Witches' Brew

Create an inexpensive backlit Halloween silhouette using a large cardboard box and a few strings of mini-lights. This is also an excellent way to reuse incandescent mini-lights that have been retired from a holiday display.

It's easy and inexpensive to make a backlit display like this. It's also a good way to reuse those old incandescent mini-lights that you retired from your light show years ago.

Materials:

• Large cardboard box (I secured an old refrigerator box from Lowe's for free - they normally recycle them.)
• 2 cans of spray automobile undercoating or truck liner. (This thick paint protects the cardboard from weather while also covering any box printing)
• Graphic or silhouette of witches and a cauldron obtained from an online source.
• Two or more 100-count incandescent mini-light strings. Yellow and orange lights were used in this example. I mixed strings of yellow and orange.
• A few strips of 1"x 2" lumber (the backing for the cardboard to hold it up and staple the mini-lights to)

Tools necessary

• Box cutter or other sharp tool for cutting cardboard
• Staple gun and staples
• Marking pen
• Disposable drop cloths for painting
• Optional: video projector for enlarging the graphic onto the cardboard for tracing it out

Basic assembly

• Cut the cardboard box open so it can lay flat. Flatten the cardboard as much as possible and secure it to a wall for tracing.
• Use a video projector to enlarge the chosen graphic onto the cardboard box. Trace the outline of the image.
• Cut the image out of the cardboard
• Use the staple gun to mount the cutout onto strips of 1x2 wood.
• Spray the front of the cutout with the undercoating or truck liner paint. Spray the back for extra protection. Let dry.
• Secure the light strings to the wood supports on the back using staples, taking care not to damage the wire insulation.
• Stand it up against the garage door and plug it in.

For an extra effect, you might use an ultraviolet LED light strip attached to a 1/2" PVC tube and mounted on the eave above the door to provide a contrasting purple glow, or use a smoke generator to pump smoke from behind the display. The example shown above uses both ultraviolet lighting and a smoke machine to enhance the effect.