Simple Halloween décor using a witch hat

Easy Witch Hat Halloween Decoration

There are some really super cute Halloween decorations out there. I love simple AND frugal! I’m not one to spend a lot on décor so I really loved this easy and cheap project!

If you want even more fun HALLOWEEN DECOR IDEAS be sure to scroll all the way to the bottom for more DIY’s for the fall season.

Affiliate Disclosure. Some of the links on this website are affiliate links, which means that I may earn a small commission if you click on the link or make a purchase using the link. If you make a purchase you will not be charged anything additional.

Here’s what you’ll need

• witch hat

• something to measure with

• vase - I got mine from the Dollar Tree

• glue gun

• glue stick

• Cricut (I used my trusty old Explore cutting machine)

• Cricut Design Space

• green cutting mat

• black cardstock

• grab the Cricut file here to make it even easier

The first thing I did was measure the opening of the witch hat.

Using Cricut Design Space I made a 9” circle and cut it out on black cardstock using my Cricut Explore.

Next I used my glue gun and added hot glue to the top of the vase.

Then I quickly placed my cardstock circle cut out on top. Be sure to do this step quickly because hot glue can dry fairly fast.

Then I placed it on my hutch and added my witch hat.

I love it! It was so super easy and adds so much height to my Halloween display.

I hope you enjoyed this super simple Halloween craft. Let me know if you have any questions in the comments below.

Happy Crafting!

Check out more of my fun Halloween & fall crafts below

Flying bat sign, easy DIY sign for Halloween

DIY - Super simple Halloween sign

This year I decorated for Halloween instead of my typical fall only décor. My girls are loving it! One piece they have especially loved, and I must say I do too, is my flying bat sign I made. It was so crazy simple to make too!

The best part of this wooden Halloween sign is that once Halloween is over I can simply take the bats off and replace them with something else.

If you love this DIY be sure to check out this framed Halloween sign I made for my front porch…p.s. it has a FREE SVG to use ;)!

Affiliate Disclosure. Some of the links on this website are affiliate links, which means that I may earn a small commission if you click on the link or make a purchase using the link. If you make a purchase you will not be charged anything additional.

MAKE YOUR OWN FLYING BAT SIGN

Here’s what you’ll need

• 12x12 black cardstock

• double sided tape

• Cricut cutting machine

• green Cricut mat

• Cricut Design Space

• this Cricut bat file

• white blank sign - click here for a DIY pallet sign tutorial

If you’re new to the Cricut crafting world be sure to check out my post on 10 must have supplies and accessories when starting out using a Cricut cutting machine.

1. CUT OUT CARDSTOCK BATS

I used my older model Cricut Explore to cut out my cardstock bats. If you have Cricut Access you can use the Cricut image, click here for the link.

2. REMOVE THE BAT CUT OUTS FROM YOUR GREEN CUTTING MAT

It’s easier to flip the cardstock facedown on your table then slowly roll the mat away from the material you’ve just cut.

3. ARRANGE THE BATS

Before you put tape on the back of them decide where you want them to go. This took me entirely too long lol!

4. MAKE THE BATS FLY

Give the bats some movement by gently curving their wings upward. I used a pencil to curl the wings up so they didn’t have creases.

5. TAPE THE BATS DOWN

I used double sided tape to temporarily tape them to my wooden pallet style sign.

This is seriously my favorite piece in the house for Halloween! It’s crazy simple but it gives the spooky décor a little something extra ya know?! I love it!

I hope you loved this simple decoration to add to your own home for the Halloween season. Let me know if you have any questions in the comments below.

Happy Crafting!

Check out more of my Halloween & fall craft tutorials

Rustic It's Halloween Witches framed leaning porch sign + FREE SVG

Rustic It's Halloween Witches framed leaning porch sign + FREE SVG

Make your own vertical rustic farmhouse leaning porch sign for Halloween. Bonus: grab the It’s Halloween Witches FREE SVG in my free to use resource library

It’s Halloween Witches! YES! I can’t believe how amazing this painted sign turned out. It has all the gorgeous elements of farmhouse basics but a not so common (on a porch sign) Halloween saying…which makes me extra love it! I could have went with a basic cutesy saying like “boo” or “trick or treat” but I wanted my porch sign to have just a bit of sass to it! And it totally does and fits my family SO well. We are a bit sarcastic and sassy lol!

Affiliate Disclosure. Some of the links on this website are affiliate links, which means that I may earn a small commission if you click on the link or make a purchase using the link. If you make a purchase you will not be charged anything additional.

And I kept the back of it blank, well I went ahead and painted it white, so I could make it a reversible fall leaning sign later on. I’m all about getting double use out of my décor. I’m a momma of 4, double sided or dual purpose décor is wonderful in my world. Less to store and less to change out when the seasons change.

I have actually had this piece of 1x10 pine hanging around forever! I stained it when I stained this round wood base for this last name sign a couple years ago and am just now getting around to creating on them. Life of a mom and entrepreneur! Here’s what it looked like before I smothered it in creativity. Just a blank stained piece of wood. You can’t see it in this pic but it had a ton of scratches and some gouges on it from being moved around so much in my craft room over the last couple of years.

If you don’t already have a Cricut I HIGHLY recommend getting one. I still create on my old Cricut Explore and create some pretty awesome projects to share with the world ;) Cricut newbie? Read this post on 10 supplies and accessories you need to get started with your cutting machine.

Side note… If you need the checkered rug that’s on my porch get this one. I looked for hours trying to find the exact one and this one is perfect. I don’t have OCD but I really specifically wanted one that had the same stripe on the top and bottom so that it looked even and this one was the only one I came across that that did in the size that I needed it.

How to make a rustic farmhouse leaning Halloween porch sign you will love

Here’s what you’ll need

• pine board, I used a stained 1x10x52 -sign

• 1x2x52 {x2} 1x2x10.75 {x2} -frame

• It’s Halloween Witches SVG , free in my resource library

• white paint, I used leftover wall paint from when we made this faux plank wall

• black and orange acrylic paint

• paint brush

• paint stands (trust me this will make painting a large board SO much easier!)

• oramask stencil film

• transfer tape

• xacto knife or sewing pin for picking the stencil

• vinyl squeegee

• stain- I used the color Kona

• stain rags

• gloves

• Cricut cutting machine

• Cricut 24” green cutting mat

• Cricut Design Space

• Ryobi miter saw

• Ryobi sander

• 120 grit orbit sandpaper

• Ryobi brad nailer

• lint free cloth

1.PAINT THE BASE

I chose to use a board that was already stained. This is not a must but I do like that the stain peaks through the sanded bits of my sign. I painted my wood sign with two coats of white wall paint. You can use acrylic paint too. I didn’t have white acrylic to use so I used the wall paint instead and it works just as great.

After my first coat was dry I applied a second coat of white paint then let that completely dry.

2. APPLY THE STENCIL

I cut my stencils out on my Cricut then weeded the letters out with a sewing pin. If you want to know how to make a reverse stencil sign be sure to check out this laundry sign tutorial.

Because this sign was so large I had to break it up into three separate pieces in Design Space.

I added masking tape to the sides and the seams where the stencils touch just in case I got paint a little too far outside of the stencil I wouldn’t have a big mess to clean up.

3.PAINT THE STENCIL

I used acrylic paint to paint the lettering of my stencil. The first thing I did was seal my stencil so that I would get minimal to no paint bleed. This isn’t a must but it does help to get super crisp lines.

I just painted of paint on the lettering. I painted IT’S and WITCHES with black acrylic paint and HALLOWEEN with orange acrylic paint.

4. PEEL UP THE STENCIL

I always peel up my stencils while my paint is wet. I started with the small lettering first then worked my way down the wood sign.

I used a sewing pin to lift out all the little middle pieces

If you love this tutorial be sure to check out how to make these super cute Halloween wood tags

5.CUT & STAIN THE FRAME

After my sign was dry I measured a 1x2 and cut pieces for my frame. Here’s what it looked like once I got my pieces cut and stained.

I had 2 pieces that were cut at 52” and 2 pieces that were cut at 10.75”.

