UH...OH!! Houston, we have a problem!

My frickin' camera died!  I guess that's what I get for talking trash about it a few posts back.  I won't have time to buy a new one before Halloween, so I think that's it for pictures for this year. I was hoping to finish setting up the rest of our Halloween decor tomorrow and take pictures on Saturday.  I know....I am so behind this year!  I planned on posting a final Halloween picture blitz on Saturday or Sunday.  I'm so disappointed! 

Behold, the last 3 pictures it took during it's final gasps for air. The last one is kind of creepy looking!

Well, (with my head hung low and swear words possibly slipping out of my mouth) I'm off to make my second cheesecake of the day.  We have 15 people coming over for a big Halloween dinner tomorrow night.   WHY..OH...WHY couldn't it hold on just 2-3 more days!!! 

Blessings, Tracy

Ahh....it's going to be a beautiful day!

Wow, with a sunrise like this, how could this day go wrong! 

This picture was taken from our screened in porch this morning.  I'm sure it would have been better, if I hadn't been too lazy to actually walk out on to the deck to take it.  Nope, this gal just shot the picture right through the screen.  I know....pitiful. 
It really was so beautiful!

Blessings, Tracy

Is it Halloween yet?!

One of the many "unusual" skull we have displayed around the house.

Blessings, Tracy

When Pigs Fly...Halloween style!

This guy sits on top of our kitchen cabinets all year round.  I just love him.  I thought he would like to join in on our Halloween fun, so I made him a little glitter mask for the occasion.  I think he turned out cute! 

OK then, I'm off to put him back up on his perch.

Blessings, Tracy

Oh no! I have "BATS IN MY BELFRY"....Umm, I mean foyer!

We have around 50 bats spinning in our foyer during Halloween.  When it comes time for Trick or Treaters, we dim the lights and it looks really spooky, with all the bats gently swaying and spinning.   When the neighborhood kids come to the door and look up to say their "Trick or Treats", all they see is tons of bats floating over our heads.  It's really fun to see some of them simply become speechless (not is a scared way, of course).  They just stare without saying a word until we snap them out of it by saying, "Happy Halloween".  ;-) 

This picture shows just a few of our bats, with the rest spinning over my head and behind me, while I snapped this shot.  Sorry...it's nearly impossible to get a good shot of these little devils. 

Blessings, Tracy

"I said....STOP looking at me!"

Blessings, Tracy

Sweet!

Blessings, Tracy

Grave stones

Like most of our Halloween decorations, we made these several years ago.  I found the idea and directions in this book - Halloween Crafts: Eerily Elegant Decor" by Kasey Roger (who played Louise Tate on Bewitched) and Mark Wood.   I thought most of the projects in this book were just OK, but it did have a few good ideas.

We are reworking the above gravestone, since it has the most damage of the three.

These gravestones are pretty big in general.  They all measure around 3 1/2 feet tall x 2 feet wide x 5 inches deep.

Here's how we did it -

1. We sandwiched and glued 2 pieces of construction foam/sheet insulation together. Before applying the glue, make sure to carve 2 'rebar" channels on the insides of foam (sides that will be glued together).  This will be used later for display purposes. 
2. Carve your design into the headstones. For the second gravestone, we added a carved (skull shaped) piece of foam to the front; for added dimension.
3. Cover foam with a heavy layer of paper mache.
4. Once this dried thoroughly, we spray painted over the paper mache with stone/granite textured spray paint. Once this dries, we distressed the gravestones with watered down black and eerie green paints.
5. Once this dried, we sealed the crap out of them.
6. Using hot glue gun, glue moss on to areas of the front of gravestone to add an aged look.
7. To display, we pushed 2 short pieces of of rebar in the ground and slid the gravestones on to these.

These gravestones have held up really well until about 2 years ago. At that time, they sat outside for 2 days in torrential rain which was then followed by a hard freeze. They just couldn't take it & the backs cracked open.  We still use them, but they just look really bad from the back.  This year we are going to try and redo one of these, using a different method.  If it works out, we will redo the others next year. Keep your fingers crossed.....

