How to make Witch Halloween yard decoration

Ghosts, Goblins, Black Cats, The Great Pumpkin …..and don’t forget the Wicked Witch of the West! Halloween is almost upon us so we better dust off those old yard displays! What, they got eaten up by moths and critters? They are no longer useable? Here’s a project you can do to make at least one of them last for years …..make a Witch Halloween Yard Decoration out of plywood and see How to Make Old Indian Man Halloween Costume and below for more information. This article will show you what you need, discuss how to put it together, offer some alternatives to consider and leave you smiling when you complete your new decoration! Get ready for the costumes at your door on October 31st! ….with their trick-or-treat bags of course!

Things you'll need:

Pictures of Witches, Black Cats, Fences, graveyard scenes and other Halloween items you can use for your yard decoration…see How to Make Pumpkin Patch Yard Decoration
¾” exterior plywood
1x2 p. t. wood stakes
coping saw or jig saw
sand paper
wood filler
hammer and nails or screwdriver and galvanized screws
can of black color spray enamel
exterior enamel paint- white, and spots of yellow for eyes!
thinner and brushes
copy of the author’s article on How to Make Easel for Yard Decoration Support

LOOK FOR THINGS YOU’LL NEED. Scrounge for leftover plywood for witch cutouts and 1x2 stakes. Find magazines pictures of other Halloween creatures. Visit a Michaels craft store or Lowes for the black spray enamel, the yellow eyes color, and others.. Screws or nails, sanding-blocks, and wood filler should also be purchased.
TRANSFER OUTLINE OF THE WITCH LIKE THE ONE IN THE SKETCH. A soft, No. 2- HB pencil is best to use. Turn picture over, shade witch outline and features. Turn picture over, tape to plywood piece larger than outline, use pencil or scribe to mark. Avoid damaging witch picture (you will need it as a color guide). Remove picture for cutting plywood after scribing outline,
LOOK FOR VARIETY OF WITCH PICTURES. You may want to cut out several witches in different poses. Some would be smaller so they look like they were flying far away.
SKETCH YOUR WITCH YARD THEME TO FOLLOW. Hay bales make great backgrounds and ways to elevate witches flying above ground with other Halloween decorations interspersed. Use smaller groupings of loose hay with decorations for real harvest moon effect. Use old damaged picket fences for character. Try a real scraggly broom like you see with witch pictures. you can make one with pieces of hay tied around a fat, scraggly long stick from the woods! The witch sketched in Step 2 is designed to hold one of these brooms!
CAREFULLY CUT SCRIBED OUTLINE. Minimize major splintering of plywood by placing masking tape over penciled outlines prior to cutting (careful that you don’t lose outline, it must read through masking tape). When finished cutting, remove tape, sand plywood edges and surface before painting. Use wood filler on splits and openings before sanding. If plywood cutout is hand smooth, it’s ready for painting.
USE BLACK SPRAY ENAMEL COMPLETELY ON PLYWOOD CUT OUT FRONT AND EDGE. Let dry, paint second coat, let it dry. Draw in your black cat shapes and faces with white pencil. You can also use transfer outline technique as in previous step. Sketch final details, paint, let dry. Attach stake as described in Step below.
CUT 1X2 STAKES TO LENGTH. Allow for depth of snow if it does in your area of country. Cut and sharpen stakes accordingly when you know how much exposed wood is needed. You can use another means of anchoring, see How to Make Easel for Yard Decoration Support
USE SCREWS OR NAILS FOR FASTENING STAKES TO WITCH. Place decoration so it remains vertical to ground or elevate by placing on bale of hay. Secure firmly. Drive stakes in ground or in bale of hay. Check for plumb. Call all your neighbors to get an early viewing of your new decoration. Be sure and spread a little hay around.! Now on to your next Holiday Decoration project like How to Make An Elf Holiday Yard Decoration