Front Porch Mummies

*  This post is part of a campaign for Plaid Crafts.  All opinions and ideas are 100% my own.

I am completely in love with these front porch mummies that my son and I made yesterday!  My dad’s yard (we live with him) needed a bit more Halloween pizazz, and I think these are just the thing for it, don’t you?  The best part is how SIMPLE they were to make!  Let’s take a closer look at the process, shall we?

When I was asked to create an outdoor decorating project for Halloween using Outdoor Mod Podge and Stiffy I thought I would make some spooky signs for the grass.  However, I just wasn’t feeling inspired by that idea, so I kept putting it off.  And then, one night, like a gift, it came to me: wrapping fabric around wood to make mummies!  I originally planned to use a round post, but I ended up coming across a couple of pieces of perfectly sized boards in my dad’s garage (which were leftover mystery boards from his recent kitchen reno), so I used them instead.  Here is what you will need to complete this project.  The amounts of everything will depend on the number and size of mummies that you choose to make, obviously.

*  wooden board(s)
*  white spray paint or other paint
*  Mod Podge Outdoor and an applicator brush (I really love that nifty little flat one they sent me with the Mod Podge!!)
*  Stiffy (More details on this below.)
*  white and/or ivory fabric  (I used my scraps, so I am not sure how much I used.  1 -2 yards?  I recommend THIN muslin or cotton fabric of some sort.  More details below.)
*  scissors
*  yellow and black paper

Begin by painting the front of your boards white.  (I used spray paint because I am lazy and my boards were BIG.)  This way they will look good behind the eyes and thin fabric can be used without showing color or brown underneath.

Let’s start with the fabric strips.  I used my bag of white and ivory basic fabrics leftover from other projects.  They are the scraps that I usually use for “mock ups” of complicated projects when I don’t want to experiment on designer fabric.  I am not entirely sure how much I used.  I would like to say 1 yard, but it could have been closer to 2.  I am really not good at guesstimating measurements.  My fabrics were a mix of white and ivory, so I chose to embrace that and mix them.  However, they were also a mix of textures.  I wish I had NOT embraced that aspect of it, not because of the look of the project, but because of the Mod Podge.  I needed exponentially more Mod Podge to glue the thicker fabrics to the board.  With the thin muslin the Mod Podge soaked right in and grabbed the fabric, saving time, product, and frustration.  Choose a THIN fabric.

I made the strips by snipping a cut in the end of the fabric pieces and then tearing them (literally) into long strips.  That gave the fabric a nice frayed, mummy-esque look.

Next I chose to stiffen the fabric with Stiffy Fabric Stiffener.  You can use this to create perfectly stiff, permanent fabric projects quickly and easily.  However, I knew that I did not want to totally saturate my fabric because I would be working with it at a later point.  (I also realized I would need more than one bottle in order to totally soak my fabric.)  Since I didn’t care about wrinkles I put a few strips wadded into my hands at once, poured Stiffy all over them and rubbed them together.  (After all, mummies ARE wrinkled!)  I did this outside so I could just toss them on the rocks and hose down the rocks later without having to worry about messing up my dad’s pretty new kitchen.

I laid my Stiffy-fied fabric on the driveway to dry in the sun.  My neighbors think that I am the weirdest.  Which is pretty much true. 😉

While we allowed the fabric to dry and stiff a bit I cut large eyes out of yellow and black paper and used the Mod Podge Outdoor to glue them together and onto the spray painted wooden boards.  I wasn’t sure how the Mod Podge Outdoor would differ from traditional Mod Podge, but it was much thicker and tackier.  I liked it!  It is still waterbased, but its dense qualities allows you to use it to glue and decoupage for the outdoors.  I also loved the flat little brush that came in the box with it.  Sooo much easier to use than the cheap sponge brushes I usually turn to!  It really went on nicely and smoothed out well with that handy little brush.  (See it above in my little cutie’s hand.)

The time has come to paste on your fabric.  Use THIN fabric.  It grabs the Mod Podge Outdoor glue/sealer SO much better than thick fabrics!  (It also soaked up the Stiffy better!)  As you can see in the picture above, I was very generous with the Mod Podge, as I found that I needed to be.  I also put Mod Podge on the sides and a bit on the back of the mummy so that I could wrap the fabric around just enough to glue down the edges.

Lay your fabric on top of the glue and press it down.  Embrace wrinkles, weird angles, color inconsistencies, and imperfections.  They are MUMMIES for crying out loud!  And one more thing: prepare to get VERY messy!  The Mod Podge Outdoor will be all over your hands.  And your new yoga pants.  Why do I choose to work in my nice clothes?!

Repeat the gluing process over and over!  You are DONE!  Do you love them?!  I do.  My son is obsessed.  Sneaky little cutie…

Let’s take a look at the whole porch now.  See the window ghosts?  I love those things!  See how to make them HERE.  You can also see how to make the wreaths HERE.  Both projects are very simple!

Thanks for checking out my front porch mummies!  Here are a few more shots of them, mostly just because I couldn’t narrow it down.  I have problems.  😉

Here is a fun pin-friendly collage for you!

Be sure to follow the makers of these amazing products, Plaid Crafts, on Facebook and Pinterest for loads of additional inspiration for projects!  And check out the other awesome outdoor Halloween projects below, all of which are being made this month with Mod Podge Outdoor!

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Sarah Westover McKenna

Sarah is the scattered creative mind behind Bombshell Bling. A former elementary school teacher and a current stay-at-home mom, she loves developing her creativity through her blog and her jewelry design business, Bombshell Bling Jewelry. Sarah is a lover of all things vintage, colorful, and BLING. She is also a sweets addict with a major obsession with s'mores.

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