DIY Network

Ghoulish Gourds and Creepy Tombstones Give your yard that haunted feel with spooky hanging gourds and creepy tombstones. From "Witch Crafts" episode DWCR-101

DIY's Witch Crafts hosts, Cathie Filian and Steve Piacenza, demonstrate how to create ghoulish gourds and creepy tombstones for your Halloween decorations.

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	Dazzle your neighbors with ghoulish gourds — the facial expression says it all!
	Figure A

Ghoulish Gourds

Materials:

dried and cleaned gourds
ivory spray paint
black craft paint
detail paintbrushes
power or hand drill and a ¼" bit
wood bead
black twine
dowel or metal rod
tape

1. Spray paint the gourds and one wooden bead for each gourd with ivory spray paint. Allow the paint to dry.

2. Paint eyes, nose and a spooky mouth on the gourds with black craft paint (see image, above right). Allow the paint to dry.

3. Drill a hole into the top and bottom of each gourd with the drill and ¼" bit.

4. Tape the end of a piece of twine to the dowel or metal rod. Feed the dowel or rod through the top of the gourd and out the bottom. Remove the tape and tie the end of the twine to a painted wooden bead (figure A).

5. Hang the gourds in trees or in a doorway to spook the neighbors.

Lions, tigers and tombstones, oh my! Dress up your yard with DIY's Witch Crafts gourds and stone spray tombstones.

Stone Spray Tombstones

Materials:

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

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 (figure B). Nail into place.

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

Figure B

Figure C

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 (figure D). Nail into place. To ensure stability, nail through the top plywood into each stake.

4. Hot glue balsa wood around the two open edges (figure E — lengthwise). Do not nail, the balsa wood will split.

Figure D

Figure E

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

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 (figure G).

Figure F

Figure G

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

9. Trace over the written numbers using hot glue (figure I).

Figure H

Figure I

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

Figure J

Figure K

Stick the tombstone in your yard to spook up the neighborhood.

For more fun Halloween projects, pumpkin-carving templates and spooky-good videos, visit Halloween Pumpkin Palooza!