Creepy Portraits (a Dollar Store DIY)

You’ve seen those creepy portraits in the Dollar Store that shift as you move. Here is an easy upgrade to make them look far richer than a dollar!

I know what you’re thinking.

I really do.

Ugh, another Halloween post? When will they end?

Well, madam, it is with great honor that I present to you our final Halloween project of 2018! With this post, our Halloween projects are officially done until next year! The only thing left is to count the minutes until All Hallows’ Eve…

We await the arrival of the first pint-size princess and waist-high Wonder Woman,

We’ll keep a sharp eye out for the nearly-invisible knee-high ninja and the bite-size Batman

And we are bristling with excitement to catch of glimpse of tiny King T’Challa, the baby Black Panther.

But once our candy coffers have been depleted by the hordes of grabby hands and choco-cheeks, once the last candy corn is reluctantly tossed into an overstuffed pillowcase of tooth decay and nightmares, and once the door is shut and bolted and the lights turned off, Halloween will be out, and we’ll be ushering in the Holiday Season here at The Navage Patch.

The Apothecary Shop will be closed for another year…

The Blood Candles will be snuffed…

The Book of Shadows will be shut…

Rat and Skully will get a year’s reprieve…

And Cousin Itt will do whatever the heck he does in the off season (I’m thinking he may jet off to Vegas to play the ponies and chase the ladies, but Itt doesn’t speak much, so I can’t say for sure).

For our final Halloween post of 2018, we’re keeping in line with our Simple Stupid motto. This really is a simple project, especially if you took our advice this summer and made yourself some easy DIY picture frames!

In fact, I used the very frame pictured above (and its twin) to make our creepy portraits.

For this project, you’ll need one or two moving creepy portraits from the Dollar Store. The technical term for them is “lenticular portraits,” but I think “creepy portraits” sounds better, don’t you?

You’ll also need some spray adhesive, 1/4 plywood or MDF or particle board and black spray paint.

And of course, our simple DIY picture frames. But if you don’t want to make a frame, just use whatever frame you may have lying around. Just beware: we’ll be featuring our frames in a lot of upcoming projects, since it is so easy to swap out the display, so you might want to make some! 🙂

I first sprayed the frame insert (1/4 inch plywood) with flat black.

When that was dry, I sprayed the back of the creepy portraits with adhesive. Note: be sure to scrape off the sticker first. I didn’t on my first try, and the sticker was easily seen after mounting the portrait. I went back and peeled the sticker after this pic was taken.

I mounted the portraits on the plywood insert. Since the portraits weren’t the exact dimensions of the frame I already had built, the sides extended past the edge of the insert. This was no problem, as I had a plan to deal with it.

I used the back of my hand to ensure the creepy portrait was properly adhered to the insert.

Back inside, I used a razor blade to cut the excess from the sides.

Here is one of the creepy portraits mounted on the insert. The black helps hide the fact that the portrait is not as tall as the backing. Honestly, none of that matters. This is a quick, easy and cheap Halloween decoration, and it doesn’t need to be perfect.

I then put the insert back into the frame, and our creepy portraits were done!

Happy Halloween, everyone!

Stay scary, and keep it creepy!

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