Hi Folks,

I've been putting together some spooky stuff for the Children's halloween party and I thought I share my idea to see if anyone else is interested. I don't have any photos though so I'll describe things as well as I can.

I wanted to make some spooky pictures/signs that would glow in the dark and look creepy. Despite being slightly geeky, I still haven't got round to making real neon signs yet but I have come up with a way of making fake ones that look terrific by using some scrap plywood and glowsticks.

You'll need...
* A piece of 3/4" plywood for each sign. I used A3 size.
* A woodworking router with a 1/4" bit.
* Primer/undercoat (preferably white).
* Blackboard paint.
* A spooky image/clipart. Cartoony things work best.
* A bunch of glowsticks.

This is what you do.

* Choose your artwork and print it nice an large.
* Stick it to the plywood with some removable spray mount.
* Using the router with a 1/4" bit,, cut a groove along the outline of the picture and other prominent lines. These are going to hold the glowsticks and because you'll need to overlap the first and last sticks, cut the groove the depth of two sticks.
* Remove the artwork.
* Prime the wood. Make sure you get the paint into the groove as we'll use it to help reflect the light of the glowsticks.
* Now paint on the blackboard paint. Don't work that into the groove as we want the groove to stay nice and white.
* All finished!

All that remains is to wait until you're ready for the party. Just before kick-off, bend the glowsticks to get them started and press them into the grooves. They'll stay in place because they're pressed into the curved grooves.

Depending on your glowsticks the picture will look great for hours.

Sorry I don't have a photo. I just hope I've described it well enough for you imaginations.



Cheers.

Andy.