Master List for Halloween Resources & Inspiration

Your one stop list for all Halloween resources! Where to find what, at the right price?

(Scroll to bottom to see all our pictures!)

Today I'm featuring a guest writer, my cousin, Stephanie Cahill for part of this post. Stephanie is a self proclaimed huge Halloween fan, like myself. Together we've made this master list of all our favorite places to shop for Halloween decor, props, costumes, etc. We hope you'll find this list helpful. Please scroll to the bottom too see a sampling of projects using materials from these places. We hope to inspire you, too! On the labels, we found most of these through free Pinterest downloads, a few were purchased, though.

Lindsey’s Tips (Most stores can be found nation wide):

Chain Retailers:

Dollar Tree (All $1):

Creepy cloth, plates, napkins, cups, plastic skulls, highlighters, Spanish moss/ floral moss, floral foam, small tombstones, fake eyeballs, hands and feet, small table top decor, many items that can easily be turned into trophies for a party.

Goodwill & Salvation Army:

Any "old" looking item to haunt with - candles, oil lamps, candle sticks, vases, old books, picture frames, trunks (if you are lucky), shoes for costumes, outdoor witches.

-Begin looking for creepy stuff in late August (who am I kidding, year round, but pick up intensity in August!) before everything good gets picked over.

Walmart:

Cheap corn syrup, food coloring, good selection of plastic and sometimes glittery bats, spiders and pumpkins, colored lights, glow sticks, cheesecloth (found in craft section, year round), black light bulbs, fog "juice", spray paint (best price on Krylon and Rustolium).

Hobby Lobby (known as the craft danger zone during October):

Vellum & other paper for labels, wreath/ bottle inspirations, clear Christmas bulbs - to make crystal balls with

HomeGoods / TJMaxx / Marshalls:

Usually can find good after season deals and great inspiration for many projects you can make at home. Reasonably priced Halloween/Fall decor that can span the season, lots of bright colors (purple, lime green, silver) for the season.

Lowe's

Twine, Jute, nail heads, paint brushes, and drop cloths for painting.

Primarily Online:

Costume Fabric:

Spandexworld.com, spandexhouse.com, JoAnn, Hancock Fabrics.

Always use coupons and shop sales. Columbus Day sales are your last best bet to get the best price on fabric and catch good seasonal fabric before it's all sold out. White fabric for covering furniture, walls, etc. for black light effect can be found at JoAnn’s Fabric for $ 1.50 - $4/ yd. (See picture of basement for reference at the bottom).

Spandex World has a great website that is super easy to shop by category, and offers very realistic color photos of the fabric. You will find every type of spandex you could ever need, most of which is not carried at your local fabric store. Do plan ahead for all the materials you will need to order, as shipping can be $15- $20. I've still found with the amazing quality and selection of fabric and their competitive prices on fabric you can't beat it.

Oriental Trading Company:

Party decorations, small trinkets (great for kids parties).

US Toy:

Great for costumes and props! Also offers similar selection as Oriental Trading Company. Can find higher end costume accessories and paints as well.

Trash to Treasure:

Some unexpected items than turn from trash into treasure with a little black spray paint (these are all items I've successfully used for Halloween decor):

- Dish detergent box (now spell book).

- Glass bottles and jars of all varieties (hot sauce, pickle /Costco Artichoke jars -- some of the best, small condiment jars, and of course, wine and liquor bottles.

- Vanilla extract and spice bottles.

- Salt container (now skeleton salt).

Lindsey’s Inspirations: Pinterest, spray paint and glass jars!

Stephanie’s Tip’s (Most of these stores (that aren’t online) are located Nation Wide):

Chain Retailers:

Bargain Buys:

Dollar General (All $1 - $1.50 Each): (This stuff is cheap even in the month of October!)

$1 Each

Bats, bugs, spiders

Small décor

Creepy cloth

Single bags of candy

Plates

$1.50 Each

Corn syrup (Compared to $3.50 or more at the grocery store! for making creepy jars – use corn syrup and food coloring!)

$3 Each

Skull heads

Tablecloths

$5 Each

Orange and black organizing storage bins

Pet t-shirts (you won’t find a pet costume this cheap ANYWHERE!)

Over $5 but still inexpensive

Trick or Treat candy (cheapest place to get it!)

Savers (Comparable to Goodwill and The Salvation Army): (Halloween items are only available in the month of October)

Picture frames (to frame pictures of vampires, wolf man, etc.), wigs, tights, used adult and child costumes, adult and child costume accessories, glass bottles/containers and shelves to hold creepy stuff.

