Hand Painted Wood Scarecrow Shelf Sitter for Autumn Decorating

This adorable hand painted scarecrow is made from scrap wood, acrylic paints, and a few basic art & craft supplies. In just one weekend I was able to make 4 of them! They would look cute displayed on a shelf, mantle above the fireplace, on a windowsill, bookcase, etc. A great beginner’s project because you don’t need to be an artistic painter to make one!

You can make them any size that you would like. I was using scrap pine wood from my husband’s scrap pile. The head is one piece of wood measuring approximately 8″ high, 4″ wide by 1″ thick. The base measures approximately 5 1/2″ wide by 2″ by 1/2″ thick. The brim on his hat measures approximately 7″ long by 1″ by 1/4″ thick. Again, use whatever wood you have on hand and you can vary the sizes and make them shorter or taller.

Assembly – I used small nails made for wood. I tacked the head onto the base using 3 tiny nails. I tacked the brim of his hat on using 3 tiny nails. I then used wood putty to filled the holes. Once dry, a little bit of fine sand paper to smooth everything down.

The hat was painted using 2 coats of chocolate brown acrylic craft paint allowing for 40 minutes of drying time between coats. The head and base were painted using 2 coats of acrylic craft paint in a tan color allowing for 40 minutes of drying time between coats. The entire base is painted in those 2 colors, front, back, sides, and the bottom. Let dry until the paint is no longer tacky.

For the hair I used straw. I was able to pick up a large bunch of pre-cut straw at the farmer’s market for $1.00 which I then cut down into the size that I needed. See photograph. If you don’t have access to straw you can use raffia which you can buy at your local craft store or from Amazon. Run a line of glue underneath the hat brim across the top of his face. Add your pre-cut pieces of straw or raffia. Let dry. Once dry you can use sharp scissors to trim if needed.

Facial features were kept simple. Just two black oval shapes for the eyes, a red triangular shape for the nose and a black mouth. All using acrylic craft paint. Once dry…dip the end of the paint brush into white paint and dot on the inner eyes. Use a fine liner paint brush to make the black slash marks outlining the nose. Let dry until the paint is no longer tacky.

Take outside and spray with 1-2 light coats of a clear acrylic spray sealer. Make sure you spray the sealer on the straw & raffia too. This will help strengthen and protect it.  This will protect the painted finish from chipping, cracking, and fading. I personally like giving them 2 coats, that way I can display them inside my home or outside on our front porch or back deck.

For the finishing touches I went with a classic, simple look. I glued on a small artificial sunflower to the brim of his hat using Gorilla Glue. I had a piece of brown, bronze and dark navy blue ribbon in my scrap box and tied that around his neck…knotting it at the side. I used just a few dots of Gorilla Glue to tack it down into place. Let dry for 2-3 hours before displaying.

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