Inspired by the vintage Halloween decor of Buena Vista Street in Disney California Adventure, these ‘Die-Cut Halloween Spooky Party Decorations’ were created to add some more old-timey fun to my home Halloween decor. The general vibe of my decorations is Autumn harvest festival of the past (as seen in another Disney park—on Main Street USA of Disneyland and Magic Kingdom) and these flags make a spooky, fun addition to the other vintage looking bright decor I have.
Flags
The source file of these smiling pie-eyed characters. In keeping with the vintage look, the color palette for these was kept very small. The background styles alternate back and forth when the flags are strung up. I decided to extend elements of each illustration over the edge of the flag frame to merge my initial inspirations standard flag shape with the look and shape of old die-cut decorations. These illustrations were printed on a heavy cardstock and then cut out with an exacto and scissors.
References & Inspiration
The initial inspiration for this project came from Halloween decor found in a shop window on Buena Vista Street in Disney California Adventure. Those flags were black and yellow or orange character illustrations set against an orange background in a 1930’s-esque style. I used that concept as a launching point and paired it with references from a later era, picking illustrations and Halloween decor that was more 40’s - 50’s.
Packaging
Just for fun I also created faux packaging for the flags. I sourced references of vintage Halloween product boxes for decor and candy and repurposed the characters sans-flag backdrop to create a whimsical container to store these in. The copy was written by taking a look at product descriptions of the era and I finished everything off with my personal logo as the manufacturer.
