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I spy a Halloween graveyard that looks to be DIY. YESSSS!!!! We’ve FINALLY started on the Halloween decorating. I’ve been making lists and gathering supplies since Labor Day but this was the weekend we began. I thought it would be fun to document how it evolves over the years. Being Type-A all the way, I can only imagine what we’re going to be dealing with in five years!
The rain was not cooperating with us yesterday. We were trying to work around the weather, Alex’s work schedule and Clara’s naptime. We didn’t get nearly as much done as we wanted to but it’s a good start. I managed to get hooks installed on the porch ceiling for the lights and some of the lights hung up. Those hooks are really going to come in handy when I hang the Christmas lights too. But the main thing we focused on yesterday was the graveyard. There’s still work to do on it but so far so good!
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I got the inspiration for the fence from the house I shared in last week’s decorating post. It’s just a garden fence that’s been painted. I checked the local stores and couldn’t find the exact kind I wanted but I finally found one on Amazon.
Alex thought spray painting it black and gray would give it a more weathered and creepy look. She’s the creative director of this project so who am I to argue? Luckily we were able to get it painted before the rain started. Here’s Alex spray paint can in hand.
And she was right. It looked really weathered thanks to the combination of black and gray. Perfect.
It was at this point that the rain really started and put the brakes on our progress. Alex took Clara home for her nap and I headed to the garage to work on the sign and a couple of tombstones we wanted to add. Every graveyard needs a sign, right? We’re still debating about the name of ours but sometime this week we’ll decide. To make the sign I chose 3 similar sized pieces of scrap wood and fastened them together in the back with some 1x2s. You could also use pocket hole screws and glue to connect them. I used the same method of black and gray spray paint that Alex used on the fence. Alex will probably go back over it with sandpaper too.
I pretty much did the same thing for the tombstones and took similarly sized pieces of scrap wood but used the jigsaw to round the tops. I fastened the pieces together with 1x2s across the backs and spray painted them with black and gray. Alex is so much better at lettering than I am. I don’t have the patience for it whatsoever. She’ll get the lettering and designs done on the sign and tombstones this week.
The rain finally stopped in the late afternoon so I was able to get in the yard and start setting things up. As I was gathering inspiration and ideas for our decorating the one thing that stood out to me was how important lighting was. It really can make the difference when you’re setting a scene. I ordered 3 LED waterproof floodlights to place around the graveyard and porch. I don’t know but I think I might be ordering a few more of these. They come with a little remote that can change the color, pattern or brightness. After playing around with it for a while, I finally decided on 2 floodlights in the graveyard that are different colors. This might change though depending on what else we do.
How cool does that look??? The skull and hands need to go farther back away from the fence because it’s hard to see it. We still need to add the sign and 2 DIY tombstones too. So far I’m happy with the way it’s shaping up. There’s a perfect spot in the yard right next to my porch for it. The lights make all the difference, they really do.
I have a feeling we’ll be adding things and making adjustments right up to Halloween. It’s just who we are. 🙂 I’ve barely started on the porch too. I have some lights up and a few things set out but I have plans to do more. Plus there’s the bay window to finish. EEEEEK! So much to do! I have a LOT of vacation time at work I have to schedule before the end of the year so I’m thinking some of that time will be spent on Halloween projects. Sounds like a great vacation to me!
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