Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Getting Ready for Halloween Tutorial

I like a good Halloween. What's not to like about this pagan holiday? You get to dress goofy, beg for free candy, and scare people without fear of reprisal... well there is a risk of having your house t.p.'d but other than that, hey! Let's Party! Every year I try to deck the house out even though no one in our town really trick or treats anymore, unless they are looking for a way to satisfy their munchies, but still I love to do up the yard with luminaries, cool pumpkins and of course a silly graveyard.

O.k. I admit I pull this post out every other year, but hey, it's a good tutorial, quick, fun, EASY, and cheap! The main instructions are on the Flickr! page accessed via either clicking on the photo, or by clicking on the little Flickr! dookhickey on the right side near the bottom of the page. So without further ado... the DIY tombstone:

Flickr! page tute - click: Tombstones. Scroll down to the tombstone photos and follow the instruction beginning with "a" and finishing up with "g".


"Fred's Dead, Baby"
Originally uploaded by S'mee.

In the "spirit" of Halloween, I spent the afternoon in quiet solitude and carved up some fun! The undertaking? Tombstones!

This is the first of the new tombstones for this year. (2005) This one is 24" wide by 16" high and is made from 1" thick (I originally wrote 1 inch thick...but it's really 2 inches, oops.) foam board insulation that comes in a variety of sizes. (Lowes/Home Depot) I chose the 4'x8' sheets. About $12.00 out the door and into the minivan.


tombstone tutorial
Originally uploaded by S'mee.

If you are like S'mee, you will need to have the guys on the floor cut it into 2 pieces for you (so it can fit in your vehicle). As you can see in the photo, there are indeed "lines" that one could follow -if they wished to do so- the guys I was working with at the time were less than cooperative and decided to "freehand" it on the totally white side without marks and guidelines. UGH! and GRRR!

Make sure you stress the first cut along the lines, otherwise, like S'mee, you will lose one inch, or more, when they cut it diagonally. again UGH!

O.k. so click on that Flickr! link and get started, seriously, if you work in assembly line fashion, this only takes a few hours and you can whip out an entire graveyard!

add to sk*rt

10 comments:

The Pea said...

I think I am going to try these this year! I will have to talk Joe into it (he would have to do most of the work) but now that I have the yard I really want to do it!!

Red said...

S'mee you are talented, I don't think I've seen anything you put your mind to that doesn't turn out gggggggggggggreat!

Although I'm wondering where the flowers came from... we all really know what your yard looks like... ;-) lol!

S'mee said...

Pea, these are a tad time consuming but very easy, seriously. And if you guys have any questions...just call!

Red, thanks. And the photos are from like 2005! So yea, the yard was actually rockin' that year with some nice flowers and mondo grass...not this year!

Lisa M. said...

You are so good, my dear. Have I mentioned how great you are lately?

I have started to think about costumes for E. I have my thinking cap on! These are inspirational!

*chuckle*

These are awesome!

S'mee said...

Oo Lisa! I saw the coolest skeleton the other day, but can't exactly remember where, All they did was use bleach on black fabric and made a skeleton. You could totally do that for E if he is into scary this year (although he probably is still too young for scary) Just use a set of black sweats, draw out a skeleton with some white chalk and then paint it with bleach, wait for it to fade and there you go!

I'll try to think of something cuter in the meantime.

Rynell said...

What spooky fun!

Robyn said...

I love the idea for the skeleton! What a great idea. You should do that tutorial next!

S'mee said...

Thanks Rynell!

Good idea Robyn, as soon as I get of the hamster wheel I'll try to do that!

Boy Mom said...

Aww, I want a home made graveyard for an October front yard instead of an NFL stadium. You're so clever S'Mee can I be you when I grow up?

S'mee said...

dear boy mom, yes you can have a grave yard in your yard. Have the boys make them. One sheet of foam will get you enough for just about everyone on your team to make their own. Make it a contest to see who can come up with the best epitaph or coolest shape. You'd be surprised how well boys like making tombstones.