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Country Living Inspired DIY Halloween Plate Wall

Create a chic DIY Halloween plate wall using dollar store plates, glass paint, and stencils! Learn how to create this magazine look for less with my step-by-step tutorial. 

DIY Halloween Plate Wall Tutorial

When it comes to decorating for Halloween and the fall, there is no need to sacrifice style for spooky! In fact, creating chic Halloween decor that easily transitions into fall helps save time and money. Instead of having to switch out your decor for each holiday, you can simply tweak a few key elements to create a new look. My chic yet spooky plate wall looks beautiful above the mantel and serves me well from September through November! Read on for the full tutorial on how to create your own DIY Halloween plate wall using a few craft supplies and inexpensive plates.

How to Create a Halloween Plate Wall

For this project you will need the following:

martha stewart glass paint used to create stenciled plates for plate wall

 

Step 1 for Halloween Plate Wall: Clean your plates and then adhere stencil to desired location on plate.

Start by cleaning your plates with soap and water and then with an alcohol-soaked cotton ball to wipe off any remaining residue. Next, choose your adhesive silk screen stencil, cut along the given lines, peel off the backing and gently place on your plate. By the way, the silk screen stencils are amazing! I LOVED working with them! The stencils have an actual “screen” that allows a very fine coat of paint to seep through and grace the surface of your plate. This enables you to achieve a much more intricate design than traditional stencils. My only complaint was that the adhesive wears off as you use it. This might be partly my own “user error” but by my fourth plate my stencils weren’t sticking. I’d recommend purchasing two sets of stencils if you planned on doing a large project.

Step 2: Add paint and use squeegee to distribute paint evenly.

Next, place a thin line of paint at one end of your stencil. Using a squeegee, scrape the paint along the stencil until it is entirely covered with a thin coat of paint. You do not need a lot of paint for these stencils, and you want to scrape most of the paint off before removing the stencil from your plate. Once coated, remove your stencil carefully and slowly to reveal the gorgeous design! If you mess up, you can wipe the wet paint off with a cotton ball soaked in rubbing alcohol. Small touch-ups on your plate can be fixed once the paint has dried with the pick and scraper set.

how to create stenciled plates for halloween plate wall decor

Step 3: Cure your paint before using as decor.

Your plates are not food safe, but they can be cured to help paint adhesion by air drying for 21 days, or by baking them in the oven for 30 minutes at 350°. 

Step 4: Hang your plates using adhesive plate hangers.

Below is a close-up picture of all the plates I painted. For the tree and silhouettes, I created a stencil on adhesive vinyl using my digital cutting machine and then painted the stencils with black paint. I love the way they all turned out! On the black plates note that I used the frost paint with some of the stencils to create a “ghostly” feel. I hung the plates on the wall by attaching adhesive plate hangers to the backs of each plate. I think this spooky chic mantel will transition from fall into Halloween perfectly!

halloween plate wall decor created with glass paint and stencils

Below is my plate wall inspiration image from Country Living.

 
 
Country Living Halloween Plate Wall
 

And here is my knock-off version! Not too shabby, eh?

halloween plate wall tutorial created with stencils and paint

If you liked this project, you might also like my Plaid Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner Stenciled Plates and Napkins.

martha stewart stenciled plate napkins

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Comments

  1. DJWhite says

    Your plates are beautiful! You inspired me, I think I just might try making some of these for my house! I just moved and there are plenty of walls I need something to fill them and these are a great idea! Thank you very much for sharing.

  2. Jenny Rohrs says

    What a gorgeous project! Mind if I ask a technical question? How did you mount all of the plates to the wall? I’m adverse to putting holes in my walls….

    • Beth says

      Thanks Jenny! I used 3m velcro stips. Although I must say that they didn’t hold and a few of the plates had to come down.

  11. Heather says

    Beautiful job! Every bit as pretty as the original!
    I had seen the Country Living photo and just ordered some silhouette plates of our family because I loved it so much. Will definitely have to try the Martha Stewart paints!

    Heather

  12. Kim @ Sand & Sisal says

    These plates turned out beautiful! I’m in love with the tree plate! What a great idea and your mantel looks lovely! Where did you get that fluffy ruffled poof ottoman? GORGEOUS! Thanks for linking it up to the Fall Countdown Party too!

  14. Ann says

    Your version is perfect! Thank you for sharing and inspiring me to do some thing similar with an antique dresser. Have a great weekend!

  16. Sarah says

    I was wondering what you were going to create with all of those plates. LOVE it! They look so great together. I am a huge fan of Martha’s paints, and more recently, her glitter.

    • Beth says

      Ha! The cashier at the dollar store thought I was crazy and upon checking out asked me what I was doing with the plates on the floor. I showed her my inspiration pic on my phone but she still didn’t get it. LOL! And yes, a girl can never have too much Martha glitter!

  18. Lauren says

    This is incredible! Yours looks magazine worthy, I must say! I’m not usually a fan of hanging plates on the wall, but I think this might change my mind. That tree one is gorgeous.

    • Beth says

      Thanks Lauren! I’m not much of a “plate on wall” girl myself but I loved this look (and that it is temporary)!

  25. Claire says

    Wow, Beth! Your plates look fantastic! I’ve been using the MS Acrylic Paint since it came out and love the quality and coverage compared to other brands. Something tells me I’ll be stocking up on glass paints in the future!

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