DIY Gravestones

By Community Member: Wingsonfire 

Making Your Own Gravestones for less than $5.00 each!

I spent a couple months (between full time employment and having a life) testing out designs and materials, running them under garden hoses to test water resistance (it rains a lot where I live), and testing different types of paints.
I discounted plywood because it warps noticeably when it gets wet.
I took acrylic spray paint off of my list because it melted the Styrofoam.
I created prototype braces from Plywood, Styrofoam, Cardboard, Wire Clothes Hangers, and thick wooden stakes.
And finally, after multiple cuts, scrapes and scratches, I put my cat outside
(apparently he didn’t like the sound of Styrofoam being cut)
So, by February of 2008, I had designs, epitaphs, and the materials
ready to begin making my stones.
And thus, MY Halloween season begins!
MWAHAHAHAHA*coughcough!
*Sigh, I really need to work on my evil laugh.

 

If you have any questions or comments, I would love to hear them! I would also love to see your own personal graveyards, and with your permission, will post your graveyard pictures on this blog as well. If you are recommending something that I can do to improve my graveyard, please remember the following:

I am a tool when it comes to using tools…
I can use a screwdriver, a measuring tape
and a hammer…that’s about it…………

Materials needed (I found most of my materials at either the local dollar store, or Rona Hardware stores, with the exception of my paint brushes, which I only purchase at quality art stores because I’m kind of snobby like that):

• 2 to 3 inch thick Styrofoam (7ftX5ft sheet at Rona $13.99, I got 10 3ft tall stones, and 3 2 ft tall stones out of this sheet)
• Strong utility knife/box cutter
• Letter stencils (and numbers if you want dates)
• Soft or stone Grey spray paint (Acrylic Enamel is what I am using, check the packaging to make sure it’s good for foam)
• Clear Spray Paint (Acrylic enamel again, otherwise you’ll destroy your stone)
• Paint (Black) (I use the craft acrylic, it’s easier to spread and dries faster than standard canvas acrylic)
• Paint (Moss Green)
• Paint (Rust Red or Brown)
• Craft paint brush (make sure it’s a good and tough one, you don’t want cheap paint brush bristles sticking out of your sleek paint job)
• Wire coat hangers (I took extras out of my coat closet)
• Wire cutters (for cutting the coat hangers)
• Garbage bags, large flat cardboard for cutting and drop sheets for spray painting

**Caution Note**
Please watch your children carefully if they are helping you with this project as there are sharp blades involved.

**Additional Caution Note**
I know this one seems obvious, but don’t spray paint inside your house or closed garage, no matter how much warmer it is than outside. Besides the large mess that can occur, all spray paints contain toxins that you can inhale, and it is always safer for everyone involved to spray only in a wide open area (like your back yard) All animals and children should be well out of the area when spray painting as the overspray and fumes can be dangerous to small lungs. If you or your children do accidentally inhale the mist from the spray paint, it is always better to err on the side of caution and call your local poison control center.

Some Tips:
Map out how many stones you can “reasonably” place in the area that you want to use. Example: if you have a small front yard, or are only using the garden space, you may not want to have a large graveyard, and may even want to cut smaller stones. Keep in mind that a realistic looking cemetery has stones a MINIMUM of 1 foot apart to the sides, and 5 feet to the front and back. But these are only suggestions, and don’t mean that you can’t cram a few stones closer together for the crowded look.
Buy and/or prepare the items above, you won’t need the coat hangers until the paint is dry and you are ready to display your fabulously terrifying stones

Even though the spray paint has the word acrylic in the name, don’t let that fool you. Unless you clean up overspray IMMEDAITELY with proper cleaner, you will have a stain.

Decide on the shape of your stones. Sure, squares are easiest to cut, but they also look pretty boring if that's all you have. Try out curves and fun shapes to make your graveyard more personalized. I have put a pages worth of sample shapes that you can use for your stones. Some were created on my Microsoft Paint program, after visiting the local burial grounds, and others were taken from helpful sites off of the internet.

Take the time to surf the web for some epitaphs to use on your stones.Trust me, the kids and parents will stop to read them.
As creepy as this sounds…visit your local cemetery. Get some ideas about how real stones are shaped and cut. And pay close attention to the way the letters are arranged for a more realistic stone.
Ensure that the spray paint that you choose does say on it that it is suitable for craft foams. If it does not say this, you run the risk of literally melting the perfectly cut tombstone that you slaved away on for hours. Not to mention the fact that melting Styrofoam is extremely toxic to inhale.

And lastly…unless you have an extremely steady hand and are able to paint the bumpy surface freehand, make sure you carefully draw what you want before you pick up the brush. Trust me…I can paint, and I had to throw the first couple of stones away…what a waste.

