Turn Thrifted Holiday Villages Into A Spooky-Chic Halloween DIY

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With Halloween fast approaching, it's time to get busy decorating. While cobwebs and skeletons are always a classic style to fall back on, you may be ready to elevate your decor this year. Turning thrifted holiday villages into chic haunted mansions is one cheap and easy Halloween decor DIY you should consider. All it takes is a keen eye for thrifting and some basic supplies.

For this DIY, you'll be transforming old holiday village homes into dwellings straight out of Halloweentown. You'll need dish soap, a sponge, 100 grit sand paper, cardboard, Rust-Oleum matte black spray paint, paint pens or sharpies, fairy lights, and, of course, a couple of thrifted holiday village homes. Be sure to pick a spray paint with primer in the formula. If you can't find one, you'll need to buy primer separately. You can pick any paint pen colors that call to you but the best ones are orange, neon green, white, or gold to capture that spooky aesthetic. If it fits your decor better, you can also choose white spray paint as your base. 

Apart from the vintage items you should always look for, thrift stores tend to have an abundance of holiday village decor to sift through. If your local shop doesn't happen to have any, turn to Facebook Marketplace or eBay for more affordable options. These tiny homes are often made from wood, paper, cardboard, ceramic, or acrylic. Opt for wood or ceramic for the best results. You'll also want to find homes with hollow centers and cut-out windows to achieve that "lit from within" glow.

Once you have your village homes, you'll need to prep them for spray paint. Thoroughly scrub the surfaces with dish soap. Allow them to fully dry. Next, sand down the homes. Once you achieve a smooth surface, wipe them down with a damp cloth. Now it's time to paint. Be sure to set up your station in a well-ventilated area — outside if possible. Place your village on cardboard, and spray them with primer if necessary. Now go in with your black spray paint, and carefully spray the miniatures from about 8 to 12 inches away. Apply thin layers to avoid drips. You'll want to wait 5 to 8 minutes between new coat. Once you've painted the homes, allow them to completely dry for at least an hour, but up to 48 hours is better. Now you can decorate your homes however you see fit, outlining windows and highlighting shingles on the roofs. Find a place to display them and place your fairy lights inside. The result is a chic, spooky village perfect for decorating small spaces! To take your display up a notch, why not consider using glow-in-the-dark markers for creating the details on the tiny homes.