DIY Wooden Skeleton Outdoor Halloween Decoration
Skeletons add a classic spooky touch to your Halloween décor. While plastic skeletons are popular, we think a DIY skeleton is so much more fun. Our easy to make wooden skeleton is just the item to hang near your door to greet those trick-or-treaters. This skeleton is about 48” tall and is made from paint stir sticks, plywood and zip ties.
This skeleton is one of 5 Fun Halloween Decorations. Check them all out in this post.
Supplies for Wooden Skeleton Halloween Decorations
- 5 large paint stir sticks – the kind you use for the 5 gallon buckets of paint. These can be bought at Lowes in packs of 3 or if you get lucky you might be able to talk one of the associates into giving you some for free.
- 4 small paint stir sticks – the kind you use for the regular gallon pails of paint.
- A 24” x 24” piece of quarter inch pine
- Vinyl, paper, or paint to make the face details.
- Small white zip ties, 4-6 inch length
Instructions
1. Cut the large paint stir sticks into the following lengths:
-
- 9-1/2“ (spine)
- 12” (top rib)
- 9” (middle rib) & 7-1/2” (bottom rib)
- 10” & 7” (leg)
- 10” & 7” (leg)
2. Cut the small paint stir sticks – 2 at 7-1/2” and 2 at 6” (arms)
3. Sand all of your “bones” to round the ends.
4. Use this download to cut the head, pelvis, hands & feet out of your 24” x 24” board
5. Drill attachment holes in all pieces.
6. Paint all pieces of the skeleton white
7. Add the details for the face and pelvis. This can be done several ways.
- You can do this by cutting vinyl or paper on a Cricut or similar cutting machine using this download. If you use this method, the file will load in super large. Just resize it to a width of 5.5 inches and everything will be good.
- You could print this download and use it as a template to cut out the pieces with scissors. Just remember, if you are going to use this skeleton outside, paper will probably not be the best choice.
- You could paint the details on.
8. Lay your skeleton out and use zip ties to attach all the pieces together.
Hang your new bony skeleton wherever it will have the most spooky impact. We drilled a hole near the top of the head and hung it from a chain on our front porch that we used for hanging plants in the summer. Try using some poster tack to pose the hands on your skeleton’s hips or head. Have fun with your wood skeleton!



This guy is adorable! Perfectly spooky for little ones. Not terrifying them away. You’re so talented. Thanks for sharing on Happiness is Homemade at LifeasaLEOWife.com. If you don’t already, come on over and share on Traffic Jam Weekend as well since it has a totally different audience.. I wish I had the tools to make this!
Thanks so much Niki.