pumpkins
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!
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:
Introducing Boo (right) and Spooky (left). They were carved this morning.
I hadn't planned on carving them this morning, but life has a funny way of dictating schedules.
I've been having a heck of a time with my Halloween Tree. Not enough hours to work on it. Things get rushed.
That's when entire branches break off and what was once sturdy begins to fall apart...
I picked up a number of white craft pumpkins (on sale this week for 60% off). Even though I have a collection of half-finished paper mache pumpkins, the reality is I probably won't get to them in time for this Halloween.
I've carved faces, and painted detailing that matched the 3 white light up jack o' lanterns I own.
I carved small holes into the bottom of each one, just large enough to fit a battery operated candle. I numbered the bottoms of each one (sections and pumpkin) so I could close up the pumpkins if I chose to do so.
Don't settle. That's today's lesson. Or maybe it's making lemonade out of lemons (or pumpkins, as the case may be).
There's a pharmacy chain here called Shoppers Drugmart. Over the past three years they've started coming out with some fairly impressive Halloween items. Even better, they have a reward program that actually lets you earn points pretty quickly and it's so easy to redeem points for goodies. My mother is a point gathering master and she was kind enough to let me pick out some Halloween decorations. Among the chosen were two large plastic pumpkins (about 17" in height) that light up.
The only problem was that the colours were flat and they looked like...well...large plastic pumpkins.
Solution? 30 minutes of my time and some paint.
A little brown in the creases. A wash in the eye cuts. Coating on the stem. And a lighter orange on the flesh. Voila. SUCH a difference!
So the next time you see a prop that is decently priced (those pumpkins were $20) but not quite up to snuff, don't pass it up so quickly. With a little time and a little love, you can transform it into a great display item.
Now if only I could make them smile less...
I've spent more time asleep the last 4 days than I have awake. Fever, migraines (replaced by sinus headaches), chills, you name it. I mention this not (just) to complain, but to explain that I haven't been able to work on anything for Halloween this year. I don't even have any decorations out to motivate me.
But in my despair there is a light; a little smile glowing on the top shelf of my desk.
I received this glimmer of Halloween hope from ShellHawk. Isn't he wonderful?
He's saved me from my lack-of-Halloween depression.
The benefit of making the same type of item over and over is that you (hopefully) get better at it. The pumpkins also lend themselves to experimentation when it comes to carving and painting, so I'm not bored with them. In fact, there's a certain joy when I finish a pumpkin with a particular expression slightly different from the rest. I can't help but grin (or frown) back at them.
I'm also starting to discover finer details, ones that enhance the slightly withered look or provide a more animated face. It's really subtle, but to my eye makes a huge difference.
This group is tagged for the Halloween show next month. Next up: some more little hooters.
With a website called www.geekus.org, you might not expect to find Halloween goodies. But you'd be wrong.
Dan Haskell has a collection of flaming pumpkin pictures I've simply fallen in love with.
The fact that Dan has almost set himself on fire a number of times while taking these photos add to their value (in other words, don't try this at home, kids).
Here's just a few of my favourites.
