HOW TO MAKE A SPIDER BALLOON DECORATION

Looking for a fab homemade Halloween decoration to really create some impact at your party? Follow these easy instructions to make your own huge Halloween spider.

What you'll need to get started:

1 x 36inch black balloon

2 x Black crepe streamer

(Optional 2 x orange or green crepe streamer)

Sellotape / double-sided sticky tape

String and drawing pins

Card or flexifoam sheets for the eyes and fangs

Fake Spider web decoration

(optional for making smaller spiders:

12inch black balloon and black curling ribbon for smaller legs.)

This fabulous and versatile decoration can be displayed in several ways, all of which will look stunning when combined with your other halloween decorations. The body of the spider can either rest on the floor with the legs running up and out towards the ceiling. Alternatively secure it on top of a table with the legs dangling over the table and along the floor. Best of all though you can suspend it by attaching a strong string to the neck of the balloon and pinning it to the ceiling at whatever height suits your venue, the legs will then drape down and back up again as you attach them to the surrounding walls. If you are choosing to suspend the balloon and have enough height, it's a great idea to make a sort of tunnel effect with the legs (add extra crepe streamers in a contrasting colour to the legs to give more cover) and tickle the people walking through with extra dangling ribbons and fake spider web attached to the the spider's belly.

1) Inflate the balloon to make the body of the spider – this will make a huge 3 foot body.( Leave plenty of time to pump it up if doing it by hand – we recommend the Qualatex double action pump if using a hand pump).

2) Make some eyes (and fangs if you like) to stick on the spider body. You can use card or flexi-foam and make them as big, colourful or as scary as you like (Get the kids to help with this part). Simply use the double sided tape to stick the eyes and fangs in position. If you are suspending the spider try putting the eyes on so that they look down on whoever is walking underneath.

3) Use black crepe streamer for the legs. Simply stick 8 lengths of streamer onto the body at slightly different heights using double sided tape (4 on each side) and once your spider is put at its final location, drape the streamers out and up towards the walls either side, fixing the streamers almost where the ceiling meets the wall. You can then either chop the end of the streamers off or allow them to run down the wall. You can also hide the end of each streamer with another black balloon creating another smaller spider. (attach smaller eyes and ribbon legs to this one). Or use one of these great inflatable mini spiders or this fun spider modeling kit instead.

Another option for the legs is to create a simple woven garland effect using two different colours of crepe streamer e.g. black and orange. This will give a more substantial leg but will be heavier. Just lay the end of the two streamers as right angles (see fig. 1 picture), then alternately fold one over the other (see fig.2 picture). Keep the growing stack of folds as tight as possible and don’t let it go until you have secured the final end of the two streamers together. Once you have a completed garland of the right length simply attach one end to the balloon and unfurl the spiralling twisted garland (see fig.3 picture for a rough idea of the finished product) and attach it to the wall as before. The combination of colours and the woven effect will add extra interest to your already amazing spider decoration!

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