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Home / Step-by-Step Tutorials / 🎃 Boo-tiful Halloween Porch Charm! 🕷️ Create a Spooky Wooden Tag

🎃 Boo-tiful Halloween Porch Charm! 🕷️ Create a Spooky Wooden Tag

Featuring Melissa Miller Beginner

🎃 Boo-tiful Halloween Porch Charm! 🕷️ Create a Spooky Wooden Tag

Give your porch a little handmade Halloween charm with this easy wooden tag project! Melissa Miller of Millers Rustic Sawmill creates a vintage-inspired Halloween sign using a soft stained-wood effect, bold orange and black accents, and a few Essential Stencils.

This project is simple enough for a relaxing afternoon of crafting, and there’s plenty of room to make it your own. Add a bow, greenery, or use the finished tag as part of a Halloween wreath.

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DIY Halloween Wooden Tag

This 7" x 16" wooden tag gets a quick makeover with a dark brown color wash, off-white painted sections, and classic Halloween colors.

Melissa uses the Farmhouse Halloween Stencil Set for the October 31st design, a Jack O’ Lantern Faces Stencil Set for the pumpkin, and the Primitive Halloween Stencil Set for the finishing “Halloween Greetings” tag.

Materials

Step 1: Create a Soft Stained-Wood Background

Start with a 7" x 16" wooden tag. Put a little dark brown acrylic paint onto a baby wipe and rub it directly onto the wood.

Build the color gradually until you get the look you want. Keep some of the natural wood showing through for a soft, stained effect.

Dark brown paint applied to a wooden tag for a soft stained wood effect

Allow the background to dry completely before moving on.

Step 2: Create the Two Painted Sections

Take the Farmhouse Halloween Stencil Set and position the October 31st stencil toward the top of the tag.

Next, choose one of the fun faces from the Jack O’ Lantern Faces Stencil Set and position it toward the bottom.

Tape around the sides of each stencil to create a clean, framed area. Once everything is positioned, carefully remove the stencils while leaving your taped frames in place.

Halloween stencils positioned and framed with painter's tape on a wooden tag

Step 3: Paint the Off-White Backgrounds

Fill the inside of each taped section with off-white paint. A regular paintbrush works perfectly for this part.

Let the first coat dry completely, then add a second coat for fuller coverage.

Off-white painted sections on a Halloween wooden tag

Step 4: Add the Jack O’ Lantern Face

Once the background is completely dry, remove the tape and reposition the Jack O’ Lantern stencil over the painted section.

Use a stencil brush with bright orange paint to fill the pumpkin face.

Remember: less paint is better when stenciling. Offload your brush before applying paint and build the color gradually. This helps keep the stencil details crisp.

Bright orange paint being applied through a Jack O' Lantern stencil

Step 5: Paint October 31st

Reposition the October 31st stencil at the top of the tag.

Use black paint for the 31 and the little spider. Then switch to bright orange paint for the word “October.”

The combination of orange and black against the off-white background gives this piece its classic Halloween look.

October 31st Halloween stencil painted in orange and black

Step 6: Add a Hand-Drawn Detail

Give the pumpkin a little extra personality with a black marker or Sharpie.

Melissa adds small, imperfect dashes around the Jack O’ Lantern Face to create a cute stitched detail.

Don’t worry about making every line perfect. Those little handmade imperfections are part of what makes a DIY piece feel special.

Black stitched-style details added around the Jack O' Lantern face

Step 7: Make a Halloween Greetings Tag

For the finishing touch, grab the Halloween Greetings design from the Primitive Halloween Stencil Set.

Position just the words onto a small piece of black cardstock. Stencil them with off-white paint, then trim the cardstock down to create a small word tag.

Attach the finished tag to the upper portion of the wooden sign.

Halloween Greetings stencil painted onto black cardstock

Helpful Tips

  • Build your stain gradually. Add more brown paint to the wipe if you want a deeper finish, or use less for a lighter, more natural look.
  • Let each paint layer dry completely. This is especially important before repositioning your stencils.
  • Offload your stencil brush. Too much paint can work its way underneath the stencil and soften your design.
  • Use light pressure. A light hand helps maintain clean stencil details.
  • Embrace the handmade look. Small hand-drawn details don't need to be perfectly even.
  • Make it your own. Try adding a striped or gingham bow, greenery, or incorporate the tag into a Halloween wreath.

Make This Halloween Tag Your Own

This project has that cozy vintage porch-sign feel without requiring complicated techniques. The color palette can also be changed to fit your own Halloween décor.

Try a softer neutral background, swap the orange for another accent color, or add seasonal embellishments around the edges. You could even create several tags using different Jack O’ Lantern faces for a fun collection.

Melissa Miller of Millers Rustic Sawmill shows how a few simple stencil designs can turn an ordinary wooden tag into a seasonal statement piece.

Finished DIY Halloween wooden tag with October 31st and Jack O' Lantern designs

Ready to Stencil Your Own?

Grab the Farmhouse Halloween Stencil Set, Jack O’ Lantern Faces, and Primitive Halloween Stencil Set to create your own Halloween décor.

Pull out your favorite Halloween stencils and start creating!

Watch the Tutorial

Want to see Melissa create this Halloween wooden tag step by step? Watch the full tutorial below and craft along with her!

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