***Thanks to all of your requests, this sign is now available in our Etsy shop {here}.***
Despite careful forethought and planning, I have run out of Halloween candy three out of the last four years. (NO, it was not because I bought the candy prior to October 30th and ate it all–I would never do that!) The good news is that I ran out closer to the end of trick-or-treating than the beginning, but I figured I’d better A) buy more candy this year and B) come up with a contingency plan just in case. I decided to make a sign to hang on the door when the candy’s all gone–that way I won’t have to look the sad munchkins in the eye and tell them I’m a loser.
I copied the idea from my “We Can/Can’t Play” sign that I made this summer. You can read about it {here}–if you’re a mom whose doorbell rings frequently, this will change your life! You can thank me later…
We Can/ Can’t Play Door Sign–A Summer Necessity!
This was a cheap project because I already had what I needed. I assembled my materials: a wooden plaque/sign from the craft store ($0.80 full price, but I used a coupon!), orange and black ribbon, eye hooks, black paint, and glitter (just in case–I wound up not using it). Also used, but not shown was black paint, glue (duh), white vinyl and my Silhouette Cameo.
I sanded the rough spots on the sign (sometimes I skip that part) and painted it black with acrylic craft paint. Once it dried, I screwed the eye hook into the top–no drill needed, just use your fingers to screw it in–and printed out the frame and the letters on my Silhouette. I used the free font Boyz R Gross. Wait? You don’t have a vinyl cutter? Don’t despair! Paint your wooden sign with black chalkboard paint, and then just use a white chalk pen for all of this–they sell them at craft stores.
Here’s the white frame:
And now here’s the sign with the words in place:
I debated a bit on which ribbon to use, and finally just used orange and white striped ribbon (I think it was 2″). If you don’t know how to tie a perfect bow, check out my video tutorial {here}.
We’re not really into “scary” Halloween stuff here, so I debated on whether or not to glue a black plastic spider on the bow. Here it is without the spider:
And with the spider:
Do you have a preference? Let me know!
So this will go up when the candy’s gone at my house. Well, perhaps I will fib a bit and hang this up on my door around 8:30pm, when all the cute little Jedi knights and princesses go home to sort their candy and watch “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.” That’s when the teenagers come around to ring the bell, wearing a costume consisting of sagging blue jeans and a sweatshirt (how creative!), holding an empty pillowcase, and managing to NOT SAY A WORD TO ME as they hold their open pillowcases under my nose, expecting that I will just dump candy in there. Can you tell that I think there should be an age cut-off for trick or treating? I already warned my 11-year-old son that this is his last year! So the sign will either go up at 8:30, or I will hand out tofu and spinach to the surly teens!
Or if I get into the candy stash, the sign might have to go out much earlier!
***This sign is now available in our Etsy shop {here}.***
Thanks for stopping by!
That is adorable. I love the spider!
Thanks, girl!
How Sweet! I love Halloween decorations that are not gory and scary as I still have a (somewhat) little guy at home. I love it without the spider but to make it less “girly” the spider is a nice touch. Thanks for all the beautiful and creative things you all share with us!
Thanks for your kind words, Alexandra! 🙂
I love your sign! I think I’m going to make one right now…and I’ll be the one in my neighborhood who puts it on the door at 8:30, too.
Seriously…since when do speechless, baggy-pants, pillow case carriers deserve candy? I thought it was just me who had a “thing” for those folks. And here’s a mystery question for you…why do they not say “trick or treat”…why do they just shove the pillow case (PILLOW CASE!!) in the open door? Ugh!
Oh, girl, you are preaching to the choir! If they used their nice manners I would probably be a lot less grouchy about it. Thanks for stopping by!
I remind the kids to say ‘Trick or Treat’ before I give them candy. I blame parents for not teaching them to say it. :o)
I love the spider!
