DIY Headstones!

Here is how to make the coolest "authentic looking" Halloween headstones for less than $10.00!  I was thrilled with how these turned out...and so were my kids!  I came up with this idea when my son decided to have a Halloween party.  I wanted to put headstones in the yard, complete with funny epitaphs.



I made them out of "Foamular Rigid Insulation" from Home Depot.  View the product here.  It is a Styrofoam- like insulation that comes in large pink sheets. (1"x 24" x 96")  The price is usually around $8 or $9 a sheet.

You will also need:
Black and white craft paint
Serrated knife
paintbrushes (one big, one small)
old hangers or rigid wire
wire cutters



(The middle one is from the dollar tree.  I bought a couple of those to intersperse amongst the others)

After deciding the sizes that I wanted to make, I penciled the shapes of the tombstones onto the pink insulation board and then cut them out with a serrated knife.  Next, I mixed up some black acrylic craft paint with a little white, to make a charcoal color.  I painted each headstone a little bit different shade of gray (just  add white or black to your mixture until you get the shade you want).  You may need to thin it with some water to spread it a little easier.  I like how the paint seeped in in some spots.  It added texture and made the headstones look more realistic!  I love it when mistakes work out!



Be sure you paint the front and back.  The next photo shows the bottom of a headstone.  See the holes? (those are to mount them later).  Just thought I'd show you the underside.  :)



I then googled epitaphs, and painted my favorite ones in white paint on the fronts of each headstone.  After that, I cut up some hangers into 8 or 9  inch pieces to stick into the bottom of each headstone.  I would use 2 or 3 wire rods for each one.  Leave a few inches of wire sticking out the bottom of the headstone to push into the grass.

And that's all there is to it!  This is a great project for older kids to assist with.  Have fun!