You’re gonna shiver with thrills and chills when you transform a Goodwill-found French street print by Transylvania-izing it for Halloween! For just pennies and using paints and pens, you, too, can easily turn a serene street scene into a creepy character community.  

If you look closely, you are able to see a pair of ghoul-friends sipping on blood-filled skulls and Frankenstein shopping at his favorite Boo-tique!

Here’s how:

Step 1:  Shop til you drop for all your Halloween decorative needs at Goodwill

While this blog focuses on transforming a Goodwill-found framed print, each section and aisle there has items to upcycle for this spooky holiday season.  Looking for a costume to wear? You’ll find it there. Want to give your table some festive fun?  You’ll find it there.  Thinking about decorating your front door with creepy items?  You’ll find them there!

This lovely Paris street scene, with a handsome, matted frame, was delightful, just as it was with its bistro set and bicycle.  Its charming buildings, windows, and shop signs offered a great foundation for this project.  Look for landscapes and cityscapes, too, in available prints found in the Home Decor Section at Goodwill.

Step 2: Prepare before you scare

If possible, remove your print from its frame. If not, consider using painter’s tape to keep mats, frames, or parts paint-free. Collect your craft paints, a variety of small paintbrushes, a black Sharpie, and a very fine black pen for detailed additions. You are now ready to rock and roll!

Step 3:  Brush on the Boos!

Using white craft paint and a small detail brush, start by adding a ghost or two to your scene.  Ghosts are easy to paint as their shape is like an upside-down U.  You may have seen on social media where others have taken this idea (and which I used as my inspiration here) and only added ghosts to thrifted prints.  These look whimsical and are easy for kids of all ages to paint.   When the white paint dries, use a black Sharpie to add three oblong circles as its eyes and mouth.  

Presto—you now have a scene being haunted by these spooky spirits!

Step 4:  Take the doom & gloom to the next level

Keep on scaring up your DIY skills by adding more creepy characters to your print. Here are some suggestions to whet your appetite and make you drool like a zombie:

·        Jack O-Lanterns are a festive and timely addition. 

·        Spiders and their webs are a must-add for sure.  The more, the spookier.

·        Broken windows and tattered shutters transform the pristine scene.

· A pair of witches hang out at the cafe enjoying skulls and holding bloody marys.

·        The grim reaper greets you from an open door, beckoning you in to visit him.

·        Bats take flight.

·        Blood drips from the walls of the café.

·        A mother snake and her baby snake are treat-or-treating, too.

·        The trattoria has become the Blood Bank.

·        The lateria is now the Bootique.

It only takes these four steps to transform your everyday print into a frightful delight—it’s so simple it’s scary!  What should I name this upcycled masterpiece? How about “An American Ghoul in Paris?!”


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Tim Kime

Artist, Motivational Speaker, Life Coach

Tim Kime is an artist, life coach, and connector. He is the President of Kime Leadership Associates, offering executive coaching, meeting facilitating, and motivational speaking. He is also the Chief Creative Force of Transformation Junkies which upcycles furniture and other household items into functional works of art. He combined his two passions—unleashing the potential in people and transforming items with the launch of the Art of Possibilities Workshops. These workshops are part upcycling, part dreaming, and part goal setting.