Before I attached my framed pieces to my Halloween sign I distressed the 1x2’s with my sander and 120 grit sandpaper

7. ATTACH THE FRAME

I attached the two long side pieces first. I used a little bit of wood glue then used my Ryobi brad nailer to attach them to the sign.

Don’t worry if you miss cut your wood frame pieces. I do this ALL the time. Just use your miter saw to square it up after you get them attached.

Here’s what my sign looked like once I got the side frame pieces attached. I framed the sign so that the sign would be in the middle of the framed pieces instead of flush with the back. You can also see where I used my miter saw to cut off the uneven parts.

I did the same thing for the top and bottom pieces. Added the wood glue, my husband says to apply it in a squiggle line, idk if this is really how you’re supposed to do it or if he’s just messing with me lol but whatever it is this seems to work.

8.SEAL THE FINISHED SIGN

If you want to protect your sign from the elements I recommend sealing it with an outdoor sealant like this one. I did not do this step because I plan to paint a fall themed stencil on the other side of this Halloween porch sign. But after I finish the other side I’ll seal it with the outdoor spray.

Then you’re all done. I hope you enjoyed this DIY craft tutorial :)! If you have any questions please ask them in the comments below.

Happy crafting!

Halloween wood tags, how to DIY your own set of cute spooky mini tags

DIY WOOD TAGS FOR HALLOWEEN

I just love these adorable rustic wood tags! Since they are so small they make such perfect little accents to your décor. Especially these Halloween wood tags. I made these adorable little guys and placed them in my Halloween porch décor. Oh my goodness they look so cute with all the orange, black, and rustic-ey decorations!

If you love this tutorial be sure to check out these mini wooden fall signs

If you don’t have all the tools/materials to make these little wooden tags from scratch you can grab a DIY CRAFT KIT HERE.

Affiliate Disclosure. Some of the links on this website are affiliate links, which means that I may earn a small commission if you click on the link or make a purchase using the link. If you make a purchase you will not be charged anything additional.

This DIY HALLOWEEN CRAFT KIT COMES WITH

• 3 precut and lightly sanded 5” wood tags

• professional outdoor grade vinyl cut outs

  • HAPPY HAUNTING

  • spider web image

  • OCTOBER 31

• detailed picture instructions

• ****paint and brushes are NOT included

If you don’t need a DIY CRAFT KIT here’s what you’ll need

• black, orange, & white vinyl

• transfer tape, here’s one with gridlines for easy application

• vinyl squeegee

• black and white paint

• paint brushes or sponges

• sandpaper

• twine

• 3 wood tags 5”, I cut mine from a 1x4

• Cricut cutting machine

• green Cricut mat

• Cricut Design space

• HALLOWEEN SVG’s

• I also recommend using a drop cloth to protect your crafty surface

Want to know how I make my wood tags? Click here to read my post on DIY MINI WOOD TAGS, it also includes a video tutorial.

After you have your wood pieces cut out, sanded and your vinyl decals cut, weeded, and transfer tape applied you can start on the steps below.

If you want to learn how to cut out your own wood tags read this post. If you are new to Cricut, or the world of fancy cutting machines in general, check out my post on the 10 must have accessories and supplies to get for a Cricut newbie

1. PAINT

Paint 2 of your wood tags black, one coat will be fine for this, and 1 of your wood tags white, this will need 2-3 coats. Let dry. Letting your wood tags dry completely is a MUST. If your paint is still wet when you move on to the next step your vinyl will not stick to it.

2. DISTRESS

Using a piece of sandpaper distress the edges. You’ll want to focus on the edges and any area that you think would have a natural wear to it.

Then wipe with a lint free cloth.

3. APPLY DECALS

Be extra sure that your paint is completely dry before you start this step. Vinyl does not stick to wet paint.

Using your vinyl squeegee, a plastic rewards card will also work for this step, rub the front of your Halloween themed vinyl decal.

Flip it over and do the same thing on the backside.

Then peel the paper backing away from the clear transfer tape, your design should stay attached to the clear transfer tape.

Flip your vinyl decal sticky side down onto your wood tag. Don’t push it onto the wood tag until you are happy with the placement, then press it down. Use your vinyl squeegee for this step. Then remove the clear transfer tape.

Start on one corner then slowly peel your way to the opposite corner. If your decal comes off with the transfer tape just press it back down and slowly roll the transfer tape away from the decal again. Be sure you take your time during this process, especially if you are new to the decal game.

BLACK TAG: HAPPY HAUNTING decal

BLACK TAG: OCTOBER 31 decal

WHITE TAG: SPIDER WEB IMAGE decal

4. TWINE

Add some twine to make them even more adorable! Feed the twine through the hole in the top middle of the tag. Then tie the two twine ends together.

You’re all done! I hope you enjoyed this DIY craft tutorial. If you have any questions please ask in the comments below.

Happy Crafting!

DIY stenciled rustic fall signs

DIY painted fall signs. How to make your own farmhouse style signs for your fall themed decor. These painted tiny signs are so perfect for coffee bars, tiered trays and mantles. This trio of hello fall, give thanks, and a pumpkin are hand painted in orange, black and white, the classic fall colors. This tutorial will take you step by step on how to make your own stenciled wooden signs at home.

Don’t you just love painted mini signs?! HELLO FALL, GIVE THANKS, and a picture of a PUMPKIN just scream I LOVE FALL! I placed mine on a rustic old window frame that has candy corn burlap draped across it and OMG it looks adorable! These mini signs are also perfect for tiered trays and coffee bars. How cute would these be paired with some wood bead garland painted in fall colors?

Affiliate Disclosure. Some of the links on this website are affiliate links, which means that I may earn a small commission if you click on the link or make a purchase using the link. If you make a purchase you will not be charged anything additional.

If you plan to hang these mini fall wood signs be sure to check out my post on how to quickly and easily attach a sawtooth hanger to wooden signs.

How to make painted wood signs for fall

Here’s what you’ll need

• 3 prestained 5.5”x5.5” wood blanks

• hello fall, give thanks, pumpkin image SVG files

• oramask stencil film

• transfer tape

• paint brushes

• stenciling sponge

• orange, white, and black acrylic paint

• vinyl squeegee

• sandpaper

• xacto knife

Helpful tools

• Cricut cutting machine

• Cricut green mat

• Cricut Design Space

• Ryobi miter saw

• Ryobi sander

If you don’t have all the tools to completely make this fall craft from scratch you can order a DIY craft kit here. It comes with everything you need to make these wood signs at home.

ONE- the first thing you need to do is cut your wood into squares. I used a 1”x6” piece of pine, the actual size is 5.5” so I cut them into 5.5'“x5.5” squares. After you’ve cut and sanded your 5.5”x5.5” wood pieces stain them and let them dry for 24 hours. After they’ve dried sand around the edges, corners, and a light sanding on the front, be sure to wipe them down so you get all of the sawdust off of them. I LOVE my RYOBI CORDLESS SANDER , it is what I use for all of my wooden projects. But, if you don’t have a sander you can get the job done with 120 grit sand paper.

TWO- Cut your stencils out. If you want to use an SVG similar the ones in this tutorial you can go here to grab your SVG files. I’ve found that using true stencil film works best for stenciling wood signs. I highly recommend cutting the designs out on Oramask stencil film. I used a Cricut Explore to cut the files for this fall craft. I weeded them with an xacto knife once they were done cutting.

THREE- Now you can start painting! You want to paint each sign a different color. Start by painting a thin layer of paint on the front of each sign. You want to leave a small border around the edge. This should look kinda rough and uneven, it will give it lots of character when finished this way. Wait for the first layer to dry completely then paint a second THIN layer on top of that. I don’t recommend painting more than two layers of base paint. the more layers you have the more problems you will run into when peeling up your stencil.

Repeat this step for all 3 signs. Once they are all TOTALLY DRY you are ready for stenciling. They must be completely dry otherwise your stencil will not stick to the wood and it will be an ugly mess.

