How to Make a Grave Blanket Board

Historians write that early settlers found themselves despondent about a lack of flowers for grave tributes as frigid temperatures marking the arrival of fall and winter began to loom, so they began hand-crafting blankets of evergreens to substitute. As spring arrived and flowers grew, the blankets were removed. Given society's proclivity for extending emergent trends over time, the grave blanket transcended its winter-only use. From branches of fragrant evergreens to today's popular blanket board construction employing rigid bases of chicken wire, Styrofoam and plywood, the sky's the limit--in more ways than one.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Base materials (chicken wire, Styrofoam, plywood)
• Artificial or real evergreen garlands
• Adhesives, stapler, wire
• Decorative trim

1. Speak to a cemetery spokesperson to be certain there are no rules that prohibit you from installing a grave blanket board. If you get the go-ahead, ask for size and material guidelines and prohibitions. Some sites allow only synthetic decorations; others have environmental standards that limit grave blanket construction to biodegradable materials. Make sure you know which you can use.

2. Choose a base material from those listed in "Things You'll Need" section of this article, or use your imagination to come up with a base material that meets cemetery guidelines. When you choose, remember that you will be constructing the board at home before taking it to the site, so it must be light enough to carry.

3. Cut or trim the chicken wire, Styrofoam, plywood or alternative material down to achieve a surface that meets cemetery grave blanket guidelines. If there are none, consider making yours approximately five feet long and three and a half feet wide. You must be able to fit it into your car and you don't want it to overwhelm the grave.

4. Purchase enough live or plastic evergreen garlands to cover the board base you've prepared. Use an industrial stapler, all-weather tape and/or wire to fasten one end of the garland to the edge of the base top and begin to zigzag the greenery from left to right, securing each row with fasteners, until you have covered the entire surface.

5. If you are looking for an alternative to live or plastic evergreen garlands and the cemetery allows synthetics, purchase a section of indoor/outdoor carpet resembling grass that's sized to match the base. Either tack the turf down or apply a strong adhesive to the base so there's a snug fit between the layers. This adds a waterproof element to the blanket board so it does a more effective job of standing up to bad weather.

6. Decorate the greenery-topped grave blanket board with your choice of seasonal trim. Commonly used items are big bows and ribbons, pine cones, poinsettias and silk flowers, but you may honor your loved one by lavishing the board with other tributes. Anchor everything well to be certain nothing detaches and flies around the grave site in windy weather.

7. Respect grave blanket removal rules set by cemetery management. If you are given a window of time for leaving it on the grave, honor that deadline by putting it on your calendar and removing it on or before the official removal date.

8. Bring the grave blanket board home and remove all of the temporary decorative elements from the base. Clean up the surface and store it away for future use.

Tips & Warnings

• Be respectful of other mourners visiting their departed friends and relatives by keeping the design of your grave blanket board tasteful and non-controversial. This isn't the place to add off-color or offensive objects to the covering and it could result in your being prohibited from putting one down at a later date.