“Good Eats” and “Killing Booth” Signs

$20 - $25 (based on 2019 prices)

Makes two signs

 

For 2019’s creepy carnival, I wanted to return to a few props I made in 2017 as part of my office’s decorating competition. Building on the knowledge I gained from making the “Fun House” and “Tickets” signs, I refined the process for these “Good Eats” and “Killing Booth” signs which hung above the concessions stand and game table at the haunt.

• One 20” x 30” foam board
• One 10 oz. can of interior/exterior, fast-drying spray paint in flat black*
• One 10 oz. can of interior/exterior, fast-drying spray paint in flat brown*
• One 10 oz. can of interior/exterior, fast-drying spray paint in metallic silver*
• Two rolls of colorful wrapping paper (roughly seventeen square feet per roll)
• One 4 oz. bottle of all-purpose tacky glue*
• Twelve clear plastic Christmas ornaments (two inches in diameter)
• One deck of standard-size playing cards
• One package of two-inch letterboard letters
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in flat black*
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in flat brown*
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in flat gray*
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in flat red*
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in flat white*
• One rotten tooth (learn how to make it here)
• One severed eye (learn how to make it here)
• One 0.3 fluid ounce bottle of red food coloring*
• One 4 oz. bottle of clear, all-purpose tacky glue gel*

1. Cut the board in half widthwise to create two 15” x 20” signs. You can keep their design a simple rectangle or engineer more elaborate patterns like arches or scalloped edges.

2. Trim one-inch strips from all four sides or each sign to form a border and, on a newspaper-lined surface in a well-ventilated area, give each one an even coat of silver spray paint. Although I used a metallic color to match other props in the haunt, you can use an alternate hue to correspond with your haunt’s color scheme.

3. Brush a light layer of glue onto each sign and cover them with wrapping paper. For visual interest, I decided to use two different patterns. You, though, are free to use one or many based on your preferences. To make the paper appear worn, crumple it up prior to adhering it to the boards and tear holes into it.

4. Glue the borders to the signs. To assist in this process, consider marking the backs during step two to note which sign and which side the strips belong to.

5. Remove the hanging hoops from the backs of the ornaments and glue them to the borders of the signs to imitate light bulbs. Their positioning depends entirely on your chosen appearance for the props. You can also use smaller bulbs for an alternate look.

6. Glue the playing cards to the signs. You will want each card to represent one letter in the words you would like displayed. It helps to plan this out ahead of time and play with their positioning beforehand. For visual interest, do not center each card on the sign and switch between using the fronts and backs.

7. To add a uniform level of additional age and distress, dust the signs with a light coat of black and brown spray paint. To give the appearance of dirt, hold the can over twelve inches away from the sign’s surface and make quick flicking motions. You can also apply a flecking of black paint and smears of brown paint to enhance the weathered appearance.

8. On a newspaper-lined surface in a well-ventilated area, give the letterboard letters an even coat of black spray paint. Although I only used one coat, you may want more depending on your desired coverage. Keep in mind, though, this is the base coat and much of the paint will be covered up by other colors. Once the paint has dried, give the letters an aged patina by gently brushing brown, gray, and white paint over their surfaces. Try not to overthink your application. A random pattern will produce the best results.

9. Arrange the letters on the cards and glue them in place. Akin to step six, it might work best to pre-position everything on the signs to determine their desired placement before permanently affixing them.

10. For additional detail, do not use the letterboard letters to spell out every word or all words in full. Rather, emphasize certain words or parts of words by using red paint to write these elements. In the case of the “Killing Booth” sign, for instance, I used did this with the two ls and the h.

11. Likewise, you can use severed ears, eyes, fingers, or teeth to stand for certain letters. With the “Good Eats” sign, for example, I used an eye to replace the second o in good.

12. In a plastic container (because the food coloring will stain, use something disposable or that you won’t mind dying), pour in your desired amount of clear glue gel and slowly add red food coloring to the solution until it achieves the sanguine hue you desire. To give the blood further density, add blue food coloring and mix well.

13. On a newspaper-lined surface, apply the blood glue to the prop and allow it to fully dry. You can use an old spoon or plastic utensil to strategically dribble the liquid along chosen areas or pour it haphazardly for a gory mess. For these props, I decided to be conservative with the application, only saturating the yarn attached to the eyeball and creating a splatter behind the tooth.

14. If you plan to display these props on a wall or other surface, consider making hanging loops with steel wire on the backs. You can also embellish the props further with clusters of insects crawling across their surfaces. 

*You will not use the entire bottle’s content for this project.