I don’t have pictures of how to do the next steps on the fall mini signs BUT I am sharing pictures of a similar craft that I made for winter themed signs. You can read the full winter themed tutorial here. Both sign trios have the same steps, the only differences are the stencils and paint colors, everything else is the same :)!

FOUR- Start by removing the paper backing from your stencil. This works best if you use a vinyl applicator {here’s what I use} or you can use a stiff store rewards card, I don’t recommend using your bank card as it could break during the process.

If you’re using your own stencils you’ll need transfer tape to transfer your stencil onto the wood in one piece.

Start by rubbing the front of the stencil with your vinyl applicator. Be sure you move in one direction.

Then flip it over and do the same to the back.

Now slowly peel the paper backing away from the stencil. This works best if you start at one corner and peel away at a sharp 90 degree angle. Go SLOW.

Before you start applying your stencils decided which stencil you will put on each board.

First, you’ll want to place your stencil where you want it on your board. I wanted mine to all be centered so that’s what I did but you can place them anywhere on the board you’d like. I just recommend keeping the image within the painted part of the wood.

Using your vinyl tool rub the stencil, using the same technique as before. Now SLOWLY peel the transfer tape {the clear sticky stuff} away from your stencil. I do this at a sharp angle and I will slowly roll it off of the stencil.

After you get the transfer tape off rub your finger along all the exposed stencil edges {anywhere there is wood showing thru}. this helps to get s good seal on your stencil.

FIVE- Now you’re ready to start painting your stencil! Use one end of your cosmetic sponge LIGHTLY dip it in the paint color you’d like your design. BE SURE TO USE VERY LITTLE PAINT, this is key to getting little to no paint bleed under your stencil. Dab the sponge on a paper towel a couple times then onto your stencil, do this till you have a very THIN even coat {you should be able to see thru the first coat}. LET DRY, repeat till you are happy with the coverage.

SIX- After you’re finished sponging the stencil you can peel it up immediately. I know all tutorials can vary with peeling the stencil up while the paint is still wet or waiting for it to dry. I have had the best luck peeling the stencil while the paint is still wet. Use an xacto knife or sewing pin to aid in this step.

As with all of my DIY tutorials if you have any questions please ask in the comments below:)

How to paint plastic flower containers for fall

One thing I really wanted for my fall porch decor were fresh mums. They are just so gorgeous and scream HELLO FALL! But the only problem was that I only had $20 to spend on things fall for our home. You can read all about how I made that happen in my budget friendly fall porch decorations.

Affiliate Disclosure. Some of the links on this website are affiliate links, which means that I may earn a small commission if you click on the link or make a purchase using the link. If you make a purchase you will not be charged anything additional. This is just a way I can help add to our family finances to raise our four daughters. Please know I would never recommend a product or service I do not totally stand behind.

I headed to Walmart, because I knew I could make the most of my budget there, and found some super gorgeous deep red mums for under $5 each! The only problem was that their bases were HIDEOUS. That super undesirable dark green/brown color, yeah you know that standard plastic flower base color that all the cheap plants come in 😆!

So I thought, hey just grab a can of spray paint and paint those suckers up! And I did!

I didn’t just grab any spray paint thought. I’ve had my fair share of run ins with bad spray paint so instead of grabbing a cheap $.97 can I splurged and picked up a can of Rustoleum. Since I didn’t want the bases to be shiny, I really wanted them to be dull to tie in with the rest of the fall porch decorations I opted for the orange MATTE finish and it turned out so pretty!

Here’s what I used RUSTOLEUM ORANGE MATTE FINISH SPARY PAINT

First you need to take your plants out of the ugly containers. You’ll want to set the plants somewhere that they won’t get sprayed with the spray paint.

Then take a wet wipe or damp cloth and wipe down just the outside of the container. You won’t be painting the inside so it’s not necessary to clean the inside of it.

Next shake your paint can really really well. This is pretty important because you want the paint to get all mixed together before spraying onto the container. If not you will have streaks of off color. Trust me this has happened to me before with CLEAR satin finish spray paint. I didn’t shake it enough and I got a streak of white across my project. So shake, shake, shake!

Then in short strokes spray the containers. If you spray too long in in one spot you’ll get a runny mess. I only sprayed my bases with one coat. This spray paint is AMAZING and literally covers like heaven so one coat is all you need.

Let it dry. Ideally you want it to dry for several hours before you plant back inside. I didn’t wait that long because I was pressed for time, I was filming this tutorial for my YouTube channel. If you can wait a few hours then place your plants back inside their painted containers.

That’s it! You now have gorgeous plant containers and they didn’t cost you hardly anything to makeover! Bonus if you already have the paint on hand!

I hope this helps if you are like me and on a tight budget for the non necessities. We can stay on budget and have cute things ;)!

Happy crafting!

Decorating your porch for FALL on a BUDGET

I’ve never been one to spend a lot of money on decorations. And this year is even more a reason to keep the fall decorations budget to a minimum. My husband and I are on track to be totally debt free by the end of 2019! This is something we’ve been working on for awhile {with a few setbacks though} and we are seeing the light at the end of the tunnel! So this year for the fall decorating budget we put aside $20…yes TWENTY dollars to create a beautiful fall scenery on our uncovered front porch.

And truthfully I wasn’t worried at all because I knew I could make that happen! A few things I knew I wanted were fresh mums and pumpkins. A bale of straw and some dried corn stalks would have been icing on the cake but sadly there was no room to splurge for these…maybe next year.

How to decorate your uncovered front porch on a BUDGET for fall

If you’re like me and don’t have a lot of money {or maybe nothing at all} to put toward your fall porch decorations here are some tips to help you to create a beautiful porch on a budget.

FIRST use what you have. This is a rule I use for decorating year round. If you incorporate things you already have you are literally spending nothing.

SECOND this one is a favorite of mine…if you have relatives that are tossing things out ask if you can have them. My father in law had this AMAZING pile of, well junk, on his property and every time we would go over there I would search through his junk pile lol! He gave me full permission to take whatever my little heart wanted and boy did I always find good stuff to take home. My husband didn’t always agree ha! A couple things I picked from his pile that I used in my fall porch décor

• the rusty old chair

• old broken window

Both of these things I keep on the porch year round and thank goodness I rescued them because they are absolutely perfect!

THIRD check your Facebook swap n shop pages/groups. People love getting rid of things, even for free. This is so my personality type too! When I’m tired of looking at the clutter I go in full on purge mode lol! Just this last weekend the overwhelm from daughter # 4’s bedroom was really getting to me. So, naturally like a lot of moms do, I took in the roll of trash bags and just started tossing anything and everything that I hadn’t seen her play with since the start of summer. It’s a little embarrassing but I filled 7 kitchen sized trash bags full of gently used toys and some clothes that he had outgrown.

FOURTH shop around for the best prices. Even though supporting small business is always on my mind because I own a small business, I do shop at Walmart. And I don’t feel guilty about it. One day when we are rich we will be able to shop small all day everyday but for now, while raising four daughters, I have to pick and choose when we can afford to support small business.

FIFTH make your own décor. If you’re crafty jump on some DIY PINTEREST boards to get some ideas of what to make. I suggest skimming your crafty stash to see what you have too. The OG barn wood looking sign is one I made, DIY PALLET SIGN for our front porch for fall. It’s actually a school spirit sign. We live in a pretty small town and school spirit is alive and well here. Since our school colors are orange and black I try to incorporate school spirit into our décor. It makes it a little more fun for our girls too because we are visually saying ‘go school’ and I know that’s encouraging for them. Just be sure whatever pieces you put out there that they are protected from the elements if needed. To make this sign I just used leftover pieces from other projects, check out these SCRAP WOOD PUMPKINS

Now that you have some tips on how to make the most of your budget here’s how I spent my $20 for my DIY fall porch decorating

• $3.98 large pumpkin at Walmart

• $2.98 bag of mini gourds

• $4.84 mum x2

• 3.96 orange spray paint, I only used 1/3 of it

Technically I went over the $20 by .60 BUT I do have 2/3 of a can of spray paint left over for another project, so in my mind I only spent 1/3 of the price for this project lol!!

