This year I debuted my first full-yard Halloween Haunt featuring a black light themed graveyard we've now named, "Rose Hollow" - with life-size DIY ghosts and upcycled glowing decor.
I managed to put this display together on THE CHEAP! Just about every
feature was either completely DIY or upcycled from household materials
or super cheap Dollar Store & Goodwill finds.
Here's a closer shot of my little graveyard space. Basic styrofoam tombstones bought on sale or at Dollar Tree were brought to life with a little UV paint. I bought eight 2ft sections of plastic 'skull' fence at the 99 Cent store ($1 per section, around $8 total!). I secured it to cheap wire landscaping border ($11 for a 15 foot roll), and sponge painted the skulls with UV reactive paint. I love the way they turned out!
After spending lots of time researching different construction methods
and playing with materials, I finally started to get the hang of making
ghosts. Using large, sturdy tomato cages as the base for the body
(turned upside down), I was able to create a realistic upper body shape
using chicken wire shaped into a torso. The head of the "mom ghost" was
made using formed chicken wire -- a method I will never use again for
ghost heads! From now on, my ghosts will have a head like the
"little girl ghost" - a basic styrofoam mannequin & wig
head secured to the chicken wire torso. EASY PEASY!
Here they are using a flash. I dressed "Mom" in an old wedding dress I found at Goodwill, cutting, pinning and fitting the fabric to fit her. I then draped various sections of white cotton, recycled lace tablecloths, gauze and cheesecloth until I got the look I wanted. For the "little girl", I cut and created a makeshift short-dress using white cotton fabric, then draped her with lace and cheesecloth. I created a gathered skirt by folding over a section of lace and creating a channel seam with a bead of hot glue. Once cooled, I threaded a strip of lace thru the waist and gathered it around her waistline to give the appearance of a cute, poofy dress. It also gave the impression that she was ACTUALLY floating! All the ghost heads were wrapped in fitted black cheesecloth for an eerie feel. Finally, using a large flat paint brush, I swiped a bit of Tide liquid laundry detergent in random areas. The Tide is very UV reactive and glows like crazy!
For my third and final ghost, "Dad", I formed a large torso from chicken wire and fixed it to a tomato cage. I allowed the chicken wire to extend down his back side so that when I suspended him from our front yard tree, the flap of chicken wire would support his draped fabric and give the illusion of him flying. It worked like a charm.
