Halloween Upcycle

Halloween is the perfect time to shop Goodwill for a myriad of costumes, but don’t forget about Halloween décor! In America, Halloween is the second most decorated holiday, next to Christmas. Whether it’s a jack-o-lantern on your front porch or a full blown haunted house, Goodwill is an easy and inexpensive option for finding great décor.

If you can’t find the décor you are looking for, then just make it yourself. Halloween upcycle ideas are overflowing on Pinterest and we experimented with a few Goodwill finds to make some spooktacular décor items.

POISON LABELS

I’ve always loved the look of a creepy apothecary as a way to usher in the Halloween season. A mix and match of bottles and spooky décor make this one of the easiest ways to decorate for the holiday!

The shelves of local Goodwill stores are brimming with glassware of all shapes and sizes. We selected a few different options, all for only a $1 or $2 each. Some glassware we left without labels, but most we chose to add labels to.

Available at no cost to you are hundreds of Halloween-inspired designs via Pinterest. Type in ‘free Halloween printables’ and choose your favorite. Most of these printables are downloadable as PDFs and ready to print and apply.

These were some of our favorite free printables from Nest for Less. Once the designs are printed to the size you prefer, simply cut out and apply a few coats of Modge Podge. Modge Podge will dry clear and our Halloween upcycle bottles were ready for display in just a few hours!

CREEPY FIGURINES

Whether its adorable teddy bears or kitty cat figurines, there is no shortage of sweet and delicate porcelain or ceramic figurines in each Goodwill store. These pieces come in all sizes, price ranges and characters. With my youngest daughter along for the adventure, we set out to find the cutest, sweetest figurines and then turn them into something creepier.

Turning these creatures from cutie to creepy only takes a few quick steps and supplies. This Halloween upcycle is so easy that my five-year-old could help with each step. After purchasing our selection of figurines, we painted the pieces black. I spray-painted a few pieces with glossy black spray paint. Others were painted by my daughter with acrylic paint.

After the pieces dried overnight, we applied jeweled eyes, specifically red jeweled eyes, for maximum creepiness.

DOLL PART PLANTER

Apologies to those that collect these dolls. But, even without upcycling these dolls, we were a little creeped out. The eyes seem to follow you wherever you go. And the expression on their faces is almost too lifelike.

So what do we do with these collectibles? We make them even creepier in honor of Halloween! I will spare you the photos of how we upcycled these dolls. It felt a little like a horror movie to take apart these sweet dolls, but ultimately, you need to separate the head, legs and arms.

We then transplanted a succulent to the doll head and replanted into a pot we found at Goodwill, as well. For maximum scare, we positioned the doll legs and arms reaching outside of the pot.