Great Halloween Mantel Decorations To Make in a Weekend

If you’re looking for simple but sophisticated Halloween mantel decor, you’ve come to the right place! Today, I’m launching a series with great Halloween mantel decorations to make in a weekend.

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Halloween Mantel Decor Ideas

You may have seen my recent roundup of spooky and elegant Halloween mantel decorations with a variety of color schemes and creepy creatures like bats, spiders, ghosts and skeletons.

Well, I’m not done sharing Halloween inspiration!

For the past few weeks, I’ve been planning a series of DIY Halloween mantel decorations, some of which you can even repurpose for other holidays. Woo-hoo!

My twin boys loved helping me out with these crafts, so don’t be afraid to get the kids involved, too!

Key Halloween Mantel Features

What kind of Halloween decorator are you? The ghoulish, gory kind or the understated elegance kind?

I kept it tame this year with a fun-but-elegant spin on my mantel decor.

(I’m not keen on dealing with kids’ nightmares induced by over-the-top scary mantel decor, you know what I mean? We’re more of a “gingerbread house” than “haunted house.”)

This year, I included three main DIY crafts on my fireplace mantel:

1. Salt dough ornament garland
2. “MacKenzie-Childs inspired” Dollar Tree pumpkins
3. DIY farmhouse Halloween sign

To keep the decor cohesive, I decided to use a primarily black and white color scheme with little splashes of gold and orange.

1. DIY Halloween Garland

Salt dough ornaments often get typecast as a Christmas activity, but I say, “Bring on the salt dough for EVERY holiday!”

You can check out this salt dough recipe on YouTube if you need a quick tutorial. Believe me, this is one craft kids LOVE!

(If you’re short on time to DIY, you can always shop some of the delightful garlands below.)

2. Painted Dollar Tree Pumpkins

Perhaps you’ve seen my tutorial on how to decoupage and paint dollar store pumpkins.

Well, I switched things up by repainting those very pumpkins to look like something from a MacKenzie-Childs catalog.

Here’s what my painted pumpkins looked like last year.

Here are some MacKenzie-Childs specimen I used as inspiration.

And here are my newly transformed pumpkins on this year’s mantel! You can now get the full tutorial on how to paint foam pumpkins!

I do love the glamorous look of MacKenzie-Childs pumpkins (especially the one with polka dots). However, I also need to save money for the really important Halloween purchases…like candy (smirk).

I’m actually giddy about sharing my secrets for getting a sparkly, gold-leaf luster on these pumpkins! Most of the supplies come from the local crafts store.

3. DIY Farmhouse Halloween Wood Sign

In a little nod to the Dos Equis “most interesting man in the world,” I decided to make the “most interesting sign in the world.” Get it?

I think it’s hilarious, so just humor me, okay?

The sign creates a nice focal point for my mantel and sets the stage for a light-hearted and whimsical Halloween.

Click here to get the DIY farmhouse sign tutorial.

More Halloween Mantel Ideas

Since my DIY accents didn’t quite fill out the fireplace space in my living room, I added a few extra touches:

• Halloween mantel scarf that looks like spider webs
• Real orange pumpkins
• Gold candle holders with black taper candles
• Faux books to help with layering
• Empty wine bottle to support a gnarly stick I spray painted

In all honesty, I considered a range of other options, including paper bats, picture frames and jack-o-lanterns, but I prefer having a simple mantel (and fewer items to store later).

Candle Options

Let’s discuss candles for a moment. I know many decorators choose pillar candles for their mantels, but don’t you agree that taper candles create the perfect ambiance for Halloween?

Don’t Forget the Base

I also included woven pumpkin and some faux foliage at the base of my fireplace to complement the pops of orange and brown on the mantel.

Pumpkin topiaries or a rustic witch’s broom would also add a nice touch to the base of a fall mantel.

You can shop for similar items in the section below!

Shop the Look

Let’s Stay in Touch

I always share my step-by-step process to make this fabulous DIY decor on social media. I’d hate for you to miss it.

Be sure to follow me on Instagram and YouTube to get notified when I post!

Also, did you know I treat my VIP subscribers like royalty?

Sign up to make sure you don’t miss out on all the freebies I have coming up for the holidays!

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Thanks for stopping by! I personally read and respond to each and every comment, so drop me a line to tell me about your Halloween mantel decorations. Happy Halloween!

All my best,

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