Need some quick Halloween decor? Our felt banner tutorial makes an easy Halloween craft idea that’s inexpensive and rad.

You’ve been toiling away on your costume (or pumpkin, prop, spooky art, whatever the case may be) to freak out the impending trick-or-treaters. Your creation can win you a handful of treats, too! Some of these contests are frightfully simple to enter, while the rest require varying degrees of participation. Whether you only have a moment to join a mailing list, or have set aside months to create a fantastic costume or prop, you’ll find a contest perfect for you.

MAKE/CRAFT DIY Halloween Contest: Submit images of your homemade Halloween creations to the flickr pool. Categories include pumpkins, costumes, decorations or gadgets, and food.
Prizes: A trip to Maker Faire San Francisco and a bunch of other TBA prizes
Deadline: November 4, 2007

Curbly Candy Corn Challenge: To enter, transform these syrupy wedges into something seasonally superior for your home. Or, take …

Imagine if you dedicated an entire day to creating a Halloween project. What couldn’t you make with 20-30 hours and a vision? Norma Jean spends that much time on each one of her handmade horror dolls, giving attention to the smallest details. They are totally one of a kind, and she even sculpts the heads, hands and feet herself. All that handmade TLC is going to cost you, but sometimes you have to splurge for art. (Plus, supporting spooky artists is a always a good thing.) There are such gory categories as dolls with head injuries, mad scientists, and perhaps my favorite, the skeletons convicts.

If you’ve got a barren chamber door, she also has super detailed, ornate …

Welcome to October! Less than 30 days to get all your Halloween plans together, including choosing a killer costume. If you’re still unsure what to dress up as, I’ve got a roundup of links that are sure to get your creative juices flowing.

Not sure where to start? The best tip I know of is to choose a Halloween costume that you’re genuinely interested in becoming. If you spend your days dreaming about how badass ninjas are, then be a ninja! If you really like a character from a movie or comic, become him or her for Halloween. For all you mavericks out there who want to do something truly original, dream up your own character. Feel free to borrow from any themes that appeal to you, whether they will “make sense” to other people or not. Grab a wig, a loud jacket, some face …

I’m seeing a lot of DIY Halloween action this year, and it’s still relatively “early” in the season. I predict we’re in for a great year. Keep creating, Halloweenies!

One industrious sweet tooth decided to revamp the holy grail of Halloween treats and make homemade candy corn. Melisser wanted to enjoy its simple sweetness sans the sucky ingredients, so she tweaked a recipe from the Epicurious Editor’s Blog- with perfect results- and shared her success story online. Visit her blog for a step by step recipe with pictures. If you make your own homemade candy corn, let us know how it turned out!

Okay my little dark decorators, we have a new Halloween Decor tutorial for you, courtesy of Jill King from Spokane, WA*. You know those little bricks of modeling clay that are available at every craft store? With a just little bit of artistry- not too much, this craft is still suitable for beginners- you can transform those into little pumpkin picture holders. Use them to display creepy old ephemera, Halloween cards, or even your emo photography. Here’s an easy Halloween decorating idea: for a simple Halloween display, line up a handful of these along a windowsill or mantle and your decor is done. No matter what you’ve got going on with your Halloween decorations, these will make a creepy cool addition.

New Tutorial: Pumpkin Wire Picture Holder

*Thanks, Jill!