For Halloween this year, I wanted to decorate our yard and spend as little money as possible. I definitely wanted tombstones for our front yard, but didn’t want to spend a dollar a piece on something that will break easily. Even though it was only ONE BUCK per tombstone, I wanted it to last longer than a few days. I told my dearest husband that we should make our own this year, and one day he cut up some scrap wood we had piled up in a corner, and made them into the shape of tombstones. Then we painted two coats of black paint on the front and back of them. Wal-Mart sells small cans of indoor/outdoor paint for about four dollars.
I then started making my designs in Silhouette Studios. Once I was happy with them, I cut out test pieces on printer paper to double-check the sizing. Once I was fully satisfied with the size and placement, I cut out the designs on contact paper from Dollar Tree (because I didn’t want to waste my expensive, nice vinyl). I then peeled off the main design and stuck it on the wood. This part can be tricky because the contact paper is so cheap, it might have a problem sticking to the painted wood. Don’t worry, just press really hard for a short period of time, careful not to move it, and that should help. After my pieces were on the wood, I put a very light layer of gray spray paint on top. Be sure not to spray too close to the stencil because the pressure from the paint may blow off the design or get paint under it. The layer of paint should be just enough to hold the stencil down, let it dry, then spray another layer. You can make it as dark or as light as you want it. I thought mine was perfect the way it was. After they all dried, I turned them over and gave the backs a spray. Make sure to get the edges too. My husband then made stakes that we screwed into the bottom of the tombstone. After that, we placed them where we wanted them, and pushed them into the ground. I was really proud of them. They caught the attention of our neighbors, whom I hoped enjoyed them just as much as we did.
The font is used is called Haunt AOE and can be downloaded for free here.
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sharingsaintromain 