 

Epitaphs
Here are some epitaphs that I have used in the past, or just thought would be great in someone’s cemetery. Some are true quotes on actual gravestones, and some are just silly phonetic names.

• This Space For Rent
• Look What I Can Do!
• U. R. Nekst
• Barry D’Alive
• Connection Terminated (perfect for your tech buddy)
• I Told You I Needed A Sick Day!
• Here Lies an Athiest, all dressed up and no where to go
• Openings Available, Ask About our Great Layaway Plan!
• Here Lies Dracula: Finally Bit Off More Than He Could Chew
• Jeffery Dahmer – mmm mmm good.
• Hers – Shot by her husband
• His – Hanged for shooting his wife
• Slim (very tall skinny tombstone or super short fat stone)
• Mothers Don’t Let Your Sons Grow Up to Be Pirates
• Al B. Rightback
• The voices told me to kill, they didn’t specify who
• Laughed to Death
• Joe, Suffered from Narcolepsy, but Loved to Sky-Dive

Shaping Your Stones:
Trace out your stone shape directly onto the Styrofoam sheet, use the bottom edge of the Styrofoam as much as possible (less to cut, and it’s more even than cutting the bottom edge yourself)

Using a sharp box cutter, (it will slice the foam neatly, so you won’t have nearly as many Styrofoam pills flying all over the place) CAREFULLY cut out the traced pattern, making sure that you cut all of the way through. I use a large sheet of cardboard in my front yard to cut on. Try to avoid using sawing motions, a straight cut motion will give you a smoother finish.  Also, please cut AWAY from yourself, just in case the blade slips.

Using the “Foam Safe” spray paint, completely spray the stone following the instructions on the can. I lay the stones flat down on garbage bags and sprayed in a sweeping motion starting at the top of the stone. Once the paint on the front side is dry enough to touch (which shouldn’t take long if you are using the paint that I recommended) spray paint the edges with the same color. From experience, it took approximately three full coats of spray paint to fully hide the white foam underneath. You may want to allow some of the white to peak through to allow for a “weathered” look. Allow the stone to air dry after every coat.

Once both sides and the edges are painted, , decide on your pattern/epitaph. Carefully stencil out what you want on the stone, keeping in mind that it’s easier to lightly draw in the stencils with a light pencil mark then it is to re-spray the entire stone. When using the stencils move your paintbrush in a swirl pattern, making sure that the paint does not bleed underneath the stencil.
Using a paint brush, fill in the stenciled writing and/or designs with black or very dark paint. Usually, if the paint is of decent quality and is a dark enough shade, you only need one coat.

Using the red and green shades of paint, brush some moss and streaks on the stone to make it look moldy
Spray a clear coat on all sides of the stone. This will seal it and ensure that it doesn’t fade after only a couple of years.
Using a pair of wire clippers, carefully cut each metal wire hanger into four even parts. You can dispose of the hook end as it’s pretty tough to straighten it.

Delicately shove the cut wires into the base of the stone, ensuring that the wires can’t slip out easily. If you find that your stones don’t stand straight enough, or don’t seem strong enough, you can either use more coat hangers, or use a piece of the hanger as a back support

When your stones are ready, plant them in your yard. You don’t need a pattern, but I find it fun to create a small roped off area with “No Trespassing” signs (you can also use the extra Styrofoam left over to make these) so that your stones aren’t accidentally trampled by sugar high ghouls and boils.

Finishing Touches:

• Stuff winter gloves with newspaper and bury them halfway in the ground, so it looks like something is coming out of the ground
• If you have a strobe light, use it. Place it in an out of the way spot so that the kids don’t trip on cords
• Scary music is a must, find a good CD with sounds and music, and put it on loop all night
• If you really like to scary the little devils, find a scary costume and stay stationary until the trick or treaters are nice and close, and then jump out at them. If this works…you many end up with some extra candy!!

Storing the Stones:

1. Carefully pull out the wires from the bottom of the stone
2. Clean the dirt and moisture off of the wires and wrap them in paper towel and tape so that they don’t rust. If you had to customize the wire size for specific stones, make sure to loop a note around the wires so you don’t have to search for it next year
3. Store the stones and wires in a cool and dry space. I store mine in a couple of large boxes, tall and wide enough to close without squishing the foam. And it also ensures that the stones keep their shape, and resist fading and dust.

This is how I arranged the stones on the Styrofoam sheet prior to cutting them out. As you can see, I reused the same patterns a couple of times. The middle squares shows the amount of extra Styrofoam I had left over once the stones were cut out. This space can be used to make signs for your graveyard.

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