102 Wicked Things To Do

#30 Haunted Tree

2011-09-27T00:12:00.000-07:00

As I have mentioned before, I am doing a Haunted Forest/ Faerie Tale Witch Cottage theme in my kitchen this year.

So I awoke one night and realized I must have a haunted tree dividing my kitchen from my living room! I became obsessed with the idea, and immediately started trying to figure out the best way to do this.

First I decided I wanted it to be compact and capable of being broken down in two parts for storage.

It also needed to be tall (my ceilings are 10 ft) but incase I move to a shorter or taller house one day it needs to be adjustable. I also wanted the branches to sprawl across my ceiling.

I had a lot to consider!

So I decided to use concrete pour molds for the base.

They are around $10 each for the 12" size. The two I bought, one was actually a little bit smaller and fit snugly inside the other, perfect for what I had in mind!

I thought about using chicken wire, but I really hate using the stuff and if I can avoid it I will.

I found some flexible black irrigation pipe in our garage and decided to use it as a stopper for the top tube to rest on.

I hot glued it just a little to hold it n place (about 6" from the top) then went over it in Gorilla Glue to really make it strong.

PS. The bottle exploded and made a huge mess. I still have glue on me!

See, what a Mess!

I wanted a strong base since its so tall.

I forgot to get a cheap piece of plywood when I was at the store, but I was into the project by now and not wanting to run back out, I grabbed a round plywood circle I already had laying in the garage and gorilla glued it on the bottom.

When all was dry, I crumbled up newspaper to taper it down. I also cut out a hole for my uplight to go in the back.

For the roots I crumbled up balls of news paper in varying shapes using masking tape to secure them.

I coneccted them with more paper at the joints and more tape.

When I figured out the shapes I wanted the roots, I started filling in gaps with more crumpled paper and tape. Then hen it all got several coats of paper mache and then several more until the base was super strong.

On the top half I started the face.

I just drew on a face and cut it out with a serrated knife.

Here it is sitting in the bottom half.

Next using Celluclay I built the facial features

I started building up ridges in the tree with twisted up newspaper and tape, then went over in

more paper mache.

I tried to match the bottom ridges to the top as best I could.
Also, I used tape as a guide on the top half to show me exactly where it met the bottom.

Here are the two halves apart all paper mached

and together

For the top branches I used coat hangers and taped them to the tree really good before buliding up and then paper maching over the whole thing.

I wanted to make more branches but I really am behind schedule right now, so it got only a few for this year maybe I will add some next year..

For the bark I decided to use more celluclay because I have a bunch of it. I used a whole bag on this tree.
I would just glob it on and then smooth it out a little in sections.
Then I would get my fingers a little wet and scrape it to make my bark texture, clumps and lumps are a good thing.

Here it is finally dry and ready for the paint.

I used a base coat of a charcoal black color I had on hand called fittingly called 'black magic'.

As I was going I would brush on and blend in (while it was still wet) a brown color in the highlight areas, just to give it a little more depth of color.

Lastly I dry brushed on a lighter taupe color.

No closeups of that...Hmm I need to take a good bark pic too and add it here.

I decided for now to just use some tissue paper tacked behind the face diffuse the light a bit.

For the top branches crawling across my ceiling, I can't make them permanent because like I said it needs to store and I don't want to be married to this height incase I move.

So I took some old branches I had saved from the last tree trimming, using eye hooks and fishing line I attached them to the ceiling with the bases just resting inside the top of my tree.

Now they have the appearance that they are coming out of the tree but they are really just hanging from the ceiling over it. Also, this way I can add more branches and fan it out as far across my ceiling as I want.

I will be adding some green to the branches as well soon,

but for now I need to go put away that laundry in the picture.

NOTE:

I will be adding pics soon of the finished tree and it's creepy hanging greenery.

Also maybe a cleaner house in the next picture.

#29 Vintage Witchy Recipe box

2011-09-20T08:35:00.000-07:00

For a while I have been meaning to organize all the Halloween recipes I've collected over the years in a fun way.

So I was feeling crafty the other day as usual.
On all of my big projects either the paper mache was still drying or I didn't have supplies to continue, and it has been so hot I just didn't feel like going out and shopping.

Anyway, I found an old unfinished recipe box (they sell them in the unfinished wood section at most craft stores). I've had it for a while actually just never could decide what to do with it.

My first thought was to decoupage on it. So I started looking up vintage Halloween images online. Here are a couple I really liked...

But then I saw an image on a vintage paper hat for sale for $100!

(hmm can't find the link anymore.)

I just fell in love with it.

So I decided to hand paint the box with a similar design.

First I simply painted the box black and the top of the lid orange with acrylic paints.

Then eyeballing it, I drew the image on in pencil and went over in black paint.

Added more details until I was satisfied.

I glued on a pretty ribbon as trim around the lid, and then sealed the whole thing with a matte varnish.

For the inside dividers, I made tombstone shaped tabs out of black card-stock and wrote on them in white pencil.

I will probably redo these a little better soon with some of the pretty Halloween paper craft stuff they have out now.

Lastly I just I printed up the halloween recipes on cardstock in the appropriate sizes.

Now all my witchy goodies are in one organized space.

#28 Silhouette Plates for a Witch's Kitchen

2011-09-04T11:05:00.000-07:00

So I am doing something a little different this year each room has a theme. The Kitchen is going to be a Faerie Tale Witches cottage, a lot of green and black, moss, branches, a real haunted forest feel.

Usually in my wall plate holder I display my vintage happy pumpkin plates, but that is not going to work this year so I started thinking of what I could put up there instead. I have all these green plates that I over bought on clearance a few years back. They are the perfect witchy green shade for the kitchen too.

So I decided to do the silhouette plates I have seen for years, always liked, but never tried.

The first time I saw this was in a Martha Stewarts magazine. So I grabbed out my old Halloween issues and started looking. They have a variation in about every issues, with templates galore. She also has tons on her website or you could use any clip art you like.

Now I have to take a moment to defend Martha. When I bring her name up many people tell me how evil she is. But to me she is a great champion of Halloween and her Halloween epidoes were always something I looked forward to every year. So maybe she comes off as a B to some people, I don't know her personally to answer that, but she has some fantastic ideas.

Also you really start to question life when a guy dressed as Leather Face, in a bloody apron, carrying severed head lectures you about the Evils of Martha Stewart. Please, Don't ask.

So anyway I was drinking my glass of wine on a mellow saturday night and sometimes when I have a glass of wine I feel a little craftiness coming on. At the same time I am inpatient and want quick results.

