Halloween Decor Without Scary Prices

Americans spend more money on Halloween than on any holiday other than Christmas.

But creating a great setting for Halloween doesn't have to be expensive.

One way is to "re-invent the obvious," event designer Bryan Rafanelli suggested on The Early Show Tuesday.

Among his other tips:

Pumpkin Palooza:

Put a fun and creative twist on the classic Halloween pumpkin. Paint pumpkins solid black-and-white with a high-gloss spray paint, and decorate them with inexpensive and easy-to-find items such as fishnet stockings, metal thumb tacks, and feathers. (You'll need an ice pick and mallet to decorate with feathers).

Spooky Decals:

Transform black-and-white charger plates with vinyl stickers of the opposite color. Use generic vinyl stickers or custom order stickers from an engraver or copy store.

Stencil Art:

Use stencils to paint Halloween silhouettes on canvases to replace hanging art. Use blank canvases you can get from an art supply shop. Apply stencil to the canvases and spray them with high-gloss black paint to create silhouettes. Find stencil images online and print them. Make templates by tracing them and cutting them out with an exacto knife.

Fabrications:

Be creative when selecting assorted linens. Consider vinyl, Astroturf, paper, bubble wrap, lace, bengaline, and patterned cottons. Any fabric can be used to make a great linen, even flannel bed sheets and terrycloth towels!

Tablescape:

All the components come together on a table. Use a black cotton table cloth as a base. Over that, drape an unexpected black-and-white zebra stripe cloth, to keep with the black-and-white theme. From there, add decorated pumpkins for the centerpiece and several place settings, including decaled chargers.

In two weeks, Rafanelli returns to set the stage at The Early Show for a Haute Halloween, incorporating these and many more fun ideas to create a chic Halloween party on the plaza!