Vintage-Inspired Halloween Shelf Sitters

Do you have a small space in your home like a windowsill or skinny shelf that needs a little touch of home decor? Shelf sitters are the perfect option! Shelf sitters are mini canvases or wood blocks that are the perfect size to add a little bit of art anywhere! I wanted to repurposed some old art blocks I bought on clearance at the craft store and make cute decoupage vintage-inspired Halloween shelf sitters. This is so easy to do, and the results are so darn cute! I used vintage images from The Graphics Fairy (link at the end of the post) and Mod Podge to create this fun Halloween decor! You can also watch a video of this post that shows the project start to finish.

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To make this project, I used a small wood decorative block I had picked up on clearance from the craft store. It measures 4 x 4 inches and is the perfect size to create something with a little Halloween flair ( you can also use the back of a small box or tray). For my art , I used a vintage Halloween postcard image and a vintage bat image to make my shelf sitters. They are so cute on my mantel!

Supplies to make your Vintage Halloween Decor Shelf Sitter

To make this fun vintage Halloween -inspired project you’ll need: A small wood decor box or small canvases. Matte finish Decoupage medium (like Mod Podge), soft brush, images printed on cardstock, a brown stamp pad, scissors.

Purchase supplies for this Halloween decor project here.

Paint a base coat of black paint on the surface

One of my blocks had some gold foil lettering so I decided to paint the surface with a bit of black craft acrylic paint so they wouldn’t bleed through. The other had more of a plain surface, so I didn’t nee to paint on that one. If you’re repurposing a decor item that has a shiny or glossy surface on it, it may need a little sanding first to roughen it up so the paint or decoupage medium sticks better.

Cut out vintage halloween imag on cardstock

How to Print the Vintage Images on Cardstock

While the paint is drying, it’s a good time to print and cut our any graphics that are being used. Save any image you want to use to your computer as a jpg, and then use that file to print your art. I prefer to print mine on white or cream cardstock on our inkjet printer. The drawback with using an inkjet printer is that the ink is water soluable and can bleed when applying a wet medium such as decoupage medium. A great solution for this is to have it printed on a copier with toner like at a library or in an office setting. Another option is sending as a digital file from your computer it to you local print shop or UPS store. Prints like that on cardstock are normally less than 50 cents a print, you can ask them sometimes of they will repeat the image on the same paper, so you can get multiple prints to use.

Paint decoupager medium on the top of the block

Once my image was cut out and the paint was dried, I applied decoupage medium to the top of the canvas, and then to the back of the paper of the image I am using.

Apply decoupage medium to the back of the paper

Press the paper onto the surface, and play with the positioning while the decoupage glue is still wet by sliding it around. Once it is positioned where you like it, press the two together and smoothing out any air bubbles, let it dry completely.

Press paper into place to make vintage-inspired Halloween shelf sitters

Once dry, trim any paper overhang> I wanted to add an aged look to my edges, so I used a brown stamp pad to rub along the edges of the vintage image. I love how the dark brown makes it look older and adds some character.

Brown stamps are a great way to add aging onto paper, like in this velvet- wrapped vintage display book project.

Use a stamp pad to add aging to the edges of the canvas

Let dry and on top of the paper and ink apply another layer of decoupage medium to seal the surface. Craft varnish can also be applied to the surface as well. This will not only deepen the colors, but give some protection to the surface from moisture.

Brush decoupage medium to the surface of the halloween image

Once your shelf sitter is made, you’re ready to display it! It’s such a cute way to bring a little decor to a small shelf or windowsill in your home! For more fun Halloween decor, check out this Halloween mantel with glowing skull luminaries.