A few weeks spent going through twenty years worth of things stored in my basement, made me realize just how much crap we humans like to hang on to. I did come across a few salvageable items like these spiral obelisks, which were given a second life just in time for Halloween. A fresh coat of paint, a selection of skulls, and a nice assortment of bloody human parts did the trick.
Materials
- anything vertical that can be placed in a planter, like these round wooden obelisks
- paint (optional)
- Halloween decorations
- glue gun
- fishing line
- sewing needle
- scissors
- wire & wire cutters
Instructions
1. You can use just about anything as a base to add decorations to. Just make sure it easily fits in your planters. Thrift stores and yard sales are great places to find this sort of thing, as well as garden centres. If a coat of paint is required, Halloween colours like black, orange and white will work best. If spray painting, do it outside, and cover the ground with something like newspaper. In my haste, I completely forgot to do this, and have a nice black spot on my lawn. Only one spot, though, since common sense kicked in before spraying the second one.
2. I found using a glue gun worked well for most things, but some rubbery body parts refused to adhere. For those, I threaded a needle with fishing line, and pulled it through the part to attach it to the wood. I also used fishing line in a similar manner for hanging things in the centre. Wire worked well for attaching heavier items like the bat.
I noticed that this year, for Halloween, dismembered and zombified dolls seem to be all the rage. A little visit to Pinterest will reveal some pretty cool and creepy examples. I have a few on my Halloween board.
Remember how Sid, from A Toy Story, terrorized everyone with his mutant toys? That’s also a great idea for making unique looking decorations. I know what I’ll be looking for this summer in yard sales. Happy decorating and dismembering!
ArtClubBlog 
OMG, I totally LOVE these! I loved the little blood filled syringe too! What did you use to make those little round black ghouls in the last photo?
Very nice! We have a lot of broken toys, we can try…
Wonderful! I wish I had saved some, and will have to rely on yard sales now.
Oh those are so fun! I wish I had a basement full of treasures! Now I’m off to follow your halloween board and probably all of the rest of them!
You never disappoint with your creativity!
Halloween can do that to people!
Great idea !!
Thank you!
man, this is good!
This is so fun!!! I may have to copy you next year:)
My son would really like this creepy planter idea. Thanks for sharing at Inspire Us Thursday on Organized 31.
These sure look scary! Love how they completely change when painted black. You could use them now in many ways.
How cool and truly unique! Thanks for sharing this wonderfully creative idea. I missed it this year, but I know what I’ll be doing with my kids next October! Cheers
Cheers to you too 🙂