DIY craft: Make a Halloween sign

Last updated on July 5th, 2024 at 01:01 pm

Being that Halloween is around the corner I figured I’d try a craft. I wasn’t too sure about what I wanted to create. I settled on making a sign since it was easy and I had a number of supplies on hand.

What you’ll need

• gloves
• something to protect your work surface plastic, drop cloth, newspaper, etc.
• Sign base: wood, paper, cardboard. I used palm tree bark
• Paint any color I used black and orange
• a styrofoam plate or paint palette
• Brushes foam and regular
• Acrylic paint markers (optional)
• stencils (optional)
• glitter (optional) again any color of your choice
• polyurethane sealer
• embellishments of your choice. I used styrofoam pumpkins I bought at the dollar tree
• Glue any kind I used Super Glue
• drill or a stake
• ribbon, twine or other hanging materials I used ribbon

Sign creation

I was hoping to make a sign that would be pretty sturdy so I opted to use palm tree bark. It was sourced from one of the palms in my front yard. I tried to find the straightest piece i could. Even though it was a bit curved I liked the effect.

As you can see I painted it a general black with Acrylic paint. I found a foam brush worked best for me. You can use any type of brush you like. Depending on the material for the base of your sign you may have to apply more than one coat of paint.

You will want the paint to fully dry between coats. I waited a few hours between coats. I found that if i set something under the bark it made it easier to paint the sides. Once you’re happy with the look of your base you can start to decorate it.

Time to Decorate

I had the bright idea of trying to add a second coat and adding glitter to the black paint. I thought it would add a shimmer effect but the black tended to eclipse the shimmer.

So here what I mean. I mixed two colors of orange glitter in a small container. I added it to the paint (second slide) You can see the shimmer. When I added a second coat to my sign it didn’t sparkle as I’d hope it would.

So I came up with this solution.

I ended up using a plastic spoon and sweeping glitter across the sign. I found tapping the sign helped any glitter that didn’t stick fall off. Since my paint was still a bit tacky it stayed in place. I let it dry for a little while before I finished it. As I mentioned above this step can be optional. At this point, you can also think of how you’d like to hang or mount your sign. I had drilled holes in the ends after I first painted it.

Let’s get creative

I knew I wanted to have my sign read HAPPY HALLOWEEN. I had thought of using stencils but I thought my letters would be a bit too small. So I opted to try it freehand. I forgot to take a picture of one step but I’ll tell you now. At first, I used an Acrylic paint marker when lettering but it was too light.

I followed up by painting the letters with orange acrylic paint. I also opted to add a black outline with Acrylic paint markers to make the letters stand out a bit better. I used a standard thinner style paintbrush for the letters.

Here’s what I mean

Since my sign curves, i opted to have the lettering be a bit off-center. You will need to let your paint dry before moving on to any other steps. I added a few other decorations while I waited for my lettering to dry.

I used a stencil and added two cats along with my sad excuse for spiderwebs on the edges.

I found that the Acrylic paint markers give you great control when using the stencils. I will admit my second cat did have a bit of an issue the paint bled a bit but it adds character. In the second photo, you can see the spiderwebs i added at the edges.

Protecting your work

Once your done adding your lettering you can seal it. This can be an optional step and will depend on what materials you are using for the sign base. Since I used palm bark I thought it would be a good idea.

I had a can of Miniwax polyurethane so that’s what I used. I liked the formula because it’s fast drying. I will suggest you use this in a well-ventilated area or outdoors. Also, remember to wear gloves and a mask and or goggles too.

I put down a piece of paper to protect the grass and weighed it down with some wood. I also tried to spray away from me to avoid any blowback due to light wind.

Just like when you painted you can seal your project with one or two coats or even more. You will need to wait a few hours before adding another coat. I used two coats.

Once it’s fully dry you notice a bit of a glossy shine. This may depend on the style of sealant as well.

Here’s what it looked like fully sealed.

Embellish as you like

I thought my sign looked a little dull. When I had the thought in mind for a Halloween project I happened to find some styrofoam pumpkins at my local dollar tree. They had a stake in them but I removed the stake and figured I could add two of them to my sign.

Before I added my pumpkins I added some ribbon so I could hang my sign. Now looking back I probably should have added a stake instead. Anyway, I found ribbon worked for me.

I used super glue to add the pumpkins to my sign. Since they were made of Styrofoam I suggest you add the glue to your sign surface before pressing and holding the pumpkins in place. It took me two attempts before they stayed in place.

Once they were set in place I left my sign overnight to make sure the pumpkins were fully glued on.

When it’s all done

Here’s my finished sign.

overall this DIY project was fun. I hope this gives you some inspiration for a Halloween craft.