Make Your Own: Gravestones

Easy Gravestone by Fran W.

To make an easy gravestone you will need:

Any cardboard box such as a cereal or a cracker box

Scissor

Gray construction paper or gray tissue paper

Black acrylic paint

Foam Brush

Foam stickers (Hallowen and letters)

White glue

Packing tape

Optional Items:

Ruler

Pencil

Gray acrylic paint

Hot glue

What to do:

Step 1: Close and Cover the box

 After taping or hot gluing the open end of the box closed, you can:

-  Measure and cut gray construction paper to fit each side and glue each panel to the box.

- Wrap the box up like a present with a large piece of gray tissue paper and then tape or glue together on the back and bottom. All the seems should go toward the back of the box.

- Turn the box inside out, recrease edges and hot glue it closed. Cover with white tissue paper, hot glue at the seems, and paint the whole thing gray.

After covering the box, paint the foam pieces you are planning to use black, let them dry, and glue them to the box.

Rounded Gravestone

To make a rounded gravestone like the one shown above, you will need:

Any cardboard box such as a cereal or cracker box

Scissor

Gray acrylic paint (or mix black and white)

Black acrylic paint

Foam brush

Halloween themed foam stickers

White tissue paper

Hot glue

Template to make rounded gravestone (optional)

(Template located on Fran's World Yahoo! group)

Step 1: Open box

Step 1:  Open up the box up at the seems.

The non printed side will be used for this project.

Recrease the all of the edges the opposite way so the the box refolds easily.

Step 2: Make arch

Step 2: Cut archs on the top of the box.

Draw your arch on the box and cut it out in one whole piece. The template can be used to help make the arch. Flip the cardborad cut out piece over and use it to shape the other side so that the two sides match up. Do not discard this template. Fold the box back up to make sure the sides match.

Step 3: Add extra piece to fill in arch

Step 3: Cut a long piece of the top of the box to cover the top of the arch.

Hot glue a long piece of cardboard from one of  the cut off arches in step 2 to the middle flap as shown above.

Front view of sealed box

Top view of sealed
box

Step 4: Fold up box and hot glue together.

Bring all of the sides together to reform the box, put a line of hot glue along each seem and close them together. Your box should look like the pictures on the left and right. 

If the top of your arch meets together easily, hot glue it closed.

Step 5b: Tissue covered box

Step 5a: Cover sides with
tissue paper

Step 5: Cover your box with tissue paper to smooth out the rough spots.
First, cut a long piece of tissue paper the width of your box and hot glue it around the outside to cover the top and to smooth out the rough looking sides. Don't worry about covering the bottom completely, it won't be seen. Then, wrap the entire box in white tissue paper like a gift - all of the seems should go to the back of the box.
Once the glue cools, paint the whole thing gray with a foam brush. The wet paint will soak into the tissue paper and give the stone a nice effect.

 



Finished project

Step 6: Adding
letters & icons

Step 6: Once the paint dries, apply your letters and icons.

Here are some suggestions:- Twist white tissue paper into long ropes, cut to desired length to form letters, put them on with hot glue and quickly fix into place with a toothpick. Use your fingers or a cotton swab and a little black paint to cover the letters, touch up mistakes with gray paint.

The picture above was done this way.

Tip: Damp fingers make twisting the paper much easier.

- Use hot glue to make letters and form words, then paint with your finger or a cotton swab.

- Paint foam letters and icons black and place them on the gravestone with hot glue.

- Paint your message on with a paint brush. This will not give you a 3-D effect, but it will still look great!

- Cut letters out of cardboard, paint them black, then apply them with glue.

Imperfection adds character to this project!