How to make a Halloween flag

If you have been around this blog for a while, there’s something you already know about me…. this girl LOVES Halloween! I am here for the scary movies, the costumes, the decor… all the creepy things. When Krista aka The Happy Housie invited me to be part of a DIY Halloween hop, I said yes faster than a vampire runs 50 yards. (If you aren’t sure how fast that is, please see any Twilight movie for reference.)  I have not done a whole lot of crafting since we moved, with exception to the owl wreath I shared here, so I was excited for the opportunity to create something new. I really miss the large wraparound porch at our last house, especially right now because we had the most epic “Dead & Breakfast” sign that my neighbor helped me create. Technically we still have it, but I haven’t found a spot yet for it and of course it won’t fit on our very small porch. However, our porch does have a bit of wall space and I knew it would be perfect for a DIY Halloween flag. (Note: Be sure to check out all of the awesome Halloween projects linked at the bottom of this post from 24 other bloggers!)

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To be 100% transparent with you, this flag is a little “cutesier” than I like my Halloween decor, but with a toddler in the house, things are a little less Elm Street and a little more Casper.  The idea for what to paint on this flag came to be because I knew a spider would be relatively easy to paint, and I thought it worked well with the phrase “Wanna hang” which seemed right for an entry.  My 14 year old, who loves all things creepy like I do, suggested I paint a hanging man with that phrase… bless him.  While he and I might appreciate the more macabre, I didn’t think the neighborhood trick or treating toddlers (like Wilder) with their parents would be big fans. 😉  Thank you for your suggestion, Sawyer, but mom is going with the silly spider.

This project was so easy and only required a few simple supplies.  I purchased this black fabric flag from Amazon, and used white craft paint plus textile medium and an artist brush that I had on hand.

I mixed the white paint and textile medium according to the directions on the medium bottle, then I laid the flag out on a table with foil underneath it so that the paint would not bleed through onto the table.  A broken down cardboard box would be ideal, but I didn’t have one handy.  Then I just got to work painting my spider white onto the black flag.  I left spaces for her eyes, and once she was done, I painted a string from the top of the flag to the spider, like the web she would be spinning.  I allowed that to dry, and then applied a second coat.  If you choose to paint white onto black, you will almost definitely want at least two coats.

Once it was totally dry, I removed the foil, flipped the flag over so the paint was facing down, and used an iron to heat set the paint.

Then I just used a couple of nails to hang it on our porch.  As luck would have it, I had a giant black web in my box of old Halloween decor, and I worked the web into the flag by hanging it on the ceiling of the porch and coming down to the flag so that it all looks like it goes together a bit, even though it’s sort of opposite colors.

I know I recently shared our Halloween porch, but with the house under renovation, and a toddler around, I am not able to decorate as much inside as I would like, so once I added the flag, I couldn’t help but go ALL OUT!  After I added the flag came the web, and then I also added some hanging ghosts I found in my box of goodies.

In addition to the ghosts, I also added a couple of eyeballs I made years ago to one of my large mums.

I just love how silly they look here. Each year I have so much fun trying to find a new spot to place them.

You also may have noticed that some of the plants are a little different from the last time I showed you this porch.  Well, let’s just say I am adjusting to fall gardening in North Carolina and I ended up trimming the 3 other mums I had that had turned rather brown and planted them in our garden.  I replaced them with some gorgeous ornamental cabbages from my farmers market. Fall weather finally arrived here last weekend, so I am hoping these guys stay safe and don’t die on me.  Wish me luck!

Now I feel like we are totally ready for trick-or-treaters and hopefully we won’t scare them off with our friendly spider and ghosts or the half dead mums in the yard. 😉

Today I’m joined by a talented group of blogging friends who are also sharing their Halloween DIY ideas with you! Just click on the links below the images to be taken to see their full post…

DIY Potion Bottles with Printable Labels at The Happy Housie
DIY Halloween Prop from $2 Flatware Box at Confessions of a Serial Do It Yourselfer
DIY Halloween Centrepiece at House by Hoff
Modern Farmhouse Halloween Entry at Tatertots and Jello
Halloween Nougat Candy at A Pretty Life

DIY Halloween Floral Headband at Two Twenty One
Halloween Mantel with Free Printable at The Handmade Home
Painted Hudson’s Bay Blanket Pumpkins at The Heathered Nest
DIY Halloween Flag at Cassie Bustamante
Poison Apple Pumpkins at All Things With Purpose

Easy DIY Halloween Wreath at Modern Glam
Ghost Rice Krispie Squares at Life is a Party
How to Make a Halloween BOO Sign at My Sweet Savannah
Silly Spider Cookies at She Gave it a Go
Creepy Halloween Wreath at Hallstrom Home

DIY Potions and Magic Halloween Sign at Lolly Jane
Paper Staircase Mice at Sincerely, Marie Designs
Spooky DIY Eyeball Terrarium at Paint Me Pink
DIY Minimalist Halloween Wreath at Lemon Thistle
DIY Salt Dough Garland at Aratari at Home