Today we’re trying that acetone transfer method again, and it works better! Mostly.
Also: zombies.
Halloween
This was actually yesterday’s prompt, but I read the list wrong. I’m okay with that.
I love this one so much. I goofed up and didn’t film the actual drawing, but you do get to see all the coloring and other stuff.
I used Posca paint pens, mostly pushing ink out and using a brush. I’ve never done that before, and I really liked working with it.
For today’s #hARToween prompt, I used Brusho to make a dynamic background, and drew on a shimmery silver ghost. Here’s a little video:
Happy Countdown! This year I’m doing #hARToween, and the prompt for the first day is PUMPKIN. You may think I’m cheating to use a stamp. Ahh…but see I also drew and made the stamp. Okay, not today, but I figured I’d give myself a little cheat for the first day.
I even made a tiny video:
This week on My Messy Desk, I made a little trinket box from the 6-in-1 mold set by Little Windows. I am not sponsored by them, they just make wonderful stuff. I made the dish, then flipped the mold over to make the lid. It even had a template I could have used to cut the vintage Halloween image to the correct size, but I didn’t use it, because I didn’t notice it until I put the set away.
Of course, I made the whole thing twice, just not on camera. I wasn’t liking the first one anyway, then the image lifted on the lid, so it was a bust. Funny, I thought I was ahead of the game when I got started on Monday. Yeah, not so much.
This mold was a lot of fun, and I suspect it will be showing up again in the future.
It’s that time of year again! That time when I get the urge to buy Halloween creations from wonderful artists. I’ll be getting one or two things a month in the run-up to our favorite holiday.
My first grab is from Raggedy Ruth Creations. She makes doll scenes of all kinds, and when I searched for Halloween items, it was difficult not to glom everything. I settled for my favorite, this spooky ghost in a window. A good kick-off to the season!
I just had to make one more diorama.
It took a lot longer than I expected it to. Like, a lot. Every day I’d wake up and think, today, I’ll finish! And I did not finish.
I learned a lot, though. I bought a soldering kit, and soldered something, and it worked! I made my first wire tree, and was pretty pleased with the result.
Overall, I like it, though it has too many flaws to put it in the shop. I shall happily keep it around as part of my collection. Maybe someday I’ll give it to a friend.
We had 89 trick-or-treaters! We’ve lived here three years, and the number has steadily gone up. Might have something to do with the giant (20 feet!) cat in our front yard. We’ve become so known for him, I decided I’d better get a spare before they’re no longer available. It’s this guy, if you’re wondering. He’s $50 less on Amazon, but Fraser Hill is the source.
He’s a pain to deflate for windstorms and such because his legs tangle on the re-inflate, but we had to do it last night, because those last seven ToTs ignored the closed garage and the dark porch, marched themselves right past the recycle bin blocking the path, and came to our door. Yeah, we gave ’em candy. Then we deflated the yard.
So apparently it’s NoBloPoMo? Which I guess is November Blog Post Month, or something. NaNoWriMo has much to answer for. Well guys, I just posted for 30 days straight, so I’m not sure you’re gonna get every day for November. But the car is still in the shop, so I suppose I have to fill my time somehow.
And there’s Hallowvember to consider, right?
But not forever!
Unlike some Halloweeniacs, I also like Christmas. Not as much, but a lot. So it’s finally time for Halloween (or, well, most of it) to go into storage until next year. Before it goes away, here’s a little photographic tour of the house. Sorry some of the pics are crap. I think I need to clean my lens.
This shelf normally holds a lot of creepy collectibles, anyway. It’s just more festive now.
To the left of that shelf is the entryway. I’d already taken down the stuff in the foyer, but here is one of the several banners. I like banners.
In front of the parlor shelf lives the collection of ash globes. They are sitting on a favorite Target item this year: the ouija board tray.
For the south wall of the parlor, it’s neon and skulls. There’s always a pile of skulls that grows every year. The LED neon was also from Target this year. Love. It.
Entering the dining room is another banner. I made this one a few years ago.
Hutch #1. The vampire hunting kit is part of my normal decor. Because of course it is.
The witches were one of the first things I put up. I repainted two of their faces. They’re new this year, and I’m over the moon with them.
Here they are under cover of darkness.
The view as you enter the family room. This is where I put all the collectibles and kitsch. Yep, that’s a new Stranger Things ouija board.
I like Halloween pillows. There are more in the parlor, but I didn’t get a good picture. Please ignore the cat hair. They like pillows, too.
Hutch #2. I ended up with some Halloween Village stuff from an estate sale. I think this could become addicting.
Punkins.
Closer look at the village.
There were other odds and ends about, but this was the bulk of it. Next, Christmas Atheist gets busy.
Last weekend we made a pilgrimage to Lambertville, where Dolores Dragan, one of my all-time favorite Halloween artists, lives and haunts.
The first day was beautiful, so we decided to see New Hope, where we were staying, and save Lambertville for Sunday, when we’d have all day to wander. That was a tremendous mistake. The day started a little rainy, which never puts us off. We went into antique shops in the light drizzle. It didn’t take long for the weather to get much, much worse. Bad enough that even an Oregon native decided to travel by car.
Despite the rain, I parked by Dragan’s house and took a bunch of pictures of plastic-draped figures. Wonderful, wonderful figures.
The display has expanded down the little walkway between her house and the neighbor’s, where Dolores has put up tented vignettes. These were also covered in plastic, but I discovered gaps in the draping at the corners, where I could just fit my lens without disturbing anything.
I don’t know what she calls everyone, but I think of this figure as “Mourning.”
There are many great displays along N Union, but because of the weather, we didn’t stop to study much. I did go around a block and get back to this one with hand-painted decorations. I’m a sucker for the handmade stuff!
Since the weather was likely going to stop folks from lighting their displays, we headed on home. We may stop again next year on my next planned road trip…to be announced later.
