A Month of Spookdays

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:

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.

Dolly Grim, from 2014, is no doubt one of the creepiest things I’ve ever made. My husband had to pass through my studio, stopped and said “Jesus Christ! What the hell is that“? Of course, this is when I know I’ve won.

Me posing with a creepy skull-like doll dress in lace.  The doll, not me.

You can see the original post, and my process, here. It was a learning experience. Dolly probably still lives happily with a far-away friend.

Dolly grim, a white, cracking head with hollow eyes and lots and lots of teeth.