So therefore this tutorial is of what I like to call My Drunken Crafts. Maybe I need to make a new category on here.

I could have printed the clip art or copied the magazine images, but I was again impatient.

Luckily I can freehand alright, so I just copied images from the magazine on regular paper

in a size that seemed right for the plates.

Getting the image on the plate, there are a couple ways you can do this.

For this one I cut out my shape and traced around it with a sharpie.

Luckily I noticed the below picture was off center before I started.

If you mess up a little, the sharpie does come up if you rub hard enough right away.

Next I filled it in with ceramic paint.

As you can see it was kind of hard to get it smooth.

The brush left brush marks and the sponges left bubbles.

This is were patience and sobriety would have come in handy.

I managed to get it to smooth out better by doing a second layer with the brush the next day.

The other way I did it was the opposite.

I wanted the plate black and the witch green. I have seen this technique before where you can print the image on adhesive paper, but I didn't have any so I used a glue stick and covered all the edges really good and stuck her on the plate.

Oh is that a glass of wine in the photo? Why yes it is.

Quickly, but with a light amount of paint (to avoid bleeding) I covered the edges

and then the whole plate in black paint.

I pulled up the stencil very gently. and it came out almost perfect, very little bleeding.

Any parts that did, I scraped off before it dried with a blade.

Again here you can see the bubbles I had to fix with a brush coat.

The colors are not as bright on camera for some reason but it's a nice witchy green in person.

Even though it was all turned out fine, I would not recommend drinking and crafting.

Also as soon as I can I am going to make some chargers to go behind these. In case you don't know what those are, chargers are big decorative plates that go under regular plates. I have several ideas

in mind that involve natural materials, to the shabby up the display a bit.

I'll add the picture and how to as soon as I do it.

#27 Don't Judge a Book by it's Cover!

2011-08-02T14:13:00.000-07:00

So here is something I have been wanting to try for a while.

This craft is so easy and there is no end to the cool things you can do!

I already have about 10 ideas for more books in my mind!

For my first two attempts, I decided to go with replicas from movies I like.

This a simple and easy replica from the Evil Dead 2.

I just took an old hard cover book.

This one is just some mediocre cookbook.

I drew on the face, just sort of eyeballed it not trying to be exact.

I built up his features and some big wrinkles with paper mache paste and paper towels.

Then I covered it with a skin of paper mache napkins and paper towels.

I let it dry to the touch opened like this for just a little bit.

Then I bound it shut with twine until it was completely dry, for about 2 days.

Unfortunately I didn't take a picture but this step but it is a very important.

If you don't the book cover can warp out too much.

Yes, that is an ear on the other side.

After he was dry I began the painting. I used raw umber for the base color, red for the mouth parts.

I did a black wash and then dry brushed on gray.

I highlighted the teeth and the one eye with a dry brush of yellow ochre.

The next is a little more complicated and I got a little carried away.

I started with a large cardboard book box I got on clearance at Micahel's

I know it's pretty, and I am about to destroy it!

I was actually a little sad because despite my dark inclinations, I do like butterflies.

So here I am making the spell book from the movie "Hocus Pocus"

This time I started by covering the book in a skin of tissue paper using mod podge.

It dries really quickly.

Next using clay I made the seems where the skin is sewn together.

I used Das red cause that's what I have on hand.

Paper clay would be good too, or any air dry clay that doesn't shrink.

Using the same tool I poked holes for the stitching.

Here is another hint, add a small layer of the tissue paper over where the clay meets the book.

I did it on the front but forgot on the back. If you look at my finished photos,

you can see the seams in the back, but the front is blended.

Next I made a little eyeball out of Fimo.

It wasn't a full sphere. I just a rounded a half circle of a little lump of clay baked it.

Then hand painted the iris, and added a gloss sealer to make it look wet.

I added the lids using Creative Paper Clay this time.

Oh I forgot to mention after the book and clay was dry I painted it with a mix of raw umber, and raw sienna. then I did a black wash, and dry brushed on more raw sienna.

Next I glued my eyeball on the box.

Then I used more paper clay and blended my eyeball into the rest of the cover.

And of course painted it to match.

Next I started work on all the metal embellishments.

Using fimo I sculpted one of the snakes and baked him.

Then I made a base.

I pressed my mostly cooked snake on top and baked it again until it was done.

There are four of these babies on the book, so instead of sculpting all of them.

I decided top make a mold, and do copies.

I used silicone for the mold and two part resin for the copies.

All available at most craft stores. Good time for 40% off coupons.

the mold kit is about $20 and the resin was like $15. I used about half each kit for this.

Sturdy resin copies in no time!

I painted them with black spray paint and a light spray of silver over top.

Next I made the clasp that goes around the eye.

In the fimo again, I made a ring that fit around my eye and baked it.

I wanted it to be a functioning clasp so I used these tiny hinges from Lowe's.

I made a brade of fimo

I smushed it in and attached it to my hinge.

Also (not pictures) I stuck a piece of coat hanger

through the entire thing to make it strong, and then baked it.

I attached them with gorilla glue and then covered it in fimo to make it all one piece.

For the little hand on the back I used coat hanger pieces and just sculpted over it with fimo.

All these pieces when done received the same coat of black and silver paint.

There was is also a long snake on the spine of the book.

I forgot to take picture as I was sculpting , but he is also fimo.

After all the silver pieces are glued on I did a wash of watered down raw umber,

to make them look aged and tarnished.

I still need to add the threads, and there is some detail on the spine, and a couple jewels.

But that is all easy and I need a break form this book for a little while.

The back

the side

opening it

I may need to do something about the inside though.....

Edit: And we have stitches....

I used 13.7m hemp cording I had on hand

(you can find it in the jewelry section at craft stores ).

I simply cut and glued the stitches in.

I pushed it in the holes with an extra large sewing needle.

#26 Vampire Kit

2011-07-06T16:12:00.000-07:00

Vampires can be a real nuisance!

That's why I like to have my trusty vampire kit on hand!

Especially on those late nights

when I am alone working in my garage.

It all started on one fateful trip to Hobby Lobby.

I found this box in the unfinished wood section.

I glued on the cross cutout (also in the wood section) and stained it all.

What inspired me most are this beautiful little bottle and a silver crucifix.

The bottle was in a perfume bottle display.

As for the crucifix... if you haven't been to a Hobby Lobby,

to say they have a lot of Crosses is an understatement!

There are so many lovely ones to choose from. I decided to stay on the simpler side for that.

Garlic, I actually had a fake garlic garland from the dollar store.

I just tore a couple off and tied them up with raffia.

For the wooden stake I used a 1"wooden dowel (below, also in the wood section).

