Want to have some fun with your dinner guests this Halloween season? Old or young, they’re sure to love these creepy insect plates no matter what else is being served. This is an incredibly fast and simple Halloween DIY project. It’s appetizing score is significantly less, however. Enjoy!

Materials Needed:

Oven-safe plate(s)Oil-based permanent markersFake insects of your choice

These oversized rubber flies were found at the dollar store. I was looking for spiders to be more Halloween-y, but I actually love the flies more. Unique.

To get your oil marker working for the first time, gently but completely depress the tip with your finger.

With the pen facing upward, let go. The tip will spring back out.

Place the cap on the pen. Shake it vigorously for 30 seconds to a minute.

On your plate (or a practice surface, if you’d rather), depress the point onto the plate surface and release it.

Do this multiple times, like 10 or 20 times, until the ink starts flowing down into the tip. When you see the ink reach the point of the tip, it’s ready to use.

Keeping your rubber or plastic insects nearby as your guide, begin drawing the bug’s silhouette on the edge of your plate. Keep your drawing proportional to the actual fake insect to make things more fun.

Fill in the insect outline and add legs.

Continue drawing insects in a line around the outside edge of your plate, entering on one side of the plate and exiting at another point. It should be stated here that Sharpie oil-based markers are listed as non-toxic, but they are not recommended for coming into contact with food. Because of this, it’s best to keep your line of insects around the perimeter of the plate, where they can march along without touching the plate’s edible contents.

It’s a good idea to keep a model bug close for each drawing so you maintain the right size and silhouette without getting progressively larger or smaller.

With your bugs marching across your plate, it’s time to repeat the process for other plates. When all the plates are complete, it’s time to make the bugs’ journey permanently creepy.

Place your plate(s) in your room-temperature oven.

Set the oven to 350 degrees F.

Set the timer for 30 minutes. Allow the oven to heat up with the plate inside, allow the plate to bake, and then turn the oven off without removing the plate. Leave the plate in the oven until it has cooled completely.

Remove the plate when you can do so with your bare hands.

Set the table with your fake insects and your permanent insect plate.

I love the creepiness of insects walking over utensils toward the plate as well.

So gross! A perfect Halloween meal setup.

You could choose ceramic paints to achieve the same result (if they’re non-toxic, you could even eat off the insects’ painted backs) or for a finer touch, but these fake flies were so big and markers so easy to use, this quick project was preferable for my family.

Enjoy your DIY baked insect plates this Halloween!