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Screaming Grimoire

Posted by frykitty on October 30, 2023
Posted in: A Month of Spookdays. Tagged: , , , .

I don’t think I ever shared this when I made it, because it would have been a letterboxing spoiler. Letterboxers, especially in the PNW, love gatherings. After I’d moved to Florida in 2015, some friends back home requested I make a special box for their Halloween event. This would not be planted in the woods like most boxes, but shared at the table during the event. I got a notification that it was shared just recently, which made me so happy! I figure eight years on, I’m safe to share it here.

Large, evil book from the top, sporting a pentagram with skulls at the points.
Closeup of evil book.

I loved making this thing so much. This might be the first time I used Verday Metal Paint, which is still available from Sandra Evertson. Love this stuff.

Screaming Grimoire contains FOUR magical items of great power. Choose wisely.
Six corroded coffins nestled inside the book.

The book contained six coffin boxes…but only four had stamps in them. The other two had screamers. I wonder if the batteries are still good?

Inro Box

Posted by frykitty on October 29, 2023
Posted in: A Month of Spookdays. Tagged: , .

When I first got into polyclay, I bought a book by Donna Kato that showed how to make an inro (pronounced eenyoh) box. The clay I used was too soft, and I wasn’t experienced enough. Also, instructions in books, eh. But recently she’s started a Youtube channel! And with that, she uploaded a video tutorial, which I’ll include below.

So I finally made my first inro box!

Inro box in Halloween pastels.

It’s in Halloween colors, of course, with a little raven charm on the bottom.

Inro box open

I used Cernit, which is translucent with that mottled appearance you see. The box is by no means perfect, but I am certainly pleased with my first effort. Here is Donna showing you how to make your own:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ml1PyDq9IqU&t=328s

Graveyard Shadowbox

Posted by frykitty on October 23, 2023
Posted in: A Month of Spookdays. Tagged: , , .

Every year, I participate in a small Secret Pumpkin exchange between a small group of friends. This year, my giftee received my first shadowbox:

Spooky graveyard shadowbox

I often buy bits from Sandra Evertson, and that panel on the left is a fave. I bought four, and I think I’ve used three already. Here it is a cemetery gate that opens to reveal…

Open cemetery shadowbox, with an owl inside the gate.

I had a lot of fun making this. For some reason, the owl inside the little door makes me so happy.

More old stuff: Kolchak

Posted by frykitty on October 22, 2023
Posted in: A Month of Spookdays. Tagged: , , .

I’ve had a lot of fun walking down memory lane, talking about the makes I’m most proud of. If you followed the letterboxing link from the last post, you’ll know it’s not what most people would think. It’s about finding things in the woods. It’s older and cooler than geocaching, with a much smaller community.

Carl looking curious. Sketch from clues.

I loved to make Halloween boxes, naturally. But the set I’m most proud of was based on something I have loved since I was a kid: Kolchak: The Night Stalker.

The box series was called Kolchak: Terror in the Woods. It was big, complicated, included little prizes, the works. I still have the boxes, made by not just myself, but some other very talented people. Someday they’ll get planted again.

Carl looking like he needs to run soon.

But the thing I’m most proud of in this project was the trailer. I went out with my friends Anna and Derek to a local park. Spent the day filming and getting kinda cranky. B was a werewolf. I got oil-based paint in poor Anna’s hair.

But hey, it was worth it:

Dark Carnival 2012

Posted by frykitty on October 21, 2023
Posted in: A Month of Spookdays. Tagged: , .

Sometimes, past me is a dip. To be fair, I didn’t have a cell phone then, just a regular digital camera that I actually had to remember.

See, in 2012 I threw a letterboxing party at the clubhouse of our apartments. It was called Dark Carnival, and I had a blast making utter crap “attractions” for it. But did I take pictures? Well, I have a few of the carnival itself, but almost nothing of my actual things I made. But here’s what we’ve got.

A bunch of dolies with white faces and clown outfits.

This is just the basecoat. I remembered these because of the last post, because when B saw these, he yelled “WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?” Again, I had won. A friend made a bunch of clown outfits, and this is the best photo (cropped to remove children who are probably adults now) I have of the result.

Clown dolls just sittin' around, scaring folks.

They were popular, and people took them home at the end of the night.

I also made a clown that was painted in chromadepth, a 3D effect you’ve probably seen in haunted houses. I called him Meano. I put him in a box with a blacklight, and people donned the glasses and looked in. Probably to be underwhelmed. I kept Meano for a long time, but finally dumped him a few years ago. And I never took a proper photo. All I have is the drawing:

Scary clown drawing.

I made a very cool shadow toy that was broken immediately, and this thing. I don’t even remember what it did. It’s made out of very special “craft cylinders.”

Brightly colored mystery toy.

We mock people for taking pictures of their lunch, but I say, snap away! You never know what you’ll miss later.