Halloween Decor: Easy Vintage Inspired Specimen Art

An easy way to create vintage inspired specimen art for Halloween!

It should be no surprise that I LOVE Halloween! It's the perfect holiday to get creative and make inexpensive creepy decor. Last year, I decorated the mudroom with a bunch of affordable DIY projects and this year, I already started turning thrift store finds into creepy Halloween decor.

Most recently, I found a set of old display frames and knew right away I had to get them. Their texture, shape and color was the perfect combination for creating creepy vintage inspired specimen art.

Vintage inspired DIY spider specimen art

- SUPPLIES NEEDED TO MAKE DIY SPIDER SPECIMEN DISPLAYS -

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- Thrift store shadow box frames
- Creepy critters
- Vintage book pages
- Elmers glue stick
- Hot glue gun & glue
- Pencil
- Scissors

Aren't these old vintage display frames perfect? Chances are you won't find the exact frames while out thrifting, but keep an eye out for something similar if you're interested in creating your own creepy specimen art.

Luckily, the back of the frames were glued on and easy to remove without causing too much damage. I carefully removed the cardboard and peeled off the fabric lining leaving a smooth surface for a new backdrop.

I decided to use vintage book pages since they were free and pair well with black creepy critters. I simply traced the cardboard onto the book pages, cut out the pages then used an elmers glue stick to attach them to the cardboard.

Adding vintage book pages to specimen art

I debated whether or not to add a metal label holder to the specimen art, but ultimately, decided I liked them better without. If you prefer a label holder, you can snag these or Michaels' also sells them cheap in the scrapbook section.

Gluing creepy spiders to vintage book pages

I used hot glue to attach both the spiders and cardboard to the back of the frames.

They can be hung on the wall or used to create a fun Halloween vignette with vintage bottles and greenery.