Push pins
- Scrapbook paper (1 sheet for each frame you make)
Disassembling the dollar store frame.
You might be able to figure out how to make these without my instructions: you simply have to insert the foam core and scrapbook paper into the frame. Take out the existing cardboard backing in the frame to use as a guide to cut the foam core and paper to the correct size. If you have a really good pair of scissors, you can skip the razor blade and cut the foam core with those instead. Either way, let an older child or an adult do this part.
Now just insert everything back into the frame, placing the scrapbook paper on top and the foam core underneath.
Start pinning your bugs!
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Once the frame is put back together, line up your bugs and use straight pins to pin them into the foam core. To use the plastic spider rings, the ring will easily snip off the back of the spiders with a regular pair of scissors. We added the feather butterfly to make the display slightly less creepy. If the plastic insects are difficult to penetrate with the pins, you can “pre-drill” holes by hammering a thin nail through the bug, then inserting the pin through the hole you make. Again, have an older child or an adult do this part if your young children haven’t used tools before. My son was already tinkering with tools by the age of 9, so young kids can still handle this project!
Halloween Decoration Project Variations:
Make it HUGE by making this display on a large cork bulletin board instead of a picture frame! You can cover the cork with a large piece of Halloween wrapping paper instead of scrapbook paper. I suggest using a paper with a very subtle pattern or solid color, to ensure your bugs don’t get visually lost in the background print.
