10 Minute--10 Day Halloween Countdown {A Working Printable!}

I've so been looking forward to sharing this printable with you because you see, it's much more than just any old printable, this one has working parts!  The best part...it only takes around 10 minutes to make and only counts down the 10 days before Halloween, so there's still plenty of time to make one!  Yay!

The other day I was searching for a Halloween poem and found this fun countdown poem at Halloween Nursery Rhymes Chants and Charms (I've since found out that it was written into a children's book as well). My first thought was that it would make a cute printable to frame.  Well, one idea led to another and next thing I knew the print had morphed into a 10 Day Halloween Countdown Printable with an actual moving spider! 

Here's how it works:  The spider starts out at the top of the countdown...

 ...then each day you move the spider down one number so the web gets longer...

...and longer...as each day passes...until it reaches Halloween. 

I think I've had as much fun moving that little guy up and down as my kids have (maybe even more). :) 

This may be one of the easiest countdowns you'll ever make.  Here's how you put it together:

Supplies

8x10 Print of the countdown

8x10 Frame without glass
(I used a frame that I already had, a chunky distressed frame would look awesome!)

12" piece of 1/8" black ribbon

12" piece of 1/8" white ribbon

2 eyelets and kit/pliers to set them (optional)

Small plastic spider

(The spider rings will work great if you cut off the ring part of it.)

Hot glue gun and glue

Directions
 I put in a lot of details, but really, if your supplies are all gathered you can make this in 10 minutes.

1.  Print the countdown as an 8x10.  If you don't know how to print the images, click here and scroll down to the bottom of the post for directions. (Trim to fit your frame if needed.)

2.  Poke a hole through the circles in the print with a sharp pair of scissors.  Insert the eyelet into the hole from the front of the print and set by using eyelet pliers or an eyelet kit and hammer.  (To use an eyelet kit, put the kits setting tool (no idea what it's really called) on top of the back of the eyelet and hammer on the top of it until the eyelet is flat.)

These are old prices, I don't know what they cost now.

3. Cut one 12" piece of black and one of white ribbon.  Tie the two pieces together at one end and clip the ends short.  Hot glue the spider over the knot.  Thread the ribbon through the holes so the spider is in the middle of the two eyelets and the black ribbon is showing above it.  Tie the ribbon in a knot on the back of the print in the middle, leaving the ribbon slightly loose.  Test the spider to see if it slides up and down easily and if the black ribbon goes all of the way to the bottom when you lower the spider, if it doesn't, loosen or tighten the ribbon accordingly.  If it's tied too tight the spider won't move as well.  Clip the ribbon 1/2" from the knot.

Pictures taken before I decided to use eyelets.

4.  Put the print in the frame.  You could put a clear plastic transparency sheet in front of the print before you add the ribbon and eyelets, or apply a layer of Mod Podge over it if you want to protect the print.

5.  That's it, now you can enjoy your new countdown!

Halloween Countdown Printables

For Personal Use Only

*If you would like to share these prints with your readers, please use one of the photos above for your post and include a link back to this post for the prints. Please do not post the prints on your blog, thank you! :)

I gathered some clip-art images from Microsoft to go along with the countdown.  For young children you could print two copies to use as a memory game or crop the image in a document and make duplicate copies of each clip-art to use for counting games each day.  For ex. print: 1 moon, 2 witches, 3 skeletons...

The black and white image could be copied onto colored card stock to make (unframed) in an elementary school class as an activity.  The children could circle the numbers in crayon to make them easier to see.

Click here and scroll down to the bottom of the post for directions on how to print the images.

When I showed the framed countdown to my sister, she said, "You know what would also look cute is if it was on a wood block".   I knew she had a great idea going there so I made one up that very night (I couldn't wait to give it a try) and she was so right!  Always listen to your sisters. :)

I'll show you how to make it tomorrow.  :)

Updated:  Click Here for the Tutorial

Today's Fabulous Find...Nursery Rhyme Countdown

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