A Decoupaged Halloween Book Box with a Skeleton Couple
Every Halloween project starts the same way for Debi: not decorating, exactly, but finding a reason to make something fun. This year it's a book box — a thrifted, hollowed-out book she'd already painted black once, then repainted with a clean white base coat the morning of, because a white base is what keeps decoupage paper looking crisp instead of letting dark paint bleed through underneath.
The cover comes from a cut-and-collage picture book called Collage Soup: Hubba Hubba Hullabaloo Mod Podge, a favorite for junk journaling because of how much fun, funny art is packed onto every page — clowns, whimsical deer, a full Halloween section, a full Christmas section. From it comes a little girl with one arm raised, cut out and glued onto the front along with a matching vintage decoupage print, so that in a few steps she'll be holding a small vase of flowers.
"They're called cut and collage books for a reason. Cut and collage. Why would you not give us clean on the back?"
That line sums up one running joke of the tutorial: cut-and-collage books that print gorgeous art on both sides of the page waste half the book, since you can only use one side without losing the other. It's a small gripe, but a useful one to know before buying a similar book for your own projects — check both sides of a spread before you commit to cutting.
The cover: decoupage, a printed quote, and a bone folder
The whole front cover is built in layers with Mod Podge Multi Gloss: the vintage decoupage paper goes down first, sized against the little cut-out girl so the proportions read correctly, then smoothed with a bone folder — a small tool made for pressing clean folds and edges into paper without tearing it.
The phrase "you don't bring me flowers anymore" — printed straight off a Google image search, sized in a word processor, and cut apart line by line rather than left as one solid block — sits beside her. Cutting it into individual lines instead of one rectangle keeps the cover from reading as one flat white shape, and each line gets its own pass of Stickles glitter glue around the edge once it's glued down, in Platinum, Mercury Glass, and Glisten.
Inside the coffin: a skeleton couple, finally getting their flowers
Open the cover and the joke pays off. A Dollar Tree mini coffin sits on a bed of creepy netting, holding two small plastic skeletons — normally sold as connected garland, at roughly a quarter each — dressed up well past their 30-cent starting point. A single coat of one-step, water-based gold leaf paint (no priming, no oil-based cleanup) covers both figures completely, along with a tiny top hat built from a bottle cap and a circle of cardboard, and a button-turned-tiara for the bride.
"Take even your plastic skeletons up a notch. Don't just leave them the way they are — it really does make a huge difference."
Posing them is the trickiest part, and worth knowing before you start: bending a plastic skeleton's arm right at the visible joint snaps it clean off. Bending a little higher up the arm holds. One happy accident from a snapped joint even worked in the groom's favor — his now-detached arm could be angled and hot-glued so it finally reaches across to touch the bride, flowers in hand, after (per the joke) not bringing her any in years.
The couple gets glued into the coffin, the coffin gets glued into the box, and a paper crow perches nearby, nosy as ever, tying the whole scene back to the McKenzie Childs-inspired print used elsewhere in the design.
Finishing touches that make it look intentional
A run of black-and-white trim frames the coffin scene and hides any raw cardboard edges, echoing the black-and-white theme of the whole piece. On a book box that's already a little worse for wear from its thrift-store life, a set of small corner protectors reinforces a back cover that had started coming apart — tucked in before the final layer of paper goes down, so they disappear into the finished look instead of standing out.
None of it requires anything more advanced than hot glue, water-based paint, and a bit of patience with tiny plastic joints — which makes it a genuinely beginner-friendly project, even with several layers of technique stacked into one small object.
Beyond Halloween
The format is the real takeaway: any thrifted book box, painted and decoupaged on the cover, can hide a tiny scene inside for any holiday. Swap the skeleton couple for a miniature Santa or an Elf on the Shelf, and the same technique becomes an unexpected, handmade Christmas gift — proof that one good idea is really a dozen ideas waiting for a different set of tiny figures.
Supply List
Everything used to build the book box, organized the way it comes together — cover first, then the scene inside, then the finishing details.
The Book Box
Thrifted book boxAny secondhand hollow book or book box works — this one had already been painted black once before getting a fresh white base coat
Decoupage & Collage
Mod Podge Multi GlossUsed for the full cover, the interior scene, and a final gloss coat over the figure on front
Cut & Collage Book — Collage Soup: Hubba Hubba Hullabaloo Mod PodgeSource of the cut-out girl figure on the cover — check both sides of a page before cutting, since some prints repeat on the back
Decoupage paper — similar at vintageretailtherapy.comThe original print used is sold out; the shop restocks similar vintage designs
Bone folderSmall tool for smoothing clean folds and edges into decoupage paper without tearing it
Paint & Finishes
Gold leaf paintOne-coat, water-based formula — used on both skeletons, the top hat, and the tiara
White & black craft paintWhite base coat under the decoupage paper; black touch-ups around the coffin edges
Stickles Glitter Glue — rangerink.comColors used: Platinum, Mercury Glass, and Glisten — traced around every cut edge for a finished look
The Skeleton Couple
Small plastic skeletonsDollar Tree — sold as connected garland; bend arms higher up rather than at the visible joint so they don't pop off
Mini coffinDollar Tree — sits on a bed of creepy netting inside the box
ButtonRepurposed as the bride's tiara
Bottle cap + cardboard circleBuilt into the groom's tiny top hat
Tools & Extras
Hot glue gunFor assembling the coffin scene and attaching the figures
Corner protectorsReinforces a worn thrifted book box before the final paper layer goes down
Black-and-white trimFrames the interior scene and hides raw cardboard edges
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