Thread: Skeletal sonotube columns

I wanted to make some columns for my graveyard and found a great thread here where it was suggested that you could use cardboard concrete forms to make columns! So I had my husband get me a couple at Home Cheapo yesterday and I started them today -- they're 4' high and 10" wide -- I thought just the plain tubes might be kind of boring looking but couldn't think of any ideas to perk them up until this afternoon when I was watching "The Brothers Grimm" on TV and saw a scene where there was a skeleton kind of stuck into a stone outcropping and suddenly I remembered that I had a couple of small plastic skeletons up in the attic that I got last year on sale after Halloween -- so I decided to try to incorporate them into the pillars as if they were a part of them.

First I cut off all the parts on the backs of the skeletons that were sticking out in order to make them as flat as possible: the back of the skull, the back of the rib cage, and the back of the hips -- then I hot glued the skeletons onto the sonotubes:



For the base and tops of the columns I used some heavy pressboard bulletin boards that I got at the local job lot store for $3.00 each:



Then I took some foam pipe insulation that I bought a few weeks ago to use for Halloween projects, cut it in half and hot glued it around the top and bottom of each tube:



Took the columns outside and spray painted them with black primer:



I have a patina kit that I've been using on several of my halloween projects, so I decided to use it on these to see how it looks -- plus I'm hoping to use some gargoyles on top that I've already patina'd -- so here they are with the bronze base coat:



And here is the first one with the patina finish on it, not completely finished yet, I ran out of daylight so I did just enough to get an idea of how it'll look and I'll finish them up tomorrow and see how the gargoyles look on them -- I also think that they would look really nice done in white with faux marbeling --



Anyway -- I just wanted to share this project since its so cheap and very easy! Also, very lightweight -- my husband had suggested using paving stones for the bases and tops, but they were so heavy I decided to go with the cardboard rounds -- I glued the bottom on, but I'm hoping to be able to leave the tops unglued so that after Halloween, I can possibly use the tubes for storage, too!

Those look so wonderful! Really different look for columns - so creative!
Looks really easy to follow too - which is great.

I love the patina!

Uhhhhh....WOW! Super cool idea.

The look great. Nice idea....

Nice Idea. I love it.

Thats a really cool idea and being able to use them as storage is a bonus. good times

Nice columns Effie. Man you've had some great projects so far this year and am looking forward to seeing your yard next month. When do you set up?

I could see making columns for an Egyptian theme I'd like to do and really like the idea of multipurposing it for storage--an eternal problem for haunters. How tall are yours? also do you remember how much the sonotube ran? It would be nice to have a price point. Another question is did you need to prep the tubes before painting with a primer?

The pipe insulation at the top and bottom, a stroke of genius.

Thanks.

Very nice, love the idea and these are too cool!

Brilliant idea, thanks for the tutorial.

Originally Posted by Ghost of Spookie

Nice columns Effie. Man you've had some great projects so far this year and am looking forward to seeing your yard next month. When do you set up?

I could see making columns for an Egyptian theme I'd like to do and really like the idea of multipurposing it for storage--an eternal problem for haunters. How tall are yours? also do you remember how much the sonotube ran? It would be nice to have a price point. Another question is did you need to prep the tubes before painting with a primer?

The pipe insulation at the top and bottom, a stroke of genius.

Thanks.

Thanks! I'm still trying to decide when to set up -- since these columns are cardboard, I wouldn't want to leave them out in the rain, although I am planning to try to waterproof them as best I can. We usually start putting out the styrofoam tombstones a couple of weeks before Halloween, although I'm thinking about starting earlier this year!

The tubes are 4 feet tall and 10 inches wide -- my husband said they were $7.00 each. I think they may also come in 8 and 12 foot lengths?

I was racking my brains trying to figure out what to use for the detailing on the tubes, and I was happy when I remembered the pipe insulation -- it was very easy to cut and apply. I had also checked out wallpaper borders online, some of them were very textured and would add some interest to the tube. The columns do look kind of Egyptian, don't they?

Although I like the skeletons on them, in retrospect, I think they might have looked better plain -- when I put the gargoyles on top of them, it was a bit much with the skeleton and the gargoyle and I think a simpler column would have had a more dramatic effect. But, hey, it's Halloween, so what the heck!