I really wanted fresh mums but I couldn’t afford the GORGEOUS ones from the local farms. Just one mum would have taken up my entire budget. I opted for the cheapest large mums I could find at Walmart but they had UGLY bases. The green/brown color that just screams cheap flowers. I loved the more decorative bases but those too were not in the budget. Instead I grabbed a can of spray paint, and not the $1 can because I knew the coverage on that would be awful, and sprayed the bases orange in matte finish. This was the PERFECT solution!

See my video below on how to easily spray paint your ugly fall flower bases.

I’d love to hear how you are planning to decorate your front porch for fall. Leave a comment below ;)!

DIY cute ghost yard stake

How to make a super cute ghost for your outdoor Halloween decorations

Between my online business and being a mom to four little girls I seriously don’t know where I find the time to make things for myself but I do lol! Like this cute outdoor ghost stake I HAD to make for our front yard. I had been slacking the last couple years with holiday decorating. Usually I go all out but lately I just hadn’t been up to it. So for this fall I decided I was getting back in my holiday décor groove! And this adorable little ghost is just one small part of my DIY fall/Halloween decorations. Check out this DIY PALLET SIGN I made, it’s actually a school spirit sign but with our school colors it ties in perfectly with our fall décor!

Affiliate Disclosure. Some of the links on this website are affiliate links, which means that I may earn a small commission if you click on the link or make a purchase using the link. If you make a purchase you will not be charged anything additional. This is just a way I can help add to our family finances to raise our four daughters. Please know I would never recommend a product or service I do not totally stand behind.

And this fun witch’s brew coffee mug I made using my Cricut and some vinyl. And just one more… this rusty pumpkin I made from mason jar lids. So cute!

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Real quick…if you have ever wanted to learn how to paint wood signs, the way the PROs do, you don’t want to miss my COMPLETE GUIDE TO SIGN PAINTING. It is a whole course that you complete on your time. I am teaching you EVERYTHING I know without you having to go through the headache and expense of trial and error. If you’ve struggled with paint bleed, designs not lining up, paint peel up, sticky residue left behind you are in for a treat! Click on the image below or go here for more info.

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DIY CUTE WOOD GHOST CUTOUT

If you don’t want to read the tutorial you can scroll to the bottom to watch the video tutorial or go here to watch it on my crafty YouTube channel.

Here’s what you’ll need

• WOOD {I used leftover OSB}

• RYOBI SCROLL SAW

• RYOBI BRAD NAILER

• RYOBI SANDER

• 120 GRIT SANDPAPER

• ORANGE, BLACK, WHITE, PINK ACRYLIC PAINTS

• WHITE & BLACK PAINT PENS

• SPRAY SEALANT

• PAINT BRUSHES

• ROUND FOAM BRUSHES

• GORILLA WOOD GLUE

• GLUE GUN

• ASSORTED RIBBON

• THICK STRING IN A COORDINATING COLOR

Fist you want to draw the outline of your ghost onto the wood you’re using. We had some leftover OSB so that’s what I used. I also used this same OSB wood to make this pallet sign on the letter cutouts. We had made triple loft beds for the older three girls and WAY overbought for the project lol! So now we have a full sheet and a half still left over.

Then cut out your design on your scroll saw. Honestly this probably would have been much easier if I used a jig saw BUT this is what I had to use and it still worked pretty good to get the job done.

Once you have it all cut out give it a quick sanding to knock down the rough edges. I used a 120 grit sandpaper on my Ryobi sander.

Then paint your ghost cutout all white. I didn’t paint the back of mine and I really wish I would have. I used a leftover paint we had in our garage but you can use acrylic for yours if that’s what you have.

After your white base coat is dry on your wood ghost you can start doing the artsy stuff :)! I like to sketch out my design before I start painting. This way if I make a mistake it’s much easier to fix it vs painting it, messing up big time, then wanting to throw it across the floor lol! I sketched out eyes, eyebrows, eyelashes, mouth, and then I used an off brand K-cup to draw my circles for the large polk-a-dots. {actually I painted the cheeks before I traced the circles but if I was thinking I would have traced those first}

To paint the cheeks you need pink and white paint and I also used a stencil brush but you can use a round brush for this step. Dip your brush into the pink paint then dip one side into the white, but just a little bit of white. Then swirl it around in a circle at the corner of each side of the mouth. Add more white if you need just a little more highlight in there.

Then paint the other facial details, except for the mouth. Somehow I forgot to paint the eyelashes so I did mine later but you can go ahead and paint those now too. I used a round brush for the eye painting and a fine flat brush for the finer details.

Now paint all the polk-a-dots. I used orange and black for my dots. I painted the large ones in with a paint brush. I used a medium sized round sponge brush {black dots}, a small sponge brush {orange dots}, and the wood end of the small brush for even smaller dots . I didn’t plan any of these out too much, just kind of scattered them wherever they looked best.

When the cheeks are dry you can paint the mouth of your wood ghost using black paint and a fine paint brush.

Add the white features to the eyes. I used a white paint pen and made a curved line on one side of each eye {be sure you are making them on the same side of each eye} and I added a dot towards the outside of the other side of the eye then a little accent dot right above that dot.

Using a paint pen I made a long dash line all the way around my ghost and I also added dashes on each circle. For the outline and all of the orange circles I used a black paint pen. For all the black circles I used a white paint pen. Btw….isn’t my little helper just the cutest?!! This is daughter #4 <3

Since this will be outside I sprayed mine with this indoor/outdoor clear satin Krylon sealant.

Attach your stake part to the back of your ghost using Gorilla wood glue and a brad nailer. I really like this Ryobi one I use. My husband has one that I would use before I got my own and omg what a world of difference. You can read more about why I chose to go with Ryobi power tools here for my crafty business.

I made a super simple pinwheel bow to make my wood ghost a little more girly. These are also super adorable bows to make for your little girls to wear in their hair. We have tons of these that I’ve made over the years for my own four little girls. Then attach the bow with hot glue.

Once the hot glue is totally dry you can stick your wood ghost in the yard. I absolutely LOVE the way this little cutie turned out! Even when our girls got off the bus they got so excited because she is just sooooooo darn adorable!

I have a few more of these wood yard decorations to make so be on the look out for a DIY CANDY CORN and a DIY FRANKENSTEIN wood stakes.

Let me know below what you think of this DIY HALLOWEEN CRAFT.

Watch the full crafty tutorial below

EASY witch's brew coffee mug decal using your CRICUT

DIY - how to apply a Halloween vinyl decal to a white coffee mug using your CRICUT

I just love how a simple decal and totally change the look of something. Truthfully I NEVER use this coffee mug. Why? Because it’s all white and not at all fun to drink out of. Sounds ridiculous, I know, but it’s honest. So when I go for my morning cup of room temp coffee {because I am not a big fan of warm/hot coffee} I always pass by this guy and reach for a cheery option.

I wanted to do a tutorial on how to apply vinyl to coffee mugs and knew this coffee mug would be the perfect sacrifice for the job! And I am totally going to start drinking out of this one now that it got a little Halloween decal makeover!

Affiliate Disclosure. Some of the links on this website are affiliate links, which means that I may earn a small commission if you click on the link or make a purchase using the link. If you make a purchase you will not be charged anything additional.

I chose a super simple font and saying, because I wanted to keep it easy for my first tutorial on applying a vinyl decal to a coffee mug. If you have Cricut Design Space you can use the font for free on there, but if not you can find a million different fonts on a number of font downloading websites. The font on Design Space is FOUR SEASONS HOME DECOR

PSSST if you need to make your own striped wood pumpkin that’s peeking on the side of this pic go here ——> DIY WOOD PUMPKIN

How to apply a Halloween vinyl decal to a coffee mug

Here’s what you’ll need

• CRICUT CUTTING MACHINE

• BLACK ORACAL 631 VINYL matte finish

• SISER TRANSFER TAPE

• VINYL SQUEEGEE

• SCISSORS

• WHITE COFFEE MUG {or stop at your local dollar store and pick one up}

• XACTO KNIFE

• CRICUT CUTTING MAT

• CRICUT DESIGN SPACE
  

First make your design. I used FOUR SEASONS HOME DECOR font in CRICUT DESIGN SPACE. I made my decal 3”x3” so it would take up a good portion of the area I was applying it to. Before you send it to the mat be sure your design is SAVED and either WELDED or ATTACHED. This way your design cuts out like you see it on the screen instead of the letters jumbled around.