You can also see a picture of one of our headstones in the Mr. Bones entry.

Blessings, Tracy

Witch's Urn...DONE!!!

Here is our newest project, a fabulous "Witch's Urn"! When I first saw one of these, here, here and here, I just fell in love.  It looked so fun, I just had to try it.

If you have been following this process, I know it has taken sooooo.o.o.o.o.o long for us to finish this project.  Life has been keeping us busy and taking up all of our time. 

Here's how we did it.

1. I was lucky enough to find a GREAT deal on some mannequin legs on Craigslist. I paid $10 for this mismatched set.  **Update - See this post for another place you could find mannequin legs.  If you don't live in the Minneapolis area, you can see if there is a similar type of business near you.

2. We spray painted our mannequin legs black.  We did this because the first leg, attached to the torso, was scratched up and dull and the paint on the red leg was showing through the fibers of our striped tights. We also spray painted a large heavy plastic urn black. You will notice the urn is now gray, since the black just wasn't working for me. We ended up spraying over the black with one of those textured granite sprays and then I distressed it. Here is a picture of the urn before distressing.

3. For info on how I made the witch's shoes (from Goodwill finds), see previous posts.
4. We purchased some striped tights in the Halloween section of our local Party City store. You can also find these at any Halloween themed stores that pop up at this time of year.
5. We ended up having to cut the torso off of the one leg, since it was too tall for our urn.
6. We glued the two mannequin legs on to a board and secured the board in the urn.  We used heavy construction adhesive to do both of these, since we didn't want them falling out & bopping some young child on the head.  Once they were set, we put tights and shoes on the mannequin legs.
7. I cut a piece of craft foam in an oval shape & painted "The Witch is IN" on it.  The frame is made out of the rim of an oval "Chinet" brand heavy duty paper plate.  After I cut it out, it was painted black, thoroughly sealed and then covered with fine black glitter.  You can't tell from the pictures, but the frame really shimmers in person.  To finish it off, I glued the frame to the sign. Note - Our Witch's Urn will be displayed on a covered porch, so it will fairly well protected from the elements.
8. The top of the urn was covered with fake moss, and the "The Witch is IN" sign was hung on the front of the urn with black string.  A black crow was added as an accent.

Blessings, Tracy

I'm linking this post to one of my favorite blogs -

I'm also linking this post to the DIY Show and Tell Halloween Surprise Party.

Happy Halloween!!

TA...'frickin'...DA! Behold our Witch's Shoe!!

Well, I finally finished the shoes for my Witch's Urn yesterday!  Making these has been a true challenge for me, since I really have pretty much ZERO sewing abilities.  I haven't touched a sewing machine in many years, so I had to pretty much learn how to sew all over again.  I am so proud of myself! 

Then...this morning, when I went to take some pictures to post, I found out my camera batteries were just about to die.  I also knew we had no spare batteries in the house.  Yes, I still have one of the first digital cameras that is known to mankind.  It takes bad pictures and it known throughout the land for it's "battery sucking" abilities.  So, anyhoo....I was able to take 4 quick, pictures before I lost power.  But, alas, I lost this battle in the end, since I was in such a hurry to beat the dying batteries...only one picture turned out.  I'll have to post more pictures later.  Check out my previous post if you are interested in more info on how I made these shoes.

FYI - For anyone else who is interested in making a Witch's Urn, you can buy shoe covers that make normal shoes look like witch’s shoe. The problem I found with these is that they are really meant for viewing from the top of the shoe down, not from the bottom (sole side) up. They have straps that crisscross over the soles & I just didn’t like the look personally. So, long story short, I thought I would try to make my own first. Although, I have to say that I was pretty close, several times during the (ahem...frustrating) sewing process, to just buying the quick covers.  I think I may have actually taught myself a few new swear words while making these. ;-) If you are interested, you can purchase them at local party/Halloween shops or on the web at places like here or here.

Blessings, Tracy

Progress....Goodwill items transformed into Witch's Shoes!

