Tuesday, October 14, 2014

DIY Affordable Halloween Door Decoration

Well, the Halloween posts aren't stopping yet! (I even have a few more to come this week.)  Here's a stylish but easy door hanger that I made, on the cheap.  If you have some of the supplies on hand, you can make this, like I did, for under $3. This is a great base idea for a door decoration for any holiday.


All you need is:
* A platter, old picture frame, etc. (Mine is a plastic platter I picked up at WalMart for $2.47.)
* A piece of scrapbook paper
* Mod Podge, glue, or sealant
* Silhouette Double Sided Adhesive sheets (Optional--can just use more scrapbook paper.)
* Glitter and paint brush
* Vinyl (Again, optional.  Can also just use scrapbook paper, but if you use all paper you will most certainly need a sealant.)
* Finishing Spray (like polyurethane spray, or Krylon Matte Finish Spray)
* Ribbon

Here's how to:


First, measure the inside of your main board, backing, platter, picture frame--whatever it is you are using.  For me, it was the $2.47 platter I bought, though these look great in ornate, old picture frames picked up from the thrift store as well.  Cut your Halloweeny-colored scrapbook paper backing down to size.  



Next, Mod Podge or glue your paper in place, being sure to press out any air bubbles.


While that is drying, size your lettering and images--aka--create your design.  I don't like super scary or gruesome Halloween decor, so I decided to go with a black crow and branch.  I chose to do the word "Boo" because I live with roommates, but otherwise, a classy image choice would just be a monogram of the first letter of your last name.  That makes things easy.  

I also really like to use Silhouette studio to help me in my design, so I fill in my images with the colors that I am planning on using, to sort of "test" how I like them working together.  But certainly use it to size your images appropriately.


Next, use a sheet of double sided adhesive to cut out the parts of your image you'd like to "shine" or sparkle--aka, the pieces you'd like to cover in glitter.  For me, it was the black crow and tree branch. I made the boo with vinyl, just for a small element of contrast--to make the sparkle of the black crow stand out more. (Hard to see in my pictures, but nice.)

Note:  No need to throw away and not keep smaller unused portions of your adhesive sheets!  I used scrap pieces to cut out both my branch, and my bird.  They were pieces left over from some things I cut out for this post on a bridal shower invite I made awhile ago. I keep the extra pieces stored with the main "instructions" sheets (and full sheets) in an expandable folder.  Just sayin'. 


Next, you'll carefully pull off the yellow backing of the cut image, careful to leave the sticky-side attached to the white cover sheet.  Then place your image, sticky-side down, where you'd like it on your board.  The white top-layer is what will be showing for now, to protect your sticky image.


Once your image is in place, peel off the white top layer, leaving the sticky image behind. (Juuuust like it says in the picture below.)


Dust your sticky images with glitter, and then use a paint brush (the double-sided adhesive starter kit comes with one, but you can probably use any soft brush) to brush away the excess glitter.  Be sure the glitter fully covers your image.  You may need to brush some of that glitter back on top of it to coat it entirely. 


To create the "hanger" piece, I thread my ribbon through the holes in the platter and knotted them in the back.  This was easy and effective.  If your platter doesn't have decorative holes :), just hot glue the ribbon to the back after making a loop. This is actually how I adhered the bow to the front of the platter.


Now, to keep your door-hanger looking pristine longer, spray your finishing spray over the entire thing, to sort of seal-in and cover the paper and images so that they are more resistant to water (aka rain, moisture in the air...ya know).  I used a polyurethane spray, which I had from my home-made coasters post, but there are other finishing sprays you could try.  Just find something that says "water resistant" and that works on paper. :)

Finally, apply your vinyl lettering (I guess you could/should do this before applying the finishing spray), allow the spray to dry, and hang up your master-piece!  


There you have it!  An easy, affordable Halloween door decoration.  Hope you like it!

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