TIP: I usually always save my font name into the title so I can remember what I used

I used a Oracal 631 vinyl in BLACK and in a MATTE FINISH. This grade of vinyl is for temporary or indoor use. I can not go in the dishwasher and I would not recommend using this grade of vinyl if you’re wanting it to last longer than one season. I plan to remove this after Halloween and apply a Christmas or wintery decal. If you do want a more resistant vinyl use ORACAL 651, that is outdoor grade and is what is recommended for a long lasting decal.

Weed your design. I use an Xacto knife for this but you can use whatever weeding tool you are most comfortable with, even a sewing pin will get the job done.

Before you can apply your decal you need to be sure that your mug is free and clean of any oil or residue. Use a lint free cloth and rubbing alcohol to clean the area you are applying the vinyl decal to. Do not use a cotton ball for this as it will totally leave behind fibers that will get stuck under your design and they will stick out and you will be able to see them ;)!

Apply your transfer tape to the front of your decal. Rub the front and back with your vinyl squeegee {if you don’t have one you can use a rewards card from the store} then slowly peel the paper backing away from your decal, leaving your decal attached to your transfer tape. The purpose of transfer tape is to easily transfer your design from the paper back it comes on to the base you are applying it to.

Hover your decal over your mug to decide where exactly you want it. If you need to apply tape to use as a guide that is ok. Do not press your decal down until you are positive that is where you want it. Then press down the middle and work your way out. Applying decals to curved surfaces isn’t always easy so go slow and give yourself grace if it is a crooked disaster the first time. It’s ok if you transfer tape doesn’t lay flat on your mug, you’ll see mine do this in the video, but the important thing is that the design does.

Starting in one corner slowly peel/roll the transfer tape away from the mug leaving the vinyl decal attached to the mug. If your letters want to come up with the transfer tape just push them back down with your finger and keep rolling the tape away. After you completely remove the transfer tape take your finger and rub along each letter to make sure that they are adhered and there aren’t any air bubbles.

I know I will be loving this mug now. And the saying is pretty fitting for my grouchy days lol!

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and it helps you create your own DIY vinyl decal. If you have any questions please ask away:)! I am honored to help you on your crafty journey.

Check out the full video tutorial below. I would LOVE if you subscribed to my YouTube channel. It’s how I am able to reach even more people who want to learn more about the crafty world.

For more fall themed projects click the button below

DIY school spirit pallet style porch sign

DIY porch sign to show off your school spirit

It was an absolute PERFECT day in our small town today that I took a couple hours to make something for my own front porch. I could just feel the fall weather coming in and that reminded me that I needed to decorate for the upcoming season. Which totally meant that I NEEDED to make a new sign lol! Every year I try to incorporate a school spirit pieces on our porch, really it only makes sense because our school colors are ORANGE & BLACK but truly I do it because my husband and I absolutely adore the schools where we live.

The teachers are amazing, the staff in general is amazing, they take such great care of our girls while they are there for 8 hours a day. We can’t say enough nice things about our small town schools! So we show off our school spirit every fall blended into our fall décor.

I wanted a bigger sign than what I usually put out. The old one is a small 40”x5.5” leaning sign that honestly I’m tired of looking at lol! So today was the day for a new one! I had a pretty general idea of what I was going to do but I didn’t know it was going to turn out even more perfect than I planned!

Affiliate Disclosure. Some of the links on this website are affiliate links, which means that I may earn a small commission if you click on the link or make a purchase using the link. If you make a purchase you will not be charged anything additional. This is just a way I can help add to our family finances to raise our four daughters. Please know I would never recommend a product or service I do not totally stand behind.

Here’s what you need to make your own school spirit rustic porch sign

• repurposed wood

• 7/16” OSB {oriented strand board}

• 1”x2” pine wood

• Cricut

• cardstock

• Ryobi miter saw

• Ryobi scroll saw

• Ryobi sander

• hook & loop sandpaper

• Ryobi brad nailer

• brad nails

• paint brushes

• black acrylic paint

• orange acrylic paint

• white acrylic paint

First

You need to decide how large you want your sign, mine is approx. 24”x 22”. Then decide how large you want your lettering to be. I wanted my letters to take up a big portion of the base so I made my lettering roughly 11.5” wide and 14” tall each.

Measure out your wood base pieces and cut them to size using your miter saw. Then cut two pieces of your 1x2 a little shorter than the height of your sign. These are the pieces you’ll use to attach your pallet sign together. Place the pieces that you’ll be using for your sign face down on a flat surface. Then place your 1x2’s on it so it looks like the picture below.

Second

Use wood glue {I use gorilla wood glue} to glue the 1x2’s in place, then use your brad nailer to nail them down.

Third

Cut your letters out on cardstock using your Cricut.. The cardstock I had on hand wasn’t long enough so I butted two pieces together and taped the seam and it worked perfectly!

Fourth

Trace the letters onto your OSB. You can use pine for this but I chose OSB because we had this leftover from building TRIPLE LOFT BEDS for our older three girls…and yes, they came out AMAZING! I still have yet to write the tutorial for their U-shaped lofts but I promise, I will have it written before the end of the month ;)!

After you have them traced, cut them out using your scroll saw. Then give them a good sanding just on the front and around the edges. You won’t see the back so don’t worry about sanding that.

Fifth

Paint your letters. I chose to paint mine all black but you can get as creative with this as you’d like.

I wanted to add a pop of color to my sign so I painted just one of the boards orange, just lightly brushed over it so it was medium coverage.

Now add your letters to your sign. I didn’t align mine because I like the offset look. I didn’t bother gluing these down I just popped a few brad nails in each letter using my brad nailer.

Now for the fun part! I love making these adorable free hand painted garland. I wanted the color to pop so I painted the triangles white, then once those dried I painted over them with the colors I wanted them to be. At first I wasn’t going to paint any of the triangles black but once I started painting over the white with orange I decided to break it up a little with every third triangle painted black. Then I used the end of my paint brush to add polk-a-dots to them. So CUTE!

I just LOVE this rustic porch sign and it will tie in PERFECTLY with the rest of my fall décor.

I hope this inspires you to show off your own school or town spirit where you live. Let me know what you think below.

Click on the pic below to PIN for later

DIY rusty pumpkin from mason jar rings

How to make a rusty pumpkin from a mason jar lid

I’ll admit I have an obsession with MASON JARS!! Seriously though, who doesn’t in the days of rustic décor? But our family doesn’t just do crafts with them like this DIY LIGHT UP FAIRY JAR. Or these adorable DIY GLASS ETCHED MASON JARS. Other than storing food our family actually uses them as our drinking glasses. They are just so darn versatile! You can even buy these plastic mason jar lids so you don’t have to hassle with the two pieces that traditionally comes with mason jars.

Affiliate Disclosure. Some of the links on this website are affiliate links, which means that I may earn a small commission if you click on the link or make a purchase using the link. If you make a purchase you will not be charged anything additional.

Ok, so enough about how much I LOVE and use mason jars lol! Let’s get to the rusty mason jar lid pumpkin tutorial. These rusty pumpkins will tie in perfectly with your rustic décor. You can place these on the table as a centerpiece, on a mantle, sit them on a deep shelf, you could even put them on your front porch with the rest of your gorgeous fall decorations.

Here’s what you’ll need

• regular mouth canning jar rings

• twine

• glue gun

• felt

• wire cutters

• scissors

• stick

• rustic wire

• pliers

If you aren’t in the reading mood skip to the bottom to catch the full rusty pumpkin video tutorial.

You’re probably wondering…how do I make my canning jar lids rusty? I don’t have a tutorial up just yet for how to make your mason jar rings rusty. But don’t worry I’m working on it and it is SUPER easy! You basically just soak them in a mixture of vinegar and salt for a week or so. Take them out when you're satisfied with the rustiness. Rinse them off. And let them air dry. That’s it!