Click on image to enlarge

Image info -

1. Three pairs of Goodwill shoes.  The two pair of boots were used for parts and extra leather.
2. Orginal prices crossed out for discount bin.  Final price $1.49 each.
3. High heel that will be transformed into witch shoe.
4. Long boot during deconstruction process.  Next to boot is a buckle shape, which was cut out of white craft foam.
5. Photo (sorry, dark shot) of split in heel.
6. Made the shoe's pointed tip out of paper clay.  Painted & sealed before gluing on to shoe.
7. Shoe with leather cover.  I attached this over the front of the shoe & paper clay tip with Welders all purpose household glue.  This sleeve was sewn out of leather from Goodwill boots.
8. Second picture of shoes.
9. Glued heel split (see image 5) together and covered with black glitter.
10. Craft foam buckles, painted with silver paint & covered with fine silver glitter. Drying before being attached to shoes.

I just have to add the (exaggerated) shoe tongue and the buckle & strap.  Check back tonight or tomorrow to see our finished Witch's shoes! 

Blessings, Tracy

Me thinks the neighbors are dialing 911.....

Just starting our newest Halloween project! Here is the first part of it; drying after a fresh coat of paint. My poor husband reported that as people from our neighborhood would pass by (out for their evening walk), they would give him a "funny" look when they noticed he was painting mannequin parts in our garage.  Hey, if not painting body parts in your garage...what's a guy to do on a Saturday night?! ;-)  

I am really excited about this project & think it will be look great when completed. 

Click on images to enlarge

Stop back to check on our progress! 

Blessings, Tracy

Question about Mr. Bones...

Patty emailed me, with a few questions about our handsome Mr. Bones...

If you haven't already read the "Introducing Mr. Bones" post, see below.

 She was wondering about the rebar and his spine support in general and asking if I had any close up pictures of the rebar that holds him on his bike.  She also asks for close up shots of how his feet and hands are attached.  

First off, Mr. Bone's spine is very strong and sturdy.  Yep, he's a milk drinker! ;-) In other words, it wouldn't just flop around without the rebar support.  The spine bones are all fused together with (I'm assuming) some kind of rod inside.  If you look at the picture, in the "Creepy Hanging Spider" post, of the skeleton on my front porch (Mr. Bone's, yet to be named, partner in crime), he is pretty much sitting up straight on his own.  His arms are supporting his torso.

After chasing him around in our basement, I was finally able to snap a few pictures of our elusive Mr. Bones -
  

Here you can see the rebar, through his rib cage, mimicking his spine. 

Here is a side view of a section of his spine, with zip ties.

 

Here is a view of the bike seat, from front to back.

Here a second shot of the bike seat, from back to front.

Here is a (poor) shot of the underside of the bike seat, from the rear, with the rebar poking through.

Here's a picture of his hand. His thumb, of course, is wrapped around the other side of the handle. You can barely see a small black zip tie, in between his middle and ring finger, securing his hand to the handle.
Oops, it looks like I need to straighten the tip of his index finger.

Here's a picture of one of his feet. You can see a larger white zip tie, on the outside of his foot, securing his foot to the pedal.

In the pictures above, the rebar and zip ties look really visible, but they do blend in when you see him in person.

Hope these pictures help. Good luck with your Halloween decor Patty!

P.S. If you would like to read about Mr. Bones' Great, Great Grandfather, see this post.

Blessings, Tracy

Fading Window Ghost Silhouettes

Here's our simple ghost silhouette idea.

**Update - You can see a short video of our ghost fading in and out in this post.  The video seems temperamental, some times it appears & other times it is MIA.  Try again later if you don't see it.

Sorry, this (blurry) picture is the only I could find of our house with silhouettes.

You can see the ghosts in 3 of our windows.

Close up photo of one of the ghost (& our witch).

