# Homemade Corn Stalks



## GhoulishCop (Sep 25, 2009)

Following the direction of Allen Hopps at Stilt Beast Studios, I've begun making corn stalks for my yard display. The main difference between Allen's corn and mine is in the painting: his are painted green, mine are yellows and browns as if they're dead. I also used 1/2" PVC pipe instead of the garden stakes he used.










These are only three corn stalks so far; I'll be making a whole bunch more at this weekend's M&T meeting. As Allen notes, it's not as impressive as when you've got 20 or 30 of them, which is the number I'm shooting for. But I'm pleased with the results thus far and each time I make one they get a little better so I'm encouraged that by the end even the deer that run through my yard on occasion will be fooled! 

Rich


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## Pumpkin5 (Aug 8, 2010)

:jol:Those look pretty spectacular Rich! (I like your choice of colors) So...you should be able to crank out 30 or 40 this weekend??? No, seriously...about how much time per stalk? And I like the PVC idea, a little pounded in rebar and viola! A Cornfield out of nowhere! Very, very nice...............

P.S. I am sending 'bagged energy' to the M&T...you should be good to go....


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## RoxyBlue (Oct 6, 2008)

And when you've made 30 of them and have them all out in your yard, I want to see the video of the deer trying to eat them Or maybe you'll get ghosts of baseball players walking out into the yard looking for the diamond:jol:


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## GhoulishCop (Sep 25, 2009)

These first few took awhile to make as I kept referencing Allen's video. Probably a couple of hours as I also thought about how best to proceed with making the leaves (my tutorial on my YT page...and on Allen's post in the How-to section -- shows what I did). 

I think that with all the PVC cut ahead of time and all the leaves cut to shape first, putting them together in assembly line fashion should allow me to make the 20+ I've got planned for this Saturday doable. Allen says him and a couple of friends can knock out 30 in a night so I'm thinking I'll have my "corn field" done this weekend.

As for the deer, they attacked the real corn I had growing last year, and then returned to visit the stalks I bought for my display. If they show up again, I'll definitely try to get video footage of their surprise! Whether Kevin Costner walks into my yard is another matter.

Rich


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## Copchick (Apr 10, 2012)

Hey, those are some pretty snazzy corn stalks! Looking forward to seeing the entire field together


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## MommaMoose (May 15, 2010)

I was wondering how they would look using PVC instead of the garden stakes he used (mostly since I couldn't find any of the stakes around here). Gotta say I like. Like the colors you chose also!


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## Hairazor (Mar 13, 2012)

Great work (and I live in Iowa, corn country)


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## Lord Homicide (May 11, 2012)

RoxyBlue said:


> And when you've made 30 of them and have them all out in your yard, I want to see the video of the deer trying to eat them Or maybe you'll get ghosts of baseball players walking out into the yard looking for the diamond:jol:


Yes, let's find out if deer are attracted to these corn stalks... it would be a nice feeder that never runs out or dies!


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## BioHazardCustoms (Aug 5, 2009)

Pumpkin5 said:


> :
> P.S. I am sending 'bagged energy' to the M&T...you should be good to go....


You know you're not supposed to be making that stuff anymore...


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## Lilly (Jun 13, 2006)

those are cool.nice job!
I have always thought about making those since they are so high priced ..at least i think so./ if you don't have stakes or pvc you can always use real tree branches instead..then cover those


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## MapThePlanet (Nov 12, 2010)

Fantastic! 

"mine are yellows and browns as if they're dead" 

Matches everything here in the "corn belt" right now anyway!


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## CreeepyCathy (Mar 28, 2009)

very realistic! me likey.


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## Spooky1 (Aug 25, 2008)

I like the "dead" paint job. Hope the deer aren't so hungry they eat these too.


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## NoahFentz (May 13, 2007)

I like em.....they really went well with my pighead scarecrow. Im a little upset that I didn't think to take a pic of the set up. I had other things on my mind. Very cool!!


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## MrGrimm (May 19, 2009)

Cool and creepy! Like! How many did yo say you want to make?


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## Uruk-Hai (Nov 4, 2006)

Those look great!! I really like the yellow and brown paint scheme. I've seen that tutorial and have been tempted to make some but given that I normally get 6-8 dozen stalks every year it's a lot to take on.


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## GhoulishCop (Sep 25, 2009)

I'm making about 2 dozen of these and they're half done. I've been beset by a severe case of laziness since I started them and have only made two in the past few weeks. 

I've had the corn stalks standing in my garden and each time I finish one I add it to the collection. It's funny, but after I make each one I say to myself I don't like 'em, but then I add it to the others and the overall effect is very cool and even realistic. I guess it's like Allen says, the context is key. Just one cornstalk isn't impressive or believable, but put 20 or 30 together and suddenly you've got yourself a cornfield.

One addition I've started adding to them is using pipe cleaners instead of raffia for the top of the stalks. I was watching some movie the other day and noticed how long each of the tassels were and that they didn't really look like raffia. 

So I take 5 pipe cleaners, twist the bottoms together and then paint them a slightly brighter yellow than the "dead stalk" look I've been using. They're then taped together and stuck into the top of the PVC pipe and shrink-wrapped like the rest. It gives a much more realistic look I think.

One other change I made was to use the raffia as the corn silk at the end of each ear. It's likely a detail that won't be noticed by anyone, but in making the ears I like the look of it. I'll post pictures of the whole cornfield when they're all done.

Rich


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## Pumpkin5 (Aug 8, 2010)

GhoulishCop said:


> One addition I've started adding to them is using pipe cleaners instead of raffia for the top of the stalks. I was watching some movie the other day and noticed how long each of the tassels were and that they didn't really look like raffia.
> One other change I made was to use the raffia as the corn silk at the end of each ear. It's likely a detail that won't be noticed by anyone, but in making the ears I like the look of it. I'll post pictures of the whole cornfield when they're all done.Rich


:jol:Hey Rich, I think you are right with your changes to the cornstalks. And it is funny that the 'little details' are the ones that push it from looking fake, to looking real. I cannot wait to see what they all look like all lined up and Halloweening up the place. And lazy? No....I can tell you about lazy....building a cornfield has got to be hard work!


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## GhoulishCop (Sep 25, 2009)

Yeah, the cornstalks are a lot more time consuming that I originally imagined, which might be why Allen says that him and a couple of friends can knock out 30 in a night. It's that "and a couple of friends" part that's key!

Still, you'd think with a couple of pin-up pics I'd be motivated to do a little more. Well, haunt-related anyway. 

Rich


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## Pumpkin5 (Aug 8, 2010)

GhoulishCop said:


> Still, you'd think with a couple of pin-up pics I'd be motivated to do a little more. Well, haunt-related anyway.
> Rich


:jol:..Yes....I would have thought!!! LOL No accounting for tastes, though....


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## scareme (Aug 29, 2006)

I just found this thread. Love your cornstalks! Have you set up yet? I'd love to see a picture of them.


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