Blog

The dollar store has a crop of styrofoam pumpkins ready for some DIY projects every fall, but I typically steer towards the more expensive pumpkins at the craft store because you can see the styrofoam texture on the cheaper pumpkins. The styrofoam pumpkins at the dollar store are a perfect choice, however, for any project where the texture will be hidden – like a rhinestone pumpkin. In this case, I wanted to try my hand at blinging out a pumpkin making the styrofoam texture not an issue. 

How To Add Rhinestones To Almost Anything

To add rhinestones to a pumpkin—or anything else—you just need a few basic supplies:

• Flatback Rhinestones
• Wax Pencil
• Gem-Tac Glue

Many rhinestone sets come with tweezers and wax pencils, although the quality of those pencils is not typically as high as those sold individually. 

It takes a little bit of time to get the hang of how much glue to use, but in general, you want to work in a small area with a thin coating of glue. A toothpick can help you smooth out the glue, if needed, as you work. 

Pick up a stone with the wax pencil and press it into the glue. Repeat this process until you’ve covered the area where you’re working. Don’t worry if you’ve used too much glue. It will dry clear and won’t be noticeable. 

You can add rhinestones that are the same size, or you can mix and match a variety of sizes for a different look.

How To Make Rhinestone Pumpkins In A Variety Of Colors

The dollar store pumpkins come in orange with a green stem. If you want to make a rhinestone pumpkin in a different color, first add a coat of craft paint in the color you want to use. This will help the spaces not covered by the rhinestones blend together. Once the paint dries, the remaining steps are just the same. Glue in small areas and bling it out! 

Rhinestone Tips

Whatever you decide to bling out, be it a pumpkin or something totally different, a few simple tips will help you make a one-of-a-kind masterpiece. 

• Work in small areas, and allow that area to fully dry before you add additional rhinestones right beside it.
• Use thin coats of glue to keep things from getting too messy. A toothpick or a needle-nosed applicator bottle can help you keep things neat and tidy. 
• If the glue does get on top of your rhinestones and it’s still visible once it dries, remove it by scrubbing it off with a lint-free wipe dipped in rubbing alcohol.  
• Take your time. This is a fun and easy project that’s best done while you watch TV or listen to a podcast. It’s not one to finish on a deadline!

Halloween season is finally here, and I cannot believe how quickly this year is flying by. I’m sure I say that every year when the holidays approach, but it is true, time needs to slow down. I have too many holiday crafts and not enough time to finish them. I did happen to check this Trick or Treat sign off my list that only took a weekend to complete! 

DIY Trick or Treat Sign

Materials needed to make your own trick or treat sign:

• One wooden board (we used a 7 ½ by 47 ½) -purchased at Menards
• Wooden wording – purchased at Michaels 
• Paint – Black, Green, Purple, Crackle Paint 
• Sander/Sandpaper
• Wood Glue 
• Printer Paper/Printer 
• White Stretch Spider Web

First things first, let’s begin by sanding down the sides and front of the wooden board, we don’t want any splinters! Once the board is smooth as butter, let’s get started on painting the board black. It is up to you if you want to paint the back of the board, but I decided it was not necessary here.

Once the black paint has completely dried, I applied the green paint right on top. When that layer of paint has dried, you will take your sander/sandpaper and begin sanding off some of the paint until you see the black paint poking through.

You can sand more or less here, depending on how you want your board to look.

The next step is to paint the wooden wording, I ended up just using the TRICK OR from the set and I painted them black. Once that layer of paint has dried, I went over it with the crackle paint.

You will want to make sure that this paint (if you are using it) is 100% dry before applying the top color. I decided to go with purple as my top color, and you can see from the image that once it starts drying it crackles, allowing the base color to show through.

 While the words are drying, I began working on the TREAT lettering, which you will need a computer for. I did a quick search on Da Fonts and found a free festive font called Nightmare that was simple enough to trace!

If you would rather freehand or use a stencil here, go for it.

To use this font, you will need to download it to your computer and open a blank document in photoshop, or Microsoft Word, and set the font sizing to fit the length of your board. My font sizing is about 6 inches (around the size of 250/275). Begin typing out each letter on its own page and print them out. Once printed, you will cut them out and place them on the board.

To get an idea of spacing I carefully placed the wooden lettering at the top to make sure I had enough room for each letter. Next, secure the letters with tape and began tracing. After the letters have been traced, I began painting. I kept it consistent with the wooden letters and did black on the bottom, followed by the crackle paint, then purple on top. 

