DIY Halloween Gravestones

   Halloween is kinda a big deal at my house plus it is my youngest's birthday which brings it to a whole new level because with costume parties, cake, and loads of candy in one day you can't really go wrong.  ;)

   My husband goes out of his way to pretend to be boring and not care about the holiday but I know better. He told me he was talking to his sister and she brought up DIY gravestones and he suggested getting foam boards to make them and I was like yeah maybe plywood instead. I had always wanted to but sorta forgot and never got around to it. That night I looked up some videos on YouTube and the next morning we went to Home Depot where I headed straight to the foam insulation without verbally admitting he was right. 

  Here's the awesome part.... It's cheap and easy.

  All you need is 

☑️ 1 or 2 thick foam insulation boards I got the 2' by 4' boards which makes  3 gravestones each. Cost under $7 each

☑️ 1 thin insulation board for embellishments. Cost under $3

☑️ 1 can of cheap flat black paint. Cost .99

☑️1 hot glue gun

☑️ thinish metal stakes or cut wire hangers 

☑️ 1 box cutter exacto utility knife. Cost $7

The foam insulation has plastic on both sides usually one white side and one foil side.

I used the white side to draw on because it's ok to make mistakes on the plastic. Then cut my final design, when finished cutting and filling in the letters with black marker to be more visible remove the white plastic but leave the backside on because it helps keep it together. When carving the letters on the grave insert the blade at an angle toward each other on both sides of the letter then remove the carved letter with your finger. This can get a little messy with the foam.

At this point you can go ahead and carefully insert the metal stakes or wait til after painting. Spray painting is super easy just use short spuratic bursts to make it look like stone. You don't want to fully cover with the black paint. You want it to look more grey.

We have made 3 so far and have 3 more to make. These are cheaper than the store ones and I think will last longer and the best part is that I can personalize them.