Halloween: Ghosts of Projects Past...Coffin Boxes

I was in Michaels recently and noticed that they again had plain wood box coffins which they've had in years past. I've had fun playing with them and thought I'd share some ideas of what you can do with them because the possibilities are endless!  

They come in some fun and different shapes from the traditional coffin shape I bought, but the concept is exactly the same. 

Supplies:

• Plain Coffin Boxes ( Michaels)
• Acrylic Paints
• Scrapbook Paper
• Mod Podge
• Misc Embellishments

We'll go in order from left to right in the above picture. 

Skully Boxes: (Original Post Here)

For all of these the process is the same. You can do any combination of painting and scrapbook paper, including all paint or all paper or combining the two. For these I painted the sides using a crackle effect and then Mod Podg'd (because that's a word in my vocabulary!) the scrapbook paper on top. 

Decide on your color scheme ( you could go bright and whimsical with this too). I painted my plain boxes black, let dry, then painted a layer of white school glue ( plain old white glue) over the black paint. Let almost dry and then went over that with white paint. Let air dry or help along with a blow dryer.  Oooohhhh crackle crackle.

For these, I topped with plastic skulls that you can pick up lots of places, Use an acrylic paint that adheres to multiple surfaces ( I used Martha Stewart on these) and then glue wherever you like on your coffin. 

Vampire Coffin Boxes: (Original Post Here)

I had some "True Blood" fans in my life so that year I made some of these as gifts  for them. I think you can see the reason for the color choice! 

Same process of paint and scrapbook paper and on these I used different washi tapes. 

Glitter paint glams these up! 

French Gothic Coffin Boxes: (Original Post Here)

The inspiration for these were these great French themed embellishments I found that year (guess where...Michaels) along with a package of complementary 3D stickers. 

These remain some of my favorites and the Skully Boxes and these remain part of my annual Halloween decor. I hope you've found some inspiration! Grab some paints, paper, and embellishments and have fun! 

BFF Open House

 

Is it Friday Eve already? This week has actually kind of flown by. Maybe it's because I've been on Halloween overdrive and having so much fun. Or, maybe, if you'll indulge me for a moment, I've been on Cloud Nine since one of my project was featured in the Hometalk Newsletter this week! 

Eeeek!!! I can't believe it's October already which means we're in Halloween full steam ahead mode. Let's see what brilliance you all shared at last week's party!

Michelle from My Bijou Life captured the spirit of the season with this incredible pendant she shared ( and she has others you really need to check out!)

Niky from The House on Silverado shared this G O R G E O U S Fall Wreath, perfect from now through Thanksgiving. This is like a marriage of my love of neutrals and my love of wreaths! So pretty.

Lisa from Drugstore Divas shared this fun collection of DIY Mix and Match Pumpkins. I love all of the faces! 

Bird's Party shared this incredibly beautiful and spooky Halloween Cake with Meringue Ghosts. Maybe this year you're only gathering with family or a few friends and this would be a spooktacular extra special treat! 

Finally, if you're looking for an extra special Halloween adult beverage, Tracey from The Kitchen Is My Playground can hook you up with this Dracula's Blood Cocktail (and she's got several other concoctions worth checking out)! 

Thanks to everyone who linked up and now let's see what you've been up to this week!  

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Halloween: Elegant and Inexpensive...Glam Up A Dollar Tree Skull

 

When life gives you lemons you make lemonade right? An early retirement plus a pandemic has meant I've had more time to focus on creating and I don't know about you, but for me, the more I create the more ideas I come up with. 

I've seen this trend in "Glam Skulls" or "Jeweled Skulls" for the past couple of Halloween seasons and decided that I could come up with a version for far less than the price of them. So here we go! 

Supplies:

• Plastic Skulls (Dollar Tree)
• White Tissue Paper (Dollar Tree)
• Mod Podge  
• Acrylic Paints
• Glue Gun and Glue
• Embellishments

Step 1: 

If you've been in a Dollar Tree around Halloween, you recognize these skulls. These I already had in my Halloween decorations and have used them as is before but this year I decided I wanted to glam them up. The easiest thing would have been spray paint but I have asthma and fumes are not my friend. Several years ago I tried this technique on Easter Eggs and it's been my go to ever since for projects where I don't need a smooth finish and which need something for the paint to grip. 

