Do you have a small space like a windowsill or a skinny shelf that needs a little touch to your home decor? A shelf sitter is the perfect option! Shelf sitters are mini canvases or wood blocks, the perfect size for adding art anywhere. I wanted to reuse some of his blocks from old art I bought on clearance at a craft store to make a cute decoupage vintage looking Halloween shelf sitter. This is so easy and the result is so cute! I used vintage images from The Graphics Fairy (link at the end of the post) and Mod Podge to create this fun Halloween decoration! Project from start to finish You can also watch the video in this post that shows the
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To make this project, I used small wooden decor blocks I picked up with clearance from a craft store. (You can also use the back of a small box or tray.) In my art, I used a vintage Halloween postcard image and a vintage bat image to create a shelf his sitter. They are so cute on my mantelpiece!
Supplies to Make a Vintage Halloween Decoration Shelf Sitter
To create this fun vintage Halloween-inspired project, you’ll need: A small wooden decorative box or a small canvas. Decoupage medium with matte finish (like mod podge), soft brush, image printed on cardboard, brown stamp pad, scissors.
One of my blocks had gold foil lettering on it so I decided to paint the surface with a bit of black craft acrylic paint to keep it from bleeding. was. If reusing a decorative item that has a shiny surface, it may need to be sanded slightly to roughen it first so that the paint or decoupage medium will stick better.
How to print vintage images on card stock
While the paint is drying it is a good time to print and cut the graphics used.Save the image you want to use as a jpg on your computer and use that file to print your art. I prefer to print mine on white or cream colored cardboard with an inkjet printer. It can sometimes bleed. A great solution to this is to print on a copier with toner, like in a library or office setting. Another option is to send it as a digital file from your computer to your local print shop or UPS store. Prints on such card stock typically cost less than 50 cents per sheet. In some cases, the same image will be printed repeatedly on the same paper, so you can use multiple prints.
Once the image was cut out and the paint was dry, I applied a decoupage medium to the top of the canvas and then to the back of the paper for the image I was using.
Press the paper onto the surface and slide it into position while the decoupage glue is still wet. Once it’s positioned the way you like it, press the two together to smooth out any air bubbles and let it dry completely.
Once dry, trim off any excess paper > I wanted to add an old look to the edges, so I used a brown stamp pad to rub along the edges of the vintage image. I like how you add characters.
Brown stamps are a great way to age paper, like this velvet-wrapped vintage display book project.
Let it dry and apply another layer of decoupage medium over the paper and ink to seal the surface. Craft varnish can also be applied to the surface. This not only intensifies the color, but also protects the surface from moisture.
Once you have a shelf sitter, you’re ready to display it! A super cute way to add a touch of décor to a small shelf or windowsill in your home. For more fun Halloween decorations, check out this Halloween mantelpiece.
Find vintage Halloween clip art graphics.
Vintage Halloween pumpkin postcard image
