The Lawrence household is starting to look awfully spooooky. Well, now, at least. When we started putting up our Halloween decorations, we realized something didn’t look quite right. Suddenly, it hit me.
Throughout the year, our Life is Better in Flip Flop sign hangs over our fireplace. Now, imagine that happy, pleasant sign amongst grimacing pumpkins and a flutter of bats. Kind of takes the spooky factor down a notch, right?
To fix that, I used the same construction techniques from the Flip Flops project to build a Happy Halloween sign for over the mantle. The best part – no power tools required! For less than $15, we now have a festive sign that can easily be swapped out for the holiday season. Plus, these are super thin, making them perfect to store in small spaces.
Also – I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. I used my Cricut to make the phrase template – however, you can easily use stencils or large alphabet stickers from any craft store to achieve the same effect.
Learn how to make your own below.
Materials
- (4) .25in x 7.25in x 2ft Hobby Boards (used: Poplar, Home Depot)
- (2) .25in x 1.5in x 2ft Hobby Board (used: Poplar, Home Depot)
- Wood Glue (used: Elmer’s Wood Glue)
- Picture Hanging Wire
- Staple Gun and Staples (used: 3/8″ staples)
- Paint and Paint Brushes
- Stencil for Design
- Masking or Painters Tape
1. Collect your materials and get ready to rumble. If you’d like, prep your wood by sanding. I chose not to sand these pieces because it’s a Halloween sign and bumps and bruises add to the overall spooky effect. But do you.
2. Lay out wood boards – face down.
3. Apply a thin line of wood glue along 1.5in support boards and place glue-side down on base boards. They will be a little slippery (wood glue takes a while to dry) so take care not to move them around after placing.
4. Using a staple gun, carefully secure support boards. I recommend starting at the middle of the sign, working your way out to the edges. I used two staples per base board to ensure the sign doesn’t move around. Also, the key is to apply pressure straight down to keep boards from moving while stapling and for a straight staple.
5. Flip it over and ta-da! You’ve made a sign. It’s that easy! I don’t know why people buy completed signs in stores for almost 3x the cost to make one. Also, it only takes about five minutes to make!
6. Now, time to get fancy. Apply your basecoat to your liking. Let dry completely.
7. Cut out and secure stencil with masking or painters tape. As mentioned, I used my Cricut to cut my design – however, stickers or a stencil will do the trick just fine!
8. Using a foam brush, apply stencil paint. Apply paint in a dabbing motion – straight up and down. Do not swipe the paint on as it may cause paint to get underneath the stencil.
9. While the paint is still drying, carefully remove the stencil. Waiting until completely dry may cause the paint to peel or lift, so always remove stencils when the paint is still mostly wet. Allow to dry completely and then touch up where needed. I had a little paint bleed between letters, so I went back through with my white to clean up the design.
10. Cut a ~2ft piece of hanging wire. Lay out wire across back of sign (it’s likely curly and squirrely so do your best). Leaving a 3-4in tail, secure the wire to one support boarding using a staple gun. I applied two staggered staples in case one were to fall out or the wire was to unravel. Then, wrap the tail around the wire inward as pictured above. Once complete on one side, pull taut to other support board, staple, and wrap.
All done! Look at that masterpiece! The perfect addition to our Halloween decorations.
These are so easy and inexpensive to make. Don’t be surprised to see a few more in my future posts. 😉
Happy Haunting!
Stay up to date on all things Lawrence Made – Join my mailing list!
This blog post was not sponsored but may contain links as part of an affiliate program I participate in. Meaning, if you click a link and make a purchase, at no additional cost to you, I earn a commission.
2 thoughts