Countdown to Halloween

Halloween is coming just around the corner and if you are a major fan like me then you will want to make sure you enjoy everyday leading up to the big candy event.  I created this super easy (but a bit time consuming because you have to make 31 of these after all) countdown.

You will need:

Black cardstock or construction paper (I used construction paper because it was cheaper).

Assorted Halloween prints papers

Small tags (I used wooden circles and stars)

Black embroidery thread

Creep Cloth (see below)

Plates or other items to create a stand (I used plates and flower pots from Ikea-but I don't know if they still make them).

Step one is to create all your boxes.  I used a die cut from my husbands school.  Perhaps you have your own die cut or you could go to a local scrapbook place and they are more than likely to have one.  These are 2" boxes.

 This is creep cloth.  I bought it at the dollar store so I suggest you waste no time and get some.  It is perfect for this project and many other Halloweeny type things.  A must for the holiday.

 These are the stars and circles I used.  I didn't have enough of either so I used both (in no exact order).

 Step two: I wanted to spray paint them black.  The easiest way I found to do this was to put them all in a shallow box like this and the spray them.  The wood pieces still move around a bit but they are contained and easily can be adjusted.

This is how they look.  I drilled small hole in all the circles.  The stars would break every time I tried to drill them but the circles did fine.

 Step three is to embellish the boxes.  I didn't feel like it was necessary to do a ton of embellishing so I simply cut a piece of paper smaller than the box (by 1/8" on all sides) and adhered it to the box.  I found the fastest way to do this was using spray adhesive.  I put the paper piece inside my garbage can, sprayed it and then attached it (much faster than glue or tape).

 Step four is to number your wooden pieces and attach.  I attached all the stars with a large glue dot.  The circles were also attached with a glue dot but I threaded a piece of embroidery thread through the hole (using a large needle was really helpful) first. 

I tied the thread around the back.  The numbers are written on with a silver permanent marker.

The last step is to assemble.  First build your stand, laying a piece of creep cloth on each plate.  Then arrange your boxes.  Wouldn't this look so super cute on a little black or purple or silver table?  Because my kids are so little I will definitely be putting it up out of their reach but in years to come I will find it a special place. 

My plan is to fill the boxes with different things each day leading up to Halloween like: a piece of candy, a note to carve pumpkins, try on costumes, jump in the leaves, do a craft or read a story.  Stay tuned for a list of the ideas.  Happy Halloween Crafting everyone.