Halloween Decorating & Props
Happy Canada Day! Can't think of a better way to celebrate than to make some pumpkin sculptures. It's my first time sculpting large ones, and I'm really enjoying it. These guys are about the size of an orange (approximately 3" tall). I'm still working on them, but already their personalities are shining through.
These three will be coming with me to Scarefest on Saturday. I hope to see some of you locals there!
Dave (whom I refer to as Cooter, but most know as IMU on forums) has completed what could possibly be the best home haunter pirate I've ever seen. He's put together a slideshow of the build, and I hope he doesn't mind that I'm showcasing it here.
Be warned: the soundtrack he's added will make you want to swashbuckle, face the wild waters, or do battle with that neighbour who's been making you crazy.
Bravo, Dave!
Continuing with my quest to create collections rather than single items, I've put together two 8 inch tall (at the peak) Halloween House decorations. The first has an orange roof, painted to look like it has worn shingles, with bats in the attic.
The second (below) has a simpler, textured purple roof and a matching spider hanging from a string of web (I quite like how the spider turned out).
They stand well but I'm trying to sort out the best way to add a hanging option to the back. I'm thinking epoxy and a black ribbon might do the trick.
My mini pumpkins and little hooters were a big hit last year. Many people bought them, and even more people loved them. I had to wonder what would have turned the loving admirers into buyers.
One thing that seemed to perplex people was where they would put it or how to display such a tiny figure. My immediate solution was to turn some of my little hooters into Christmas ornaments. This worked well.
But it didn't solve the problem for people who would have bought multiple figures if - again - they knew how to display them once they got them home (more than one person - some clearly joking, some half-serious - wanted to take home part of my display for the table).
Thus the Halloween Hutch was born. I've made two so far, experimenting with how they should look.
Each one stands just under 5 1/2 inches. All the items with the exception of the little hooter are secured in place on their shelf. The drawers don't slide very well, but if someone wanted to keep rings or other items in the drawer, they could easily take out the moss.
Boo lasted a long time after being carved. Yetch snapped this picture of her on the last night she spent in the house. I thought it was a fitting image to post as my last Halloween 2009 image.
Speaking of which, I found a couple more pictures of the decorations this year:
There are now 40 pictures posted in the Art Ghoullery for Halloween 2009. I may add a couple more (of the flowers on the windowsill) but overall, I'd say I'm finished.
You'll want to open the images in a new tab or utilize your back button. There are plans to revamp the site with better navigation for the galleries, but that won't be happening just yet.
You've seen images of him before, but I thought you might like a peek of him all lit up properly. I've posted two here, but look for a few more this week when I put the entire collection on the website.
As Dave the Dead said in a comment in the previous post, "Nothing but sincerity as far as the eye can see". That was part of the plan. And why not encourage the arrival of the Great Pumpkin with a sign?
I used one of my painted pieces of cardboard made last year as the sign. It worked out perfectly (number of letters and the number of fake wooden planks). Saved me a lot of time as well. Recycling props is always a great idea.
I'm slowly compiling pictures of this year's theme. It was called "A Picnic in the Pumpkin Patch". It wasn't a complicated theme. The idea was to make the house look as if a pumpkin patch had sprouted up inside of it.
I'm posting the first two pictures tonight, and will post the rest throughout the week.
As always, I will have the full collection posted in the Art Ghoullery.
Unfortunately, the lanterns I'd gotten at the dollar store all died within the first hour of the party, so they are dark in the pictures. It really added a nice bit of detailing, having the extra lights hanging in the bushes, around the fireplace, and around the room. I wish I had gotten pictures of it.
The first images are of the pumpkins I made over. In the photograph below, you can also see my poor kale plants that are slowly slipping towards death, but on their journey to an early demise, they've grown into interesting shapes.
Who knew I could get the sun to rise in my living room just by adding a scarecrow. More pictures to come.
A little later...
I've posted some quick shots of him all lit up. I'll be sure to take some nicer photographs on Saturday or Sunday, but I wanted to give you a sense of what he looks like.
He isn't exactly as I imagined. He needs some cooler clothes and a few adjustments, but he'll do for this year. The bonus is I can take him completely apart for storage.
His stand is an actual tree trunk (a deceased tree we pulled from the ground). His eyes are lit with LED. I weaved pieces of wood for the eyes, and whittled his teeth.
For all the images posted below (with the exception of the one that just shows the base), you can click on the image to see a bigger picture.
