YaYYY for HALLOWEEN!

Let me start by saying... I LOVE HALLOWEEN!! I know I have already shared a halloween post, BUT now it's about to get serious! My blog is about to be totally Halloween-o-fied! So consider this a fair warning, if you don't enjoy Halloween as much as I do (which is a lot!!) then BEWARE!!

My first halloween post featured a display of revamped dollar store pumpkins, and guess what?! So does this one!! However, for this post I have created 10 different designs using Dollar Tree carve-able pumpkins! I love these, they are the perfect size and 1$!

Here's what they looked like before:

The one thing I wasn't crazy about with these pumpkins was the color :(, BUT that is easily fixed! I used three different kinds of spray paint for my pumpkins: Rustoleum Glossy Black, Rustoleum Flat Heirloom White and Rustoleum Chalkboard Spray! 

So without further delay, Check out the 10 different ways I decked out my dollar pumpkins:

1. Silhouette

First I sprayed this pumpkin with chalkboard paint. Then using a cut-out of a bat (I got a package of bat silhouettes from the dollar store!) I traced around the cut-out in pencil. Then went back over the outline in chalk and filled it in to create my silhouette. You could also Mod Podge a silhouette on, or use paint or a sharpie to create the same effect.

2. Glitter

I wanted to give this pumpkin a traditional jack-o-lantern face, but rather than carving it in I used glitter!  Simply draw on your face (or free-hand like me) and fill in your shapes with glue. Then sprinkle on some glitter and let dry. 

3. Decoupage

This one is pretty self-explanatory! I cut-out "BOO!" from some black/white damask wrapping paper I had on hand, and then Mod-Podged my letters on.

4. Bugs!

For this creepy-crawly pumpkin, I started by spraying my pumpkin glossy black. Then I used pins to attach some black plastic creepy crawlies (also from the dollar store) all around my pumpkin. Yea, it's kind of gross, BUT I kind of love it! 

5. Seed Beads

I used silver seed beads to create this "classy" looking pumpkin :). I randomly spread glue over the top of my pumpkin to make an organic design then loaded on the seed beads. (It kind of looks like a cupcake, BUT i think it works!) 

6. Chalk

This is another pumpkin I sprayed with chalkboard paint (I just love the look!) But for this one I went a little crazier with the chalk! First I drew lines the outline the sections of the pumpkin. Then in each section I wrote a Halloween word like "Haunt", "Spooky", "Ghost", etc. And finished off the top with some leaves and curly-q's. 

7. Googly Eyes!

This is another fun one! I bought a package of googly eyes (again dollar store!!), and glued these onto a glossy black pumpkin to spell out the date of All Hallows Eve!

8. Ribbon 

This is one of my favs! And so easy! I used two kinds of Halloween-themed ribbon (from Michaels) and cut pieces ling enough to span the height of my pumpkin. Then I secured them on the top and bottom with some dollar-store thumbtacks!

9. Duct Tape 

This pumpkin is decorated with Duck Brand houndstooth duct tape! Just keep taping until your pumpkin is covered!

10. Spider Transfers

Last but not least is my awesome spider pumpkin! Ok, I have to admit this is not totally a DIY because I got a little help from Martha Stewart on this one! For this pumpkin I used Pumpkin Transfers by Martha Stewart, which work essential like water-slide decals or temporary tattoos. I forgot to take a picture of the package :( but you can find these online or at most craft stores. I got these at Joann's 1/2 off! Only $2.99 for the package! 

Stay tuned to see how I used my $ DIY pumpkins to create an awesome display in front of my fireplace!

Thanks for stopping by!

-Liz :)

Halloween Dollar Store DIY

This is my first installment of the Dollar Store Challenge, Halloween Style!

The Dollar Store (Dollar Tree in my case) is a treasure trove of inexpensive DIY goodness, including Halloween decorations!!!

Check out what I created for 10$ (plus some black glossy spray paint):

I purchased all of these adorable mini pumpkins at the dollar store along with a box of 100 silver thumbtacks which I used to create this classy typographic display.

First, I had to spray my pumpkins black. (I had this glossy black paint on hand. I used Rustoleum brand glossy black spray paint from Home Depot, $3.87)

9$ for 9 pumpkins for the 9 letters in "Halloween"

Then all that was left to do was spell out my word. I choose to spell "Halloween" because I knew I wanted to place these on my extra long TV stand. For smaller spaces you could use some other Halloweeny words like "BOO", "SCARY", "SPOOKY", etc, etc!! (less letters would also reduce your pumpkin cost!)

I did not trace out my letters first, instead I just winged it, and it turned out fine, but if you don't trust your lettering skills you could always outline in pencil first. 

And that's it! Soooo simple! Making these took me about 30 mins start to finish (minus drying time of course!)

Originally I planned on using all tall pumpkins, BUT my dollar store only had 6 tall ones, so I had to get 3 of the shorter, fatter ones! And I am so glad I did, I love the staggered look it creates! 

Close-up

Some Halloween-style editing :)

Thanks for stopping by!

-Liz :)