These Martha Stewart-Approved Spider Decorations Are Creepy and Customizable

Halloween season is officially in full swing, and after such a dismal Halloween last year, many of us have decided to go all out on the decorations. And Martha Stewart is pulling through in a big way (literally!) by showing her followers how to make giant creepy-crawly spiders that are lightweight, easy to hang, and are 100 percent customizable.

On Oct. 4, Stewart posted a photo of the DIY papier-mâché spiders that make an appearance in the October issue of Martha Stewart Living and linked to the online tutorial. To create your own hoard of giant arachnids, you’ll need balloons, floral wire, newspaper, and a whisked mixture of one-part flour to one-part water.

“We inflated two different-size balloons and covered them in papier-mâché, then glued the parts together and spray-painted them black,” the caption reads. “We kept our arachnids monotone, cut holes in the abdomens, and mounted them with Command hooks. But you can up the fear factor by painting on the red markings of black widows, or suspending them in a dark corner or hallway. Gotcha!”

Papier-mâché, for those who haven’t done it before, is a fun (and messy) process of cutting strips of newspaper, coating them with your flour-and-water mix, and then wrapping your inflated balloon in the stuff. Let it dry thoroughly and then use a needle to pop the balloon inside. Paint your papier-mâché, and you’re ready to start the gluing-together process. There are some really great papier-mâché tutorials online if you need some encouragement to get going.

But because you’re creating these spiders completely from scratch, you can decide how big you want them to be — the only limit is how big your balloons can get! Use floral wire or pipe cleaners to create the legs, and then hang them up.

Trick-or-treaters beware!