This blog post is part of The Craft Challenge.  Me and 4 other bloggers challenge ourselves to bring you a creative craft tutorial based around a different theme each month. This month, the theme is Halloween. There’s a link to their crafts at the bottom of this tutorial.

How many people do you think dress up as a witch for Halloween? You always see a few of them while you’re out and about, right? That’s why I decided to make a spellbook for this month’s Halloween-themed craft. 

The process is easy and cheap, but I’ll warn you that it’s time-consuming because of the drying time. Toward the end, I got impatient and got out my hairdryer to make it move a little bit faster.

Want to make your own? This is what you’ll need.

DIY Spell Book Materials

• Mod Podge
• Paintbrush
• Fake spider
• Sponge brush
• Paper towels
• Hot melt glue & gun
• Cup of water
• Paper mache book
• Acrylic paint: black and metallic copper

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Step 1

Paint the entire book and your fake spider black.

Let it dry.

Step 2

Cover the front cover of the book with Mod Podge.

Then, peel one layer off of your paper towel, get it wet and place that ply over top of the Mod Podge. You want it to be wrinkled and torn to add some texture and character.

Step 3

Paint the paper towel black.

Let it dry.

Repeat steps 1-3 for the spine and back cover.

Step 4

Using your hot melt gun, glue on your spider and draw a web around it. If you want, you can also add the title Spells at the top of the cover.

Step 5

Cover the front of the book in Mod Podge, again.

Step 6

You guessed it. Get another paper towel, wet it, and cover your newly made design.

This time, though, you’ll want to make sure you trace around your design with a wet paintbrush so your spider, web, and title stand out.

Let it dry.

Step 7

Last step! Using a small, dry paintbrush, brush on the metallic copper paint. Get just a little bit on the brush and lightly cover the edge of your spider, web, and title. You don’t want to go overboard here. The purpose of the metallic paint is to make the design stand out and make the book look enchanted.

Cover any little wrinkles from the paper towels, the edges of the book, the details in the spine, and whatever else you think needs a little bit of a pop.

Let it dry.

When you’re finished, you’ll have a creepy new spell book to carry around or to use as a prop for Halloween. I have a tutorial for the potion bottles, too, if you want to go all out.

Don’t forget to give me feedback! You know I love to hear your thoughts.

Check out the rest of the Halloween crafts in The Craft Challenge by clicking on the links to each blogger in the image below. Each blogger is supposed to have their posts up by the end of the day today.