# Tombstones with a twist



## ahwahneeliz (Jun 3, 2008)

First... I'd like to thank MourningCemetery.com for input and triggering my work on these stones. 

I get to create and run the haunted house for our local Lions Club. I was wandering about the Web, and came upon a light up tombstone and Mourning Cemetery. I presented the idea of getting sponsors to the club and creating custom light up tombstones for each, which the club thought was great. Here are two examples of what I have done so far. 
They are both carved through with a Hot Wire hot knife foam cutter. For the first (Oakhurst Feed) I used a color changing battery operated pumpkin light, lined the inside of the stone with foil to reflect the light, then completed the stone as usual. I opted for this type of light because they are LED and batteries last a long time, batteries instead of cords allow me to freely place the stones where I want AND no cords to hide. This thing looks really good at night... I am so looking forward to showing the committee and the sponsor. There are two short pieces of PVC which will fit over wire stakes driven in the ground (thanks Mourning Cemetery for that idea).

The other is going to be marketed to our local Jamba Juice, and I wanted them to see how nice it could look. After printing their logo from a web site, I cut through the foam. I had a clear plastic folder that I cut to fit behind the cut outs, then colored them with permanent stamping ink. I had tried felt pens, but the colors were not vivid enough. I am going to try and find some colored transparent plastic for a vivid and consistent color that doesn't smear, but I doubt I can find the colors I need. It is not finished of course, but I wanted to show the colors and the logo. Perhaps there are some other community service haunts out there that could use promotion/sponsorships to raise funds, or just someone looking for different ideas for tombstones.


Initial cuts









Inside front, thinned and painted









Center cut out to create hollow cavity for lighting effect. Also, cut it for pvc pipes.









Inside back of stone, with foil and light cut in... pvc pieces set in.









finished stone day light









finished stone, night time










the beginning of the Jamba stone... I am very happy with the colored effect.


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## maleficent (May 20, 2007)

Now that is different! Lovin' it.


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## LT Scare (May 21, 2008)

Great Idea!! Very creative.

Burma shave on tombstones!


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## Freak 'N' Stein (Feb 14, 2007)

Very very imaginative...just may be the next wave in Marketing for haunts!!! Did you use colored tissue for the Jamba Juice stone?


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## BooBerrie (Jan 1, 2008)

Those look great. I have one of those pumpkin lights....seems like I might have to add another tombstone project to my list! Thanks for sharing the pics!


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## Spookilicious mama (Feb 27, 2008)

Great look I love the effect!!


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## Handy_Haunter (Oct 14, 2007)

Hey ahwahneeliz,

You said that you wanted to find some plastic in the right colors? Go to your local there supply store. You can get a product referred to as 'Gel' that is thin transulcent colored pieces of plastic that is meant to go in front of theatre lighting. You can get it in every color under the rainbow, so it would be really easy to match the colors of a sponsor. The stuff is pretty cheap too. 

Great job, keep up the good work!
-Handy_haunter


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## ahwahneeliz (Jun 3, 2008)

Handy_Haunter , thanks for the idea... I'll have to head to "the big city" one of these days. We have very little in our neck of the woods. was that theater supply? Maybe I can even get some one line... that'll prolly be the way to go, but I do like seeing stuff in person so I know I get the colors I need.


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## Handy_Haunter (Oct 14, 2007)

Yeah, just look up a theatre supply store in your area. I would pull out the yellow pages, it shouldn't be too hard to find one. 

I can understand about wanting to see the product before you buy it, and there is a great solution to that. One of the brands of gel, called 'Roscoe', has hundreds of different colors and has a little sample book that most of these stores have and will sell to you for a couple of dollars. You could order a sample book, which I'm sure they would ship to you, and find the colors you want from there, then order bigger sheets. It's a great way to go.

-handy_haunter


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## Camtan1 (Oct 14, 2007)

Can you tell me where you found the hot wire knife? That really does a better job than my sheet rock saw!!!


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## Mr. Halloween (Oct 7, 2007)

*WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!*


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## pandora (Jul 15, 2004)

That's a great idea for your sponsors. I'm sure they'll love being part of the haunt in a different way. Very creative!!


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## ahwahneeliz (Jun 3, 2008)

you can look at the company here... 
Hotwire Foam Factory
there is a great gallery too, with many wonderful creations that people have done. I bought my hot wire stuff from INTERNET MODEL TRAINS™ - Model Railroading and Toy Trains
select tools, then a sub category, foam working tools. They have even better prices than the foam factory itself. I'm not an expert, but if you have questions, feel free to email me and I'll try to answer them.


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## crossblades400 (Aug 14, 2008)

Thats really Cool, if only I knew where i could get some foam


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## crossblades400 (Aug 14, 2008)

ahwahneeliz said:


> you can look at the company here...
> Hotwire Foam Factory
> there is a great gallery too, with many wonderful creations that people have done. I bought my hot wire stuff from INTERNET MODEL TRAINS™ - Model Railroading and Toy Trains
> select tools, then a sub category, foam working tools. They have even better prices than the foam factory itself. I'm not an expert, but if you have questions, feel free to email me and I'll try to answer them.


Oh, so i can get foam tombstones there? or


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## Terra (Sep 23, 2007)

crossblades400 said:


> Thats really Cool, if only I knew where i could get some foam


If it's foam used for tombstones you can get it at Home Depot or Lowe's. The blue or pink kind is the easiest to work with.

Ahwahneeliz: Check out the picture of the house I saw at the link you provided: _*Foam Fangs!*_


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## ahwahneeliz (Jun 3, 2008)

ACK! Somehow (pilot error) I managed to unsub from this thread... I wasn't ignoring y'all, I promise. Blades, you can get the foam at most larger home improvement centers. If you live in a small town (or outside of one like me, can we say the sticks) you might be able to get it at the local lumber supply for a greatly inflated price. I use the regular white (expanded little beads like the cheapo ice chests) in a couple of thicknesses. In our area it is about 1/3 the price of the pink and blue, and the carving I do comes out just fine on it. I also get scraps from our local Sears store, they sell a fair amount of refrigerators and I find some pretty good pieces there. I have recently discovered that pet stores receive their fish in protective foam boxes, and these have great shapes. You can use a variety of blades to cut, shape and carve. I have a set of hot wire foam tools that I love. If you run a search on this forum or the web, you should be able to find plenty of info... or you can PM me and I'll gladly answer any questions I can... although there are some very talented foam carvers here.

Terra, I've seen that pick and get a kick out of it. It's also a good reminder to think outside the box with materials and what you can do with them.


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## Magickbean (Dec 6, 2007)

What a fantastic innovation!!! Definitely a great way to spice up the ol' graveyard


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## Mistress of the Abyss (Sep 21, 2007)

You are so lucky to be able to create a haunted house!

Love the idea!!!!!


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## rebelxwing (Oct 7, 2008)

Nice idea and well executed. Good way to get funds for your haunt!


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