Let me start by saying that I have absolutely nothing against cowgirls, especially being from Texas originally. But dang, this sign I found at Goodwill looked like it fell out of an ugly tree! I actually laughed out loud when I spotted it on the shelf for $3.99 and felt an overwhelming urge to give it a second, better life. So when I saw that this month’s Inspire My Creativity project was a thrift store upcycle, I knew I had to breath new life into this old thing and do a Wicked Halloween Sign Rehab with it. Just thinking about it being “wicked” on the outside but a cowgirl underneath makes me smile!
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Wicked Halloween Sign Rehab
Materials
- Thrift Store Sign OR
- 7 Wood Square Pieces
- Black Chalk Paint
- Paint Brush
- Matte Mod Podge
- Clear Tacky Glue
- Foam Adhesive Squares
- Halloween Print Paper
- Glitter Cardstock
- Wood, Felt, Chipboard Letters (for variety)
- Cord, Sequins
- Scissors
- Cricut Explore Air 2
- Cricut Access
Wicked Halloween Sign Rehab Steps
1: I definitely needed to clean this sign of grime before I began. Lightly sand the surface of the sign to create a bite for the paint to stick to. You probably won’t find a sign like this one, so I linked to some wood squares above that you can glue together for the same look.
2: Paint the sides first and then the front of the sign with the black chalk paint. I left the back brown but feel free to paint the back of yours.
3: While the paint is drying, Cut squares of Halloween printed paper to fit the fronts of the wood squares.
4: Apply Mod Podge to the wood squares, one at a time, and carefully place the paper squares onto them, smoothing them down as you go. No top coat is needed.
5: While those are drying, work on your letters. You can use wood letters, sticker letters, paper letters, or a combination of your choice to spell out “wicked” For the paper letters, I just creepy fonts I liked in Cricut Design Space and cut them out on my Cricut on Halloween-y paper.
6: If you have wooden letters, you can cover them with coordinating washi tape.
7: If you have felt letters, you can add some sparkle with sequins.
8: Find and cut out a witch hat (sized to fit the squares) using Cricut Access and your Cricut. Add a bit of cord for the brim and to add dimension.
9: Stick your letters to the paper squares with either Mod Podge, clear tacky glue, or foam squares, depending on how heavy the letters are. Let everything dry overnight before you try to set the sign upright.
That’s it! From yee-haw to hocus pocus in no time flat! This Wicked Halloween Sign Rehab is one of those great projects you can totally customize to fit your personal style or Halloween decor color scheme. I chose to make mine black and white/cream to go with the whole creepy haunted mansion vibe in my dining room decorations, plus as an added bonus, I got to use up some paper from my massive reasonable paper stash. You could easily make one using brighter Halloween colors like purple, orange, and green if that’s more your jam. So what do you think? Can you tell this used to be sitting on the shelf of a thrift store?
Be sure to check out my Easy Potion Bottle Thrift Store Upcycle and my Creepy Halloween Beware Sign for other thrift store or Cricut project inspiration!
This project is part of the Inspire My Creativity link party which happens every month on the 2nd Wednesday with timely themes. This month we’re featuring projects we’ve made using thrift store finds. Now let’s see what other fun thrift store makeover projects our crafty friends have come up with this month!