You can make yours as full as you like but I don’t like that super uniformed look that most mason jar ring pumpkins have. I use a few less rings than a lot of the other tutorials call for but the others are still gorgeous 😍. For mine, I used 12 rings but you can use more if you like that look better :)!

---

First, string your rusty mason jar lids on a piece of twine. Be sure they are all facing the same direction

Next, make your mason jar rings curve into a circle and place the stick in the center. Then move your rings around so that they form the circle shape of the pumpkin. Tie the twine in a few knots. Remove the stick. Move the rings around to where you like them.

Once you have your lids where you want them place a ring of hot glue around the base of your stick and place your stick back in the center of the lids.

Then cut a piece of your wire, fold it in half and use your pliers to twist the ends. Place some hot glue on the curved end of the wire and then stick it in where your stick is.

Turn your pumpkin upside down and add more hot glue around where the stick is. This will give it more stability.

Cut a circle out of either fabric or felt and glue it to the bottom. This will give it a more finished look.

Now you’re ready to display your perfectly rusty mason jar ring/lid pumpkin!

Check out the video tutorial below

Check out these other pumpkin themed crafts

DIY CRAFT KIT how to paint your standing wood pumpkin cutouts

DIY how to paint your free standing wood pumpkin cut outs

I’m LOVING these little wood pumpkin cutouts! Seriously, what’s not to love?! The polk-a-dots? The stripes? The raffia? Yup! I love everything about these handmade pumpkins. And I know yours will turn out just as adorable as these guys.

If you haven’t ordered your DIY PUMPKIN CUTOUT CRAFT KIT be sure to grab yours so you can get started on your fall décor.

Affiliate Disclosure. Some of the links on this website are affiliate links, which means that I may earn a small commission if you click on the link or make a purchase using the link. If you make a purchase you will not be charged anything additional.

CHOOSE YOUR CRAFT KIT

BASIC KIT:
3 wood cutouts

PREMIUM KIT:
3 wood cutouts
2 oz orange acrylic paint
2 oz white acrylic paint
2 foam brushes
1 round foam brush
raffia
sandpaper

Please feel free to message me if you have any questions once your kit arrives. I want your DIY projects to turn out AMAZING and will help you in any way I can to make that happen. If you order from the website shoot me an email BUT if you ordered from my handmade ETSY shop please message me on there. In order to keep in compliance with Etsy all convos must be kept on their platform.

If you want to skip the written tutorial and get right to the video tutorial shoot to the bottom of this page and you’ll find my youtube thumbnail for the DIY wood pumpkin cutout craft tutorial.

Don’t want/need a whole craft kit? Here’s what you’ll need

• 3 wood pumpkin blank cutouts

• orange acrylic paint

• white acrylic paint

• paint brushes

• round sponge brush

• chip brush

• antiquing wax

• sandpaper

• raffia

• wide painter’s tape

First you want to paint your wood pumpkin bases. I chose to paint the tallest and shortest pumpkins orange and the medium sized pumpkin white. Paint a THIN layer on all sides of each pumpkin. Once the fronts are dry you can paint a second THIN layer to get more coverage.

Next, after your base coat is completely dry, using your round sponge brush make polk a dots on your pumpkins. If using the same round brush to make the different colored dots do NOT rinse. You don’t want all that water in your foam round brush. Just dab it off onto a paper towel until all the paint is gone then you can use it in the second color.

TIP: to avoid a messy blog don’t push your round brush all the way down onto your wood pumpkin. Instead, lightly dab, even using a slight twisting motion works MUCH better to achieve a non-blobby polk a dot ;)!

Now for the striped pumpkin. I used wide painter’s tape to achieve this look. Tape off the bottom, lining it up with the bottom of the pumpkin { you can get out a ruler if you want this to be exact but honestly just eye balling it works great too}. Then I placed a piece close to the top, but not all the way at the top. I wanted a little of the stem to be white. Then I place another piece in between those two pieces.

Paint the areas that are not taped off. Paint two THIN layers, allowing them to dry in between coats.

TIP: to avoid paint bleed brush with the tape not into the tape.

Let all three pumpkins dry. Now’s a perfect time for a glass of wine!

After they are dry you can start distressing them. A good rule to remember when distressing is that you want to distress where things would naturally be worn. Around edges, corners, and lightly on the fronts. Use your sand paper and distress along the edges and lightly pass it along the front {I also lightly distress the back to keep the look cohesive}. Wipe the sawdust off with a lint free cloth.

Applying the antiquing wax really gives these little guys life! Take your chip brush and lightly dip just the tip of it into the wax, then brush off most of it onto a paper towel. You do this so you do not end up with way too much wax on your project. It is far easier to apply more than it is to remove it from your project. You want to apply the wax the same way you sanded your pumpkins. Focus on the edges and lightly brush on the front/back.

TIP: trimming down your chip brush will give you better control over the bristles and will prevent them from making your wax so wispy when you apply it to your pumpkins.

Tie a couple stands of raffia around the stems and you’re done! Trim the ends if needed. Since raffia tends to come in long strands you’ll want to cut the strands in half, and even in thirds in some cases. Then tie in a bow around the wood stem.

And you’re done! If you loved this tutorial please let me know in the comments. If you’re on social media don’t forget to follow me there FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM, PINTEREST, YOUTUBE

Pin the image below for later ;)

Watch the full video tutorial below

Check out my other crafty fall tutorials

DIY Dollar Tree fall leaf garland

I just can’t get enough of fall décor! Especially when it literally costs me less than $3 to DIY! My four daughters and I went to the Dollar Tree last week to pick up some things for the oldest daughter’s friend for her birthday {see the fun dollar tree inspired birthday gift we made for her } and of course they had some of their Halloween and fall things out. So naturally we HAD to buy a few things to make some DIY rustic décor and a fun Halloween wreath that I can’t wait to start on. I’ve been on a DIY frenzy trying to get all my fall décor made before school starts back up. The last couple of years have had me so busy I didn’t decorate much for fall…or Christmas for that matter {aside from the traditional tree and stockings}. So this year I am making it my mission to bring the holiday explosion to our home, and I’m doing it the frugal way.

Affiliate Disclosure. Some of the links on this website are affiliate links, which means that I may earn a small commission if you click on the link or make a purchase using the link. If you make a purchase you will not be charged anything additional.

How to make your own Dollar Tree Rae Dunn inspired fall burlap garland

Here’s what you need to make your own FALL burlap garland

• 2 packages of burlap leaves from the Dollar Tree

• twine/jute

• black acrylic paint

• white acrylic paint

• Cricut & cardstock to make stencils {or you can free hand these with an acrylic paint marker}

• scissors

• glue gun

• wire cutters {only if the wire will not easily come apart from the burlap leaves}

• 1 medium paint brush

• 1 small paint brush

• mini clothes pins

Cut out your stencils. I used a skinny type font and my Cricut Design Space. I made them 2.5” tall and cut them out of cardstock. Before cutting them out I made a line in the “A” so that the middle would stay attached while stenciling and I just free hand painted that small part in once I was done.

Remove the wire “stems” from the burlap leaves. For me, the brown ones peeled away super easy but the orange ones didn’t want to come off without taking the burlap with it. So, I used wire cutters on the orange ones.

Because these Dollar Tree burlap leaves are the exact same size you will want to trim up the brown ones so that you have and orange border going around them once you are finished. Just take a small amount off the edge, following the shape of the leaf.

Paint the brown burlap leaves white, even the back. The medium sized brush works great for this step. Let dry.

After the white paint is dry you can stencil on your FALL letters. I just held my in place and used a pouncing motion like I did on this stenciled canvas tote bag. Take care not to get outside the cardstock lines. If you need to you can use painter’s tape to tape the stencil off so you won’t have any bleed lines {just don’t press the tape down too much so it doesn’t mess up the work you’ve already done ;) }

Once your stenciled area is dry you can glue the white burlap leaves onto the orange burlap leaves. I only applied glue to the center of the white leaves. I didn’t want them to be completely glued down all the way around.

