How to make an easy DIY Halloween Village
I love decor you can play with. It’s true. I’m a hands on kind of person, and well, I have kids. And kids are always hands on. So, when there’s a way to make fun holiday decor that serves multiple purposes, you can always count me in. This DIY Halloween Village definitely fits the bill.
I saw this Halloween village idea early fall and thought, this is the best project ever! I must recreate! I’m not a huge halloween decorator. In fact, this year was the first I really got into it, at my kids request. My son wanted the house to be “a little scary” as he put it. To my kids at this point, The Curious George Halloween special is scary, so we kept it pretty PG. This village brought just the right amount of Boo to the decor.
Halloween village supplies:
- Scrap wood or one 2×6 and/or one 2×4
- Spray paint in colors of your choice
- Craft paint
- Wood peg dolls (any craft store)
Create the village houses
Once I decided this project was going to happen, I went out to our garage and scoured our scrap wood pile. I can always seem so to find treasures in there. Is it weird that I love purchasing a little extra for projects so we can expand our scrap pile? Having pieces on hand for quick DIY’s make my spontaneous creative heart happy.
I easily found a couple pieces of wood in varying sizes, and drew little house cutouts on them. Nothing fancy. This village wasn’t about being fancy, it was about being fun! When Travis came home from work that evening I had him cut them all out. Now I was ready for phase two.
Painting the village houses
Along with expanding our little scrap wood pile, I also love adding to my spray paint collection. It’s such a downer when you have an idea that you want fleshed out right away, but you have to run to the store for supplies. That doest work well for my instant gratification personality.
I did have to purchase a few colors for this project, but I didn’t use them all and now my collection is larger, and I’m a little bit more spray-paint rich.
For the houses, I took a large drop cloth and laid it outside. I then separated the houses out by the colors I wanted them to be, and sprayed in groups. This took about three coats to cover.
Below I’m modeling the houses in my favorite painting shirt. I have a few, one for cold weather and one for warm. They even have a special place in my drawers along with my paint pants. The fashion forwardness of a DIYer I tell ya.
Once the houses are painted with their base color, it’s time to make them little homes, with windows and doors and fun little accents. This is where you get to personalize your village and make it your own. Paint on bats, ghosts, window boxes and pretty doors. Whatever you want, this is your chance to make it cute, scary, or scary-cute. Go for it friend!
Get your helpers involved
This is also a time to get little helpers involved. Making Halloween memories. Evelyn was all over this project and worked very seriously to make sure her peg person and house were just right.
And while we’re talking just right, let me tell you, nothing about your paint job needs to be perfect. These will be fun and cute regardless of how well you paint a straight line. The more you go to thick on one line, maybe a little thiner on the other, and are a little wobbly with the window makes it all the more personal and halloween-ish. Think Tim Burton and you’re on the right track.
Oh Evelyn, my little sidekick since Tyrion started kindergarten this fall. She’s so spontaneous and creative. A lot like her mommy. We’re two peas in a pod.
If you’re not sure who to paint your little peg people as, do a halloween character search on Google and you’ll get so many good ideas!
Once the houses and little peg people are who you created them to be, it’s time to play, or, ehh, decorate with your new decor. 😉
What’s so fun about this village, is you can add to it each year. Grab some mini pumpkins to add to the decor next Halloween, or make another house, hotel, or store. Add a few more people. This is a great way to be interactive with the kids and get them excited when you pull it out again each year.
Do you decorate for Halloween? I don’t even see us doing very scary decor, even as the kids grow. I’m more of a cute halloween person. Each to their own right?
Enjoy friends!
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