Vintage Halloween Decor Ideas – Easy Upcycle Projects

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Square feature photo of a vintage Halloween vignette with a crow on a vintage typewriter and candleabra in the foreground on a black desk. The tone is spooky and eerie and the photo is sepia.

Get Vintage Halloween decor ideas and inspiration to turn thrift store finds into spooktacular decorations for your home!

If you’re looking for ideas to decorate retro-style this Halloween, you’re in the right place.

I transformed a few thrift store finds and inexpensive items from the flea market into vintage-inspired Halloween decorations.

Upcycling these thrifty finds was so much fun! Check out all of the details on these easy Halloween DIYs below.

1. Oddities Shelf

Pick up a small shelf at a thrift store like Goodwill to upcycle into a Halloween curiosities and oddities shelf. You can also find reproductions of apothecary shelves on Amazon.

Fill the compartments with a mix of items like plastic skeletons and small glass bottles.

Feature photo of an old wood shelf with twelve compartments filled with mini bottles, plastic bones and skulls. On the top of the small shelf is a crow figurine. The tone of the photo is moody and eerie.

2. Creepy Figurines

Most thrift stores have shelves of knick-knacks and figurines. For this DIY, you’ll want to find figurines like these with eyes that peer through to your soul!

Before photo of thrift store figures. One is a vintage little boy with a cap and a basket of apples. The other is a bust of girl with flowing hair on a wood base. Both will be painted to turn into Halloween decorations for Vintage Halloween setting.
Before

To transform the figurines, I applied Mod Podge and pieces of crumpled tissue paper to them. Below is a better look at the process. This gave these statues texture.

Closeup photo of green tissue paper being decoupaged to a thrift store figurine of a woman using matte Mod Podge.
Decoupaging

Then I painted them a dark gray by mixing black, brown, and white acrylic paint colors together. Once they were dry, I used a small paintbrush to paint the eyes red.

Photo of two DIY creepy figurines painted a dark gray with dabs of white acrylic paint for hightlight. The eye are an eerie bright red. There is a bust of a woman in the front on a pedestal base and a boy with a cap in the background.
After

3. Candelabras and Candle Holders

Add the spooky to your Halloween decor by spray painting old candlestick holders or candelabras!

Before photo of two vintage candle holders from the thrift store, one is a metal ceramic with crystals hanging at the top and the other is a mid century modern two taper holder glass candle stick holder.
Before

Side Note: To get the fake dripping blood effect I used a red crayon and let the wax drip down the sides of the candles.

Feature photo focused on an eerie Halloween scene with a vintage 1920s typewriter, an old wood box, scissors, a quill pen and ink bottle. At the center is a black glass candleabra that holds two candlesticks dripping with red wax.
After

4. Potion Bottles

That brings me to Potion Bottles! Raid your recycle bin or check out your local antique store for vintage glass bottles to turn into apothecary bottles. I have a full post on how to make these fun potion bottles with a mercury glass finish. Check out that DIY here –> Easy DIY Potion Bottles for Halloween – Free Labels.

Before
Photo of a tray of DIY mercury glass potion bottles. All with corks on the top and aged brown labels that say Snake Venom, Witch's Brew, Raven Feathers and other labels. There is a mercury glass skull in front and the metallic tray is round with cut outs on the sides and an aged patina. The tray is on a black table with black creepy cloth to the right side in front and the backdrop is a gray wall with a black cutout sign that says 'Happy Halloween'. Round decorative sign with spiders and a bat at the top.
After

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5. Pedestal Skulls & Old Picture Frames

Visit the thrift store or antique store to find interesting small vintage table lamp bases to make pedestal skulls. Ornate candle holders would work great too. And while you’re there, look for old picture frames like the ones below.

With a little spray paint and plastic skulls from the dollar store, you can transform these ordinary items into vintage Halloween decor.

Before photo of two small vintage lamp bases about a foot tall and two dollar store plastic sculls to make pedestal sculls to make vintage Halloween decorations.
Before
Feature photo of old black ornate frames, no glass but with a spider web, beside two pedestal skulls on old vintage lamp bases. One skull is on a brown base and the other is on a bronze spray painted lamp base. Both skulls are plastic but were spray painted lightly with metallic bronze spray paint.
After

6. Cloches and Pedestal Glass Jars

Keep an eye out for old cloche and large clear glass pedestal jars. These are perfect to fill with twisted vines, twigs, small skulls, moss, and other creepy decorations! Or make one using 2-part Epoxy to glue a Dollar Tree clear glass vase and candlestick holder together as shown below.

Before photo of a tall cylinder glass jar with a glass base and a tall cylinder clear glass vase and clear glass candle holder from Dollar Tree to make a pedestal jar for a vintage Halloween display.
Before
Photo of two tall glass jars open at the top. Both are on glass pedestal bases. One was a Dollar Tree DIY with a glass vase and glass candle holder. Both are filled with brown floral moss and miniature plastic skulls and bones on a brown desk. Behind them is a small oddities shelf with different bones on it and potion bottles.
After

7. Round Glass Jar

I found this round cookie jar and decided to turn it into a Jack-O-Lantern with mirror effects spray paint to match the potion bottles in #4. Then I used acrylic enamel craft paint formulated for glass to paint a jack-o-lantern face in black. You can replicate this look with any unique oblong or round-shaped glass jar or vase!

Before photo of a clear glass bowl. It is round with a lid to the side. This jar will be transformed into a mercury glass jack-o-lantern to add to a vintage Halloween decor display.
Before
Jack o lantern made from an thrift store round clear glass cookie jar with a lid. The jar was spray painted to look like mercury glass in silver and a smiling Jack-O-Lantern face painted on the front with black enamel paint. The glass jar has a tea light inside and is sitting on a black table in my antique booth to greet customers.
After

8. Vintage Ephemera

Add a personal touch to your spooky display with old junk journal pages, handwritten or typed letters, and vintage black-and-white photos. I found old pictures and letters at the antique store but you can also find vintage and Halloween ephemera here on Etsy.

I hope you enjoyed these Vintage Halloween Decor Ideas! If you’d like more Fall and Halloween craft ideas, check out the links below or Click here to sign up for my weekly newsletter to stay up on the latest!

Vertical photo of a vintage Halloween vignette with a crow on a vintage typewriter and candleabra in the foreground on a black desk. The tone is spooky and eerie and the photo is sepia. Please pin this image to your Pinterest craft boards to come back the this Vintage Halloween DIY Decor ideas using thrift store finds!

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Watch A Video

Link to the full tutorial here –> Wood Snowflake Decoration Made From Wood Shims

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