I cut it the length to fit my box, and carved a sharp point.

I almost killed myself several times doing this.

I also used my wood burner to make symbols in the side,

just because that seemed like the right thing to do.

I then stained it and wrapped some twine around the handle and used glue to keep it secure.

I lined the box with cheap velvet wanna be scraps that I had on hand.

If I had it to do again I would buy a stiffer felt like fabric because the floppy velvet was a nightmare!

I ended up cutting pieces of scrap felt and covering them with my velvet.

It was annoying and time consuming but it looks pretty now.

I was just being cheep, but I wont do it that way again.

Oh and i wanted it to have sections for the pieces.

I measured and cut cardboard and covered them with the velvet as well

and then glued them in place.

So there is my Vampire Kit!

Ready on hand in case I ever need it!

Warning: This Vampire Kit may not work on Twilight Vampires!

The best way to destroy a Twilight Vampire,

is to tease them until they develop an eating disorder.

Just kidding....I like to make fun of Twilight, but I don't hate it.

And my nieces like it, so I can't be too mean.

#25 Something Old, Something New

2011-07-01T11:34:00.000-07:00

So I was walking in the good will and saw an old wedding dress

for just $20!

I love old wedding dresses! Usually just dying them grey and messing them up a little is great for a ghostly costume or prop.

However this time I wanted to go for something a little more ambitious.

I decided I would be Lydia, Winona Ryder's character from the 80s film "Beetlejuice" for Halloween!

Me doing my best Lydia face. I had been told I look a little like her since the movie came out back when I was a kid.

I grabbed a couple bottles of Rit red Dye and did the messy deed of turning an old wedding dress red. However the dye did not take to the fabric and its was a dull rose color, and the lace unfortunately turned kind of burgundy.

If I had it to do over i would skip the dye process all together and went strait to spray paint.

They sell fabric spray paint and I used about 5 bottles. I spent more on paint than the dress. It was quite a lot of fabric on the dress and it was very messy!

I did it mostly in the garage and I never want to smell fabric paint again thanks!

I wonder if regular red spray paint would work?

The dress was a little crunchy anyway so what would it matter?

Anyway I finally had it looking somewhat red, but it needed a little more punch and fluff.

Like my feet?

I bought a bunch of red tule fabric and made a veil and added some to the dress here and there to punch up the color.

Here you can see how unfortunately some of the lace turned very dark but oh well.. live and learn.

Notice the eerie background set of my cluttered bed room!

I added some gloves that helped punch it up a bit too.

The hair is naturally that messy no need to do anything there.

#24 Distractions & Dragons

2011-06-30T20:27:00.000-07:00

Wow I haven't posted anything in quite a while!

Now that the kids are out of school and home all day, every day,

it's a little hard to work on projects.

So I have decided to employ them.

I found kids are great to use for separating and

crumpling balls of newspaper!

They are also good for covering a few balls in paper mache (although very messy).

So I saved a little time, but I had lot more clean up after.

FYI a four year old playing in paper mache glue, is one wild scene.

Our project this month (I could only manage the one) was this dragon trophy.

He is again made using Dan Reeder's techniques.

I have used his methods before (#19 Scary Fish) but it is absolutely beyond a doubt made for dragons!

Buy his books, check out his site or blog "Gourmet Paper Mache'

and be prepared to be amazed by the master.

If you want details they are in the book 'Monsters'.

Lots of step by step color images, and detailed instructions

and Dan's slightly twisted since of humor (that I also love).

It's available on Amazon

It starts with classic paper mache shaped in balls and such.

The teeth are sculpy.

The cloth mache methods invented by Dan is what really makes the difference.

You will also need several coat hangers and a lot of masking tape.

It's pretty cool to watch him take shape.

The whole time I was thinking of an alligator.

Now he started looking like a dragon.

The eyes are gold sculpy. I painted an iris on and made them shine with some clear nail polish.

The webbing part is so cool.

I found I love cutting and trimming dry cloth mache webbing... it is strangely satisfying.

after he had a skin I added scales and the other details.

Of course paint I went with purple mouth green tongue and orangish color.

He is pretty good sized fella, a little over 3ft long.

Any way I love him. He hangs on my wall right by the front door so he is the first thing you see when you come in my home.

#23 Tudor Toss

2011-05-21T09:33:00.000-07:00

I have always been into Tudor history. The political, religious battles, the power plays, the scandals! For most people the thing that comes to mind first about the Tudors is all those beheadings! So I thought, of course to make a game of it.

Coincidently this last Thursday marked the 475 year anniversary of Anne Boleyn's execution.
Too Soon?

So probably the first thing I should have done was decide on the heads I would use. Doing so after the fact may cause a problem, but I got lucky.

I decided to use these doll heads I found at Goodwill. They go to those make up hair dolls (you know the ones with just a head, neck, and shoulders). I popped off the heads and decided to Un-Barbie them with a little dead looking paint.

Next I used a 4x4 piece of ply wood. I got a little nicer wood (popular 3/4" thick).

I cut holes (badly) and painted it with some oops paint.

I choose a light color because I want to see it outside at night.

Then I started painting on my Tudors.

I chose.... of course Anne Boleyn, Catherine Howard (Queens are worth more),Mary Queen of Scots, Lady Jane Gray, Thomas More, and Thomas Cromwell.

They just come to mind most when it comes to tudor time executions.

To make it stand, I used a couple strips of wood cut into four 4 foot pieces

I screwed one of them to the top of the board. and attached the legs at an angle underneath.

I attached it with a bracket that I bent with a clamp and pliers.

Then I attached the fourth piece on the ground the same way.

The angle was sharper so I just took angle brackets and unbent them a little.

I decided to just print up the names on paper and Mod Podge them on!

I also antiqued the whole thing a bit with a watered down brown paint and a rag.

I need some more heads! I only found four that day.

Later I will get a couple more and make them over into the men, probably by just adding beards.

The picture quality is kind of poor , I didn't realize how dark my garage is.

I will post some brighter ones when I have time.

#22 Zombie Bunny

2011-04-18T22:34:00.000-07:00

I don't know why I did this.

I saw this idea as an April fools joke and wanted a real one.

Since I had all the supplies on hand, it was a no brainer!

It's happening!

I already had the mold for a chocolate bunny along with my many other candy molds.

You can buy bunny molds online or at a local cake supply store.

Mine is kind of big almost 10" tall!

I would suggest going for a small mold if you are starting out in candy making.

Plus this guy uses alot of chocolate!

I used just plain old candy melts, they sell them every where.

I used red, white, green, and yellow.

