October kicks off one of our favorite things in the family: the holiday season. First up in the string of upcoming holidays is Halloween. While we both pass on the scary side of Halloween, we still enjoy the more lighthearted or whimsical parts. When candy is involved, how could it not be a good day?! While wandering through the craft store aisles, looking for the first Halloween craft of 2018 we found three items next to each other that were perfect. A wood sign with jagged edges, pre-cut letters (timesaver!), and a glitter tree. Here’s our two takes on the three shared items.

Britt’s Supplies:

• Jagged edge wooden sign
• Black pre-cut letters (B,O,O)
• Black glitter tree
• Craft Smart Paint: Black, Amethyst Metallic, White
• Delta Paint: Metallic Silver
• Apple Barrel Paint: King’s Gold
• Black Sticker Foam
• Black/purple glitter
• Foam brush (1in)
• Stippling Brush
• Wood Glue
• Hot Glue Gun

Mom’s Supplies:

• Jagged edge wooden sign
• Black pre-cut letters (B,O,O)
• Black glitter tree
• 2 Large Glow in the Dark Googely Eyes
• Craft Smart Paint: Purple Metallic, White
• DecoArt Paint: Glo in the Dark
• Black Sticker Foam
• White Sticker Foam
• Silver glitter
• Foam brush (1in)
• Wood Glue
• Hot Glue Gun

Britt’s take:

Britt’s take began with creating the appearance of a night sky. While I am definitely no Van Gogh, a starry night can be fun to create and no two will be alike! Start with painting the front, back, and sides of the sign black; wait for it to dry before proceeding. Using the amethyst metallic paint, lightly dry brush the purple horizontally and sporadically on the sign. Then, using the stippling brush, thoroughly coat the brush with white paint then swiftly flick the brush against your index finger towards the sign to add stars. Repeat the star effect with the silver metallic paint until you are happy with the starry night result.

To create the moon, begin with painting a white circle in the desired location. The size of the circle is up to you. I wanted the size of the moon to be slightly larger than scale to give a more ominous, eerie feeling. While the white paint is still wet, add short brush strokes of metallic silver and king’s gold for depth

While the background dries entirely, prepare the supplies for the glitter letters. Making sure that there is a large paper at your work station, begin to brush glue (I used black paint – if using paint, a sealer will most likely be needed) on the B front and sides. Apply the black/purple glitter mixture generously and shake excess glitter onto the paper. Repeat glitter steps for O,O.

With the sticker side facing up, trace or draw the silhouettes of a cat and owl on the black foam. Carefully cut out the outlines with a pair of sharp scissors.

Place all of the items onto the base sign until the desired look is achieved (Tip: take a photo with your phone to reference when gluing the items down). Use the wood glue to attach the glitter letters and hot glue to attach the glitter tree, and foam animal silhouettes.

Mom’s take:

Mom’s take begins with planning out where the BOO letters will rest and outlining the middle of the two O’s, in pencil. Then, paint the whole sign excluding the two O’s metallic purple. To create a background for the eye’s in the O’s, paint a thick coat of white in the drawn O’s.

To create the glitter letters, carefully apply glue to the sides of the B letter. Pour silver glitter generously onto the sides and tap any excess off onto a clean paper. Repeat glitter steps for the remaining O,O letters.

While waiting for the background and letters to set, begin prep work for additional details on the sign. With the sticker side facing up, trace or draw the outlines of three ghosts onto the white sticker foam. Carefully cut the ghosts out. With the ghosts cut out, generously apply glo in the dark paint to the front of the ghosts.

To create the eyelids out of the black foam, first test size and appearance using a piece of paper. Once the desired shape/size is created, trace onto the sticker side of the black foam twice then cut both out for the two eyes.

Place all of the items onto the base sign until the desired look is accomplished. Use hot glue to attach the googeley eyes, eyelids (tack one or two place on the side if desired), ghosts, and glitter tree. Then use wood glue to fasten the glitter letters.

We want to hear from you! What is your favorite part of Halloween and how would it be added to this BOO sign.

Have fun with making this your own take!