Another budget friendly Halloween makeover!! This Halloween, I’m giving those basic Dollar Store yard stakes a gothic glow-up. With a little paint and imagination, you can turn those flimsy plastic Halloween stakes into a ghoulish border for your graveyard or walkway!
For the first time in what feels like forever, this year I decided to set up a graveyard among my outdoor Halloween flare. When I was going through all of my Halloween decor, I happened upon a box full of tombstones. I’m fairly certain I’ve had them for decades. They are mostly the cheap, crappy foam kind, so every year the box goes straight back on the shelf. I have absolutely no idea what came over me, but this time around… I thought “What the hell! I have them… I may as well use them!” Because a graveyard was never on my docket of things to do this Halloween season, it was put together with very little thought or creativity…. which eats at my soul, to be honest!! It’s far from my best work, but it did make me start giving some thought to actually assembling a well thought out graveyard. It certainly won’t happen in time for this year, but the wheels are spinning!
I offer up that little backstory…. because one day I found myself in the Dollar Tree, and saw these plastic Halloween yard stakes. At a bare minimum… I thought I could give them a makeover and they might just add a small touch of pizazz to that graveyard! I’m certainly happy with the way they turned out, and for a small, simple graveyard… they do the trick! If I do manage to create a grander, more elaborate graveyard in the future, I will likely be moving these to line my driveway. I think they would also be great lining a walkway!
I know that a lot of old fences tend to be wrought iron and in that case, the stakes could just be painted black…. but that just seemed too easy, and unlikely to look less plastic-y! These would look incredible if they were given a “rust” or “patina” treatment, but there was absolutely no way I was willing to put that kind of time, energy, and expense into these plastic stakes. I might have considered it if these were metal. For these, I was looking for a quicker win on a budget, while still making an impact, so I opted for faux Antique Gold. It’s a pretty simple process, with inexpensive supplies, and if you’re able to find these in your local Dollar Tree, you can easily have them finished in plenty of time for Halloween revelers to appreciate!
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Here’s what you’ll need:
- Halloween Yard Stakes (I found mine at the Dollar Tree, but here are the exact same ones on Amazon, as well as a similar alternate version)
- Plastic / Paper / Tarp / Drop cloth or old cardboard (to protect your painting area)
- Gold Spray Paint
- Paint Brush
- Stippling Brush
- Acrylic Paints – Glorious Gold, Black, and Burnt Umber
- Painting Cloths or Shop Cloths
- Nitrile Disposable Gloves (to protect your hands while painting)
- Wet Wipes
- Clear Acrylic Spray Paint – Matte
Step 1:
Spray Paint the stakes with the gold spray. You want full coverage wherever the stake has a colored surface (in this case the purple bat wings, red eyes, or red spider), but the coverage is less important wherever the stake is black. Just give one coat, and if there are splattered areas that didn’t get a full coat of paint, it’s just fine, because layering colors actually help with the overall look. In the photo to the right, notice how the black areas do not have full coverage of the gold spray paint. Know that this first coat of gold paint will absolutely not look any less plastic. This is simply the base coat, and I promise it will get better.
Step 2:
Once both sides are dry, using the paintbrush, paint the stakes with the glorious gold. This is an opportunity to paint any areas that were missed with the spray paint. Dry completely.
Step 3:
Working in small sections, use the stippling brush to paint the burnt umber onto the stakes. Immediately use a cloth to wipe the paint away from the raised surfaces (leaving the dark paint in the crevices). The paint will dry quickly which is why it’s best to work fast and in small areas. Alternately, use the wet wipes to wipe the paint away. The wet wipes will remove more of the burnt umber paint, leaving a brighter gold surface, while the cloth typically leaves a bit of the burnt umber behind creating a dull gold surface. The wet wipes will also work to remove paint if you’ve allowed it to dry for too long. Once the Burnt Umber has been wiped away, add a bit of black paint to the areas that need the most shading (in the case of this bat it would be the facial features, and neck and ear creases), and again wipe away with the cloth. Repeat this step until you’re happy with the coloring and the way it has blended. If you’re ever truly unhappy with the results… don’t fear. Just repaint in gold and start over.
Here’s a look at the stakes after each of the first 3 steps. From left to right: After painting with gold spray paint; After painting Glorious Gold; After applying Burnt Umber & Black
Step 4:
Lastly, spray the stakes with acrylic spray. The Rust-Oleum Clear Enamel is weather resistant, so not only will it seal the work you just did, it will keep these stakes looking good even after sitting outside in a haunted graveyard. I wanted the stakes to look old, so I opted for a matte finish, but if you’d prefer a shiny surface that looks a bit more like metallic gold, use a satin or gloss.
Step 5:
Time for the install! The stakes I found conveniently linked to one another, so I connected each of the chains, and inserted them into the ground, creating a border around my “graveyard”, alternating between the bat and spider stakes. I have these purple spot lights being delivered this weekend, so if they look good, I’ll try to take a nighttime shot and add it to this post! If you don’t have a graveyard, I think these stakes would also look really good lining a walkway!
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