Halloween Coasters with HAZMAT Stickers

The thrift store is a never-ending source of surprises, is it? Just when you think you’ve seen it all, the thrift store throws you yet another curve ball. That’s how I felt when I kept finding rolls and rolls of HAZMAT stickers. They had been scattered across the store, so I turned it into a scavenger hunt to find them all. That’s when I decided that I needed a roll to make some Halloween coasters.

My favorite was the roll of skull and crossbones labels. And they were truly the perfect size to be used on coasters.

And as luck would have it, I already had a stack of extra 4” x 4” wood squares from another coaster project that I just didn’t need. Remember these coasters I made for Fall?

Anyway, since the HAZMAT stickers were nearly a perfect fit, I knew my plan for Halloween coasters was meant to be.

Anyway, I had a feeling this project WOULD turn out, though…and may end up being a wee bit creepy. Either way, I was eager to get started and see what I could do with it all!

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HAZMAT Stickers for Spooky Decor

The first order of business was to give the wooden coasters a dark stain. So, I sanded down the edges to remove splinters and gave them a coat of this new-to-me wood stain.

But it wasn’t dark enough for the look I was going for. I really wanted the white (well, somewhat yellowed) HAZMAT stickers to pop against dark wood grain.

So, I remedied the situation by adding another coat of a different stain. Combining stains is such a fun experiment! NOW I had the deep, rich color I was looking for.

Next, I tore off a few of the poison labels (look! I found the same ones on Etsy!) and traced the wooden coaster on one of them. 

I wanted a sliver of wood to frame the HAZMAT stickers, so I trimmed off the excess just inside my tracing. There- that would be perfect.

Using some decoupage glue, I first coated the coaster. I placed the label on the glue surface and used my finger tips to press it into the wood grain and remove any air bubbles.

Finishing the Halloween Coasters

Once the glue had dried, I used some fine-grit sandpaper to rough up the labels a bit. I wiped off any sanding dust and brushed on another coat of decoupage glue to seal it in.

NOW, I could have stopped there and called it a day.

But, I didn’t.

To amp up the creepy factor, I decided to splatter some paint (like, um, blood splatter) across the hazard labels. For the purposes of this blog post, I did the following steps for the underside of my Halloween coasters, thus giving me two options!

I gathered some super cheap toothbrushes (which will forever live in my craft room now) and some craft paint. Red for traditional splatter…green for aliens…and purple for monsters, etc.

I dipped the bristles in the paint and brushed my fingertip through the bristles over the hazard labels. This is a fun technique, but messy! Make sure you have a good size drop cloth covering your work surface before you begin.

In the end, though, I really only liked the red splatter! And it looked EERILY authentic- PERFECT for my Halloween coasters.

Halloween Coasters with HAZMAT Stickers

Just like before, I layered decoupage glue and the hazard labels on the underside of the wooden coasters. And when the second layer of glue had dried, I had a set of VERY creepy Halloween coasters!

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And guess what today is? It’s Thrift Store Decor Team Day! Make sure you check out what my friends have been up to – use the links beneath this collage to see the “after” results!

1. DIY Rustic Candleholder

2. Buffalo Check Fall Tray

3. Glazed Ladder Back Chairs

4. Recipe Box Makeover

5. Shabby Chic Wreath

6. Creepy Halloween Craft with Hazard Labels

7. How to Create a Driftwood Finish

8. Copper Wall Sconce

*****

I know this project might be *too* creepy for some, but it was the ideal project for me to try out that technique for paint splatter.

If you enjoyed this upcycling idea for Halloween decor, then you may also be interested in how I achieved this faux rust finish on some plain plastic pumpkins!

Craft on!

S

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