For many years, we lived in old houses (circa 1790, 1841, etc.), which are great to decorate for Halloween. Our last house, in Massachusetts, had a wonderful wooden front door with many layers of paint and incredible texture that simply can't be created by anything other than age. While I miss a lot about that house and all the old and well-loved, spooky details, we now live in a newly constructed house with metal exterior doors. I hadn't actually given it much thought until Colton was walking around with a magnet investigating where it would stick. Doors! I thought it'd be fun to magnetize our little plastic spiders, so they could be played with on the fridge and dishwasher and wind up decorating the side door for Halloween.
We found these magnets at Michaels. Their thickness is perfect for the slightly concave spider bellies.
I used Weld Bond, but any craft glue will do. Apply liberally for full coverage on the magnet. Test the magnets before gluing — if you put them on backwards they won't stick to anything! Allow the glue to dry fully before using to decorate. If your metal door is painted, be sure to test a corner somewhere to make sure the magnets won't scratch the paint.
The spiders can crawl right up the pumpkins outside and head for the door handle. Since we didn't use tape, the kids can now move them around as they like.
It's close to peak leaf season here in New Hampshire. We're fortunate to live across from a state forest and are greatly appreciative of the quiet view from the front of the house.
Stop back for additional quick and easy Halloween ideas next week. Have a wonderful weekend!
Karin