Halloween Crafting - Beverage Container Edition

If You Don’t Decorate, is it Even Halloween?

How does your family get ready for the spookiest time of year? Costumes, candy, and of course, Halloween decorations! Just like trick-or-treating, getting your home ready for Halloween is fun for the whole family. Homemade decorations beat store-bought decor anyday, so recruit your little ghosts and goblins to be the official Halloween Craft Crew.

What You’ll Need

No need to spend a fortune at the craft store - you likely already have most of the supplies you need around the house. Another way to save money on fresh Halloween decor: use empty beverage containers as the base for these crafts. You may not have realized, but your recycle bin is full of ghosts, jack-o-lanterns and haunted houses just waiting to come to life!

The Basics

Acrylic Paint and/or spray paint

Pipe cleaners

Googly eyes

Construction paper

 

Bonus

LED string or tea lights

Wine Corks (perfect for Frankenstein bolts!)

First-aid gauze (to "mummify" any beverage container)

 

Some Ideas to Get You Started

This activity is the perfect time to let your Halloween Craft Crew’s imagination run wild. If you need some inspo to spark your creativity, here are some of our favourite spooky beverage container ideas:

Wine Bottles

There’s just something about the shape of wine bottles that make perfect ghosts. Clear bottles look great when you drop in a string of battery-powered LED lights, or paint any bottle white before drawing the eyes and mouth.

wine bottle7

 

4 Litre Milk Jugs

Add LED lights for glowing ghosts, pumpkins and haunted houses. Or, try this candy monster - perfect to keep by the door for trick-or-treaters!

milk jug candy

Tetra Paks

Tetra Paks are the perfect shape for haunted houses. Paint the outside, add cotton cobwebs, and glue on pipe cleaner spiders. They also make great lanterns, like this spooky owl that would look perfect in a tree or on a windowsill.

owl lanterm2

Aluminum Cans

The sky’s the limit when it comes to transforming aluminum cans into Halloween monsters. They’re super versatile and easy to work with. Spray on a white base coat to ensure your acrylic colours look vibrant. Or, use gauze and stick-on eyes for a quick and simple aluminum can mummy. The same supplies make great ghosts, too. Glue long strips of gauze to the bottom of the beverage container, hang outside and watch the wind bring them to life!

IMG 2398 3

Click here to see how your little monsters can turn these little monsters into a fun Halloween game!
 

Refundable Beverage Containers Are Valuable!

Whether you’re saving money by repurposing, or returning them for a refund, empty beverage containers equal money in your pocket. Containers 1 litre or less will earn you 10 cents, and containers larger than one litre are worth 25 cents. At Alberta Bottle Depot, we know that recognizing the value in empty beverage containers helps to keep them out of local parks, waterways and landfills. Click here to learn more about container types and refunds, or visit your local Bottle Depot. The friendly staff are happy to answer all your beverage container questions!