How to Make a Realistic Spider Web

People who take Halloween seriously understand the importance of using realistic spiders. Sure, little kids like seeing cute spiders, but for a good scare, nothing beats fake spiders that look real. For added horror, there are even fake spiders that look real and move. Yikes! If you do have a thing for these kinds of spiders, why not make a realistic spiderweb to provide your eight-legged friends with a home?

If you want to make a homemade spiderweb, you can buy a cobweb spinner (cobweb shooter) that easily attaches to a hand drill. Then, aim your cobweb shooter where you want the webs to go. You may also pull apart large cotton balls and stick them together in bunches with hairspray. Just stretch them out onto a textured surface and they will stick.

Cotton batting or packaged spiderwebbing will also work. This is what you usually see stretched out over people's bushes on their lawn. This material can be stretched into different shapes and sizes, and your spiders can rest on top of them. You can use this inside your house but don't use too much because it takes a while to clean up. Put some in a corner and add a few spiders nearby.

If you have kids, you may want some kid-friendly spiderweb craft ideas for the younger set that are nowhere near as frightening. Glue three popsicle sticks together at their middles (one straight and the other two skewed diagonally) and then paint them Halloween colors with tempera paint. Knot a piece of yarn on one stick and weave it in and out of the sticks until you have a web pattern. Then, dangle it from the ceiling (or elsewhere) with the extra yarn.

If you don't know how to make a spiderweb with paper, you missed out on a fun Halloween craft when you were growing up. When finished, you can use them as decorations. Paper spiderwebs have to be made with parchment paper. The only other things you need are scissors and a pencil. Fold a large, square piece of parchment paper into a triangle. Then, bring up the bottom right corner to the top left corner to make a smaller triangle. Do this one more time so that the final triangle is even smaller.

Pull up the right edge of this triangle over to the left edge, making sure the edges are lined up, and trim off the edge. It should look like a right triangle. Cut a slight curve into the bottom of the folded paper and draw out the lines with a pencil. Carefully cut out the rows as evenly as you can and then open it up slowly to reveal your paper spiderweb. You can make a simple little spider out of a black pompom and then glue on some black pipe cleaners and googly eyes.

If you decide to go the scarier route instead, there are countless realistic-looking fake spiders online that you can buy. Many are scary enough to fool your friends and family. They are usually made from rubber or other nontoxic materials. For a real scare, look for fake spiders that look real and move. They can be remote controlled or battery-operated. They don't have to be that big to be scary; sometimes, the smaller, creepier ones are best.