We love Halloween. In fact, apart from Christmas, it's my absolute favourite time and we make sure the house is fully decorated. Last year, the Husband gave up resisting and even donned a vampire cape and some fangs.
I usually stick things to walls and any other surface I think needs it with blu-tack or white-tack but versatile though these are, sometimes you need something that will take a bit more weight.
So we've discovered a range of ingenious adhesive strips and hooks from Command Products from 3M that allow home lovers to hang decorations and much more without the hassle of nails, screws and tacks, throughout the home. Better still, they stretch cleanly away, leaving no surface damage.
There's Command Brand Balloon Bunchers (for 3 balloons), Ceiling Hooks, Poster Strips, Decorating Clips and Banner Anchors which all promise damage free hanging.
We tested the poster strips and decorating clips and they certainly stick firmly and offer a more reliable grip than blu-tac! You do have to be careful about where you put them - you can't use them on wallpaper and you're advised not to use them, for example, on anything antique or that you wouldn't be able to repair - but we found they stuck fine to a painted surface.
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| We tested the Command poster strips and decorating clips |
When you remove them, you simply stretch the strips which releases them from the wall - no risk of those annoying marks you can get on some surfaces when decorations have been left in place a little too long. (You can tell I'm a decorating pro, can't you?!)
For Halloween crafting, Caitlin insists on doing her own thing with the help of Mr Bones who was a bit startled to be disinterred a bit earlier this year. But if you're stuck for ideas for your Halloween decorations, here are three ideas you might like to try.
GLIDING GHOULS
For these ghastly ghouls you'll need some polystyrene mannequin heads, coloured netting, a spray adhesive and clear fishing wire. Simply spray the heads with adhesive, cover with your choice of netting and attach the wire – three heads have been used here and hung at differing lengths to create this ghostly effect! Once you’re happy with the terrifying faces, suspend from a fireplace, ceiling, or dark corner using Command Party Ceiling Hooks… and listen out for the screams!
BAT-TASTIC
For some scary wall décor, add some 3D flying bats to your wall. Fold an A4 sheet of black card in half, then draw a slim half-sausage shape starting from the folded edge, to form the bat’s body, then sketch one simple bat wing shape leading off from this. Cut around it all, then open out and fold each wing out from either side of the body, leaving you with a flat body shape with fluttering wings. Adhere each bat to your wall using Command Poster Strips.
WEB-TACULAR
Add a giant spider’s web to give your Halloween décor a little more substance.
Working at a table, cut six lengths of wool to equal lengths and lay them out to create the spokes of your web, tying the ends together at the centre, then tape each outer end down onto your table top with a little masking tape to form the web’s structure.
Cut another length of wool and tie it to one of the structural lengths with a knot, around 5cm from the centre. Move along to the next structural length and knot your wool down here too, keeping the wool relatively taut between the two knots. Continue working your way around the structure of the web until you’re back to your original knot- cut off any excess. Repeat the process with a new length of wool, around 5cm further out from your first circle, then continue working outwards in the same way for several more circles until you are happy with your web shape and size.
Command Clear Decorating Clips are ideal for attaching these to your wall or ceiling - simply tie a knot at the end of each length and place this over the hooks. Play around with your web’s position with masking tape before sticking down with the Command Decorating Clips.
HANGING HORRORS
Command Decorating Clips or Command Party Ceiling Hooks are ideal for hanging spooky items from your ceiling… whether it’s a giant spider, witches hats, or a pumpkin lantern. Simply attach a long piece of white wool or cotton to your items, secure with a knot and hang.
For more information, visit:
www.commandstrips.co.uk. You can buy Command Strips at Amazon.co.uk, Asda, B&Q, Hobbycraft, Homebase, Robert Dyas, Ryman, Sainsbury’s, Staples, The Range, Tesco, WHSmith, Wilkinsons and 3Mdirect.co.uk.
No skeletons were harmed in the production of this post.
PR samples were received for this post
