Today I'm sharing one last project for Fall because from here on in it's about jingle bells and holly. Why? Because the Festive Ideas Tour starts today and I'll be jumping on board the holiday train on Wednesday.

I decided to go out with a Spooktacular Halloween Miniature Diorama from a recycled thrift store display shelf. Because who doesn't love a Halloween miniature, especially one that lights up!

Spooktacular Halloween Miniature Display Shelf

The motivation for doing a Halloween diorama craft is because today is our Int'l Bloggers Club Challenge and the theme this month is Halloween. Last year for our Halloween challenge I made this Recycled Halloween Garden Lantern.

The inspiration for the Halloween diorama came from a wall mount display shelf found at Goodwill for $3 that had seen its better days. It's been sitting in the workshop collecting dust for several years.

What I didn't realize until flipping it over, AFTER I started painting, is that it is a Willow Tree The Roses In My Garden Reliquary Figurine Display Shelf.

The definition of "reliquary" is a container for holy relics. 😱 Am I going to get struck by lightning? 🌩

Perhaps I should have done my homework BEFORE I defaced the holy relic holder and turned it into a black closet of skeletons! 🦴 💀

If you haven't heard of our Int'l Bloggers Club, we are a group of blogging friends from around the globe who come together on the third Monday of every month to share a themed DIY project. We have members from Spain, South Africa, Australia, the USA, and Canada.

Last month our challenge was local love where I narrowed my focus on our provincial flower and made a Wild Rose Wooden Coaster. I've included links to our talented member's Halloween ideas further down in the post.

What You'll Need To Make It

This post contains affiliate links so you can see what products I used or recommend for this project. As an Amazon Associate, I earn a small commission from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.

All the spooky miniatures for the diorama were either handmade or purchased at the dollar store so it cost very little money to put together.

Supply List

Wall Display Shelf (thrift store)
Mini Skeletons
Mini Pumpkins (recycled Fall picks)
Straw (recycled straw wreath form)
Orange LED Micro Dot Lights
Halloween Peel and Stick Decals (backdrop)
Halloween Erasers (not shown)
Stacked Pumpkin Glow Stick Necklace
Small Wooden Dowel
3 Small Wood Blocks
Black Craft Wire
Pumpkin With Mask Printable
Toothpicks
Hot Glue Gun

How To Make A Halloween Miniature Diorama

We'll begin making the Halloween miniature with the second-hand figurine display shelf.

Upcycled Figurine Display Shelf

You'll notice in the photo below that the display cabinet is missing shelves. Nothing that some balsa wood cut to size with a straight edge and retractable knife can't handle.

But before I set them in place I gave the cabinet a good scrub from the years of dust.

Next, I painted both the interior and exterior with three coats of Raven black FAT Paint. To retain the flat sheen protect the paint with a matte clear coat.

Skeletons

I found the miniature skeletons in a bag of three at Walmart. I wanted one of them to be sitting on a shelf but those gals were stiff as bones (sorry, couldn't resist). Poor thing, in order to make her sit I had to break her bones.

And then reassemble her again in a sitting position with hot glue.

Miniature Hay Bales

For the hay bales, I recycled an old straw wreath form and cut a 1 x 2 furring strip with a hand saw. Then I simply wrapped the straw around the woodblocks with a dab of hot glue here and there.

For baling wire, I used black craft wire wrapped around the mini hay bales a couple of times (pictured below).

Witches Broom

For the witches' broom, I painted a small wooden dowel orange. Then I gathered a clump of hay from the wreath form and stuck the dowel in the center.

To hold it together I wrapped a piece of hay and secured it with hot glue. Next, I trimmed the straw and the wooden dowel. Easy peasy!

Masked Pumpkin Wall Art

I went to PicMonkey in search of a cute photo to use for wall art. After printing it to size I used toothpicks to make a haunted-looking frame. I couldn't resist the covid reference with the masked pumpkin.

Dollar Store Diorama Embellishments

The miniature faux pumpkins are recycled from dollar store fall picks that I had in my stash. Some of them I painted with chalk-style or acrylic craft paint and others I left orange.

The flower planter filled with gourds and pumpkins is a recycled coffee K-cup that I spray painted black.

The skeleton's witch hat, pumpkin she's holding, skull on the top shelf, crossbones on the door, and the bat sitting on the hay bale is dollar store erasers.

The lighted stacked pumpkins on the top shelf is a dollar store glow stick necklace along with the creepy black flies (I couldn't find spiders).

I recycled the black netting that the skeletons came in to drape over one door to add to the spook factor.

Halloween Backdrop

I found the peel and stick Halloween decals at Walmart - a perfect backdrop for my spooky diorama. I used a sheet of white foam core as a backdrop and stuck them on either side of the haunted display shelf.

Here is a photo of the Halloween diorama by day...

...and again at night lit with orange LED micro dot lights from the dollar store.

Update: after Halloween, I dismantled the skeleton diorama, a.k.a. figurine display shelf, and turned it into a black dollhouse refrigerator. Now it'll be enjoyed by my granddaughter on a daily basis.

Thanks for stopping by the Interior Frugalista today! I hope you were inspired by this Halloween miniature idea.

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If you have any questions about this Spooktacular Halloween Diorama, please leave them in the comment section below or the Contact Me tab at the top. I love hearing from you!

If you enjoyed this Spooktacular Halloween Miniature Diorama, I'd be so thankful if you shared it with a friend and pinned it to your Halloween Ideas board on Pinterest.

Now let's see what my talented friend's made for our Halloween challenge by clicking the links below.

Easy Realistic Eyeballs | A Crafty Mix
Halloween Flower Arrangement | Unique Creations By Anita
DIY Pumpkin Pin Cushion | Birdz Of A Feather
Halloween Diorama Box | Interior Frugalista (that's me)

I share my projects at these inspiring link parties.