Installing and Lighting

Installing your display outside is easy. I drive a piece of rebar into the ground and attach the cutout to the rebar with nails bent over the rebar. This method is surprisingly strong and has not blown over in even the strongest wind. Depending on the thickness of the plywood, you may need to add 1x2 supports to your cutout. This will give you a place to attach your cutout to the support, and also prevent warping.

Lighting

Lighting your display at night will increase its appeal. The easiest approach is to use a 120v floodlight. This will illuminate the entire area and works well if there are other items to be illuminated. I prefer to use 12v landscape lights. 10w, 20w and 35w landscape spotlights allow me to illuminate only the cutout, without light bleeding over to other parts of the display. They are safe and easy to work with.

You can also attach mini-lights to your cutout for an interesting display at night. Simply drill evenly spaced holes around the cut out equal to the number of lights on your strand. Getting the layout can be tricky, so work it out in advance before you start drilling. Secure each light with dab of hot glue. Painting the cutout with flat black paint will highlight the lights, not the cutout. It is a very nice effect.