Haunted House Shutters

This is a fairly quick and effective way to create realistic, old shutters to your haunted house display.

Step 1: Assemble Materials and Tools

You will need:
- Big sheet of cardboard (I sourced this from my local microbrewery,)
- Razor knife
- Drywall square
- Tape measure
- Spray adhesive
- Black spray adhesive
- Framing square
- Pencil

Step 2: Cut to Size

Cut the cardboard sheet to your desired shutter size. Make sure they are the same height as the window they will hang from to create the illusion of a real shutter.

Step 3: Plan Your Cuts

Measure once, plan twice.
I made the outside borders and middle support piece all two inches wide. My shutter slats are 1.5" wide and 0.5" apart: use your tape measure. The framing square made the measuring go quickly.

Step 4: Straight Lines = Straight Cuts

Use the drywall square to make your pencil lines straight. Now you can really start to see your layout coming to life.

Step 5: Cutty Cut Cut!

Let the slicing begin! Be careful with your razor as you remove the cardboard material from between the slats. I found that if you put a piece of cardboard under your shutter, it helps the razor make a cleaner cut.

Step 6: Add Depth

Cut "extra" border pieces to give the illusion of depth. Use the spray adhesive to quickly secure these pieces to the shutter.

Step 7: Depth Added

Step 8: Paint!

Paint your shutter. I suggest black spray paint but you could use any color you want your haunted house shutters to be. Don't paint the shutters with too heavy of a coat; you will want some of the brown cardboard color to come through to give the illusion of age.
NOW GO HANG THESE SUCKERS ON YOUR HAUNTED HOUSE!

Comments

[talecriv]

how well did they stand up to weather?? i might make these but i think i'll add some 1x2 wood as a frame on the back as i get high winds here in oct. Rain wouldn't be a problem as my facade will have a reverse roof slanting out and up toward the front instead of out and back

[BooMaster]

Hi talecriv,
These stood up to our Montana weather pretty good. Adding 1x2 wood will be a good move to strengthen these shutters. The only issue I ran into was the spray adhesive releasing on some parts of the cardboard. Thanks for looking and happy haunting!

[blobf1sh]

what is the god damn point of these shutters? theres isn't even a video!

[paul the maker]

be kind you bully its a realy good idea wich only take 10 mins or less which looks so affective

[BooMaster]

Well Blobfish, as the title says, these are to mount onto a haunted house. If you're familiar with window shutters, than you will realize these mount on either side of a window. Since they are cardboard, they can be attached to your house with a simple staple gun.
Thanks for your interest!

[BLASTFEMI]

I love it! You could make eyes peeking out between the slats too!

[seamster]

I really like these shutters. It's a great, simple idea and perfect for halloween decor!

[BooMaster]

Thank you seamster. I'm excited to get these up on my house tonight.

[paul the maker]

wow so nice the perfect addition to any home for haloween. that whold make your home look so cool and its so so simple