DIY Outdoor Halloween Decoration: Illuminated Life-Size Witch

Directions

1. Anchor the dress form to the ground by driving landscape pins over each leg support with a rubber mallet. Collect sticks thinner than 1 inch in diameter (curly willow works well for its natural twists). Start building the skirt by twisting a 12-inch piece of floral wire around a thick branch and attaching it about halfway down the dress form’s base. Begin with branches that have smaller offshoots to create structure, then add four larger branches to the front, back, and sides.
2. Place the orange LED light strands inside the form’s midsection and weave them around the initial branches so the glow comes from within the skirt rather than wires being visible on top. Continue adding thinner branches all around the dress form, securing each with wire as you go, until the skirt is full and resembles a large ball gown.
3. Put the corset onto the dress form, making sure it hides all exposed wires. Use floral wire to attach pampas grass around the bottom edge of the corset, spacing the stems evenly across the front and sides. Insert orange glitter twigs in between the grass clumps, then add gold glitter twigs just below the orange ones to give the skirt dimension.
4. Prepare the foam head by cutting off the bottom 2 inches with a foam cutter (or a knife—if using a knife, work inside a bag to contain foam bits). Paint the front and neck area with black chalk paint. Once dry, attach the head to the top of the dress form using floral pins.