DIY Halloween Art

This year we finally have a mantel-like set up that is perfect for seasonal decor. I am extrememely excited about all the decorating I will be doing this fall and winter!!! While decorating for Halloween I was able to find a lot of figurines and stand-alone items, but not a lot of affordable Halloween style pictures that could rest in the background. So I decided to make some!! I went with simple black and white so that I can reuse it for other occasions if I need to.

I painted the canvas board with several coats of black acrylic paint. Then I used washi tape to create the design I wanted. You can see clearly here that the stripes are not even, but apparently I couldn't tell while placing them!

Washi tape works really well, although I know it is expensive. The main reason I chose to use it is because I have a lot of Washi tape that I basically will never use unless I use it for projects like this! You could also use regular masking tape. Here is the finished piece on display:

I intentionally wanted a shabby, imperfect look on the painting, which I got by rubbing the excess paint off the brush before painting. You can start with a really thin coat and build up as you go.

For my second project I once again started with several coats of all black paint. After it dried I took some fake spider webbing (from Target - $1!), cut it, and wrapped it around the canvas. Simple as that!

I secured it with a clothespin for two reasons: One, because it was the quickest way to get the webs to stay in the exact positions I wanted them using only my two hands, and two, so that I can remove the webbing and use this canvas for another purpose if I want to.

Here's the finishes product, along with a Halloween themed print I got from the thrift shop for 40 cents! 

I made one more smaller canvas with the stripes in opposite colors, to put on the third shelf. I also kept up some framed pieces that weren't Halloween themed but I thought still fit :)

Did you make anything this year for Halloween?

Credits:

felt pumpkins - Target

stackable boxes - HyVee

"spooky" decal - Target

"trick or treat" and "Happy Halloween" signs - Target

pumpkin mug - Thrifted

halloween bears - Dollar Tree

hanging bats and skulls - Target

white owl - Michael's

jack o lanterns - Target

Yes, I basically live at Target.