In a burst of festivity, I decided we should have some Halloween decorations in the house. Something 1) dramatic, 2) super cheap, and 3) didn't require me to go to the store. Behold: trash bag spiderwebs.
To make these, lay a trash bag out flat. Trim off the side and bottom seams so you're left with two big rectangles of plastic. Cut each piece into an approximate square (eyeballing it is fine.) Each square will make one spider web.
Fold one of the squares in half diagonally to form a triangle. Fold that triangle in half two more times to narrow it. This is slippery stuff, so use a few pieces of tape to fasten the layers together where the loose folded edges come together. It will help hold the shape together when you're cutting. (If any of the tape turns out to be on the web itself after you've cut it out, remove the pieces before unfolding or the web won't be able to open up.)
Use a black Sharpie to sketch some guides on the plastic: draw a "stem" from the folded point out to the end of your triangle. Then sketch some scallops that come off the stem, like in the diagram below. With a scissors, cut out the negative shapes and unfold your web. Tape several webs together and add extra strips of plastic to connect them if you like.
What a great idea!! Super cute, cheap, and easy! Thanks!
ReplyDeleteThis is a FANTASTIC idea! (How come I couldn't think of it? Just not that creative...) They will look great on my front doot on Halloween!
ReplyDeleteThat should be "door", not "doot"! I need to proofread before I hit "publish"...
ReplyDeleteCool!
ReplyDeleteGreat idea! I love it. Going to make some with the kids this weekend.
ReplyDeleteWell, aren't you creative, Lady Spider! Very cool!
ReplyDeleteSorta like doing snowflakes, huh?
Mum
just fantastic!
ReplyDeleteTon idée est trop génial ! Merci :)
ReplyDeleteWhat an awesome idea! ;D
ReplyDeleteHope you have a great weekend!
Miki.
Seriously?!? This is awesome! Thanks for the great tips!
ReplyDeleteThose are awesome. Was that a one take thing or did you do a couple first?
ReplyDeleteThis looks so cool! I'm going to have to try it.
ReplyDeletex Katherine
GENIUS! Thank you so much for sharing!
ReplyDeleteLove this!
ReplyDeleteThat is super creative and super cute! Love it! Especially love that it's just about free. There's something you don't find much of online anymore! ;) Thanks for sharing, Jessica!
ReplyDeleteMine came out looking like a naughty black negligee. My husband asked if I could wear it. Obviously I'm a spatially challenged and couldn't figure out which sides to cut/not cut. Cute idea, but I'm a DIY newb.
ReplyDeleteFantastic spiderwebs. What a great and creative idea!
ReplyDeleteLoulou @ Loulou Downtown
Kirsten, that's hilarious! I hope you find a way to, um, make use of your creation. Bree, no practice ones first. It worked out the first time.
ReplyDeleteThis rules! Thank you, Im off to get my scissors.
ReplyDeleteThis is really great, gonna show my mom this cause she likes to do decorations on the house per every season. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteGREAT IDEA! I linked to my blog, http://justapeekbyabbey.blogspot.com/2011/10/wish-i-thought-of-this.html
ReplyDeleteThis is amazing- but seriously, how do you come up with these things?? I love it.
ReplyDeleteMy trash bags are white :( They'll have to be ghosts!
ReplyDeleteThis is å great idea!!!
ReplyDeleteLike the idea - and it just so happens that we were planning to do some Halloween decorations tomorrow and have some black plastic bags around (thanks to my basement project from hell).
ReplyDeleteNot sure I can figure that spider web thing out, but I love the idea of just eyeballing it. Precision is just not my thing..
Thanks for sharing!
Swenja
uh oh..mine looks like a black snowflake! LOL. I think I need more details. Let me try again.
ReplyDeleteJ
Jessica... Second time was a charm! Thanks for sharing that...it was fun..atleast for the first 2 now I'm done..LOL
ReplyDeleteI think a heavy duty garbage bag might work better for me..my bags were kind of flimsy, which made my webs really fragile. ; )
But it's a great project!!!! I love it.
J
Those are neat...but I have a sinking feeling mine won't come out as nift...
ReplyDeleteSo clever!! I love it, love Posie
ReplyDeleteThese will be a Perfect party decoration for my son's birthday/Halloween party.
ReplyDeleteThanks!
Cute and so simple!! Love the cost of the project, too. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteWow, how innovative! And very dramatic too.