They are super easy to use you just microwave them and remicrowave them as needed.

Tempering real chocolate is an art form.

This is just way simple, and you have all the colors ready.

I started by doing the blood stains with a brush. I froze it and let those dry.

Using two whole yellow candy pieces, I cut out bulging eyes.

For my bunny the back of a piping tip made the perfet size.

I piped red pupils and stuck them in the freezer.

I made a zombie green with a mixture of all the chips (even just a couple of the red).

I just kept experimenting until I liked the color.

I painted a nice thick layer of the green in my mold getting in all the cracks.

Then I poured more melted candy in and sealed my two sides together and moved it around to get an even coat on the inside. Then let it set in the freezer

After it set I popped it out of the mold and trimmed and cleaned up all the seems.

I reheat my red candy and added more details.

I used it to stick on his eyes and add more 3D blood drips

I used a little white and brushed on fangs......

and some ribs!

I just played around with the red until i felt satisfied.

It is really tempting to go nuts with the blood but a little goes a long way.

He will look adorable in someones easter basket.

Happy Easter!

Or just get a mold and make an army of zombie bunnies!

#21 Scorpion Orchid

2011-03-30T12:31:00.000-07:00

I had made this tutorial a while back and just forgot to post it.

It's another of my Fearsome Foliage.

Yes I know.... another plant!

But you know witches have a lot of weird stuff in their garden.

There is a real flower called the Scorpion Orchid but what I had in mind was a bit more literal.

I again used "Creative Paper Clay" because this needs to be extremely light as not to weigh down the delicate silk plant. Paper clay is the perfect choice here.

So I am making a super light weight yet long scorpion tail.

I rolled little cylinders of the clay and pushed them on just regular floral wire approximately 3 to 4 inch length.

When I had the amount I wanted I smoothed and evened it all out. Then I curved the wire like a scorpions tail and defined or added more joints as needed.

For the stinger tip just a little ball of clay.....

...gently rolled one end.....

...to a point......

..and stuck it on the end of the tail.

Let it dry completely.

For the claw like stamens, you could just curl some extra stem pieces from a silk flower.

Or I found these claw like pieces inside a plant I had, and just bent them into curves.

The flower was just a simple dollar store orchid. I manipulated it slightly.

Since this was only an experiment I went cheap, but I will likely try this with a nicer silk orchid next time.

With Hot glue I attached the tail to the back of the flower. I also glued between the joints of the tail that didn't stick to each other, and hot glued the stamens in the front center of the flower.

I painted the tail black and added some brown highlights. I also painted the stamens and flower center and used water down black paint to stain the petals and leaves.

And there you have it .

#20 And The Award Goes To....

2011-03-15T17:25:00.000-07:00

At Halloween I like to have a big party.

So every year I need some new best costume awards.

A little hot glue, some gold spray paint, and dollar skeletons that have been in a tote since last year.....

have finally found a purpose.

He is holding just a wooden dowel. I will likely add a clay pumpkin topper

In case you are new to my blog you may have noticed I have a Dollar Store addiction. I sometimes buy things there with no idea exactly what I will do with them but I just know there is some potential.

So yes, I mindlessly spend money on things there all the time. Suze Orman would be yelling at me now.

Anyway here they are the little 12" skellis from Dollar Tree. They are floppy jointed kooky little guys. Something comic about them attracted me and the fact that I could get so many. So I bought them almost two years ago but they have them every year it seems.

Note get em early this is something that will sell out. If you are dollar store shopper you know, buy Halloween in August.... Christmas in October etc.

Found these little plaques in different shapes at Michael's craft store. They ranged from fifty cents to a dollar.

So using my trusty Hot Glue Gun I start at the feet and work up. I broke the limbs and glued them back on in the pose I wanted. That gives them a little more range of movement.

I plan on making these into best costume awards so I posed some appropriately.

See bellow "Funniest" and "Sexiest"

I clipped there little hanging loops of their heads as well.

I played a round with them. I was thinking these would be fun over the kitchen cabinets as well.

Just some skeletons having a good time. Oh you could add accessories like a little apron, and chef hat, a mini wine glass. a little feather boa.... OMG! Cute potential!

#19 Scary Fish

2011-03-15T09:32:00.000-07:00

I have a plan to turn a space in my house into the sporting trophy room of the bravest monster hunter in the world!

Now who you may ask, is this strange person who has traveled the world to dark places in search of the most deadly, most exotic, and most formidable prey?

I don't know, but he or she kicks ass!

The first most common trophy I thought of was a fish....

a Big Scary Fish!

There are quite a few Papier Mache artists out there that I admire. I think The one I have admired for the longest Is Dan 'the Monster Man' Reeder.

http://www.gourmetpapermache.com/

I had just recently bought his book 'Monsters' and he had an amazing set of fish in there.

I also want to try one of his dragon trophies (that would fit in the room as well )

I highly recommend the book!

It has detail instructions, very easy to follow. His blog is also great.

He is always willing to answer any questions you have.

So since this is his method I won't add the instructions just a few progress pics.

You will need a lot of newspaper!

I wanted to try a couple different things in his book (definitely a couple monsters) so I spent an afternoon just making papier mache limbs and balls per the instructions. Here are the balls drying outside in the perfect dry Arizona sun. Here papier mache is ready by the next day, if you remember to turn it mid day.

I used one big ball for the body, a medium ball for the head, and a few smaller ones for the tail gill and fin spots. Oh and a lot of masking tape.

Teeth are Fimo. Fins are coat hangers, tape, and phone book paper. Again, Dan has detailed instructions for all this on his blog and in his books.

I decided to use red gems for his eyes. You know, those bags that come in every color in the craft floral section. I had a bunch of these, but you can also order some pretty cool fish eyes online. Or make some out of clay.

Here is the beginning of Dan Reeder's signature Cloth Mache Skin, I am pretty sure he invented this method.

It is a super cool effect. The stickiness is something to get used to though. You need a lot of elmers glue and old bed sheets.

Good Will is a good place for the sheets.

But it just so happens my bed sheets developed a tear right as I was getting to this part, such wonderful Luck! Also interestingly enough, the pretty new sheets I've been wanting to buy were on sale that week! It's amazing how it all worked out.

Although My husband seems very suspicious of me, I swear it was all just fantastic coincidence!

More fins and then the scales. This is the messy fun part were you start to see your work come together. This part took a couple days just because the fins need to dry over night before you move to the next step and I could only take sticking my hands in the elmers glue for a couple hours at a time.

Here are all his scales gills all of its done and dry.

The different colors are just my different colored sheets.

