Nightmare Before Christmas Project Part 2: The Rest of it

Good morning my beautiful Minions! Today we finish the Nightmare Before Christmas project we started a couple of weeks ago. As you know, this year marks the 20th anniversary of Jack Skellington and his friends and I thought a Nightmare themed yard haunt was apropos.  Come with me as I show you how I made Jack, Sally, and Zero.

I began by marking space so that I could attach Sally once Jack was complete. This was important because by himself, Jack is a little too skinny to be structurally sound.

I drew a rough sketch and began making my cuts.  Unfortunately, this first draft of Jack didn’t work out. As I discussed here, the wood I was using was knotty and weak and after losing several pieces to breakage, I got another sheet of plywood and started over. The second sheet of plywood was a lot better. I even had enough left over that I made Zero from a scrap!

Once they were cut, I added a couple of coats of waterproofing primer. After all this work, I don’t want it to bend and warp. I then painted Jack’s suit black and then used a white paint marker to make his pinstripes. Don’t try to be too precise with the stripes: the more wonky they are, the more authentic the look. Zero’s ears were a bit thin for my comfort so I reinforced them with steel bars. You can get a 2′ steel bar at Home Depot for $3.00, then cut it to size with a hacksaw. I added wooden posts to the back for added support of Jack’s neck and arms. The PVC piping is going to slide over two rebar posts that will have been driven into the ground.Instead of attaching Zero to the front of the display, I decide to keep him separate. He sits on a wooden dowel. I plan to move him around the yard each day, giving my decoration a little bit of life.

And that’s it, folks! My big project is finally complete. Jack stands a little over 7 feet tall. He, Sally, and Zero will welcome Trick-or-Treaters this year. Thanks for looking!

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