Glow-In-The-Dark Halloween Tray DIY

·5 min read

Happy Halloween Eve everyone!

Today I partnered up with Mod Podge and Blueprint Social to bring you a spooktackular Halloween DIY! It’s been awhile since I’ve had the chance to really bust out my craft supplies, but I had so much fun creating this project because of how hard it was for us to find good Halloween decor this year. Living in the country doesn’t yield many opportunities to hit the stores for fun decor and after this project, I think I may just make the rest of our decorations for next year.

But back to the project! I love how the Halloween Tray DIY turned out. It’s super easy and I even got Nathan involved (and he didn’t hate it) so I definitely think you should try it out. You could easily do something similar for Christmas, too :) I’d love to hear how it goes for you if you give it a shot!

Enjoy!

Supplies

Luckily, this project is super easy when it comes to the supplies. You can use any kind of tray or skull and still get the same look and feel of the project.

Black Tray – Ideally a heavy duty plastic one
Skull
Glue Gun
Paintbrushes
Mod Podge Silicone Craft Mat
Mod Podge Glow-In-The-Dark Paint
Glue (I always have the Mod Podge Outdoor one on hand, but regular Mod Podge Glue works as well)
Mod Podge High Temp Mini Melts
Mod Podge Mod Melts

Optional:

Printer + Paper (for the writing)

Porject Steps

Step 1. Write out Happy Halloween with the glue gun, the Mod Podge High Temp Mini Melts and the silicone mat.

I cheated a little bit and printed out the writing from the computer, but this is entirely optional. If you don’t trust your hand-writing entirely like me, do this. It made this SO much easier. I didn’t follow the letters exactly as I wanted more of a Halloween-like font, but it was a great guide. Trace the letters and then let dry for 10-15 minutes.

Tips: Try to keep even squeezing throughout the process and make sure you end a squeeze (right before you have to push down the glue gun trigger again) in a good spot where it won’t end with lumpy letters.

Step 2. Remove the lettering from the silicone mat after it has hardened.

Tips: Go slow. I mean really, really slow. Especially if you do thin lettering. Bend the mat and slowly drag your finger underneath it to pull it up from the mat.

Step 3. Fill the molds.

This part is a little tricky as you have to fill the mold with the glue gun and make sure the back is as flat as possible to attach it to the tray later. You can fill it fast (just keep squeezing the trigger) and then go slowly at the end to try to make it as smooth as possible.

Tips: If you want to use two different colors and “blend” them like I did below, use a partial mini melt and then feed in another partial of a different color. You’ll get some from the first color, some with both colors, and then some with the secondary color.

Step 4. Pop the molds out.

Let the molds dry for at least 10-15 minutes and pop them out.

Tips: Make sure the molds are completely dry before popping them out. Check this by touching the back of the mold and if it’s completely firm, it’s ready to go.

Step 5. Paint the skull with the glow-in-the-dark paint.

Depending on the skull you use, it may change the areas you need to paint. But in this instance, I painted everything other than the eye sockets and the nose. You’ll need to do at least two coats, but you can do more if you really want it to glow. I checked after every layer dried to see if it was enough and stuck with two. Let dry in between each layer for 15-20 minutes.

Tips: Really coat it when you paint it. The whiteness of the paint does disappear after it dries so it’s okay if it looks like it’s almost a little too much.

Step 6. Paint the lettering.

Same thing as the skull – two coats and let dry for 15-20 minutes in between each layer and before you move on to the next step.

Step 7. Glue the letters and the molds.

Paint the glue on the paint of the molds and the lettering so you can attach them to the tray.

Step 8. Attach the lettering and the molds.

Lay in the position you’d like them on the tray and press firmly. Hold for 5-1o seconds and then release. Once everything is attached, let sit 10-15 minutes to ensure that the glue has secured everything into place and the lettering or molds won’t fall off.