I used some green house paint I had leftover for his base and black for the inside of his mouth. Then I did the black wash that Dan does, it really makes the colors pop!

And then i added highlights in yellows and blues.

All in all it takes one afternoon making the mache balls then a couple for them to dry.

An afternoon of cutting balls, taping, adding teeth eyes, fin bones.

Webbing about and hour but has to dry over night.

the skin scales you could probably do one side a day so about 3 afternoons.

And painting one day.

I plan to mount him on the wall.

He is pretty light weight about 2 ft long.

Now I want to make a giant shark!

Ok maybe I will wait a bit on that one. But it would be sweet wouldn't it?

#18 Valley of the Dolls

2011-02-08T16:13:00.000-08:00

These are some dolls I have done and or still working on.

Thrift stores are a great place to find old dolls for very little money.

This is a porcelain doll I have recently taken apart, and painting.
Spray paint works really good for porcelain dolls.

Actually porcelain dolls are pretty creepy as is.

Baby dolls are only a dollar or two at the thrift store, and the easiest to find.
Simply creeped up with a little acrylic paint and demented imagination.

Here I got a little carried away making over this one. But he was just begging to be Pinhead.

He's cuddly, He's adorable, he will tear your soul apart!

#17 Black and White

2011-02-08T15:53:00.000-08:00

This is just an easy project but I love the way it looks.

All I did was collect images of classic black and white horror films online,

print them up,

and frame them in black frames.

Here they are in my old powder room. I kept it like this year round.

Hard to see.. that's the Phantom of the opera and a fun picture of Vincent Price and others in coffins reading the paper

there are some more the Wicked Witch, the Mummy, and Lon Chaney in "London after Midnight'

More Lon Chaney, Creature from the black Lagoon, Christopher Lee

The dollar store is a good place for cheap frames.

The Bride and the Monster

Dracula, Peter Cushing, more Vincent, the Wolfman is up there too.

The Birds and the Bad seed

This year I put them in my family room in a collage on the walls.

#16 Man Eating Plant

2011-01-31T14:19:00.000-08:00

I wanted some little scary looking little plants inspired by Audry II from Little shop of Horrors.

So I used both Celluclay and Paperclay.

Two of my favorite things to work with.

Foil and a coat hanger for the stalk frame. Toothpicks are for teeth.

The cheap foam, pots, and foliage from the dollar store.

I made the shape I wanted with the cut wire.

I covered it in foil to bulk it up. I made it flat at the end in the shape of the tongue.

I covered it in a layer of celluclay and let it dry.

I made the head out of foil. I it balled up and shaped into a lower and upper jaw piece.

I also tried using styro-foam eggs I cut in half on a couple.

They work good.

But I think I prefer the versatility the foil gives to the shape.

I cover the halves in a coat of celluclay let it dry and then smooth it out with paperclay.

When they dried I glued them on the stalk /tongue with hot glue

I filled in the gaps at the at the base and shape it more with the paperclay.

I also added gums lips and other detail with the clay. In the gum line I poked little holes where I want the teeth, with a tooth pick. This will give a good anchor when I go to glue them in

After it was dry I just painted the head. Not so worried about the stem yet.

I hot glued on the leaves at the base of the head. Then I used paperclay to blend them and smooth out the stalk. Of course painted it when it was dry to match .

After I sealed the whole thing. I use a very High Gloss varnish several coats on the inside of the mouth,lips and tongue. to make it look nice and wet. Then super glue in the teeth.

I also made one with teeth made of fimo instead of toothpick.

I just rolled them out and cut them and baked them.

I also used flower petals instead of leaves for the head.

#15 Rustic Lanterns

2011-01-11T12:07:00.000-08:00

I wanted some old rusty looking lanterns hanging from the trees around my witch cauldron scene. I also liked the idea of it being something I could use year round. as outdoor garden lighting.

I've seen mason jars used as hanging lanterns in weddings before they usually are left clear with decorative sand in the bottom and a tea light. It's very pretty and casully elegant.

I wanted mine to look old though,

and give off a rusty amber glow.

So I started with the mason jars. I just coated the outside in mod podge to give it a foggy look.

Could probably use just regular elmer's glue too, I just like any excuse to use mod podge.

(It's still wet here, but it dries to a frosty finish.)

Next I painted the inside with just a foam brush and slightly watered down acrylic paints.

I used mostly Burnt Sienna and a little Raw Umber mixed. They gave a really good rust color.

I did a couple coats and layers playing up with splotches drips and varying some the two colors.

Then I would alternate sitting it up and down to dry.

This let the drips go back and forth until I had a cool runny look.

It looks like they've been around forever.

Then splotched and dripped and smeared on the outside as well to give it even more depth.

This is really messy and fun! You can't screw it up because its supposed to look random and distressed.

I just used the floral wire I had on hand, about a 36 inch piece.

I looped one end around and under the rim and twisted it tight.

Then looped the other end of the wire around to the opposite side and twisted it up tight.

I wanted my loops pretty long for a good distance from my tree limbs.

I will attach them too another piece of wire I wrap around the branch to make is all secure.

Then fill the bottom with a hand full of sand and put a tea light in.

( i used my kitchen tongs to set it in just right.)

They give a beautiful glow.

Later I will post pix of them in the trees at night

The jars are barely even warm to the touch. Tea lights just don't give off that much heat.

And even on a breezy night the sand holds the candle in place beautifully

I have burned these for 6 hours (the life of my tea-lights) about 3 times over with no problems.

This is just a log of what I did.

It involves an open flame which you should never leave unattended.

If you want to try this, do so at your own risk!

I am not responsible if you burn anything or anyone!

#14 Witch Jars

2011-01-10T16:57:00.000-08:00

This is the easiest project and there are so many great ideas online. Some people go into great detail with amazing labels and such. I tend to keep mine simple with what I have on hand.

So Here are some of my Witch jars.

For some I just use things from my pantry. I gave them new labels and put a little piece of cheese cloth and twine around the top. I wrote the real name of what's inside on the lids in sharpie. They stay this way year round.

With a little imagination ordinary ingredients become creepy.

Eye of Newt( pepper corns) Lizard Toes (whole cloves)

Scales of sea snake (fennel seeds) Pixie Dust (pastel sanding sugar)

Eye of Lycanthrope ( white cherries) Vampire Blood (water, corn syrup, and red food color with a touch of blue) Squid Ink (water, vinegar and black food coloring)

Liver of Toad (artichoke hearts) Eye Of Goblin (red olives)

I also take empty jars and fill them with things.

I like to get interesting jars and bottles. For example the shape of this bottle is perfect.

