17 Spooky Skull DIYs Perfect for Halloween

Updated on 11/02/21

DIY halloween jar decorations — Dina Belenko Photography / Getty Images

Halloween will be here before you know it, which means it is time to start making your home feel just a bit spooky. Once you've figured out your costume, transform your home into a haunted mansion by decorating it with some creepy but fun holiday decor. By adding a skull or two to your scenes this fall, you can easily turn your space into a hair-raising home worthy of a Halloween party or slew of trick-or-treaters. Here are 17 DIY skull ideas perfect for adding an eerie feeling to your home.

01 of 17

DIY Skull Cake Stand

A Bubbly Life

Serve your family spooky cupcakes, cookies, cakes, or other sugary treats on a creepy skull plate created using this easy DIY. All you need to do: Attach a plate onto a decorative skull and paint both one uniform color.

DIY Skull Cake Stand from A Bubbly Life
02 of 17

DIY Decorative Gold Skulls

Lovely Indeed

Update regular plastic decorative skulls (available in party stores) into a chic decor feature by painting them with liquid gilding to add some glam. The completed metallic skulls can be used to decorate around your home—try placing a bunch in a glass vase or group them together on a table.

DIY Decorative Gold Skulls from Lovely Indeed
03 of 17

DIY Skull Flower Vase

Persia Lou

For your Halloween tablescape, stick with a sophisticated black and white color scheme to lend a cohesive look to your snack table. Start by setting the table with some small black foam pumpkins to hold candy. Complete your table decor with a black foam skull, which you can turn into a decorative vase to hold fresh white flowers.

DIY Skull Flower Vase from Persia Lou
04 of 17

DIY Skull Candleholder

Pretty Life Girls

For some inexpensive Halloween decor, head to the dollar store to pick up a plastic skull and turn it into a creepy gold candle holder, perfect for holding a large pillar candle. The slowly melting candle will seem right out of a witch's den.

DIY Skull Candleholder from Pretty Life Girls

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05 of 17

DIY Skull String Art

A Beautiful Mess

For some large-scale spooky decor, string together a huge piece of art for your house with this amazing skull DIY. Simply wrap white string around nails to create a skull design on a large piece of wood, then display anywhere in your home that needs an extra dose of eerie.

DIY Skull String Art from A Beautiful Mess
06 of 17

DIY Gold Foil Skull Print

Persia Lou

Create some chic gold foil art by downloading a free skull design template from Persia Lou. Print the template onto black paper with a laser printer, then apply reactive gold foil to the printed design using a Heidi Swapp Minc to create your own metallic skull print in minutes. The black and gold design can then be added to your home for some temporary art in October.

DIY Gold Foil Skull Print from Persia Lou
07 of 17

DIY Skull Halloween Candles

Gina Michele

Light your house with some flickering skull candles that are perfect for Halloween. To make these fearful flames, transfer a skull pattern onto a regular white pillar candle using tissue paper. For an extra frightful look, consider making several Halloween candles of various heights and grouping them together.

DIY Skull Halloween Candles from Gina Michele
08 of 17

DIY Printable Skull Art

Persia Lou

For your themed party this October, temporarily replace some of the photos on your walls with this printable skull art. Available rocking a bow tie or hair bow, they're a great way to decorate your walls for the season for free.

DIY Printable Skull Art from Persia Lou

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09 of 17

DIY Skull Apothecary Bottle

Endlessly Inspired

Make a witch- or wizard-inspired apothecary display in your home by decorating a few different handmade potion bottles. This DIY skull bottle is made by adding a plastic skull to an old whiskey bottle.

DIY Skull Apothecary Bottle from Endlessly Inspired
10 of 17

DIY Glitter Skull

Little House on the Corner

Update your home's mantel for Halloween by adding a few black candles, painting a foam skull black, and covering it in black glitter. The end result: A frightful fireplace that's perfect for getting—and relieving—chills.

DIY Glitter Skull from Little House on the Corner
11 of 17

DIY Creepy Skull Wreath

Tried and True Blog

Frighten trick-or-treaters before they even ring the doorbell by decorating your front door with a creepy-looking wreath made of skulls. This handmade design is easy to make and the end result looks so amazing—it's sure to be a Halloween decor item you will want to store and use year after year.

DIY Creepy Skull Wreath from Tried and True Blog
12 of 17

DIY Pottery Barn Inspired Halloween Skull Votives

Monica Wants It

Wrap small glass candle votives for quick and easy last-minute party decor. To make these menacing skulls, print the template onto vellum paper and tape it around the exterior of the candle holder.

DIY Pottery Barn Inspired Skull Votives from Monica Wants It

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13 of 17

DIY Cross Stitch Skull Sweater Pillow

A Beautiful Mess

This fall, as you go through all your sweaters to see which ones still fit, put aside any you no longer wish to wear to convert them into a pillow. This soft and spooky cushion—featuring a cross-stitched skull design on the front— is perfect for your couch this Halloween.

DIY Cross Stitch Skull Sweater Pillow from A Beautiful Mess
14 of 17

Iron-On Skull T-shirt Halloween Costume

Minted Strawberry

If Halloween is quickly approaching and you still don't have something to wear, one easy idea is to make an iron-on skull t-shirt with this design, available at Minted Strawberry.

DIY Iron-On Skull T-Shirt from Minted Strawberry
15 of 17

Last-Minute Skull Banner

Lovely Indeed

If you left your holiday decorating to the last minute, this is an easy fix. Break out the black cardstock and cut out the same skull design over and over again to create a scary skull banner that can be attached to a string and hung on any wall in your home.

Last-Minute DIY Skull Banner from Lovely Indeed
16 of 17

Boneyard Lantern

Oh My Creative

If you are known among your friends and family for your spectacular Halloween parties, this DIY boneyard lantern would be the perfect decor piece to add to your next bash. The creepy candle holder is covered in plastic skull heads that emit a soft glow from the eye holes when lit. This is one piece that is sure to impress (and creep out) your guests.

DIY Boneyard Lantern from Oh My Creative

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17 of 17

Printable Skeleton Art For Your Walls

Rosyscription

For some extra gothic flair in your home, this free printable skeleton-themed black and white artwork will fit the bill. Available at Madigan Made, the creepy art is ready to frame and hang on your living room walls.

DIY Printable Skeleton Art For Your Walls from Rosyscription