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    Home » DIY » Handcrafts

    DIY Halloween Window Silhouettes

    September 16, 2022 by Julie 8 Comments

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    DIY Halloween Window Silhouettes Four progress photos of the process of printing, laminating, and cutting out halloween window silhouettes of owls, spiders, crows, cats, bats, and pumpkins.
    DIY Halloween window silhouettes. My farmhouse inspired window panes with owls, spiders, and pumpkin silhouettes decorating them.
    DIY Halloween Window Silhouettes - two photos of the process of printing, laminating, and cutting out halloween window silhouettes of crows, cats, bats, and headless horseman.
    DIY Halloween Window Silhouettes - six progress photos of the process of printing, laminating, and cutting out halloween window silhouettes of owls, spiders, crows, cats, bats, and pumpkins.
    DIY Halloween window silhouettes. My farmhouse inspired window panes with owls, spiders, and pumpkin silhouettes decorating them.

    I was looking for some fun DIY decorations to give my builder-grade window panes a subtle and fun Halloween theme. That's the beauty of decorating with these DIY Halloween window silhouettes! You can customize them for whatever theme you're using this Halloween.

    DIY halloween window silhouettes on my farmhouse faux paned windows. Bats, cat, crow, and a headless horseman.
    As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. This post may contain affiliate links. Read my full disclosure policy here.

    Making DIY Halloween Window Decorations

    If you have little kids as I do, then you probably lean heavily on the easy Halloween decorations like window clings from the dollar store. We like to put them on our front door as well as our windows. And guess what? They're fun.

    It's definitely not a bad thing to rely on easy Halloween window ideas. And this year the easiest way to get what I want is to make my own silhouettes!

    Customizable Halloween Silhouettes

    Just because I'm choosing not to do any particular spooky silhouettes doesn't mean that you can't if that's how you like to decorate. Here are some non-spooky and spooky silhouette ideas!

    Spooky and Non-Spooky Silhouette Halloween Ideas

    • Grim Reaper
    • Hand Print or a whole series of arms
    • Bloody Handprints
    • Creepy Pumpkins
    • Birds of Prey owls, crows, vultures
    • A Spider Web or series of webs
    • Black Cats
    • The Headless Horseman or other Halloween characters
    • Knife-Wielding Maniac
    • Pumpkins
    • Happy Halloween or other fun sayings
    • Corn Stalks, Scarecrow, or other cool shapes
    • Gnarled Tree Branches
    Owl halloween window silhouette waiting to be laminated and cut out with an x-acto knife.
    DIY Halloween Window Silhouettes - "Who's saying you have to keep any of this inside of your windows? Take it all the way to the front of your house or front yard!"

    Other Halloween Décor You Could Add

    Don't stop at just paper silhouettes, you could really deck it out depending on the type of window frame (bay windows), window sill, and the size of your windows. Can you say large paper silhouettes?

    And who's saying you have to keep any of this inside of your windows? Take it all the way to the front of your house or front yard!

    • Plastic Spiders & Fake Spider Webs
    • Pumpkins, Gourds, Cornstalks, & Hay
    • Lanterns, LED Candles, Vintage Oil Lamps, Torches, etc.
    • Bats hanging trees or your roof

    Three Great Reasons to Use Window Silhouettes In Your Halloween Decorating

    1. Trick or Treat Fun on Halloween Night
    2. Perfect Party Backdrop photo-op!
    3. Halloween Party themed, murder mystery, costume party
    4. Add Whimsy to the Spooky Season (huge fan of whimsy here)
    Owl black and white printed halloween window silhouette getting laminated and then cut out.
    DIY Halloween Window Silhouettes - You need a Cutting pad, X-Acto Knife, Scissors, Double-sided tape, Laminator, and Laminating Sheets.

    Supplies to Make DIY Halloween Window Silhouettes

    There are several ways you can make these silhouettes, we'll just go through a few possibilities and you can use your best judgment for which option works best for you.

    • Several Sheets of Paper Black Cardboard, Black Paper, Black Poster Board, Black Construction Paper, 80 lb Cardstock, or Black Contact Paper
    • Acrylic Paint Black Paint or another Dark Paint
    • Paint Brushes
    • Pair of Scissors or Utility Knife, Craft Knife, or X-Acto Knife
    • Adhesive Transparent Tape or Double-sided Tape
    • Laminator & Laminating Sheets
    • Paper Cutting Machine
    Diy halloween window silhouettes, 24 different silhouettes free PDF.
    Just click to download a FREE PDF DIY Halloween Window Silhouette printables!

    How to Make Halloween Window Silhouettes - Full Tutorial

    Step One - Pick a Theme

    Admittedly I'm not Martha Stewart, but I have a real love of themed decorating. There are plenty of different ways to get into the Halloween spirit if there is such a thing. But my favorite way to get some holiday spirit is by challenging myself with a budget-friendly design element.

