Spooky Halloween Decor DIY

I've been on a crafty upcycling kick lately.

For some reason fall always gets me in the decorating mood.

I'm not sure if it's that let's get cozy vibe the cooler temps bring or the fact that the holidays are inching closer.


Either way, lately, my creative spirit has taken hold.

And I find myself digging into my thrift store stash to play.

Exhibit A.

This candle trivet was $3.99 at Savers.



It's a shop I rarely frequent, I prefer the tiny, charity shops, but this year I decided to stop in and I scored.

Bigtime.

It's where I found the wooden dollhouse washstand I just made over...and, honestly, like that washstand, when I grabbed the trivet, I had no idea what I was going to do with it.

I didn't even know what it was until I turned it over to reveal a large sticker with directions for burning a candle on it.Who knew?

However, it had such a pretty border and a nice open square space in the middle, that I couldn't resist. It was a blank palette.

Inspiration didn't hit until weeks later, when I was at Dollar Tree and saw these Halloween skull napkins.


I knew immediately that they were the right size and even though I am not a fan of Halloween...or anything spooky...I couldn't resist.

Decoupaging Napkins For Halloween

I used this trivet as my base, but any old floor tile, wooden sign or plate would work well for this craft.

As far as my DIY goes, it was literally the quickest process ever. The color was already perfect, so there wasn't any need to paint the base.

Although, I did wipe the entire thing down with a little vinegar and water and removed the sticky price tag with my peanut butter trick.

Then simply cut out one panel of the napkin with my scissors, being careful to stay on the folded lines, since they were straight and sharp.

Next, I separated the layers, so I had only the top layer with the pattern to glue down.

Some napkins, like the ones I used when I made my spoon ornaments, have a sneaky third layer which is often tough to remove, this napkin was only 2-ply, which made the process so much simpler.


Thank you Dollar Tree. 

At this point, I grabbed my decoupage medium. Now, I used Dixie Belle Satin Sealer, as usual.

It's my favorite and I love the fact that it's a furniture grade sealer with no scent.

Dixie Belle Sealer// Mod Podge

Of course, you can use whatever you have on hand, Mod Podge or a homemade version, for example.

I just brushed on a thin coat, covering the open square on the trivet, paying special attention to the edges and corners.


Then very, very carefully, I laid the napkin down, lining the edges up and centering it. 

The only tricky part here was making sure it was properly placed on the first shot. If I had to move it too much that thin, wet napkin would've torn.


I used a gloved hand to carefully smooth down all the bumps and wrinkles. I didn't go crazy this time, because honestly, a few imperfections seemed to fit this design.

A bit of gritty realism for my handmade decoration.

I then coated the top of the napkin with more decoupage sealer and set it aside to dry.

In the past I have used an iron to set the decoupage on tile, instead of a top coat. I actually like that process better, but my large iron didn't fit in the space. I clearly need to get myself this craft iron before Christmas crafting begins...but I digress.

For now, I'm focused on fall.

And Halloween with my new ceramic skull sign.


The one on my fireplace mantel with its elegant frame.

That takes the edge off that creepy design.


Making it the perfect grown up Halloween decoration for this girl.

👻

Are you a spooky Halloween decorator?


Before you go, check out all the fall fabulousness from my friends! Today, I'm part of a fall hop with a new group of very talented creators.

Amazing Creators in fact.


I hope you'll take the time to pop by and visit them all.

You may know some of them and others may be new to you, but I guarantee you'll be impressed! Plus it's always nice to make new friends.
Happy Fall Hopping, Friends!