DIY Wood Halloween Decorations

These DIY wood Halloween decorations add a playful, spooky charm to any tiered tray or shelf. Using scrap wood or unfinished blocks, you can easily create a jack-o-lantern, ghost, or Frankenstein monster. Create the faces using your Cricut machine, or draw the details with paint pens. It’s the perfect fall craft project with friends!

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Ah, if these Halloween blocks could talk! I used scrap wood left over from our old playset, which was just hauled away for good. These blocks will forever make me sentimental as I think of my twin boys playing on those swings!

There are many things to love about this project, whether it carries a nostalgic vibe for you or not.

Supplies

• Large wooden blocks (3 or 4 inches)
• Acrylic paint
• Paintbrushes
• Option 1: Cricut decals
  • Cricut Joy, Cricut Joy Xtra, Cricut Explore, or Cricut Maker
  • Removable vinyl
  • Transfer tape
• Option 2: Paint pens

Step 1: Paint the wood blocks

Start by sanding any rough edges, if needed. Then paint each side of the cubes with 2-3 coats of acrylic paint.

Note: I like using a base coat of white paint as a primer on blocks with a darker finish.

Step 2: Add faces with a Cricut or paint pens

I love the ease of cutting a quick decal with my Cricut Joy, which is the perfect machine size for this project. However, you can also paint the details with a brush or paint pens.

Option 1: Size and cut vinyl with a Cricut

First, size your design to fit within the blocks. Then, use either removable vinyl or permanent vinyl to cut out the decals (your choice).

I chose a jack-o-lantern, ghost face, and Frankenstein for my wood blocks. All of the designs can be found in Cricut Design Space. You can get the project details and follow me on Cricut Design Space here.

After weeding (removing) the excess vinyl, follow the steps above to apply the decals:

1. Apply transfer tape to the design.
2. Peel the transfer tape away from the design to “pick it up.”
3. Press the design onto the wooden block.
4. Peel away the transfer tape.

It doesn’t get easier than that!

Option 2: Paint faces with paint pens

I’ve often used paint pens to fill in details, as I did with my Halloween flower pots. I think those turned out pretty darn cute, but I’ll let you be the judge.

Step 3: Add small details and distress the edges

For my jack-o-lantern pumpkin block, I added a wine cork, raffia, and Halloween ribbon for a bit more character. I also glued some wooden “bolts” to my Frankenstein monster using Dollar Tree craft wood stems.

After adding facial details with decals or paint, you can also distress your wood blocks for a more primitive Halloween decor aesthetic.

I used a combination of sandpaper and antique wax to give the edges of my blocks a more rustic look. It’s a subtle difference, but I think they look more charming with a little wear and tear.

You’ll notice my DIY wood Halloween decorations are joined by my popular cheesecloth ghosts for this photo op. Check out that blog post for another quick and easy Halloween craft project.

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