Easy to Make Graves

Here is a really quick Instructable to put some holiday scary into your outdoor Halloween decorations.

Add a few easy to place and easy to cleanup graves to your front yard.

I have seen this done before online, but everyone tries to rake up the pine needles into a pile in front of the tombstone. I don't get it...and I think I have a much easier method. I won't make this too complicated, because it isn't, so just a few pictures and only a couple of steps.

Step 1: Place the Headstone

First, you will need to get a few items. For this Intstructable I am making 3 graves. You need:

1. 3 tombstones (Target)

2. 1 bale of pine needles (Lowes)

Put the tombstones where you want them in your yard (I like them close together to give a better effect). This will also reduce the chance of them getting trampled when the candy seekers are running around your yard.

Step 2: Place the Pine Needles

Ok, yes a complete "duh" step.

But what I have found is: cut the twine off of the pine needle bale while it is on the ground. The bale consists of several layers of needles from left to right. You can separate the bale into 9 or so sections.

Rather than shaking the needles in place like they do when using them for landscaping, use 3 clumps for each tombstone and keep them intact.

Step 3: Finished

What you end up with is a defined "fresh grave" rather than a messy grave.

Once Halloween is over you can VERY easily pick up the three clumps and either use in your yard, give to a neighbor (what I do) or put in your yard waste. There is no need to have to rake it up. You can see in the second picture where I removed the three clumps by hand.

It is a super fast way to add to your decorations and pickup is even quicker! I hope this helps!