Dollar Store Halloween Mummy Decor

Every year, I start fall with sweet and innocent intentions of DIYing some fall decor. But usually right after I finish my first fall project, all of a sudden I find myself busy with Halloween preparations. This year again, I was determined to DiY some more fall decor, and I thought this frame would be the perfect place to start.

I found it last year at Hobby Lobby’s discount aisle. 90% off! What a deal, right? This past weekend, when I saw this frame in the basement, I wanted use it for a fall project. My plan was to make a little pumpkin from the cinnamon sticks I had on hand and adorn it with a cute little bow, then place the whole thing in this shadow box frame. Pretty simple, but it was going to be a lovely addition to our fall decor. I even started painting the frame with my homemade chalk paint in old white color. You see?

But then, while waiting for the first coat of paint to dry, the idea of a cute little cinnamon-stick pumpkin just disappeared, and instead all I could think of was Halloween again.

Although, how that happened or what got into me is still a big mystery, some say it was this Dollar Store mummy door knocker I found under the bag of cinnamon sticks…

…and some say it was these “inspirational” pumpkin pictures Greg kept sending me for my cute pumpkin project! LOL.

Regardless of how I got inspired, the plan had changed, so I washed the white chalk paint off of the frame. Then I painted it with 2 coats of Americana Decor’s chalky paint in Carbon color.

After the frame was painted, I gathered all the materials I needed for my mummy art: a 1/4 inch board cut to the frame’s size, some cheesecloth, the Dollar Store mummy door knocker, flat black spray paint, a pair of scissors, Mod Podge, and some gray, white and black craft paint.

First, I started working on the mummy. I broke its hook off and took the knocker apart.

Then I prepared the background board by giving it two quick coats of spray paint in flat black color.

After the paint dried, I took the board inside and worked on the cheesecloth. I cut the cheesecloth into different length strips.

Next, I cut them in half to have narrower strips.

Then, I folded each strip into two, so I would have even narrower strips, but with 4 layers of cheesecloth on each.

Now that the cheesecloth strips were ready, I placed them on the board in different ways until I was satisfied with the overall look. I took a picture of the layout and moved the strips aside.

Looking at the layout picture, I started Mod Podging each strip into its place…

…and carried on with the same process until all the strips were Mod Podged.

I waited for the Mod Podge to dry, then I cut the excess cheesecloth pieces that were sticking out of the board.

Next, I hot glued the mummy to the center of the board. But the mummy had holes in the sides where the knocker attached.

To hide those holes and to make everything look more authentic, I picked some more cheesecloth strips. First, I dipped them into Mod Podge and strained off the excess. Then I wrapped the strips around the mummy head to camouflage the hot glue and the holes.

As you may have guessed, this part was a bit messy, so I didn’t stop for any pictures. But when I finished wrapping the cheesecloth, the whole thing looked like this.

As the cheesecloth looked a little too clean for a mummy, I wanted to dirty it up a bit. To do so, I took my artist brush and some white, gray and black craft paint, and then I started brushing here and there until the whole thing was to my liking.

When I finished the board, I placed it at the back of the frame…

…and stapled it.

As the final step I painted the staples black, and my mummy face was finished!

What do you think? Creepy, isn’t he?

Did you know “the most perfect” method of mummification involved fragrant herbs and spices? According to the notes of Herodotus, the Father of History, after cleansing with palm wine and an infusion of herbs and spices, the abdominal cavity would be filled with “every other sort of spice except frankincense” to preserve the body. Hence the choice of the fragrant herbs in the photo staging.

I have to say I love him. He even got Greg’s (aka the Creepmaster) approval!

Here are some more beauty shots with Halloweeny staging.

As much as they creep me out, I am pretty happy with the effect these snakes give to the Halloween setting. Especially the one on top of the mummy. He looks so real, it is scary!

As usual, the credit for the beauty shots and staging goes to Greg! You know me…even though I know they are just plastic toys, there is no way I would touch those snakes…yikes!

If you are wondering about the cinnamon-stick pumpkin idea, I am still planning to make one. Maybe not right away, as I want to continue with our Halloween decoration, but I’ll definitely have it ready for Thanksgiving.

Handan, xo

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