ReplyDeleteI LOVE this idea!! I'm having a toddler (and parent) pumpkin carving party Saturday afternoon, and I was trying to think of some low-cost high-impact decorations for the backyard. This will be perfect for along the fence. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteI need more details on the cutting part!
ReplyDeleteAwesome idea! Going to have to do this project with my daughter!
ReplyDeleteI think I know what is going on my front door Halloween night!
ReplyDeletei loved this...I tried it and mine did not turn out half as nice. how did you hang it???
ReplyDeleteawesome, totally doing this! in one week, eek!
ReplyDeleteGuys, I've added a little diagram for cutting, in case it's helpful.
ReplyDeleteLiz, I just taped the ends of the web to the painted window frame with clear tape. It's semi-gloss paint, so the tape peels off easily. The other ends of the web seem to adhere to the mustard-colored paint pretty well with just static cling. I helped it out in a couple places with some scotch tape stuck down lightly. The walls have flat paint, so they're not quite so peelable.
Great blog!!! I COMAND YOU ALL TO GO AND FOLLOW A GREAT BOLOG CALLED whta2wear-kk.blogspot.com DO IT RIGHT NOW!!!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the diagram! I have a hard time following stuff without a video or a diagram. :/ The same way I can't read board game instructions, gotta learn as I go!
ReplyDeletegreat idea!
ReplyDeletei have to make some of these!
I linked to your tutorial on my blog - thanks for sharing!
doro K.
wow, what a great idea, and perfect to be backlit in my large windows facing the street : )
ReplyDeleteJust made one! Turned out great! Off to make several more! Great tutorial.
ReplyDeleteVery good idea
ReplyDeleteIts always Great To Save Money!
:D
By the way, the pieces I cut out totally look like bats -- I'm going to hang those up too!
ReplyDeleteLove this simple idea, very clever.
ReplyDeletethat is great style for any home
ReplyDeletei would like to apply this style in my home for decoration.
These are fab! I made some with my 2 boys and they loved them - thanks for the tutorial!
ReplyDeletei love that idea
ReplyDeletethanks!!!!
Love this! It looks so hard but when the steps are broken down it actually looks doable! haha What a fun handmade Halloween decoration. Whoever figured this out has a true gift!
ReplyDeleteLOVE!! Why oh why do my town trash bags have to been green?!
ReplyDeleteHow effective!
ReplyDeleteThis is one of my favourite Halloween posts! I have featured it on my "5 Great Finds" today.
http://jugglingmotherhood.com/2011/10/31/5-great-finds-halloween-edition/
Thanks so much!
So cute! thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteLove your blog and your neat ideas. Thanks so much.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your great and clever ideas and designs. I am going to have to try this for Halloween
ReplyDeleteThanks for the tutorial! I made some for my front porch :)
ReplyDeletehttp://catshy.blogspot.com/2011/11/fall-felt-wreath-no-2-halloween.html
I loved this idea since I saw , so I finally decided to try it last weekend (last minute, I know!!!).
ReplyDeleteI posted mine in my blog, but send everybody here to check yours, they look much more better than mines!
Thanks!!
This is really great, gonna show my mom this cause she likes to do decorations on the house per every season. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDelete♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
ReplyDeleteThis worked great! The best part is it sticks to my window without any tape! Thanks for great idea!
ReplyDeleteThis is way too cute! We featured this awesome trash bag craft on our Top 13 Eco-Friendly Halloween crafts round-up! http://familysponge.com/create/holiday-craft-ideas-create/top-13-recycled-halloween-crafts/
ReplyDeleteI don't know if someone already mentioned this but the parts that you cut out for the spider web look a little like bats. We took those parts and hung them up as well.
ReplyDeleteI liked this idea ever since I saw it. I have a giant spider that has needed a web for a few years now. This year I made him one using your tutorial. I really like it. See my post here.
ReplyDeleteI'm sitting on the terrass and just cut open one trash bag...just to try. Then thought to google how to make a spiders web and ended up here. This is great!! I guess I have to use my cut bag for something else cause this idea is way better. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI can't wait to try this out! I am featuring this very creative idea on my blog, today! I hope you'll stop by to check it out!
ReplyDeleteCute! A $1 plastic table cover would work just as well
ReplyDeleteThis is so cute- what a great idea!!