Measure out how long you need your burlap to be then add a few inches so you can loop the ends to hang. Attach your leaves with the mini clothes pins, or you can hot glue the burlap leaves directly on the twine.

Then you’re all done! SOOO super easy! And it was super inexpensive! Pair this with these rustic candy corns made from a 2x4 or this DOLLAR TREE painted pumpkin DIY makeover.

Check out the full video tutorial to these Rae Dunn inspired DIY burlap Dollar Tree FALL garland

Need more crafty fall ideas? Click here ——> for more DIY Halloween & fall decor

Dollar Tree pumpkins, how to give them a RUSTIC makeover

Frugal fall decorating, how to give a Dollar Tree pumpkin a rustic makeover

We’ve all seen them the bright orange pumpkins on the shelves at the Dollar Tree. You think to yourself ‘I could paint that up and make it look soooo much better’. Then fall comes and the darn ugly pumpkin is still sitting there untouched by your creativity. Yep…that’s me. I am totally that kind of Dollar Tree shopper and I’m not ashamed to admit it.

After having several of these little pumpkins sit on my craft room shelf for almost a year I decided what better time to give them a makeover than now?! Fall is almost here and I have been working like a busy crafty bee trying to gear up for this season. Check out my latest DIY, 2x4 candy corn they turned out SO stinking cute! AND you don’t want to miss this frugal find, Walmart clearance shoes, that I gave a total makeover to for my 3 year old to wear this fall. She absolutely LOVES them!

How to turn your DOLLAR TREE pumpkins into rustic perfectly distressed pumpkins

Affiliate Disclosure. Some of the links on this website are affiliate links, which means that I may earn a small commission if you click on the link or make a purchase using the link. If you make a purchase you will not be charged anything additional.

I had everything I needed on hand, including the pumpkins, but here’s what I used to turn my pumpkin from bright orange into rustic farmhouse.

• Dollar Tree ugly pumpkin

• white spray paint

• skewer

• gold chalk paint

• lagoon chalk paint

• antiquing wax

• chip brush

• paint brush

• paint tray

First you want to paint your pumpkin white. I used what I found in our garage but you can use any kind of white FLAT spray paint. Stick the skewer in the bottom of the pumpkin so you can hold the pumpkin and spray all around it. Let it dry before you put it down. I used a blow dryer to speed up this process.

Next you want to paint your pumpkin with your gold chalk paint. I broke 3 small pieces off of the skewer and stuck them in the bottom of the pumpkin so that it would stand up and not touch the table while I was painting it. Let that dry completely before moving on to the next step.

Once your gold chalk paint is dry you want to very lightly dip the tip of your brush into your teal/blue colored paint. I used a color called lagoon and on it’s own is VERY bright but when used as an accent color it is absolutely gorgeous! You don’t want to completely cover the gold paint but lightly brush over it leaving light streaks of the lagoon colored paint. This will dry pretty quick.

Next you are going to repeat the previous step but instead you are going to use antiquing wax and your chip brush. I added a little more wax than I did the lagoon colored paint to give it a more rustic look. TIP: trim your chip brush down to about an 1” and it will work MUCH better.

Once you’re satisfied with your coverage you are all done! I’m not totally loving the stem on this on so I might replace it with a stick from the yard but for now it will tie in perfectly with my fall décor! I paired it next to the glittery gold 2x4 pumpkins I made a while back.

If you loved this tutorial you will love even more of my DIY fall craft tutorials

Check out the full video tutorial below

DIY clearance shoes, how to paint them for fall

I LOVE the frugal life. So when my friends tagged me in a post about our local Walmart putting select kids clothes and shoes on the $1 clearance rack I couldn’t get there fast enough! Thank you sweet friends btw! Boy did we find some good deals! Including these adorable little black shoes for my 3 year old daughter.

I had never painted on shoes before but I was up for the challenge. Such a perfect blank canvas and even if I mess them up they were only a DOLLAR so it’s totally ok and I wouldn’t feel one bit bad lol.

Affiliate Disclosure. Some of the links on this website are affiliate links, which means that I may earn a small commission if you click on the link or make a purchase using the link. If you make a purchase you will not be charged anything additional.

I’m sure I didn’t use the right kind of paint {I used straight acrylic paint, not watered down} but that’s ok. My daughter won’t be wearing them very long, she’s three after all lol so she’ll outgrow them in no time.

Here’s what I used

• acrylic paint

• clearance canvas shoes from Walmart

• paint brush

• round sponge brush

• assorted orange and black ribbon

• E6000 glue

• paint pens

Pin me for later

How to paint on canvas shoes for fall

1. REMOVE THE LACES before you start painting so you don’t get paint all over them.

2. THEME unless you are just going to let the creative juices flow as you go along it is best if you have a plan prior to painting on your canvas shoes. I had an idea right before I started painting and I ended up changing it up as I went because I wasn’t totally loving the way it looked. I painted more on the back and sides and moved the bows and added the front dots after I filmed this tutorial. I LOVE the way they turned out and more importantly my toddler does too!

3. PAINTING TIPS

• if you are painting on black shoes it is best to paint a base layer of white then once that’s dry paint the actual color you want. So on mine I wanted the backs orange, I painted them white first then after they dried I painted them orange. This will help your colors to not be dark and diluted.

• use a variety of brush sizes to fit your painting needs

• don’t use too much paint. Paint in thin layers and if doing more than one layer only paint over dry paint.

• paint pens are your friends <3 ! I used paint pens to add the lines on the candy corn and pumpkin after painting them their main colors.

• use both end of your paint brush. I used the non brush end of my brush to make the small dots on the front of the shoes. This was the perfect size for these cute little dots.

4. ADDING ACCENTS if you add any accents E6000 works great to have a long lasting hold. I’ll warn ya though, it doesn’t dry fast at all.

5. LACES I opted for a more untraditional lace for these shoes but you can keep the original laces in. I thought they would be too white for this pair so I traded them out for 2 thin pieces of ribbon in orange and black on each shoe. They actually hold up pretty well too! And this type of ribbon is really inexpensive so it wouldn’t cost much to replace if I need to.

Didn’t these clearance shoes turn out sooooo adorable?!!! I wasn’t sure how I’d like that they don’t match on the fronts but I actually do love it. It screams “I don’t have perfection issues” lol!!!

I hope you find this tutorial helpful for your shoe painting adventure! I’d love to see how yours turn out! Share a pic in the comments.

Check out the video tutorial below

DIY 2x4 glittered pumpkins

How to make 2x4 glitter pumpkins

These 2x4 pumpkins are one of the easiest fall crafts you can make yourself. If the glitter and sea blue isn’t really your thing you can make these more traditional rustic orange and white pumpkins I posted last year. But I really wanted to make a set of nontraditional glittery pumpkins, well because why not? I love rustic décor but I also LOVE glitter! So I went for it and I’m so glad I did because they turned out soooo super cute!

Affiliate Disclosure. Some of the links on this website are affiliate links, which means that I may earn a small commission if you click on the link or make a purchase using the link. If you make a purchase you will not be charged anything additional. This is just a way I can help add to our family finances to raise our four daughters. Please know I would never recommend a product or service I do not totally stand behind.

You’ll need a few power tools for this DIY craft and I recommend hands down using Ryobi power tools, you can read my article on what power tools does a crafter need?

No matter what style of decorating you have these pumpkins are really fun to make and if they don’t fit in with your décor you can always gift them to a loved one.

Don’t have time to DIY them but NEED them in your life? You can buy a set of these glittery pumpkins in our Etsy shop.

Here’s what you’ll need

• 2x4 cut into 7”, 5.5”, & 4” pieces

• wire {I picked mine up at my local farm store}

• sticks for the stems

• 1” strips of fabric {I used pieces from my fabric stash}

• bright blue acrylic paint

• gold acrylic paint

• gold glitter

• tape

• paint brushes

• round foam brush

• Mod Podge, matte finish

• glue gun

So, how do you make these gorgeous nontraditional fall glitter pumpkins?

