diy chalkboard halloween sign

Recently I posted about my completed entryway Halloween decor. You can find that HERE. One of the pieces on my entryway table is a DIY Faux Chalkboard Halloween Sign. It was easy to make, and I especially love it because I didn’t have to hand draw anything. Let me let you in on a little secret: I can’t hand draw anything to save my life. So, this fabulous crafting hack has me very excited!

You can see the sign grouped together with all the other entryway Halloween decor here:

To make this chalkboard Halloween sign I started with a tombstone shape chalkboard that I found at Michael’s for 50% off. It was under $4.00…score! Then I found THIS adorable Halloween word art by Sarah Hurley in the Silhouette store, and cut it out of white vinyl with my trusty Silhouette Cameo.

Next, I placed some low-tack transfer tape on top of the entire design I cut out of my vinyl and rubbed firmly with my brayer for full adhesion.

Then I slowly pulled up the transfer tape. If some of the design doesn’t come up with the tape, just press it back down over that part of the design, and rub firmly with your fingers until it sticks to the transfer tape.

Once you pull up the tape and entire design, you’ll notice unwanted pieces of vinyl in between the loops of the letters. Use some tweezers and a small weeding tool to remove them. “Weeding” is a crafty term for pulling out the extra vinyl. =)

I wiped my sign with a clean damp cloth to remove any dust or dirt that might stop the vinyl from adhering to the sign. Then I carefully centered the word art on the transfer tape over the sign, and pressed it down onto the sign. I used my brayer again to smooth out any bubbles and to adhere the vinyl to the sign. Then I peeled back the transfer tape slowly, repeating the same steps as above for any vinyl not stuck to the sign.

To give the sign a more realistic chalkboard look, I took an eraser that had been recently used and had some chalk dust on it and gently rubbed it over the sign. Here’s a more detailed look at the finished sign.

If you’re like me, and don’t have the talent or the time to hand draw a fun Halloween chalkboard sign, give this awesome crafting hack a try! If you don’t have an electronic die cutting machine, check online craft boutique stores like Etsy for pre-made ones.