ReplyDeleteThis is awesome! Just made it and its up on our wall. Mahalo!
ReplyDeleteI'm going to use a large black plastic tablecloth that you can get at Dollar General. I think I'll make a template for it first out of craft paper. :)
ReplyDeletecool
ReplyDeleteHas anyone actually tried it? Mine looked like a hot mess!
ReplyDeleteLooks like some of the other commenters have; read above.
ReplyDeleteGreat idea, thanks!
ReplyDeleteI loved this idea and blogged about it here: http://www.pressprintparty.com/diy/5-super-easy-halloween-decorations/
ReplyDeleteBy the third one, I think I have the hang of it! The key I found is to make the web pieces (the parts that stay attached) fairly thin (the one I like are about 3/4 inch wide, maybe a little less in some places. Also, the one I didn't draw out before I cut came out square, so something wasn't lined up right (so seriously, use your Sharpie!). These are so cute, I can't wait to put them up :)
ReplyDeleteJust a quick note to let you know that we featured this design in our Halloween Craft Countdown on our blog, and also on our Twitter feed. It's such a lovely design!
ReplyDeleteOur blog post is here: http://ideas.stitchcraftcreate.co.uk/free-halloween-crafts/
All the best,
- James Brooks @ Stitch Craft Create UK
My first two attempts at this went horribly wrong. Then I had my totally non-crafty husband give it a try, and out came a perfect web. In case this helps others who were thinking the way I was, here's where I went wrong:
ReplyDeleteWhere the instructions say, "the open side, temporarily secured with tape". My interpretation of the "open side" was the "cut" side...it was totally open. This results in a hot mess. Instead, the "open side" is only open where the folded halves come together! The "cut" side is on the top!!!! Totally folded together is on the right. God Bless....I normally consider myself somewhat crafty but this one got the best of me! Determination (and sweet husband) prevailed. Turned out cute, FINALLY!! Thanks for the great idea!
I'm so glad it finally worked for you!
ReplyDeleteI found that using clothespins to hold the bag edges worked better than tape - made it easier to cut accurately and then open up.
ReplyDeleteOh WOW! It looks AMAZING! I'm totally trying this with my students! Our classes are gonna be the spookiest! :D
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing!!!
♫
Great idea but what do you mean by 'eyeballing it'?
ReplyDeleteWould you be able to put more images up of the process of making it. I'd really love to give it a go but I don't quite understand. Very inventive though you have a great creative eye :-)
Loved it! Thanks so much for the idea. I did it with my students in class and it was wonderful. :)
ReplyDeleteWhile the idea was good, I'll admit that eyeballing it didn't not work out well for me. It makes it harder to cut if your triangles aren't aligned symmetrically. I am quite artsy and it didn't work for me... they just kept breaking apart. Might need some new/tough trash bags or some sharper scissors though! Thanks for the idea.
ReplyDeleteI amazed myself cuz I sure couldn't cut straight for nothing hahaha foorreeal,, sooo cool and so different no cobwebs this year,, since all my neighbors got their white fuzz blowing all over neighborhood,, I like to be different they always try to kinda do what we do to the front yard,, NOT THIS YEAR THANKSSS
ReplyDeleteI keep getting snowflakes what am I doing wrong please help
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing this creative and practical idea! How did you get the spider webs to connect (as shown in the picture)? Did you use a kitchen bag or contractor bag? Thank you!
ReplyDeleteHow do you get the spider webs to connect like they do in the picture? Love this idea! So striking and practical! Thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteI made several individual spider webs and then taped them together. Sometimes I cut an extra strip of trash bag to use as a connector. I used black trash bags. I guess they're kitchen bags? I'm not sure what a contractor bag is.
ReplyDeleteIf you're having a hard time figuring out the readable instructions like me, check out this Youtube video to give you a little more insight on this great idea. http://youtu.be/OVtO1-yRkDQ
ReplyDeleteI folded the triangle wrong, keeping 1 point to the bottom and make a skinny triangle. When it was cut, it make a corner web...which worked out ok too!
ReplyDeletethanx super easy and awesome
ReplyDeleteJust made tow of these yesterday...super fun!! Easy, inexpensive. Once you get the idea of what your doing, I got even more creative and made different shapes, lol! Thank you, this is awesome!!!
ReplyDeleteBrilliant idea! Looked really impressive in our office Halloween decorating competition. Thank you!
ReplyDelete