DIY Halloween Yard Art

Woopsie Daisies

September got away from me.
That, of course, is a gross understatement.

Let me say how much I love Halloween. I start planning next year's Halloween typically during the current Halloween season. I have 5 tubs of indoor Halloween decorations as well as large pieces kept in the garage. I have enough tombstones for a front yard cemetery that you have to drive by at a small distance to be able to see it all.

So when I missed the first of October, please understand how horridly shamed I am. Not only did I not get my DIY Halloween post out at the end of September, but I haven't even decorated the yard. October 1st is the day Halloween explodes onto my yard all at once and somehow, this year, it hasn't.

At the end of September, Tony and I went on vacation. This was a very big deal for us both as individuals and as a couple. Except for a band trip I took as a freshman in high school, I haven't ever gone on vacation. It just isn't something my family ever did. As an adult I've never been able to afford to go on vacation, and when I could, there wasn't anyone to cover my cleaning locations. Tony and I have never gone away together, let alone 4 hours alone in the car together. But! I'll post about our vacation later.

So let's talk about that DIY Halloween project.

 

We have both enjoyed Pokémon for many years. Tony has played the Gameboy games, avidly watched the television show, and collected the first generation trading cards. I personally started playing the Pokémon TCG a few years ago and have been hooked ever since. Shout out to Gnome Games in Green Bay and (at the time) 7 year old Libby who gave me the worst beat down I've ever received in a game. Since the launch of PokémonGO! this summer, we have been living Pokémon. So why not haunt our yard for Halloween with them?

So I used my special tool. My go-to source of help and information (and an SUV) is my father. I stole him from my mother and we hit up Home Depot's lumber department. I decided on wood cut outs as soon as I had the idea so my father helped my pick out a suitable thickness of wood. Do I remember the thickness? Nah. But here it is in our living room.

  

 The supplies I used were the wood paneling, pencils, permanent marker, and Google image search!

I'm pretty good at drawing already existing images, but cannot for the life of me create a whole new image from my own mind. Now since I'm keeping these cut-outs for myself and won't be using them in any manner that will bring in money for myself, I'm not particularly concerned about Trademarks. However, should you decide to do a project like this and would be selling them, make sure your backside is covered, okay?

So I decided to keep the number of images down. I planned on only making 4-5 cutouts so that I don't overdo it and actually FINISH the project!

I went with these 4 creatures! I drew them out with pencil first and drew over the final design with permanent marker. My fabulous father cut them out for me with a jigsaw.

After having them cut out, I made sure to sand the edges. It's kind of important, so make sure to do it!

So let's get painting! I did the majority of my painting with spray paint. If you decide to go this route, paint the whole thing white first. Unsealed materials are notoriously difficult to get a good spray paint coat on. It just soaks in, and in the case of wood grain, you can still see all the swirls and lines. I used Dutch Boy's Dura Clean paint + primer in a flat white for exterior. I chose a flat paint so the spray paint would adhere better. It's an acrylic latex paint so it's ridiculously easy to clean up. After painting them with 2 coats (with dry time in between) I went to town. I chose spray paints that are a combination of glossy and flat. At the end I sealed them with a glossy outdoor sealer anyway, so it didn't really matter for those. I did all my spray painting outside on the lush grassy areas of my yard. It didn't hit the root systems that way and would just get cut off during the next mowing. You absolutely can kill your grass if you spray on the short stuff, so be warned!

 

Some were a little trickier to paint. I employed a technique I learned in high school. Instead of expensive artist tape, I used cheap cheap cheap masking tape and it worked great! 

I cheated on the details. I tried doing nice lines in a black paint, but I just don't have a fine enough brush for it. How did I manage it then? Black permanent marker over the top of the paint. Sharpie to be exact. When I was happy with the look, I took them outside and sealed them all with a clear glossy exterior spray. On 2 of them, my father attached a wood stand to the back fastened by a door hinge so they can fold away flat for storage. On the Haunter I completed, I attached an eye hook to the top, and a metal bracket for hanging on the Ghastly. So now all that was left was to place them!

Ghastly

Muk

Haunter

 

Thanks for stopping by! Check us out next week with an update on the domestics!