Tombstones

These tombstones are quick and easy. This method works best with the kind of styrofoam that looks like a bunch of little styrofoam balls compressed together (easier to paint harder to shape) but any will do in a pinch. What I had on hand was the air puffed harder styrofoam.

The harder the styrofoam the easier it is to shape it with only your hands, no cutting tools needed. The dome shape and carved out sides were done completely with my hands only. I used a wallpaper seam roller to flatten (crunch) the edges, front and back, but fingers will work too. This gives the tombstone a more finished look and will keep the paint from absorbing into the stone so much. With the softer styrofoam this isn't necessary and just plain doesn't work.

The letters were drawn on and carved out with just a sharpened soft lead pencil (a 4B I believe). The softer the lead the darker the out line, the easier to see. With softer styrofoam an Exacto knife works best. The example shown is lettered a little bigger and less intricate than I normally would do it for visual clarity.

Painting supplies For this stone I used simple black & white Acrylic craft paint. I usually use plain old powdered Tempera paint but acrylic will stand up better outside. Tempera will work on out side stones with touch ups when needed. CU's tombstone was done with Tempera, is 13 years old and was used out side with periodic touch ups for 8 years. You will need a regular 2" brush and smaller craft brushes sized to fit your project. A big container for water. 2 separate containers for the paint. One to mix the black & white and one for pure black, a rag or paper towels and newspaper to protect your work surface.

Squirt in one container a decent amount of white and then a smaller amount of the black. Do not mix together. Leave it with a marbled look. Dab your brush into both colors and apply to stone. This will automatically vary the shade of the stone. Thin paint with water to the constancy best suited for your particular piece ( you will need to thin the paint some no matter the type of styrofoam). Try not to paint the same area too much as this will mix the black & white together. If that does happen wait til the paint dries a bit and reapply a thin layer. Acrylic paint dries fast, in the container not on the tombstone, Your paint will dry out before your done with it. I suggest a container with a lid to keep waste at a minimum. When the paint is becoming too mixed in container from dabbing your brush add some of one color or the other. Let the stone dry some. You don't need to wait til it's completely dry but give it a few minutes to set up.

Take your 2nd container and squirt in a decent amount of just black paint. Thin with water to an inky consistency. Choose a craft brush that will fit into the grooves of the letters you carved. Dip brush in watered down black paint and drip the color into the grooves. You can also make cracks in your stone and fill them with this same method for a more realistic tombstone.

Don't worry about missing or getting outside the lines. The final step will correct this.

You may have to let the black letters dry some but don't allow them to dry out completely. Squirt a bit of unwatered white paint onto a clean surface (I used the lid to one of the paint containers). Choose the stiffest craft brush possible, dab into the white paint, wipe off the excess paint on your rag or paper towel and lightly brush over the raised areas of your stone and over the lettering. This is a method called Dry brushing. If your paint is still a bit damp it will blend nicely with the white and take the edge of the color while giving it depth.

As I stated at the begining; this stone is a basic example. With time and effort you can create anything your imagination can come up with.

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