Haunting looks without breaking the bank

Decorator Lisa Canning, who specializes in creating high-end looks on a budget, thinks Halloween decor should be inexpensive and fun.

Here are a few of her quick and easy suggestions on how to make devilishly good decor for the most frightening night of the year:

• Pick up several pumpkins or gourd of various sizes, and spray paint them in metallic silver or copper. It’s an easy way to get a tabletop or front porch look that’s sophisticated by day, and will gleam eerily in the moonlight.

• For a different look, try painting a scary face on the pumpkin in glow-in-the-dark paint.

• Add non-alcoholic "boo" to your Halloween party by filling mismatched wine glasses with water tinted with black or orange food colouring. Float tea lights, yucky eyeballs or fake fingers from the dollar store in them. Cluster them in the centre of the table.

• Create your own wicked witch by taking an old pair of stockings, stuffing them with newspapers or old rags up to the knee and sticking a pair of high heels (preferably ruby red) on the feet. Then arrange the “legs” so that they stick out from beneath a couch or a dollar-store “tombstone.”