I love Halloween. I love being that annoying person that goes completely overkill with baking, décor, and parties. I love taking Halloween to the next level, and I love taking my kids along for the ride.
I'm not saying I came up with the original idea of spray-painting an old playhouse to transform it into a spooky house—but I am saying that I added a few new funky spins on this Halloween classic I am pretty smitten with. Oh yeah, and the mini Halloween lovers in my house love it, too.
First things first: These playhouses can be pricey. If you are going to make one of these seasonal, consider buying it second-hand. I found mine on Craigslist for $60. Needless to say, you will need a truck to pick it up.
Once you have the playhouse home, decide on a color theme. (Black was an obvious choice for Halloween.) You will need spray paint specific for plastic.
Tape off the areas you do not want to paint, and get your Banksy on. After the black paint had dried, I went back in with house paint and did the windows and the door orange. I had white house paint that I added orange craft paint to. Low-VOC paint, of course.
Don't forget the inside of the house! I painted the inside with chalkboard paint.
This paint is super easy to use, and the kids loved adding details to the inside (and outside) of the house.
I wanted to set the yard up around the house, so I threw in some plastic pumpkins, a small chair, and a throw pillow. The roof and neighboring trees were draped with spiderwebs.
I had my annual Halloween party this weekend, and at some point I saw almost every child in that house.
Needless to say, it was a big hit. I'm already thinking of painting it into a gingerbread house for Christmas!