Of course pasta, jelly, applesauce and giant pickle jars are wonderful. I also like the small ones like minced garlic, horseradish. You can just paint the lids black if you want. Or like above rip up cheese cloth and spray it with tea or coffee to antique it. Then wrap it around the tops like above with twine.

You don't even need labels you can just put rubber bugs and stuff in them with water and food colors. Hand sanitizer from dollar store is also good and it suspends things somewhat better and looks all slimy.

If you want the labels here is a easy how to.

Find a font you like. Not necessarily creepy. This cursive font will work great.

You can download Halloween fonts online too.

I rip the paper so the torn side is on the front of the label. Print side up, tearing towards me slowly.

carefully wrinkle it up and unfold.

soak in coffee or tea for a few hours.

Dump off the coffee and allow to dry completely. If you pick them up too soon and they will fall apart.

Then just mod podge them on or just glue them to your jars.

If you are doing a room with a black light tonic water is black light reflective.

Or you can take take an old sharpies or a pac form dollar tree.

Take the ink sponge thing out and soak them in your water.

Another thing that looks great in these is the magic grow things they sell everywhere.

I got these at.....where else.... the dollar store.

They look so creepy in water with food colors.

I don't even label them. This is good for a mad scientists lab too.

I chopped up the snake... looks so gross and cool! I don't label them.

#13 Black Light Mask Room

2011-01-06T10:38:00.000-08:00

This is based on a classic haunted dot room.

The dot room has been around forever. What you do is set up a room with a black light, and cover it in neon dots. The trick is you hide someone in the room, in black, with dots allover them. When they move towards guests, the effect is very freaky.

This is basically the same idea just using masks.

I ordered these plain white masks from Oriental Trading Company $4.99 for a dozen.

Sorry having trouble attaching links right now.
Just go to their website and type in masks, they will come up.

They are flimsy and cheap but they work just fine for the walls. And the price just can't be beat. Most white masks are $2 to $6 each at craft stores, and you need a ton for the effect to work. I ordered 4 dozen and I wish I had ordered at least 6. It depends on how big the room is. Our room was just bigger than I originally thought.

I purchased these neon paints at Home depot. Walmart has some too, not as many colors as I recall and the price wasn't any better. Plus good luck getting help to unlock the spray paint shelf in Walmart.

One thing Walmart did have was the black plastic that I use for the walls of my haunt. It's in the paint section. Just painters plastic. Inexpensive, sturdy, and black. If one Walmart does not have it, look around at others. I've noticed some carry it, some don't around here.

I don't know why this won't rotate, it's rotated in my album.

I also used plastic primer to prime the masks. I had mine on hand I think I got this from Lowe's a while back. Anyway you can get that anywhere.

So after they are all primed and painted and dry I pinned them to the plastic walls in a random pattern with little black safety pins.

It turned out amazing!

Kind of hard to capture the full effect here. Black light pix don't turn out well on my camera but it was very bright. all you could see were masks.

Save a couple masks for the scarer. I say a couple because you need quick back up incase the string breaks, which it did.

My spook wore the mask along with a cheap halloween hooded cloak, black socks, and gloves.

We hung the light from the ceiling in the garage.

For the black light I used my big one, it's like 40 inches or more . But I think two regular 18 inch ones should fill a room. Don't use the bulbs they are not as effective.

You are so disoriented in the room with the masks everywhere and the black light.

You truly could not see her. She would stand perfectly still and then start coming towards you! People freaked! It was like a floating head moving around. I was shocked how great this room was.

We had grown men screaming!

Insane Life

2011-01-04T07:47:00.000-08:00

Well these last few months have been a whirl wind of insanity.
Alot has happened in our lives, and of course the Holidays! My god the Holidays!

I am just happy that 2010 is over! I am ready for a New Year and new projects.

I have to really kick it in gear to make my goal 102 projects!
Not sure if I will make it before Halloween.

Let's see I have 12 done.... oh thats only 90 to go!
Not bad so that's like 9 projects a month. I should be able to make that.

I like that! Focus on smaller goals, not the big picture.

...as long as life does not throw anymore at me. I think I can do this.

#12 Candy Corn Vodka

2010-10-14T09:53:00.000-07:00

I love infusing vodkas!

So when I stumbled across this recipe on the internet a few weeks ago, I simply had to try it

It's pretty easy and very tasty stuff..... especially the cocktail I made with it, at the bottom.

You need ....

1/2 cup candy corn

1 1/2 cups Vodka (Not the cheep stuff, I used Smirnoff)

I used a mason jar, but you can use anything as long as it seals.

Just pour your candy corn and vodka into your container and seal.

The directions say let it sit at least 3 hours... I just left it over night.

I used a metal strainer and paper towels to strain it.

Shake up your jar and pour your vodka into the paper towels squeeze it out,

to get rid of all the mushy candy gunk.

Then strain it again.

I strained it about 4 times total, to get rid of all the little floaty bits.

I poured it into a bottle, dressed it up, and stuck it in the fridge.

The end result is very sweet and kind of like vanilla vodka.

It would make a good gift as well.

Maybe in a cute candy corn themed gift basket for a costume contest...hmmmm?

There was a cocktail with the recipe....but it was citrus...had raw egg in it... blah!

I wanted more fall flavor... so heres what I came up with, using what I had on hand.

I am not a mixologist. I like to just throw things in the glass until it tastes good.

Feel free to tweak the amounts or offer suggestions.

Anyway here it is.....

1 part Bailys or Plain Cream

1 Part Candy Corn Vodka

1 Part Butterscotch schnapps

You can mix these ingredients over ice in a shaker and pour

or if you are talented

you could chill and layer the ingredients so it looks like a candy corn.

I suck at layering drinks and messed it up....

but darn it is so yummy, who cares!

#11 Give the Ghoul a Hand

2010-10-13T11:34:00.000-07:00

Wow I have not been on for quite sometime, but I knew this would happen...it being October and all! But here is a good one just in time for Halloween.

Corpse Hands!

sorry not painted yet here... add that picture later

I have tried just about every method imaginable.... there is the coat hanger/pen method, which is a great recycle idea. For that one you take old dried up pens and markers...

Grab a couple coat hangers... bend them around a traced hand.

mark the knuckle joints

Masking tape them together good.

Cut up your pen tubes (ink parts removed) to size and drop them over according...

Then go over it all with masking tape, and then either paper mache or latex.

I have done this method alot as well as one that uses drinking straws in place of the pens.

Both ways are great, but the the following method I like the most.

I start with coaxial cable the bendy kind. You may have leftover wire like this around your house. This stuff is about a 1/4'' round and keeps its shape like wire when you bend it.