As far as the teens go, if they are dressed up and use their manners I would much rather have them out trick or treating as to out getting into trouble. All in good fun! Luckily, the teens here are pretty good about that, and most are out taking the munchkins around from house to house while Mom and Dad hand out candy. Happy Halloween!
It sounds like you live in a nice neighborhood–how lovely! So glad you stopped by, Jaime. ~Christy
Great idea AND adorable, too.
Thanks, Susan!
Imo, keep the spider. I think the spot of black links the bow and the sign and it looks better.
Great idea and it looks fantastic.
Thanks, Cali!
Keep the spider!
When I run out of candy, I just turn off the porch lights and keep the front of the house dark. That way, they don’t trample across my yard, just to see that they didn’t have to.
One vote for the spider–check! You know, sometimes they still ring my bell when I turn out the porch light (I think because we’re always decorated for Fall). So I’m going to turn the lights off AND put the sign out!
I am loving the sign “can play” “can’t play”. I am forever answering the door in the evenings and having the kids ask WHY can’t they play. I often wonder if they would even read the sign though and still ring the door bell. I am not crafty and am not sure I could pull this off.
You can do it, Melissa–give it a try! They might ring the bell once even when the sign’s up, but once you explain what it’s for they’ll stop. It’s SO helpful when your kids are finishing homework or doing something else that requires concentration. Go for it!
You are pinned. Love the out of treats sign.
Thanks, Lori!
What a cute idea. It is so had to judge how much candy to buy. Oh, I like the spider too!
~Lynn
I think the spider’s winning!
i love this idea! so cute! My problem would be finding it every year! lol
<3 Bethany @ Thesepiapuppy.blogspot.com
That’s the easy part, Bethany. Just pack it away in your Halloween boxes! I didn’t even need mine last night, by the way!
Thanks for the inspiration! I linked to you in my blog post of my own version and wanted to share. Thanks again!
http://millionayres.com/1708/not-a-trick-out-of-treats-halloween-door-sign/
Thanks, Michelle. Your post is great!
Oh I love this idea, but I think I’m going to put wording on the back that says something like ‘prepared to be scared’ or anything that will let the little kids know that I want them knocking on our door! We get missed out quite often which makes me sad – I LOVE Halloween! I’ll be turning it around come 8:30 too though – I don’t like people knocking on my door too late at night!
Oh, and it’s perfectly reasonable that I’m looking at Halloween stuff in August, right?
Of course it’s reasonable, Sarah! The Christmas stuff has already been in stores for months, so maybe you’re actually a little bit behind. 🙂 Happy Halloween!!
Would you consider making one of these to sell? I love it but I am not the crafty type!!
Faith, you aren’t the first person to ask, so I probably will. If you’re not already following us on Facebook, then keep an eye out over there. I’ll put them in Our Store (link at the top of the page under the banner) when I do! Thanks for asking!
Ok, Faith, I’ve put them in the store if you’re still interested. Here’s the link: https://www.11magnolialane.com/currently-for-sale/
Genius!
Hmm, well, I am in Mensa! 🙂
Keep the spider. Very cute! I give candy to anyone who comes. They’re only young once, right? And eventually even the surly teenagers realize they’re too old and stop coming. Plus it creates good will and my house and cars don’t get “tricked”!
Thanks, Jane, and I’m living in a neighborhood this year that has age limits for trick or treating (!), so I’m guessing I’ll only get tiny witches and superheroes this year!
Hi! I love the sign and wanted to know which frame design did you use? Is it from the Silhouette store? Thanks.
Hey, Trinette. Yes, it’s from the store, but it came with my machine when I bought it. It’s #2296.
Hope that helps!
How did you get the free font to work with your silhouette? Is there another program you used?
No need for another program. The Silhouette will work with any true-type font (although not all of them look good when cut out in vinyl). Just download the free font, add it to your font book (or whatever the equivalent is on the PC), and it will show up in your Silhouette fonts.
Hope that helps!
Very cute, the spider really is cute!