I'm not one that decorates for Halloween, but I wanted a door sign with the color & vibes of Halloween so to speak. Bright colors are my jam...they make me happy. So, this is what I came up with when I had an idea and put it into reality using the Procreate app on my iPad Pro. I just love everything about this design! it has a mix of primitive and whimsy all in one. You can purchase the digital template here.
Once I drew out a design, I brushed the colors and details in and then took a JPG of my design and uploaded it into BlockPoster.com which makes a PDF of of it in a much larger size. This one came out to almost 19 inches wide and 20 inches tall. Printing the PDF onto cardstock makes a great pattern to trace on the 1/4" wood also. This is how the template design is put together once downloaded after purchasing. Print onto cardstock and attach with tape and cut out. Trace the design on to wood using graphite paper which can be found at Hobby Lobby and on Amazon.
Once traced, I cut it out with a jigsaw or a scroll saw using at least 20tpi (teeth per inch) for a nice smooth cut. Then I sand the wood and any rough edges to a nice smooth feel.
On this project I decided to make the star, crow with 1/8" dowl rod, candy corn, moon and dimensional leaves. Attaching the leaves with wire and using wood glue to attach the other pieces.
I lay my template down and cut out the pumpkin centers using an exacto knife and a sewing self-healing mat underneath as show below. Then I stenciled my scrolled design lightly using a make-up sponge triangle from Dollar General. Pounce off as much of the paint as you can to as not to cake it on too much...just use a gentle touch. Oh, and I used a 1/2" star stencil on the moon too.
Isn't it pretty?! Now, finish painting and shading your other pieces and use some wood glue to set into place and press down. Once it's dried, spray/seal the sign with some Minwax Polycrylic clear satin spray or you may want to use Liquitex Basic Acrylic Matte Varnish using a brush. Either one works very well.
I drilled small holes, enough to fit 20 gauge wire through, on the leaves and at the stem base of each pumpkin. Twist the two wires to secure before rolling the wire onto the pencil to make it look like vines. Then thread the leaves and put into place. Repeat on all three pumpkins.
