Adding Leaves to your Haunt (it’s not what you think)

[@kjohnsonleedap]

Hey I built a large “blanket” of leaves following your instructions and it worked really well for a breathing grave prop I have. The result looks really convincing. Thanks for the excellent tutorial!

[@VanOaksProps]

Fantastic!

[@morganmanor4082]

What a great way to hide all those ugly extension cords. Awesome video as always.

[@stacyshearer3927]

I hot glue clusters of fake leaves and moss to washers and spread them through my porch. I'll add bugs too. Love this idea! I'll have to try it next year! Love your content!

[@VanOaksProps]

Clever!

[@1969bilbo]

@stacyshearer3927 So do you pick them up with a magnetic broom?

[@jrd0414]

Hey, I'm the disabled guy from Mooresville, NC that wrote a while back. I just wanted to thank you for all the content lately. Feels like a lot but good. I just wanted to tell you I appreciate what you do.

[@HallenaQuinzel]

Hey, Neighbor! Cary, here. Small world!

[@venusvontrappe6007]

See, its all the little things that really elevate a haunt! We live in an area with SO many leaves, and I love what they do to our yard!🍂 Unfortunately, we live in an area prone to high winds, which really forces us to get creative with our decorating! Love the idea of using tulle like this.

[@dianeladico1769]

Very creative solution. I might use a more organic/irregular shape for the mat depending on the tombstone and the area you want to cover.

[@VanOaksProps]

Great idea!

[@barbaramckenzie326]

I love the whole idea, but I also thought a more organic shape to the tulle would be more effective and would help to prevent the obvious edge.

[@memecats5698]

I think it was a great idea and once you put on the brown and beige paint spray that just put the icing on the cake and made it blend much better. 👍👍👍

[@JonFlores275]

jaw hit the floor when it was shown in the display. Its amazing how simple this is but so effective!! I've always wondered how to get the "perfect" fall leaves without actually bagging tons. Thank you so much!!!

[@VanOaksProps]

Glad you like it!

[@Stratoliner]

Another home run video, V.O.P.! Every video you release isn't just informative, but highly entertaining as well. Thanks!

[@VanOaksProps]

I appreciate that!

[@susanowen1709]

Such a simple way to add a great detail to a haunt!

[@mrscb5303]

Isn’t it amazing how something so little and not thought of generally for Halloween decorations makes such a huge impact on realism!! I absolutely love this idea, thanks for sharing!!🧡🖤🧡🍁

[@gravemarker]

A great idea for Southern California, but here in North Eastern Kansas, with big old trees everywhere, we ger enough fall leaves.

[@VanOaksProps]

Yeah, it's definitely not for places where you've got an abundance of foliage.

[@FreeCremationWinner]

"Dont worry about getting it round" as he cuts a perfectly round circle.

[@VanOaksProps]

20 years experience as a graphic designer. lol

[@Ellaterra]

This is brilliant! I have no trees or grass in my yard, just boring gravel and concrete, which kind of clashes with my decorations. This is an amazing idea!

[@m.maclellan7147]

Very clever ! I agree about the round shape. Human beings spot a straight line quickly. Wonder if you could use Vecro as well ? Would take some sewing, but you could move around the leaves easily.

[@VanOaksProps]

Possibly, although I think the spray paint helped to minimize the glue visibility.

[@SummersideDiver]

Great detail work. It’s the “little” things like this that really make a huge difference!

[@VanOaksProps]

Totally agree!

[@TheRecycleBen-G]

Unrelated to this video, but I just wanted to say thanks for the content! We had our biggest display ever this year! We had right near 75 trick or treaters, and I got a lot of comments about the display and animatronics I made. I used a bunch of your ideas and so my win is your win! 😆 Happy Haunting!

[@VanOaksProps]

That’s awesome!!

[@doublea406]

Very smart solution!

[@vonnyrotten]

This is a really cool trick/tip! I would offer up 2 suggestions to possibly "improve" upon it, 1- none of the leaves should be under the tombstone, unless its supposed to be a temporary tombstone that was recently placed which doesn't quite make sense in a scary cemetery. 2- consider tearing some of the leaves and stems(?) to addd some variation so it doesn't look so uniform. Really cool idea though, especially the mesh and how well it disappears!

[@VanOaksProps]

Great suggestions!

[@JLOFlix]

Very cool! Looks natural!

[@anthonymartelli6091]

Very clever! This is a great idea!

[@VanOaksProps]

Thank you! 😊

[@HMFan2010]

Great idea, Derek. My only comment would be that tulle is not well-suited to weathering, especially after prolonged exposure to sunlight. The UV rays tend to cause tulle to disintegrate. BUT... mesh that is more durable like the kind for protecting berry bushes from birds might work better. Probably not as cheap but they may last more than one season. Attaching the leaves could be more of a challenge as the "weave" is more open than tulle. Maybe spray adhesive the "top" layer, flip the mat, and then hot glue more leaves to the underside, being sure to attach them to the top leaves.

[@MikeFarnhamGalaxysEdgeGroup]

yeah, maybe patio/porch screening.

[@kurtkyre]

I swear I had a similar idea, but I didn't think about the tuile... Great idea 😊

[@colemyst]

What a great idea, Thanks!

