Hello Lumplings! It’s only three months to Halloween, and your beloved Uncle Zombii can hardly wait! Spooky goodies are already popping up in stores around the country, and it’s the perfect time to get a head start on some of those bigger projects that will really impress once the season is fully underway. Read on for a few ideas. I don’t know about you, my tasty little treats, but your Uncle Zombii always gets so busy during the month of October, that there’s hardly any time left to make new decorations for the house! So now, in the dog days of summer, is a great time to get a jump on the projects that have been rattling around inside your noggin since last October. If you have a few of those already, consider this your friendly reminder to get to work on them. If you need a little inspiration, here’s a few of my favorite ideas from around the interwebs to get you started.
Tombstones:
What front yard is complete without it’s own pop-up cemetery for the month of October? Since there’s plenty of time, why not take the time to make your’s really nice? Here’s a nice tutorial on how to make some real eye-poppers from styrofoam:
How to Make Styrofoam Tombstones For Halloween
And here’s another with great ideas for making them even sturdier: The Ten Minute Tombstone
Pumpkin Factory:
Now this may be a tad controversial, and I’d like it to be known that I am a staunch supporter of the use of natural pumpkins for decorating and carving, but artificial pumpkins have some tremendous advantages over their organic counterparts. I admit, it can be devastating when a particularly gruesome jack’o’lantern rots away, never to be admired again. Wouldn’t it be great to keep it forever? Even better, if you can save this year’s creations and bring them out again next year, pretty soon you’ll have a legion of glowing orange minions to do your bidding, and you know how your Uncle Zombii loves having legions of things to do his bidding. And remember, the earlier you start, the more you’ll have!
Anyway, this guy will show you how to make some.
(Don’t) Let the Bodies Hit the Floor:
Dummies and scarecrows are always welcome additions to a Halloween haunt. They add that “lived in” feeling when you can’t find a monster or homicidal maniac to stand outside your house 24/7.
Here’s a quick guide for making a basic pose-able frame out of PVC pipes.
And here’s one for those of you who prefer to work with wood.
And here’s a Grim fellow who looks great if you’re feeling particularly industrious.
Crossover Appeal:
Right now, we’re in a sweet spot where you can go to a craft store and find lots of Halloween merch, but it’s still easy to find summer items elsewhere. That make this the best time to snatch up supplies for a few items you might not be able to make if you wait until October. For instance:
or Tomato Cage Ghosts! Buy up lots of tomato cages, the’re useful as all get out. And I’m not just saying that because I’m secretly in the pocket of Big Tomato Cage.
Odds and Ends:
Some more great ideas that didn’t fit into any other categories.
I made something similar to this Vintage Light Fixture Halloween Moon a few years ago. It looks great. The only change I made was to cut the witch silhouette out of white vinyl and stick it to the inside of the globe. That way the effect is hidden during the day, and comes to life when the lamp turns on at night!
I love the idea of this fake landmark sign. Customize the text to something that suits your theme and location. If you want to cheat a bit, you can use wooden letters from a craft store or even those plastic magnetic letters for kids, instead of cutting them all out of foam. I won’t tell on you.
And last but not least is this charming yard sign. Again, you can customize the text to match whatever theme you’ve got going. I’ll bet some of the “norms” out there could even make use of this with a custom paint job in something a bit less…forboding. Oh, I think as a blogger I’m supposed to include the phrase “Dead and Breakfast” somewhere in proximity to a sign like this. I’m going to count that.
So there’s your inspiration for today. Will you be trying any of these, or at least getting a jump start on your ghastly creations for this year? Share what your doing over at your Uncle Zombii’s facebook page. Until next time…