Turn old tin can lids into quirky upcycled Halloween decorations. These easy DIY wall hangings feature a spooky black cat, a cheeky pumpkin and a Jack Skellington face, all finished with colourful tassels for a fun retro vibe.
Halloween is one of my favourite holidays to craft for. I love coming up with new ways to repurpose stuff from the recycling bin and give them a spooky twist. Last year, I shared a bunch of upcycled Halloween decorations, and this time, I couldn’t resist playing around with tin can lids.
I ended up making three quirky Halloween wall hangings – a spooky black cat, a Jack Skellington inspired face, and a grinning pumpkin. They have that slightly retro, homemade feel that reminds me of vintage Halloween decorations.
They’re also really easy to make, and once you’ve got the hang of it, you can invent your own faces too. If you’ve seen my Halloween wine cork craft, you’ll know it’s packed with little characters like Frankenstein’s monster, Dracula and mummies. Any of those faces could work brilliantly on these tin lid hangings as well.
What You Need
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- Tin can lids (jam jar lids work too)
- Acrylic paint and paint pens
- Pencil
- Yarn/twine scraps for tassels
- Beads or felt balls
- Card for cat ears
- Drill (or hammer and nail)
- Sandpaper
How to Make Tin Can Lid Halloween Decorations
Step 1 – Prepare the lids
Cut the lids from three tin cans. Smooth out any rough edges with a hammer and sand down sharp areas. Drill a hole at the top for hanging and another at the bottom for the tassel.
Step 2 – Paint the base
Paint the lids off-white with acrylic paint. You will probably need more than one coat of paint.
Step 3 – Add the faces
Lightly sketch your designs in pencil first. I painted a pumpkin face, a black cat, and a Jack Skellington inspired face. Use acrylic paint pens for details, such as eyes, mouths, and teeth.
Paint the background orange for the pumpkin, black for the cat, and leave Jack white. For the cat, cut two little card triangles, paint them black, and glue them to the back of the lid as ears.
Step 4 – Make tassels
For the pumpkin, I made three little tassels from multicoloured yarn. For Jack, I used a single black tassel. And for the cat, a striped tassel is created by wrapping black and green yarn together. To make tassels, wrap yarn around your hand about a dozen times, tie off the top with thread, then snip the loops at the bottom.
Step 5 – Assemble and decorate
Thread a bead or felt ball between the tassel and the tin lid. Add a few more beads or felt balls at the top before tying on a hanging loop.
And that’s it – fun little wall hangings made from rubbish.
Other Ideas and Variations
- More faces – why not try Frankenstein, Dracula, a mummy or even a wicked witch?
- Different backgrounds – instead of paint, use decoupage, Halloween paper scraps or vintage images to decorate the lids. Here you’ll find some free vintage Halloween images.
- Alternative lids – jam jar lids work just as well if you don’t have tin can lids.
- Mini garland – string a few together to make a spooky banner for your fireplace or wall.
I had a great time making these little decorations. They’re a brilliant way to use up scraps of wool and old tin can lids, and they add just the right amount of spooky retro charm to your Halloween.
Check out some of my other Halloween upcycle crafts, like these Halloween illuminated bottles and these Halloween denim pocket treat bags. And if you are looking for something to make with the rest of the can, then check out these ingenious tin can craft ideas.