First you need to cut your 2x4 into 3 pieces. You’ll need a 7”, 5.5”, and a 4”. These are the sizes I used and they seem to be the perfect size. Give them a quick sanding to knock down the rough edges. I used my Ryobi Cordless Sander for this but you can use a piece of 120 grit sand paper.

Next you need to drill a hole for your stems. I matched my stick up to a drill bit that was about the same size. Drill a hole in the middle of each top of your pumpkins.

Then paint each pumpkin. I painted the largest and smallest blue and the middle sized one gold. Be sure to let them dry COMPLETELY between coats.

Once your gold pumpkin is dry add a layer of Mod Podge to the front of it, be sure you get an even coat. Then add glitter right on top of that. I place paper under my projects when using glitter to catch the excess that doesn’t stick. Then I empty it back into the glitter container.

Using the round sponge brush add some circles to the smallest block. I used both ends of the brush to add two different sizes of circles.

Tape off the largest pumpkin so it has 3 stripes. Paint a thin layer of gold, let dry.

Add a layer of Mod Podge to the large circles then add glitter. Add a layer of Mod Podge to the gold stripes, add glitter, then peel the tape off carefully.

Add a dab of glue inside the hole you drilled then place the stick inside. Doing it this way will give your stick more stability.

Add a piece of rustic wire and a scrap piece of fabric and you’re done. Super easy!

Click below for the full video on how to make your own nontraditional glitter 2x4 pumpkins

DIY 2x4 rustic wood pumpkin blocks

DIY how to make 2x4 wood pumpkins

These little wooden pumpkins are just as cute as can be! I LOVE them! What I love even more is how effortless they are to create. You can knock a set out in less than an hour. Seriously, an hour of your time and you have some ridiculously cute mini pumpkins to add to your rustic fall décor!

These little guys are so simple you can even get the kiddos involved! Make a whole family craft night out of it, they will LOVE it and you’ll remember that night every year you put them out.

To make it even easier I’ve put together this DIY MINI PUMPKIN CRAFT KIT. Everything you need to make these at home delivered right to your door!

If you don’t buy our easy peasy craft kit here’s what you’ll need…

• 2x4 cut into sizes 3.5”, 4.5”, 6” {we use our RYOBI miter saw to cut all of our pieces}

• 1/2” wide wooden dowel cut into 3 2” pieces {you can find these at your local hardware store}

• sand paper {we use our cordless RYOBI sander for all of our projects}

• sponge brushes

• masking tape

• orange, brown, & white acrylic paint

• raffia

• rusty wire {you can find this at a local farm store}

• glue {we use a glue gun for our projects at the shop but we include this super strong glue in this craft kit}

• dark wax

• chip brush

Helpful tools

• wire cutters

• pliers

• glue gun/glue sticks

• scissors

• drill

• 1/2” drill bit

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Check out this other fun fall craft, DIY mini mum planters for your front porch.

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Let’s get started!

Step 1

Cut all the pieces for your pumpkins and stems {dowel rod}. After you do that give them a quick sanding to knock down all the pokey edges from being cut. Next drill a 1/2” hole in the top of each pumpkin {this will be where you put the stem dowel rod, you only need it about 1/2” deep}. Be sure to wipe off all the saw dust.

Now for the fun!

Paint all of your pumpkins your base color. For mine I painted all of the pumpkins orange. Be sure to apply a super thing coat, you should be able to see the wood grain through the paint. Once that dries apply a second coat, if desired wait for that coat to dry and apply a 3rd. I almost never do 3 coats.

Step 2

Now for the accents{I used white for my accent color}!

For mine I left one pumpkin plain, added dots to one, and stripes to another.

The dots are SUPER EASY! Literally take the end of you sponge brush and dip it in the accent color. Then dot it on the pumpkin you want to have dots. You can practice on a scrap piece of paper before going full force on your pumpkin. I just randomly dot around till I’m happy with the look. I do this all the way around the pumpkin.

Add some stripes. Using your masking tape off the areas you want to KEEP your base color. I did two stripes of white on my pumpkins. Pro tip…to keep the paint bleed down, never brush your paint into the tape, always brush away. Brushing it to the tape will force the paint under the tape and cause your paint to bleed. You don’t need to wait for the paint to dry to peel off the tape.

Step 3

Once your blocks are dry you can distress with sandpaper. Focus on the edges, corners, and do a light sanding to the face of the pumpkins. When you are done distressing with sandpaper, brush all the dust off with a cloth.

Step 4

Give them a little more character with dark wax! I absolutely LOVE this stuff!

It takes VERY LITTLE WAX to achieve this look. Barely dip the very tip of the chip brush into the wax, and dab off onto a paper towel. If you get too much wax on your blocks they will look mudding instead of antiqued. Now brush the wax onto the corners and edges, dabbing to get more wax when you need more on your brush.

Then lightly brush over the face in both vertical and horizontal directions. This will give it an even more antiqued look.

Step 5

Paint your stem, let it dry, and glue the stem in place with a good amount of glue. Let dry completely {f you have a glue gun you can use that for this step instead}.

After your glue has dried you are ready to adorn with the raffia and wire embellishments. To get the wire curled, simply wrap around the end of one of your sponge brushes.

Then take the wire and tie it around your stem.

Step 6

Then gather a few strands of raffia and tie in a bow around the stem and wire. Trim if you desire.

Check out more fall & Halloween posts below

Easy and adorable mini mum planters for less than $2, get the look with this tutorial

DIY cheap fall porch décor

I love finding new ways to decorate on the cheap! Having 4 kids…especially girls…is expensive. From clothes to medical expenses these girls can drain a wallet! So I get a little creative when it comes to buying decorations, especially if they are seasonal ones.

A few years ago I wanted to spruce up our front porch with some fall colored mums. I LOVE them, they scream FALL IS HERE! I was shopping around Walmart had the mums loaded in my basket and they come with the standard ugly stamped containers so I thought I’d pick up some inexpensive pots to put them in. Our porch decorating budget wasn’t a whole lot and I was already spending a big portion of it on the flowers. I found the pots and was floored at how expensive they were. They were twice as much as the flowers! Being raised to be super frugal by my mom and insanely CRAFTY grandma my wheels got to turning. I walked around the store looking for ideas of what I could stick these flowers in. Got to the Halloween aisle and BAM! There they were. Perfect round containers that looked like they were made to put those flowers in!!

This year I wanted to recreate those because they unfortunately didn’t last more than that season. I went to Walmart and the regular sized pumpkin buckets were no where to be found but they had mini ones which were the PERFECT size for the mini mum flowers…and a fraction of the cost! And did I mention they were MINI which automatically makes them even more adorable!

So I grabbed the mums, a mini pumpkin and a mini cauldron treat buckets and set back to our brick and mortar shop to make some cute planters!

Affiliate Disclosure. Some of the links on this website are affiliate links, which means that I may earn a small commission if you click on the link or make a purchase using the link. If you make a purchase you will not be charged anything additional. This is just a way I can help add to our family finances to raise our four daughters. Please know I would never recommend a product or service I do not totally stand behind.

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Here’s what you’ll need

I picked everything up from my local Walmart.

2 mini MUM planted flowers, $.97 each {I picked mine up at our local Walmart, but they are not listed online

2 mini Halloween treat buckets $.74 each {I bought a pumpkin & cauldron}

scissors

It cost $1.71 {plus taxes} to make one flower pot. SUPER CHEAP for cute décor, and the kids will love them. I did mine by myself because my kiddos were at school, but you could totally make this a fun family thing and have everyone pot their own.

These are so super simple, literally 2 steps!

First you need to cut the top lip off of the pot the flowers are currently in. This can be hard to get the initial cut so I advise this step for adults.

Now shove those babies in the treat bucket and you’re done! If yours are going to stay outside all the time you can drill 2 holes in the bottom to let them drain but I will be bringing mine in and out of our shop and I don’t want the water to drip everywhere so I will manually drain ours.

I can’t wait for these to bloom and be even CUTER!

Check out more fall & Halloween themed posts below