Stone Spray Tombstones

Materials and Tools:

two pieces of 1/4" thick plywood 14" x 24"
two 18" wooden garden stakes
18" wooden garden stake trimmed down to 14" (cut off spiked end)
two pieces of plastic foam trimmed to 14" x 3" (for lengthwise of the face of tombstone)
one piece of plastic foam trimmed to 8" x 3" (for top face of the tombstone)
two strips of thin balsa wood 24" long and trimmed to 1-1/2" wide (for sides of tombstone)
two large white silk roses
10 smaller white silk flowers
wooden letters spelling "R-I-P"
stone spray paint
pencil or pen
hot glue gun and glue
1" long nails
hammer

Steps:

1. Line up the two spiked garden stakes at the bottom of the first piece of plywood leaving about 4" of the spiked tip hanging off the end and about 3" from either side lengthwise. Nail into place.

2. Line up the trimmed stake along the top edge of your tombstone as a support beam. Nail into place.

3. Line up the second piece of plywood on top of the existing base so that the stakes are in the middle of the plywood sandwich. Nail into place. To ensure stability, nail through the top plywood into each stake.

4. Hot glue balsa wood around the two open edges. Do not nail, the balsa wood will split.

5. Hot glue the foam pieces onto the face of your tombstone, essentially creating a three-sided frame.

6. Hot glue the large silk roses into the top two corners of the foam on the face of the tombstone.

7. Hot glue about five smaller flowers into the plastic foam strips running down each side of your tombstone.

8. Glue down the wooden letters to spell "RIP." Using a pencil or pen write out a date for the tombstone.

9. Trace over the written numbers using hot glue.

10. After the glue has dried, spray the entire tombstone (front and back) with the stone spray paint, making sure to get inside the creases of the flower petals. Allow the paint to dry for 24 hours.