Assemble a tableau straight out of a spooky movie. The animals in this witch's latest shipment seem to have escaped their crates and are inhabiting these ghostly green pumpkins.

Tools and Materials
Wooden open-top boxes, 16-by-12-by-11 inches, knock-down style, by Poole and Sons, woodthings.com

Number and letter stencils, 2 inches, by Hy-Ko Products, acehardwaresuperstore.com

Dark-gray and black acrylic paint

Paintbrush

Masking tape

Sponge brush

Creepy Crates How-To
1. Assemble the crate according to package instructions. 

2. Mix water with dark-gray acrylic paint to make it pale and thin. Use a paintbrush to paint the crate once; let dry. 

3. Stencil a frightening phrase onto the side of the crate: Hold stencils in place with masking tape; use the seam in the crate as a guide to keep the letters straight. 

4. Dip a sponge brush in black acrylic paint, and blot it. Then dab paint inside each stencil. Let dry, and remove stencils.