Halloween is THE season of the year for artist Patty Benedict of St. Joseph. Dubbed the "Queen of Halloween" in the October issue of American Miniaturist magazine, Mrs. Benedict works year round sculpting dimensional Halloween miniatures for collectors all over the country. And as you can imagine, the Benedict annual Halloween party is the culminating celebration of the season. But with the slow economy and a cut in her husband, Gan's, salary, the Benedicts almost decided not to have it.

"But then we decided that everybody is in the same boat - let's just have some fun," Mrs. Benedict says. "When the going gets tough, have a party."

So she put her creativity to work and came up with a spooktacular, budget-friendly party. The theme: Dead broke. The result: It doesn't have to cost an arm and a leg to have a party to die for.

"It was so much fun for us that we didn't want to leave," says guest Cheryl Jarrett. "They played killer music all night, and the decorations were phenomenal. We hope they do it again, and we get invited."

Copy some of her ideas for your own low dough Halloween bash.

INVITATIONS

After sending "save the date" e-mail messages several weeks in advance (a good idea for parties on busy holiday weekends), she then sent the official invitations by mail a week ahead. She made them on plain white paper. At the top, she put a spooky-looking dollar bill made by copying a play dollar and putting a face on it she copied from a book (all on Microsoft Word). She used the self printer at a copy center to make the copies and used rubber stamps from Wal-Mart to decorate the envelopes. For 30 invitations, the cost was only $2.70.

FOOD

The invitations asked guests to BYOB and a snack to share. It's not only more economical, but it also can add to the fun. The buffet table was filled with everything from "devil eggs" (deviled eggs with the yellow colored green and decorated with a black olive and roasted red peppers for the pupil) to platters of "funny bones" (made with pretzels, white chocolate and mini-marshmallows). Mrs. Benedict also served up warm, spiced apple cider, which instantly adds a fall aroma to the room at a minimal cost.

COSTUMES

Costumes were optional for guests, but not for the Queen of Halloween. The Benedicts dressed as a tragically dead prom queen and football star. To achieve a deathly pale look, she painted black eye shadow around their eyes and in hallows around bone lines. Then she rubbed baby powder all over the skin and sprayed a $1.99 can of temporary hair color (bright white) in their hair. It washes out in the morning.

MUSIC AND ENTERTAINMENT

You don't need a DJ or a collection of Halloween CDs for great music. She got it all free off an Internet radio called Never Ending Wonder (http://www.neverendingwonder.com/weirdsville.htm). It plays Halloween music all month long such as "Monster Mash" (SIX versions), "Purple People Eater," "Ghostbusters," Will Smith, Elvira, The Blob, Weird Al, and many more. And for more entertainment, everyone told their favorite ghost story.

DECOR

Mrs. Benedict didn't want to buy anything new, so she made use of what she had. As a former visual display designer for Independence Center in Kansas City, coming up with the ideas may have been easier for her than most of us, but many of them are easy to do.

Knight at the door. You know this will not be an ordinary party after you see a life-size knight standing at the door holding a pumpkin. (When she bought him, he was missing his sword). It's made of aluminum, and she bought it at St. Joseph Auction and Antique Market in St. Joseph for $12. Mr. Benedict made a black tin bat to hoover over guests at the door.

Face in the window. As guests helped themselves at the buffet table, a creepy face peered in the window from outside. Make your own by taking an old mask and putting it on a wig head, then support it on a stake in the yard against the window. Wire on a flashlight beneath to cast an eerie glow.

Samara from "the Ring." Create instant terror with your TV by turning a mannequin (or you could use a large doll) into Samara, the evil girl who crawls out of the television in the movie "The Ring." Add a long black wig covering her face and put her by the television.

"Psycho" bathroom. Mrs. Benedict created a Hitchcock-themed bathroom with a sound-activated "Psycho" shower curtain that plays music from the movie (buy it on eBay). She perched dollar-store ravens on the windows, which were decorated with purple lights. On the vanity, there were copies of Alfred Hitchock books with more birds and spider place mats.

Spooky wine bottles. Transform old wine bottles with Halloween labels from a dollar store.

Haunted portraits. A ghostly photo in a old picture frame is actually the Benedicts' daughter, Annie, dressed in a Halloween costume. It's a fun way to add to the decorating while preserving memories of past costumes and events.

Wall of orange. Patty collects Viking orange glass and displayed it in a '60s china cabinet with orange lights strung throughout. She topped it off with a jack-o'-lantern and some vintage black cat bookends.

Skull in pair of hands. Patty took a Wal-Mart skeleton head and topped it with a little girl's black hat she found at a garage sale, then set it on a candleholder that looks like a pair of hands (bought from TJ Maxx last year).

Towering witch. Patty took a 40-inch witch (one of the only sculptures she made and has kept for herself) and placed her on a high shelf, where she appears larger than life with her hands outstretched.

Haunted pictures. String shredded black tulle netting around framed pictures to give them a creepy quality. Patty put it over a buffet table and added black tabletop Christmas trees with more black netting around the bottom. Or, she says, dye cheese cloth in shades of gray, purple or green for draping on pictures or anywhere.

Inflatable monster around the corner. She bought him on sale at Home Depot after Halloween for $13. Mrs. Benedict says after the holidays is always the time to get the best buys. And look in non-traditional places, such as the Cracker Barrel restaurant, for some great finds.

Lifestyle reporter Sylvia Anderson may be reached at sylviaanderson@npgco.com.