Halloween Skull Garland DIY

My Halloween skull garland was my favorite part of my Halloween mantel decor this year.  This was so easy and such a bargain by using skulls from Dollar Tree.  If there was ever an easy and inexpensive holiday decoration hack, it is this one from the dollar store!

dollar-store-skull-garland

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I began by drilling holes in the sides of the dollar store skulls.  Okay, so I didn’t drill the holes.  If you don’t read C&D regularly you might not know that my Mom and Dad live in an apartment over our garage.  It is so wonderful to have them close, and my Dad really enjoys getting involved in my DIY projects, so Dad drilled all my skulls for me!  Get your skulls from Dollar Tree!  You can order them online and have them delivered to your home, or pick them up at your local Dollar Tree with free shipping!  Have extra skulls on hand?  You might want to add this Skull Wreath to your Halloween decor, too!make-a-skull-garland

There was ample discussion between Dad and I, but I did prevail and the holes were drilled with a 5/16ths  drill bit.  diy-halloween-garlandI had the holes drilled toward the top and back of the skulls, you can see in the above picture, if you get the same $1 skulls, you will drill it where the seam from the plastic meets the line molded in the skull.  making-a-dollar-store-halloween-skull-garland-1I had a bolt of black tulle left from last year’s Halloween Front Porch decorations so I used that for my garland.  You could buy a spool of tulle for this project, but I like the look of the thicker tulle between the skulls.  I cut 6 feet of tulle straight from the bolt to for a garland that is ultimately 66″ long .  I folded over the tulle and roughly cut it in half.  There is no need to be exact for this, it is a Halloween decoration, so it is allowed to be raggedy.  This gives me two pieces that are 6′ long by 27″ wide.make-a-diy-halloween-skull-garland

This step is very important or you will get frustrated trying to thread your skulls onto the tulle.  Take the last twelve inches or so of tulle and cut it down to about 12 inches wide as shown in the picture above.  This will make the knot smaller so you can thread it through the holes in the skulls.make-your-own-halloween-skull-garlandYou will need a heavy wire to use as your “needle” to thread the tulle.  I use 18 wt. wire.  Bend the wire over so you have a piece about 3″ long bent alongside itself as shown.

making-a-halloween-skull-garland-with-dollar-store-skulls Tie a knot in the narrow part of the tulle and slip the wire through the knot.  After you have the wire in the knot, pull the tulle knot very tight.make-a-dollar-store-halloween-skull-garland

Now you are ready to thread the tulle through the skulls. make-a-diy-dollar-store-halloween-skull-garland Feed the wire through the plastic skull.how-to-make-an-easy-dollar-store-skull-garland-for-halloween

a-diy-skull-garland-for-halloweenYou can see above how you need to tuck the short end of the wire inside the skull as you pull the tulle through the skull.  Don’t pull too hard or fast or you can bend it on the other end instead of getting it to come completely out of the skull.making-a-diy-skull-garlandHere is the skull with the tulle coming through, it is now completely on the tulle and I am ready to add more skulls by repeating the process.  When you get to the other end, tie a knot to hang your garland from.diy-dollar-store-skull-garlandNow you have a dollar store skull Halloween garland ready to hang at your house inside or out!  I used two of these on my mantel.  My 66″ garland holds six skulls.  I recommend not making a garland much longer than this unless you want it to hang quite low.  Instead, group together multiple garlands like I did. diy-halloween-skull-garlandHead on over to Halloween Mantel Decor to see the rest of my bargain Halloween decorations!

step-by-step-tutorial-for-a-dollar-store-skull-garland

add-lights-for-a-spooky-diy-dollar-store-skull-garland-for-halloween

If you want to light up your skulls, you can easily cut a little flap in the back of your skulls and pop a battery operated tea light inside!   If you can’t find the skulls still available at your Dollar Tree, check online at the link below, you may be able to have them delivered right to your local store!  Where will you hang your skull garland?

Shop this project:

Black Tulle
Plastic Skulls – Dollar Tree
Battery Tea Lights
Floral Wire 

 

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24 Comments

  1. WOW! You really created an amazing garland lights and all! I’m not into the darker details of Halloween for myself but I can certainly admire your creativity and scary mantle!

    1. Oh, Ruby, you are too kind! I will be doing a LIVE demo of this on Hometalk’s FB page on October 21st if you want to follow along and make your own! You will be able to ask questions as we go!

  2. You are so creative! I love this. And I think I want to come Trick or Treat at your house! Not only is it gorgeous I bet you have the best snacks!

    I love the idea of using Dollar Store Decorations to make a great looking garland. I am going to be keeping my eyes peeled when I’m in the store looking for something cool to make from your tutorial! Thanks.

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