"Heavenly" Gates

Hello!  Long time no post!  Life has been busy with Christmas, putting away Christmas, kids, and snow...lots of snow! Our kids were thrilled to have a snow day off from school, full of sledding, fort building, and a little work too.

I recently made "heavenly gates" as a prop for a church activity and thought it would be fun to share how easy it was to make. The gate had to actually open enough to let the little kiddies walk through, so with a some researching I came up with something that worked.    

I found my inspiration on a Halloween site...yeah, that doesn't sound so heavenly! :) They show you how to make fake Halloween cemetery fences for the front of the yard out of PVC and wood 1x2's.

For the main part of the gate that includes the PVC and 1x2's -I used the directions from Haunters Hangout. You basically drill large holes in the 1x2's and put the 1/2 inch PVC pipes through the holes.  The PVC is held in place with screws. Hauntproject.com also has several links to creative ideas for fake fencing.

For the outside PVC stand, I used the directions from the sprinkler PVC contraption Nicole and I made for the kids a couple of summers ago to ride their bike through.  It worked perfectly to hold the gate.

The nice man from Lowes helped me figure out how to hinge the gate to the outside PVC with metal hardware that you bolt into the 1x2 and then wrap around the PVC. I like that you can tighten the bolt to the size of PVC.  I know he thought I was a little nuts when I showed him my gate drawing and requested help in the PVC department.

I glued inexpensive plastic garden edging (just like the directions at Haunters Hangout) to the top and bottom of the fake fence.  I think the plastic edging really brings the gate to life along with gold spray paint.

I hope this comes in handy if you ever need to make gate props for church, plays, or you just want to make Halloween cemeteries in your yard! Maybe I will be brave enough to make one next Halloween!

Nicole and I are working on another headboard for our friend.  We are excited to show you!  Stay tuned!