Walgreens:

Creepy cloth, mini strobe light ($5!), indoor and outdoor décor (you can find some between $5 and $20).

Target - Dollar Bin Section only – the rest of the store verges on the expensive route:

You can find all kinds of random goodies in the dollar bin section at Target! I check there EVERY time you shop because you never know what you’ll find! I love it too because the stuff there doesn’t look as cheap as most dollar stores! You can find creepy crawlers, creepy ice cube trays, Halloween coasters, containers to hold candy, and lots of children’s items such as trick or treat bags and trinkets.

Hobby Lobby:

Spray paint (between $6 and $8 a bottle), velum paper for labels (59 cents per page!), twine and stick on jewels and other items for bottle decorating details, red and white candles to make “bloody candles,” and doll arms for creepy jars ($4) Don’t forget – you can always find coupons on their website!

Party City: (For these items only – most other stuff verges on the expensive route):

Black light bulbs (bulbs are $3 each!), creepy crawlers and small trinkets for kids parties – or to use in creepy jars or on spell books (ranging from $1 to $5 for a single pack or one large pack for $20).

Trash to Treasure:

Using red or black spray paint, you can transform any of these items!

I’ll second all that Lindsey said above as well as the below items:

- Vitamin bottles work great too!

I haven’t tried these out yet, but will soon:

-Toilet paper and paper towel rolls (cut two holes (or more if you use a paper towel) and add a glow stick – put in your trees/bushes to make “creepy eyes”! *Remember that glow sticks only last for about 5 hours so use the day of your party/Halloween)

-Egg crates (to make creepy eyeballs)

Higher End/Worth the Splurge:

***KC Costume Company:

2020 Grand

KCMO 64108

(816)221-8600

http://kccostume.com/

This store is AMAZING!!! They are the largest costumer in the Midwest and provide to theatres, films, and for Halloween needs. They have everything you can possibly think of!!! Items range from affordable to very costly/but worth it! They have AMAZING costumes, wigs, feather boas of ALL shades, hats, gloves, costume accessories and props, makeup, shoes, eyelashes, teeth, latex cuts/wounds etc., glasses, petticoats, jewelry, fake tattoos, the list goes on and on! They also have costume rentals and items available online. Some wigs are as low as $15. This store is open year ‘round. Note: all sales are final.

Target:

For more high-end, detailed items such as brand new costumes, wigs, décor (ex: skull heads are about $15), outdoor décor, tombstones, indoor and outdoor lighting, creepy cloth, GREAT selection of pet costumes.

JoAnn’s Fabric:

Fake flowers, vases, Spanish moss.

Party City:

For more high-end items such as brand new costumes, wigs, costume accessories, party décor, cups, plates, napkins, glow sticks, fog machines, fog “juice”, tombstones, strobe lights, black lights and pre-made backdrops, signs, some pet costumes. *Just remember that wigs are NOT returnable after purchase.

Primarily Online:

Costumes Online (For items that are harder to find in stores):

http://www.discountdance.com

Colored leotards and cami bras (to go under the leotard).

Lindsey gave me the tip to always go for comfort when ordering a size – remember; you’re going to be dancing around, eating and drinking!

http://www.silkies.com

Colored tights (About $18 each plus tax)

ShoeMall.com

Vintage Shoes (This site is expensive in most cases – but I found GREAT 80s shoes that I couldn’t pass up!)

Stephanie’s Inspirations:

My cousin Lindsey!!! J She also gives me GREAT tips ALL the time!

Magazines

Hobby Lobby, Target and other store décor I

Dollar Tree skulls. Creepy cloth wrapped candelabra & Goodwill candles. (Pardon the working mess on the table.)

Dollar Tree glowing eye skulls and spanish and other type of moss, candles in water with red food coloring.

Chest (which is a year round decoration when shut), is now a creepy potion pub. These are all empty vitamin bottles painted black, along with a vanilla extract bottle, and single liquor shot bottles. Moss is from Dollar Tree, stuffed bottom with packing paper to use less moss. Candles are battery operated.

Glowing eyeballs!!!

Dish detergent box - working on making the below spell book. Painted black first, then covered with paper towels and paint.

Finished dish detergent box, and 2 other books found at Goodwill. I painted the front of the middle book and made up a name for the center design which already had the letters "AC" - I just gave it the name!