Here's a simple how to -

1. For our original ghost silhouettes, we cut heavy duty poster board to the size of 3 of our windows.
2. We came up with a simple ghost design &  decided where on the window we wanted to position our ghost heads. This was important for us, since our window is broken into 4 sections by cross bars. Once the position was decided, we cut the outline of the ghost's head in each piece of poster board. Two of our ghost are facing or leaning one direction & the third the other direction. This adds some interest & keeps them from all looking exactly the same.
3. We then cut cheap white fabric a little larger than each of our cut out ghost heads & glued them securely (if I remember correctly we used a glue gun), making sure the fabric was taut as you glue it down.
4. I then painted the "C" shaped (or reversed "C" shaped) eyes on each ghost face with dark gray paint. This would be painted on the finished side of the silhouettes. Keep in mind if you have crossbars in your window, as we do, and take this into account when deciding on placement of the eyes.  *Tip - I can't remember exactly where (possibly Martha Stewart?), but I'm pretty sure I read that you should always use dark gray paint for silhouettes, since black paint is too dark. As you can see in our pictures, the dark gray appears black anyways.
5. We taped the silhouette into our windows, making sure there was no light seeping around the edges.
6. We used a work light to illuminate each ghost, making sure it was just "aimed" at the silhouette and not directly behind the silhouette. If it is placed behind the silhouette, you will be able to see the light bulb through the fabric & it will distract from your image.
7. To add to the effect, we used a light faders that we purchased in the Halloween section of our local Menards. You plug your light into the fader & then plug the fader into the wall (or timer). These devices will cause the light to gradually fade in and out & has a speed setting so you can adjust the fading slower or faster. We also have everything on a timer so it all lights automatically at a set time.  It really looks cool with each ghost fading in and out at different times.  Our witch is not on a fader, so it stays lit continuously.

Ghost Fade Adapter

About a year ago, we updated ours ghost because the poster board of our originals was fading with age. Since we use them every year, we made them out of wood instead of poster board, so they would be sturdier.

1. We just took two very thin piece of wood and sandwiched them together to cut our shape out.
2. Painted the sides that would be visible with dark gray paint.
3. Stapled the fabric taut on the unpainted side of our cut out silhouette.
4. Glued the unpainted sides of the 2 thin pieces of wood together (sandwiching the fabric between), and painted the eyes on the each ghost. Our new ghost look finished on both the inside and outside.

One of our updated ghost.

Regarding the witch - The sky around the moon & the witch was originally painted on a large piece of fabric & hung in our front window on a long piece of trim (like a curtain), but has since been upgraded to wood also.

The old one shown first & the updated one shown second.  The new one has a handle, that you may have noticed near the top.  We use this handle to hold on to this large (just shy of 5 feet across) silhouette, since we have to climb a ladder to install it. 

Blessings, Tracy

Herman Munster

As I have said before, we have little children in our neighborhood, so we try to have a spooky....but tame Halloween theme.  Our Herman Munster picture is a fun and easy project that people get a kick out of.

I noticed in this picture, that poor Herman's spiders & webs need some serious readjusting.

Here's our quick how to -

1. I ordered a Herman Munster poster from somewhere like posters.com or a similar site. I think it was $4 dollars at the time.
2. We found a few 1x4 rough cedar planks in a home building site dumpster, near our home. We were lucky to find 4 pieces that were long enough to make the sides of our frame.
3. We cut the planks to make a rough frame (no mitered corners), attaching the pieces with glue and back brackets.
4. The year we were made this, we were way behind with our Halloween decorating, so we attached the poster to a piece of cardboard & (because of time crunch) we actually just duct taped the picture into the frame. We meant to go back & redo it, although I'm embarrassed to admit...it is still duct taped to this day. :-O
5. We put two screws in the back of the frame & added picture wire for hanging.
6. We draped the frame with some fake spider webs & a few plastic spiders.
7. Since we don't want extra holes in our walls, we hang it every year with a 3M Command Removable Hook. These work like a dream!

The sad thing is that pretty much none of the kids (& I think one or two of their very young parents) even know who Herman Munster is!!   It is a sad world we are living in when Herman Munster has been all but forgotten.... ;-)

Blessings, Tracy

Creepy Hanging Spiders

Are you lucky enough to have a front porch? Yeah…we are!