You also need wire cutters and pliers, cotton balls, and masking tape.

Now a quick thought about liquid latex.

You can order it online of course.

I have heard you can get the stuff in adult shops as well.

I would not be opposed to, but the only one here is far away....

and I don't like going in that place alone!

So if you are not up for that kind of distracting adventure....

Michael's and Hobby Lobby have it.

It's called Mold Builder.

My store has it in their glue section, but I have seen it in the clay section sometimes.

It's not cheep though. This 16 oz jar is $14... great time for those michael's 40% off coupons.

First we are making a tracing of your hand,

or if you have little girly hands like me...my husbands hand,

Mark the joints.

sorry these are sideways have to fix that

I cut my wire according, and masking tape them together at the wrist.

That wrist by the way fits perfectly snug in 3/4 inch schedule 40 pvc pipe.

I add the thumb on other side.

Then I start making the palm.

Using my traced image and my own hand as a guide,

just wrap the masking tape around and connect the fingers.

once I get the palm connected good I add the thumb.

Then i tape over the whole deal and mark my joints again as a reference.

Now comes the liquid latex.

I brush a little on an area, with a cheap brush i do not care about because it will be ruined.

I like to use my finger actually...the latex is easy to get off.

Then add pieces of cotton ball and go over the cotton with more latex.

I let it dry before each layer.

Just a couple hours in the sun do just fine.

I fill in my palms, fatten them up.

Add little knuckles at all the joints.

And go over the whole thing with more latex.

You can do as many coats as you want depending on how dead your ghoul is.

In these pictures its not quite dry.

It dries to a yellowish color but you can paint it whatever color you want.

The cool thing about this method is the hands are flexible.

But if you don't need it to be posable you can easily skip the latex part and

go the paper mache route instead.

This is just a easy, versatile base for what ever you choose to do with it.

#10 Medusa Mirror

2010-09-22T16:33:00.000-07:00

I was looking at hand mirrors in the dollar store, trying to come up with a gothic project.
I had a few ideas come to mind but this is what I did first.

This would make a perfect gift for young girls and it teaches a good lesson.
All beauty decays with time..... and it could all go out the window fast one day, if you piss off a Goddess!

Anyway I started with my little dollar tree mirror.

I Covered it in ridged wrap. It comes in a bag, in the clay section at michael's. Easy to use
just add water.

Sorry there are no pictures of it covered in the wrap. I took them but must have accidentally deleted them. any way you can cut this stuff up in strips and you just need all the plastic parts covered.

Then after the wrap was dried and started building medusa face with the paperclay.

I love this stuff!!! Its like a clay. You can get it damp to manipulate it.

But it is super light weight and it air dries.

I formed her face kind of crudely from the clay on the back.

Flared nostril, scowl, eyebrows, sharp teeth... ya know scary stuff.

Kind of a cross between a vampire and a witch actually.

Then I started making and draping snakes. They are pretty easy to make but you can only do a few at a time or else they get all banged up. So I just did a few a day here and there, until I got what I was looking for.

Next with a very wet clay a filled in the seams between all the snakes. The reason is I want it to appear as if it was carved from stone, so it needed to look like one piece.

The paint part is easy, you just need a small detail brush a bigger, bristly brush, and black and white acrylic paints.

After priming I did a base coat of black over the entire thing making sure I got in every little pour and crack.

Next I made a very dark gray from the white and black. I painted over it with a medium loaded brush...not needing to get in every crack the time... letting flecks of the black show through.

Then I made a much lighter gray. After lightly loading the brush tap of the excess paint so you have a dry bush and brush on. avoiding the shadow areas...want them to stay dark.

This photo kind of shows the progression of layers.

lastly I went in with my dark gray and added more detailsshadows,

This is hard to mess up because even if you mess up just add a darker or lighter color where needed.

Thats about it......

See, one side you have your pretty young face then....

Take heed young maidens!!!!!!

#9 Enchanted Fruit

2010-09-12T17:38:00.000-07:00

This is just a little Dollar Store project that popped in my head while wandering around.

They had all this plastic fruit and then these plastic silver trays they also sell the moss there if needed.

The rest is just black paint, glue and black glitter.

I love the Martha Stewart Glitters at Michaels, that is what I used here.

There are no step by step photos, because it's pretty self explanatory... but if you have a question let me know.

First I just painted it black.
Easy enough you would think but I had a little problem with the rubber grapes and spray paint. It was tacky forever. I used black plastic paint too... any way I went over it with a brush and acrylic paint and it fixed it.
So just try that if you don't want to do the glitter part, other wise the stickiness isn't a big deal since we are just going to be brushing glue on next.

Like I said you can stop here if you are not into the glitter, but I am... so there you go.

I made a mix of 1 part elmer's glue/ one part water and brushed it on and sprinkled my glitter.

Glitter tips..

Use a paper plate or something flexible so none of the glitter you shake off goes to waste.

Only do a little section at a time so glue doesn't dry before you get to glitter it.

Wait for it to dry before starting the next section.

Thats it nothing to it. It looks really cool in a creepy little vignette

#8 Labyrinth Inspired Eyeball Plant

2010-09-05T02:42:00.000-07:00

Labyrinth is one of my all time favorite movies!

I seriously still know it all by heart.

It was such a part of my childhood.. ahh fond memories.

So at the beginning when Sara enters the labyrinth the walls have these cool eyeball moss plants growing out of them. I wanted a potted version for my witches garden.

Using the eyeball methods form #7( The Eyes Have It) I made two different sized eyeballs.

The snake like bodies are made from a coat hanger cut up with wire cutters.

I wiggled them around until I had the pose I wanted.

Inserted them in floral foam inside a little terra-cotta pot,

and then glued on my eyeballs.

I built up the stalks with foil first.....

Then went over with a coat of Celluclay instant paper mache.

I love Celluclay!!!! It's basically Papier Mache pulp with the glue already in it. You just mix in water and mush it with your hand until it feels like clay. You can get it at the craft store usually in the clay section in a big bag... it goes a long way too.

I use my 40% off coupons and stock up. Great stuff !

After one coat was dry, I went back over.

I just stick it out in the sun between coats and it dry in a couple hours.

One good thing about Arizona in summer....outside is like giant dry oven

perfect for drying paper mache fast!

I actually do not want it smooth because we are going for a natural mossy look,

so I added more clumpy, lumpy pieces.

Um I forgot to snap a picture of the paint process... oops!

I basically went over in layers starting with a black brown base, then lightly stippling over with yellow ochre, burnt umber, and a mossy green.

Look at the moss you choose and just pull colors from that.