It's so simple and works so well! Use any white tissue paper, scrunch into a ball, crunch your ball and then tear your tissue into smaller pieces.

Step 2: 

Once you have your tissue paper pieces, start covering the skull with Mod Podge then start placing your tissue paper. Doesn't matter where you start, you just keep going until covered. I prefer to use a bristle vs foam brush for this. You can push into the eyes and small spaces to make sure you get good adhesion. As needed tear pieces smaller to fit where needed. It's a totally random process.

This is what your skull will look like once covered. It would work just like this for Halloween but let's keep going! 

Step 3:

After your Mod Podge is dry , it's time to paint! I chose the same color palette as the Upcycled Candleholders I shared earlier. I used a dark grey basecoat as my first coat: 

"But did she stop there?" Of course not. I went over the grey paint with Martha Stewart Metallic Titanium, and then wiped on and wiped off a black glaze of watered down black paint. 

I didn't wipe out the glaze from the eye sockets and only lightly wiped it out of the nose. Now it's time for the real fun! 

Step 4:

Now it's time to embellish! 

I pulled out miscellaneous embellishments from my stash. Sequins, flat back rhinestones, seed beads, and faceted crystal beads for the eyes. I went with embellishing only one eye per skull, starting by gluing a large crystal bead in the eye socket. From there, it's wherever your imagination takes you! I spread some hot glue in the eye socket, sprinkled on a seed bead mix and while the glue was still setting stuck in some mirror sequins. Then working up and down from the eye, laid down more hot glue, sprinkled more seed beads, added rhinestones and other beads randomly. 

I had some skull beads so I added those too. Skulls on skulls on skulls! 

I love that with a little paint and imagination, you can create high end looking and elegant Halloween decor for very little. Shown here: Glam Skull on top of Dollar Tree candleholder ; my Mackenzie Childs Inspired Pumpkin from Target's impulse buy section ; Goodwill Candleholder Makeover; Painted and Mod Podged Wood Coffin (bought the plain box at Michaels years ago but they still have variations of them). 

I hope you found some inspiration. Until next time, 

Goodwill Finds: From Plain to Pretty Candleholders for Less Than The Cost of One

 

I continue to "upscale" my Halloween decor.  Since PhD Man left for college I've switched out a bit each year. This year I knew I wanted some more candleholders to give height and depth to my Halloween decor so, masked up and went to my local Goodwill to see what I could find because as Makers, we're not going to go pay big money for the look we want right? 

Supplies: 

• Thrifted Candleholders 
• Acrylic Paints ( I used Craftsmart Dark Grey, Black  and Martha Stewart Metallic Titanium)
• Antique Gold Rub n Buff

Here's what I found: three un related pieces that would work together

I have no idea what the one on the left is made of but it's heavy ! I cleaned  my finds to get any residue off and then got to work!

Step 1: 

After cleaning, removing stickers etc. paint with a base coat to make everything match. I used Craftsmart Acrylic paint from Michaels in Dark Grey:

I like how they almost look like cement but I wanted more shine. 

Step 2:

Once they were dry, I went back over them with Martha Stewart Metallic Titanium (also Michaels). But then they were too shiny! So I dabbed on a black glaze and wiped off to age them just the right amount. I'm like Goldilocks...too matte...too shiny...just right.

Step 3: 

I wanted to bring out the detail and the raised edges so I grabbed the Rub n Buff from my Faux Spooky Candle project and went over the raised areas, finishing the "buff" part with a soft cloth. 

I'm so happy with how the turned out and coordinate not only with each other but the rest of my decor! While I made these for Halloween decorating, I kept them versatile enough that I can use whenever. Total cost: $9 for all three pieces. 

Until next time...

Eclectic Red Barn