[Kittie]

Alright, I want to make my own. I don't want to spend a ton of money, but I do want them to last a few years. What is the best stuff to make them out of, then to paint them and seal them with?

Any help would be appreciated. We fenced in our front yard this year with a picket fence and it will look like an awesome graveyard!

[Dadja]

I fyou take a look here: http://www.zombiepumpkins.com/winners-2004.php?cat=best

you can see the tombstones I made 2 years ago. It's just styrofoam of about 2 inches think. It cuts easily with a stanley knife, then I just painted them with ordinary water-based wall paint. If they're going to be outside, I'd suggest to use a varnish once they're painted as well, to make sure the color doesn't rain off. Or just save you the trouble and use acryll paint right away, although that will probably cost more than just water based paint + varnish...

I can't recall how much I spent on them, but it wasn't that much...

[Wedge]

Here is a site that has some great halloween ideas.
http://www.hedstorm.net/HAUNT/instructions/index.html I was thinking about making a few of my own this year as well. Let us know how they turn out.

[Kittie]

Well I ordered a dremel plunge attachment, and a wonder cutter. Got them both on ebay! Spent $33 so far. So we will see what these end up costing me.

[Wedge]

you can't just count the $33 as cost because those are usable on other adventures as well. Figure you will use them for 2 months a year for tombstones so at a prorated dollar amount you only spend
33 / 12months = 2.75 a month multiply by 2 Only $5.50 what a deal!!! Look how much you are saving already.

[mesmark]

I'm going to be doing a grave yard theme this year for my Halloween Party. I neither have the tools nor the time to make my own, so I'm planning on shelling out about $150 for tombstones and shipping to Japan. So, if you get good at creating you might have a nice eBay market out there to recoup some of those expenses. Halloween is growing into a worldwide phenomenon.

Basically make double and sell half to some sucker like me and you're in the black.

Please post some pictures when you get them finished. I loved the one we saw last year. Who was that BTW?

[Kittie]

I will be sure to post pictures. We will probably start them next weekend. I should have my tool sometime this week.

I have to do a few more window cut outs this year too.

[Zombie Pumpkins!]

The link Wedge posted has some of the most elaborate instructions for making tombstones that I've seen. Those look great! But the procedure seems almost too complicated for the average person.

For an alternate approach, you can also check out the "tips-n-tricks" section at HauntedHotSauce.com. Instructions for some pretty cool looking tombstones can be found there, as well as some other projects like boarded up windows, giant spiders, and coffin zombies.

[Kittie]

Hey now. . are you calling me average?
heheheheh

[Zombie Pumpkins!]

Hey now. . are you calling me average?

Heh, I was actually calling myself average. I don't think I'd have the motivation to make the elaborate tombstones shown on that one site. Certainly not the time, anyway. I've got pumpkins to design and carve!

[Kittie]

Well we shall see. I should have all my junk in the mail this week. So if I start them now, maybe I can finish a few before working on carving pumpkins. I will be sure to post some pics.

[Zombie Pumpkins!]

Can't wait to see the pics, Kittie. Good luck with your project.

[mesmark]

I bought some tombstones on ebay and found out the seller shipped them surface. Well, the slow boat to China makes it second stop over to Japan. I assume those ought to be here just in time for Christmas.

So I decided to make my own, just in case.

I got a 2mx2m sheet of hard thick styrofoam from the local home improvement center (about $9.) I cut that into 2 tombstone shapes.



I took some thin styrofoam ($3 per sheet) and cut out two designs for the engraving. Some people actually engrave with a wood burner or dremel but that's just too much work for me. I glued the engravings on with regular wood glue.





Then I bought some gray water based house paint and coated the tombstones. While the paint was wet, I took some black paint from a kid's paint set and made some streak marks for an aged effect. DONT USE SPRAY PAINT! The aresol will melt the styrofoam.





I'll add in pictures of them in the graveyard scene after my party.

[Zombie Pumpkins!]

Cool tombstones, mesmark. Simple but totally effective. They're gonna look great at your Halloween bash. It's always fun to see the photos from the events you hold, so I'm looking forward to that.

[Liderc]

Very cost effective.