I will come back and post pix of the paint part later.

I am making another one... of course!

Next using 50/50 watered down Elmers glue.

I brushed on glue and stuck on moss all over.

This part is a little messy.

I used a nicer moss. I would go with the better stuff for this,

the cheap stuff just falls apart, the good stuff has nice workable pieces .

Here he is with his little buddy the "ello" worm.

Yes after making him I had to make the little guy to keep him company.

I molded him out of fimo and painted him used blue feathers for his hair.

Not so scary now is it?

Things aren't always what they seem in this place... you can't take anything for granted.

#7 The Eyes have It

2010-09-05T02:01:00.000-07:00

Eyes are a very big deal to many projects.

They do sell eyeballs in bags at Halloween,

but they are pretty cheesy.

Here are a couple methods I love.

First is the Easy Eyes method via the HauntersHangout.com.
This is such a great method you can crank out a ton of eyes in under 30 minutes.
Minimum cost, no artistic ability needed.

Click on the picture below and print this template out.
Then cut out your irises of your choice.

The eye itself can be any white sphere I make them out of fimo, use wood balls, table tennis balls, roll-on ball from deodorant, and then the simplest here... ping pong balls.

I found some ping pong balls a 4 pack at Target, in the $1 section at the front of the store. Walmart has them as well in the sporting section.

First I poke a hole in them with a skewer and stick the little guy on a tooth pick to work with.

Using a decoupage method apply the Iris. Use glossy Mod Podge or a 50/50 mixture of elmers glue and water.

Brush the glue mixture on the surface, apply the paper iris, then brush glue mixture over top.

You can clean up any ink smears on the eye ball with a wet paper towel.

For the red veins a simple red crayon, or even better a red colored pencil

is the easiest fool proof way to go.

You can draw the veins on lightly for finer lines or press harder for a deeper bloodshot veins.

I use mixture of pressure all over.

If you are going to see the whole eye ball, blot on some red paint to finish out the back side.

Last the eye needs to be wet and glossy.

I have tried all types of things I have on hand.

Simple clear nail polish is probably my favorite though.

And thats it.... a few coats and you have eyes that look too real.

Now lets say you need a whole bunch of smaller sizes eyes stat!

And maybe your printer is possessed by the devil!

You could paint a bunch of eyeballs freehand... but painting a perfect circle on a sphere can be a pain!

Well here is another painted method short cut I made up....and if you have kids you probably have the supplies laying around.

These are 1" wooded bead balls from the craft store. Perfect size for what I needed.

First I drilled a little hole in all of them.

Next I stuck a little tooth pick in each one and put them in some floral foam....

...primed and painted them white.

The kids have these little Nerf Bullets all over the house... so I snagged one.

I made muddy blue color with a mixture of blue, white, and black acrylic paint.

I dipped my bullet end in the paint, blotted it a couple times to loose the excess paint,
then applied it to the ball.

Do some tester stamps on paper to figure out the right amount of paint and pressure you need.

Having the balls stationary is key here.

Push the bullet down and without sliding or lifting, press down

while wiggling in a circular motion.

Make sure all sides of the circle are defined.

If you lift it and see you missed a spot...

with a steady hand push it back down, and press in the missed area.

The effect of the stamp is perfect.

Next I filled in the black part.
I started out painting with acrylic... but then I thought to grab a sharpie pen.
I used it on the last half... it worked perfect and it's a little faster.

then I applied the veins and gloss same as easy eyes method above.

Here are some things I learned.

For the red viens... do not use a red pen or sharpie.

They will bleed and turn orange when you add your final gloss coat.

Also watch it when you do your gloss finish at the end.

The iris may want to bleed too, especially the black sharpie part,

and especially if you use the nail polish.

Best to do a very light coat on just the iris, let it dry.

Then go over the whole thing , so as not to smear everything around.

#6 Black Light Gallery

2010-08-26T13:56:00.000-07:00

They sell light reflective paints, but some can be pretty expensive.

I do like to use the neon colors it comes in,

but I make my own white.

It's not as bright and it does fade over time, but its easy and cheap!

You can actually see more of the detail lines in person... but I had to turn off my flash

so they are lost in the pictures.

I use a mixture of Acrylic Gesso and Liguid Laundry detergent.

Gesso can be found in the paint section of the craft store. I buy the big tub but it also comes in small affordable tubes as well.

Tide is well known to be black light reactive by itself, also I like this stuff called Vivid.

It works really good and it's about half the price.

If you have liquid laundry soap on hand, check it out. Some brands glow, some don't.

I do a mix of approximately 2 parts soap to 1 part gesso, and mix it really good.

First I start with a pieces of black poster board.

I trace my drawing with a white pencil.

I apply a coat of just the Gesso....sometimes I do 2 coats depends.

Then I apply the Soap/ Gesso mixture..

about two coats should do it.

This image is simple but for more complicated pictures I use my projector, trace the image then paint the Geeso, and trace over it again.

Here I only painted half so you see the contrast of plain gesso and the soap mixture.

See it glows great! And mixing it with the Gesso makes it thicker and easier to paint with than just going with straight tide over your painting.

I like to do the final coat in the black light to catch any missed spots.

It does fad ever time so my black light paintings I just go over again close to the big night with just soap, while under black light and it brightens right back up. And the guides lines are already there so it's easy.

Here is another one I am working on.

He doesn't show up on camera as good in the black light for some reason...it looks purple here, but in real life his skin is the same color as my skeleton.... my camera is crap.

Here is a shot in the light

Someday I will be able to buy the real good paints, but until then this poor man's version will work.

Busy week

2010-08-20T11:10:00.000-07:00

I am looking at a busy weekend and upcoming week so I am not sure how many projects I will actually complete and post.

I make cakes, so lots of baking and prep work is in my future.

One of them is for my son, he is turning 4 years old. Only he keeps changing his mind about the cake he wants first he wanted a Green Eggs & Ham then a Monster Truck today he told me a Yellow Submarine.

So I figure It will be like a Food Network Challenge and I will have only 4 hours to complete his cake before the party.

Any way I was able to get some things for several future Halloween projects while I was out....

Ok so Haunters are looking at that and thinking 'Cool'... but a normal person is wondering what the hell does tide have to do with Halloween?

Oh on another note, aside from the fact that the craft stores are busting out Halloween stuff, they are opening Spirit right next to Walmart, Old Navy and Joannes near by. So this means I am not allowed to leave the house anymore.

Oh and Dollar Tree has some stuff out. In fact little crows are currently taking over parts of the house.

So any way I have to go back out and do some more shopping here in a minute only this time its just boring groceries.