[@VanOaksProps]

You bet!

[@laurahubbard9470]

I love it!!!! Such a simple yet great idea!!! I know what I’ll be making this weekend 👻🪦🍂

[@1969bilbo]

Feel free to grab some leaves from my yard... we've got plenty!

[@craigorlikowski2507]

BYOB? Bring your own bags? 😂

[@brittanyhillegonds5741]

Its wild how much the brown spray paints toned down the colors and made them look so realistic.

[@VanOaksProps]

Right?! Totally changed it.

[@cindydavis1443]

Great idea! It really reads well.

[@MikeFarnhamGalaxysEdgeGroup]

Love this idea Derek. I always hit the dollar store and stock up on leaf garland and packs of single leaves and never seem to figure out what to do with the loose ones. Love the toule idea and making mats. Too late this year but I will reference this for 2025. Thanks!

[@crocholiday]

I have the opposite problem. I have the real leaves that cover up the smaller props and creatures in my haunt lol. Love this idea for snow to make a Christmas graveyard.

[@meloneeleddington7664]

I love fall my favorite season and the leaves are so beautiful. I love how you brought them into your haunt. I always wanted to put some in my yard, but though they would just blow away. This is a brilliant idea and you could use it in so many different ways. Thanks for the great idea. Happy Halloween 🧡🤎💛🍁🍂🎃👻

[@VanOaksProps]

Thank you so much!

[@jimurrata6785]

Always enjoy your creativity and attention to detail! 👍 Wish I lived nearby to take in the full effect of your & Mrs VO's haunt.

[@VanOaksProps]

Thank you very much!

[@arthurp4857]

Sorry, but I had to laugh. Living in the north east US, we gots lots o’ leaves blowing around. No need for fake ones here! 😊

[@HLR4th]

Spidermats, spidermats, spooky neighborhood spidermats…mark me down as inspired!

[@sallyescrader1771]

Tulle is what is used for bridal veils as it is very soft and delicate with good draping capability. You’d do better with “dress net” (used for making stiff net petticoats), which has bigger mesh and is sturdier, stiffer and a whole lot cheaper. We didn’t need faux leaves this year as our apple tree and oak tree very obligingly dumped a whole lot of leaves on 30th! Which is just as well because faux leaves are SO expensive here!! In fact, every single craft item is expensive. We don’t have anything like your Dollar Store here. Poundland or Poundstretcher had a few decorations, but very little actual craft supplies …. and most things are way more than a pound!

[@VanOaksProps]

Good to know!! Thanks for sharing that info.

[@dovel1000]

That is very cool

[@mnfrightnite]

That looks so good!!

[@VanOaksProps]

Thanks!

[@OCLVIG]

This is a great idea! I lost the big tree in my yard to lightning, so I don't have many leaves anymore. They used to do a great job of hiding electrical cords and adding to the spooky atmosphere. I wonder if trying this with fishnet would hide the backing structure within the grass better? I'll have to try it out.

[@VanOaksProps]

I wondered the same but couldn’t find any at my local fabric store.

[@OCLVIG]

@@VanOaksProps Yeah, I figured as much. Probably something I'll have to special order.

[@CLMaxey67]

How fun!!

[@OakLaneCemetery]

Maybe on a tombstone or prop or two but goddammit, I'm sticking to my tried and true method of working my ass off to import only the finest real weeds and leaves into the cemetery like an idiot! (I've even contemplated storing trash bags of leaves to use each season since the leaves don't really start to fall until AFTER Halloween around here.) I don't even bother cleaning up my fine imported weeds and leaves, I just mow over them after I store the display away.

[@VanOaksProps]

🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@PropGuru702]

I would suggest tracing the base of the tombstone so that no leaves end up under the edges of the tombstone as it would be embedded in the ground

[@VanOaksProps]

There’s definitely more finesse needed in my application, but it’s not too shabby for a first go at it.

[@PropGuru702]

@@VanOaksProps oh yours turned out fantastic! I was commenting more so for other viewers so they consider this as well. Also, depending on the weather, this may still get blown around. They make very low profile landscape stakes that would work to secure this easily

[@flywithbart]

I had to do something similar a few years ago to hide a prop mount. I have plenty of real leaves but they blew around too much. I used landscape fabric. The mesh is a way better idea.

[@ronsorage78]

not an issue for me living in the midwest though your leaf clean up is way better than mine afterwards lol

[@devilman2465]

You might want to find a way to anchor the mesh to the ground because if it's windy, your mats will be flapping.

[@KrazeeKraftZ]

Being that October in Australia is Spring, mum and I collected a heap of leaves as they fell in May/June, to add to my breathing grave, which was covered with a piece of hessian. We made some of the holes in the hessian larger with a crochet hook, pushed the stem through carefully then rubbed the back end of the crochet hook over the hessian hole to close it up as best ee could. Ive uploaded a video of my Halloween display to my channel, feel free to check it out, like, subscribe, share, etc... 😊 im going to make a day/night & how to of my grave tomorrow to upload before I pack everything away.

[@kennethhughley1611]

I love the way the monuments bring out your graveyard. 🪦🪦 We're still adding to our collection.