    My first step before I decide on any decorations for a Holiday is to choose my inspiration by picking a theme. This year I've made no secret of the fact that my theme is The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.

    DIY Halloween Window Silhouettes - The Headless Horseman Halloween Window Silhouette

    How to Find Halloween Theme Inspiration

    The best way to pick a theme is to choose an inspirational source.

    • A Photograph
    • Magazine Articles
    • Pinterest my favorite
    • Movies a scene, period or era, story
    • Books even a particular character

    Step Two - Choose Your Method

    There are at least a couple of great options you can choose when deciding what method would be easiest for you to make Halloween window silhouettes.

    01 Print and Cut Out

    This one is the method I chose because it's pretty simple and definitely inexpensive. Just a little time-consuming and dare I say mundane? You can print these out at home or have them printed at your local copy center.

    1. Download the free PDFs I created or make your own on Canva.
    2. Print them out on your choice of paper (I will use 80 lb Cardstock)
    3. Cut them out using scissors or an X-Acto knife.
    4. Place the Halloween window silhouettes in windows, glass doors, or even outside on your front porch just in time for trick-or-treaters.
    Black bat window silhouettes being cut out using scissors and an X-Acto knife on a cutting pad.
    DIY Halloween Window Silhouettes - All kinds of different bats.

    02 Paint Them On

    If you're a little bit more daring you could always make stencils and paint the silhouettes straight onto your window panes. It actually isn't that crazy, check out my post How to Make Stencils From a Rubbing. Plus, when you're done you can quickly and easily scrape the paint off using a razor blade.

    1. Download the free PDFs I created or make your own on Canva.
    2. Print them out using 80 lb Cardstock.
    3. Cut them out using an X-Acto knife.
    4. Laminate the Halloween window silhouettes.
    5. Use them as a stencil to create an outline.
    6. And fill in using a sponge and acrylic paint, window paint, or a paint pen.

    The bonus to this method is you could make them literally any color you want to. And paint will show light through it which could potentially make a really cool effect. Also, paint scrapes easily off with a razor blade!

    03 Contact Paper

    Using contact paper instead of normal paper or cardstock essentially makes your Halloween window silhouette stickers. Which makes them super easy to apply and take off.

    1. Use the exact same process to create a stencil.
    2. Use the stencil to cut out your silhouettes on black contact paper.
    3. Apply them to your glass window panes, door panes, etc.

    04 A Paper Cutting Machine

    This would literally be the simplest way to make this, but only if you actually have one of these machines on hand. I had a cricket once upon a time, but I no longer have one, and I kind of wish I still did.

    If you have one of these machines chances are you know exactly how to use it to make some really awesome Halloween window silhouettes! And I'm a tad bit jealous your hands won't be cramping from cutting anything out.

    Owls, Spiders, pumpkins, Halloween window silhouettes taped into farmhouse paned windows.
    DIY Halloween Window Silhouettes - This is only the beginning of my window fun!

    Thank you so much for stopping by! I hope I have inspired you to get creative this holiday season. And I hope I have given you some creative ideas to add a little bit of whimsy to your home and holiday decor. Even if it is dark and brooding.

    Sincerely

    Julie

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Barbra-Sue

      September 22, 2022 at 2:09 pm

      What a simple idea to dress up for the holidays.

      Reply
      • Julie

        September 23, 2022 at 3:07 pm

        Thank you!

        Reply
    2. Brad MacAonghais

      September 22, 2022 at 8:58 pm

      Super awesome, I’ll have to link to this in a future blog

      Reply
      • Julie

        September 23, 2022 at 3:08 pm

        Thanks! I appreciate that.

        Reply
    3. Jenny

      September 23, 2022 at 11:09 am

      Hi Julie, I love this idea! And thanks for offering clear instructions (and great ready to go options) for people without a Cricut. Now that a distinctive chill is in the air, I'm definitely getting in the mood for some Halloween decorating.

      Reply
      • Julie

        September 23, 2022 at 3:08 pm

        Me too! I love that feeling you get when seasons are changing.

        Reply
    4. Charlene

      September 23, 2022 at 3:41 pm

      You always think of the most interesting ways to decorate! Love your creativity!

      Reply
      • Julie

        September 24, 2022 at 8:47 pm

        Thank you! I really appreciate that.

        Reply

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    Hi, I'm Julie! Mother to five beautiful kids, Homeschool Educator, Handicraft & DIY enthusiast, lover of Music & Poetry, Photographer, and aspiring Minimalist. Follow along for fun projects to help create a handmade home on a budget! Read more about me here→

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