Once dry, I took the sandpaper and sanded the TREAT letting to give it a more weathered look.

After I was satisfied with how everything looked I wiped down the board and placed the wooden lettering at the top and glued them down.

I added some fake spider webs across the board for extra spookiness and voila, a cute Trick or Treat sign is ready to be displayed on your front porch!

I love to decorate my porch for Halloween. My kids love Halloween decorations, and the spookier they are, the better. We have a long walkway to get to our front door, so I always try to make something dramatic. Here is where trash bags enter the picture – Trash Bag Spider Webs are a fun and easy way to add major Halloween flare to your house without spending a lot of money!

Trash bags are actually a fantastic thing to use for DIY Halloween decor, because they are inexpensive and light to hang. Using a simple pair of scissors, you can transform trash bags into fabulous spider webs. 

Trash Bag Spider Webs

When I first decided to make spider webs out of trash bags, I knew figured out that I needed to use heavy duty trash bags. A thick bag is beneficial, because it cuts easier and will also hold up better when you hang them. Trash bags with a slightly grainy texture are also easier to cut than super shiny ones.

I ended up buying two sizes of trash bags to vary the size of the spider webs I hung on my porch. I used 30 gallon and 40 gallon trash bags, but you could use bigger or smaller, depending on the look you want and the amount of space you are trying to cover.

How to Make a Spider Web Out of a Garbage Bag

Step 1: Cut around your trash back on all four sides, removing all of the edges. They do not need to be cut perfectly — you are cutting the edges to separate the bag’s seams.

Step 2: Fold one corner of the bag over to the corner on the opposite side, so it forms a big triangle. You will probably be left with an extra portion that is not a part of the triangle shape. Cut it off so you have a perfect triangle.

Step 3: Fold your triangle in half. Fold it in half again.

Step 4: Take the middle piece with the folded edge and fold it towards the center of the long straight edge. Now you are ready to cut your trash bags!

If you feel a little lost, don’t worry! We made a video so you can see all of the folds, and we have step by step pictures of the cuts at the bottom of this post, too.

Trash Bag Spiderwebs Video Tutorial

 

Step-by-Step Trash Bag Spider Web Video Tutorial
 

Step 5: Beginning at the tip of the folded section, you will cut up and out towards the sides. Think of cutting a spine like shape. The bag will begin to look like a rib cage after a few cuts. Move up about an inch and cut a rectangle out to continue the pattern.

Step 6: Once you get to the end of the bag you can cut the extra fray off the top, and then unfold your shape! You will have a perfect trash bag spider web that is ready to be displayed.

Tips for Hanging Trash Bag Spiderwebs

I used command strips to secure my trash bag spider webs to my porch and added some extra plastic spiders for fun!

My spider webs and command strips lasted through a week of rainstorms, so these things are pretty sturdy! You can also tape the edges of two spider webs together from the back, so some of them overlap a bit.

You could hang trash bag spider webs inside, as well.

This project is so easy and inexpensive, you can make as many spooky spider webs as you want! You will easily have the spookiest house on the block. 

I love Halloween! And let’s be honest, you can never have enough holiday decorations. I created a cute hocus pocus sign that you can add to the mix!

It’s all just a bunch of hocus pocus!

DIY Hocus Pocus Sign

Materials Needed:

• One wooden board (we used a 7 ½ by 47 ½) -purchased at Menards
• Wooden decorations – purchased at Michaels
• Paint – Black, Glittery Black, Orange, Crackle Paint
• Sander/Sandpaper
• Wood Glue
• Printer Paper/Printer

How To Make A Halloween Sign

Before you begin painting, give your board a nice sanding on the front and sides. We want to make sure it is super smooth, making it easier to paint. After sanding, go ahead and start panting your board black and any decorations you plan on using. I ended up using a wooden black cat and a wooden witch.

After the black paint dried, I added the crackle paint on top, followed by the orange paint. I honestly love how the crackle turned out! I also added glitter paint to the cat for some added flair.

While my board was drying, I went to the computer and found another festive font called Magnificent that would be easy to trace.

Regarding sizing, I used a font size around 350 to make sure all the lettering fit on the board. Depending on the size of board, you might need to play around for a size that works best. I printed and cut each letter out and secured them with some tape on the board. I added the wooden cat at the bottom to make sure I had enough room for the letters then began tracing.

Once the outline of the letters was complete, I went back in with a single coat of black paint to fill in the letters. I then glued down the cat and witch and let those completely dry.

AND THAT IS IT!

This DIY is so easy and is the perfect addition to any Halloween decorations.