13 Oct DIY: $50 Halloween Fence
We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again, Halloween is our absolute favorite holiday of the year. Aside from our love of pumpkins and the color orange Halloween combines creativity and good ole fashioned fun for an evening filled with spirits, spooks and spells. Though this tends to be a pretty low pressure holiday, if you are hosting a bash it is easy to get overwhelmed with projects. The cost of decorations can add up quickly and before you know it you’ve spent hundreds of dollars on items that will only be out for a few short weeks. However, we pride ourselves on achieving the look for less so you are in luck. We have a fun spooky fence project your guests are sure to remember and will only cost you about $50 for materials…and a few short hours of your time.
To construct the fence you will need just a few supplies all of which we picked up at our local Home Depot but are also available online.
1 ) 42″ Beveled Balusters. We spaced ours about 4ft. apart and used a total of 20, 10 for each side, for our walkway.
2) 2 Packages of Everbuilt 3/8″ Twisted Manila Rope
3) 2-3 Bottles of Quick Color Spray Paint
4) Faux Spider Webs (not pictured)
Required Tools which we already had on hand. We use these pretty often for seasonal decorating so they are well worth the investment!
2) A good drill. Ours is a 20 volt cordless by Dewalt and we absolutely love it.
Step 1: Mark the posts where you will drill. We measured 2″ down centered.
Step 2: Drill where you marked. This is the fun part….ooooo….power tools!
Tada! Perfect!
Step 3: Spray the balusters. Since this is a Halloween fence do not stress about this being a perfect paint job or sanding the balusters. The rough appearance delivers better spookability (yes we know, not technically a word but it should absolutely be added to the Halloween dictionary).
Step 4: Using the rubber mallet, hammer your balusters in the ground until they feel sturdy, roughly about 6 inches. Do yourself a favor and do this step after it has rained when the ground is soft and use a measuring tape to evenly space your balusters. Also, be sure your drilled holes are all facing the same direction while running the length of your walkway.
Step 5: Tie a knot in your rope and run it through the holes of your balusters. Be sure to let the rope hang down a few inches from the drilled holes.
Step 6: Stretch, pull, twist, wrap and drape your spider webs over the balusters and rope. There is no rhyme or reason to this process. Just go to town and achieve supreme spookability!
*Optional* Step 7: We have a large collection of glass canning jars and remote control tea lights on hand so we opted to add a little sparkle to our walkway. Yes, one may argue canning jars are so out but here’s the deal…they are inexpensive and multi-functional. And bonus, they have a lid so they can stay outside without the tea lights getting destroyed. Boom! But, if you suffer from ‘Canning-jar-a-phobia’ you have a couple other options.
Option one, lunch bag luminaries. These are definitely a budget friendly winner at about $2 for 50 at Walmart.
Option two, you could go with a more traditional lantern like these from ikea. These are pretty inexpensive ($3.99 each) and can certainly be used for a multitude of events.
Option three, seek support for ‘Canning-jar-a-phobia’ and just buy canning jars. Seriously, they are less than $8 for a dozen, reusable and mother earth will love you forever because you didn’t waste paper. We even found a simple, brandless option. Go forth and conquer your fear here.