Do you have vinyl siding, including a vinyl corrugated soffit? Ugh…unfortunately we do!
BUT, it just so happens that this type of soffit comes in handy for one of our Halloween decorating ideas. I made creepy spiders that hang from our soffits.

In these pictue you can see a few of our spiders hanging from our soffits.

**Update - You can see a short video of these guys swaying on our porch in this post.  The video seems temperamental, some times it appears & other times it is MIA.  Try again later if you don't see it.

These spiders were made in a variety of styles and sizes. They don’t have to be perfect, ours are rough. They move (spin & sway) so much that you rarely get a close look at them, so don't worry.

For storing purposes, I wrap the fishing line around the bodies & fasten the earring wire to a leg (as you can faintly see in this picture). This prevents them from getting tangled while they are stored. These were just pulled out of their storage bag (for this picture)...so they are looking a little smooshed.

Here's a brief how to -

1. For the spider’s bodies, we either wrapped and sewed black shiny fabric around Styrofoam balls or used different sizes of black fuzzy pom poms.
2. For the spider’s legs, we just sewed/secured different sizes and widths of pipe cleaners on the bottom of the body section and bent them to look like spider’s legs.
3. We then added a length of fishing line to each spider, by looping and knotting the line through the top or back of each spider’s body. By attaching the fishing line in different spots on your spiders, some will hang a little askew. We also used several different lengths of line, so the spiders would vary in heights.  I think both of these add interest.
4. We used a pierced earring wires & knotted the top of the fishing line to the notched area of the earring wire. Your spiders are done.

To hang –

1. Open each wire earring clasp and gently feed the straight end of it through one of the corrugated loops of the soffit. Our loops are tiny, so there are times I have to pull my little bag of patience out while I'm attaching these buggers. You may also run into one or two of these loops that does not go all the way through, just move on to a different loop. Once the wire has poked through, close the wire clasp and let the spider hang. The pierced earring wires are so fine that you don't even notice them. 
2. Adjust any spider legs that may have been smooshed while in storage.
3. Depending on the lengths of the hanging spiders, make sure you don’t hang them too close together, since they will get tangled when the wind blow them around.

Close up of our soffit.

Blessings, Tracy

Halloween Witch's Broom

We made this Witch's Broom many years ago. It is a really easy project and we love how it adds to the "Halloween vibe" of our front porch .

In this picture, the straw area of the broom photographed darker than it is.

See additional pictures below.

Here's a brief how to -

1. Find (or buy) an "old style" straw broom. Sand handle to remove clear varnish.
2. We taped off the metal collar between handle and straw section of our broom. We thought this collar was interesting, so we decided to leave it unpainted.
3. Spray paint the broom handle black. Wait for it to dry completely.
4. Use painter's tape to mask off your broom's handle with whatever pattern you like; we went with a wide swirl pattern. Before spraying, make sure the front edges of your tape are sealed, to prevent paint leakage. Also, remember to cover the collar and straw sections of your broom, to protect from any orange over spray. Spray handle with orange paint. Remove tape and let dry completely.
5. Once dry, mask off handle and collar of your broom to protect from over spray. Paint straw section of broom with black spray paint.
6. While paint is still wet, sprinkle glitter on the straw portion until you feel it looks right. We used mainly gold glitter & complimented it with a light coating of silver and iridescent glitters. I highly recommend adding the iridescent glitter, since it gives the broom a "magical" glimmer in different lights and at different angles (note the purple shimmers in the picture below). Let dry completely.

7. To finish, I added two plastic spiders to the handle with a small dab of tacky poster putty.

Here it is on our front porch!
Again, dark in the photograph.

This broom is really quite beautiful in person. The kids go crazy over it, being that it reminds them of "Harry Potter". This was not our intention when we made it, but it is nice to see that kids still beieve in "magic"!

Blessings, Tracy

I am linking this post to the DIY Show and Tell Halloween Surprise Party.