Simple DIY Candy Corn Decor (Fall Wooden Craft)

Why Candy Corn Is A Quintessential Halloween Candy

First, here’s a little background on candy corn: It was developed in the 1800s and quickly became a popular candy given to trick-or-treaters on Halloween. 

It was also known as chicken feed for a good reason. The name has since been changed for obvious reasons. I kinda like the old name. 🙂

Did you know candy corn has its own national day on October 30th? Now you do!

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Craft Supplies:

Here is what you will need to create this simple DIY candy Corn Decor for Fall decorating.

• scrap wood or lumber (whatever you have on hand)
• miter saw or circular saw
• wood sander (MY FAVE SANDER!)
• 100-grit sandpaper (for rounding the corners) and finish with 220-grit sandpaper
• cotton white (chalk mineral paint)
• colonel mustard yellow (chalk mineral paint)
• Florida orange (chalk mineral paint)
• artists craft brushes

STEP 1: DIY Wooden Candy Corn Decor Tutorial

Grab whatever scrap wood you have around the house. If you’re an avid DIYer like myself, you probably have some pieces stacked up in the corner of your garage, waiting for the perfect project to use them on. 

Fairly often I have to convince my hubby that my stash will eventually be used up, but somehow, every year, it keeps getting bigger. I wonder how that happened. He loves me. 🙂

STEP 2: Cutting The Candy Corn Wood Pieces

Depending on the size of the wood you have on hand, you can make your wooden candy corn any size you want. 

I used various sizes of scrap wood pieces but used the same method for cutting them. 

Cutting these angles on a miter saw can be a bit tricky, but I found that if you place the board longways and secure it with wood clamps, the cutting goes fairly quickly. 

* If you aren’t familiar with using these saws, please get help and don’t try this alone.

Find the center of the board and cut a 20-degree angle on both sides. Once you have the angles, simply cut the bottom of the corn with a straight cut. 

You can also use a circular saw if you don’t have a miter saw or fancy woodworking tools. I try to keep things as basic as I can around here—I’m a simple wood crafter! 

Oh, you can chop off the tip of the candy corn if you wish for a more rounded top. I did some of both.

STEP 3: Sanding And Smoothing The Wood Pieces

You have options here. You can hand-sand each piece with sandpaper or use a sanding block. Using 100-180 grit will help round off the wood corners. The final sanding is done using 220 grit to prepare the wood for painting. 

I prefer using my electric sander, but it isn’t necessary. Candy corn has rounded edges, so using an electric sander makes it easier on the hands. #grandmacrafter

Wipe away any remaining wood dust from sanding. 

STEP 4: How To Stop Wood Bleeding Through Paint

Because wood has tannins, you will need a stain and or tannin blocker to prevent those wood tannins from bleeding through your paint. 

I know from experience that any time I use white paint on wood, it will need a stain blocker. There’s nothing worse than seeing those ugly discolorations peeping through your beautiful paint job, sometimes even days later.

Today, I’m using BONDING BOSS in white. It also comes in clear and gray. It’s a problem solver! 

I use one coat of the BONDING BOSS for my small wood craft projects, but two coats over wood furniture before painting.

STEP 5: White, Yellow, and Orange Paint

To paint my candy corn decor, I started with white. I painted from the top down all the way around. This may require two coats.

Next, paint yellow from the bottom upward all the way around. 

Lastly, paint the centerpiece orange. This section is a bit larger than the white and yellow. 

I had thought about using painter’s tape but decided to do it freehand so that I could give the lines where the colors meet a bit of a curve. This will give the wooden candy corn the appearance of a smoother, rounded transition. 

Besides, have you ever seen a perfect piece of candy corn? 

STEP 6: Optional Distressing

After the paint is dry, distress the edges so that the white primer shows through the colors. It kind of appears as highlights on the candy.

This part is totally optional, but I find it adds a bit of rustic charm that blends perfectly with my other Fall farmhouse decor.

DIY Candy Corn Fall Decor 

I’ve been known to copy more than a few craft ideas from Hobby Lobby, but I’ve never encountered anything like these while shopping. But if I did, I imagine these would look equally, if not better, and they have a longer shelf life than the candy—well, maybe. LOL.

These would also make a super cute seasonal garland. Drill small holes in each corn at the top of the corn and string together with jute, twine, or even white yarn. How stinking cute would that be? 

Try sprinkling them around a Fall vignette to add a colorful seasonal touch.

Add them to a wreath aby securing them with a hot glue gun.

Here’s another fun idea: Check out this cute DIY Candy Corn Decor Idea!

So many ideas, so little time. 🙂

Fall Candy Corn Decor Centerpiece

How stinking cute are these?! Oh my goodness, I LOVE how these turned out!

I sprinkled them randomly in my wood box centerpiece I made last year. CLICK HERE for the tutorial on that project.

This was a fun, feel-good, nostalgic craft that took me back to childhood. Candy corn was and will always be one of my favorite fall candies. Have you tried eating them with peanuts? 

I hope you have enjoyed this easy and affordable Fall craft project as much as I have. Now, I can enjoy this sweet treat without all those calories. Let me know what you think in the comments, or say hi so that I know you stopped by. 🙂

Until the next project… xo, Do