Halloween

Oh, The Haunts You Will See!

Posted by frykitty on September 18, 2014
Posted in: Halloween.

Today, I am looking around for local haunts and displays, and planning my excursions. I get excited throughout Spook Season, but planning my haunt schedule gets me especially giddy.

Last year I visited The Haunted Ranch and Cemeterror (which is taking a break for 2014). On slate for this year:

Skipped Frightmares last year because their website says they’re “extreme.” This year I watched the news footage, and they look like a very good, but normal, haunt. I admit I have absolutely no interest in attending an extreme haunt. I go more for the art than to be scared, though I don’t object to a good jump. If you can get one out of me, congratulations. But touching and crap? No way. Don’t gimme no lines, and keep yo hands to yo self. Just to be sure, I posted a question on their facebook page.

Aside: speaking of facebook pages, Spooky Moon now has one. It’s where I post all the stuff I see every day that doesn’t fit here, for one reason or another. So, yes, it’s different content, not just repeating what I put on the site. Go, my minions, and like!

So is Frightmares number one on my list? Nope.

I really wanted to get out to Hellview Cemetery in St. Petersburg last year, but didn’t make it, so they are first on my list this year. Home haunts always have priority with me. I love the ingenuity and devotion. Home haunters are driven to build wonderful things and share them with their community. It’s an obsession of which I whole-heartedly approve.

punta gorda

I have a favorite restaurant in Punta Gorda, so if we get the chance, it would be fun to drive down for a meal and a Haunting on the Harbor.

Other possibilities:

NoRemorse cemetery doesn’t have a website, but here are some pics from 2011 on Photobucket. No word if they are active this year, but I may have a look-see while I’m in St. Pete.

I love a haunted trail, and Oscar Scherer park is hosting two, plus other activities this year.

The Boofest at Lakewood Ranch looks too fun, and it’s close by.

Sarasota Pumpkin Festival might be worth a peek.

Most years, I plan to hit four or five events, and end up hitting two.  Will my average be better this year? Stay tuned!

photo by Shane Gorski

photo by Shane Gorski

Bekku

Posted by frykitty on April 25, 2014
Posted in: Art, Halloween, Spooky.
Bekku

Bekku

My Secret Pumpkin this year is crazy about cats (but not a crazy cat lady). I mulled for months over what to make her. I thought about doing a doll, but I’d never done one, and I knew the learning curve would be steep. Finally, I decided to go for it, even though I’d only sculpted two faces, ever, and had never sculpted a body.

Bits and pieces

Bits and pieces

I decided she would be called Bekku, the word in Kannada for “cat.” She would be a Guardian Demon.

I envisioned an Abyssinian with faceted red crystals for eyes. The biggest stumbling block: the dress. Because man, do I ever not sew. I mulled that for ages, finally realizing I could bead her dress! Yeah, okay, I’ve only dabbled in beading (though I have a whole lot of beads!), but I still thought it would be easier on my nerves than trying to sew.

Abyssinian Face

Abyssinian Face

I had this polyclay mold for a fairy, and thought I’d use that for the body. So, here’s the thing about those cheapo polyclay molds. They only get you a rough shape. I ended up using them to get things approximately the right size, and that’s it. Next time, I won’t even bother.

Ready to bake

Ready to bake

Stuff I learned:

  • Always use an armature. It makes life easier. I admit, I stuffed a wire into some of the pieces after sculpting, because I am a dip.
  • The problem with bi-lateral symmetry is that if you make better ankles on the second leg, you have to go back and make them nicer on the first leg, too.
  • You have to smooth the clay. A lot. Like, for about six hours. Not even kidding.

I’m sure I’ll find better, faster ways to do things in the future. I managed to stretch her staff-holding hand in the process of baking, so I was going to have to deal with that later, but everything else went well.

I had all these beads I was trying for the staff, and nothing made me happy until I found a 50 cent necklace at a garage sale. Behold, a power crystal! I used a Dremel to carve tiny letters into a chopstick (not telling you what they say, that’s for Myra to figure out), filled them with red ink, and put a layer of Rub ‘n’ Buff over the top. The rest of the staff got stained, and I cut down some nice brass jump rings for accents. Much gluing and waiting ensued.

Staff

Staff

Next, it was time to stop avoiding the paint job. Boy, acrylic paint dries instantly on polyclay. I could have added extender, but I was okay with the zero wait time. I surprised myself by not painting over the eyes. Go me!

Painting

Painting

Finally, the dress. I’d been dying to play with my loom, and this was my opportunity. I drew out my pattern. Customizable graph paper helped a ton! I wove the beaded fabric in gold, red, and black delicas. I was seeing a two-piece thing, with the sides completely open.

Starting the skirt

Starting the skirt

Almost done!

Almost done!

I finished the front skirt, and discovered the loom, a Beadalon Jewel Loom, had broken. Alrighty then, new loom it is. Didn’t like the second one much, either. Who puts bendable warp rods on a loom? But that’s fixable, and I made it through the back skirt. Attached some square stitch to make the front and back halters, and good to go.

Front and back, finished

Front and back, finished

Last touches to the costume–a little belt with a cat charm, and earrings.

Finally, the stand. Of course I didn’t have a drill bit that was small enough to fit what I was using as a support rod, which may or may not have been a BBQ skewer, so I put a little washi tape at the bottom of the rod. A light coat of black paint on the stand finished things up. At a guess, I’d say 80 hours work, but a lot of that was my sheer inexperience.

Front and back, nekkid

Front and back, nekkid

Front and back, dressed

Front and back, dressed

I packed her in blocks of foam with cut-outs, and the PO put on a fragile sticker. They still managed to break her arm. DEMON ABUSE. GAH. But she’s gluable.

My favorite part:

Lookit those feeties!

Lookit those feeties!

So now all I want to do is make dolls. I already have an idea for the next one. Stay tuned.

West Coast Haunters Convention

Posted by frykitty on June 3, 2013
Posted in: Halloween.
montoya

From the Davis Graveyard booth

Yes, the move to Florida is getting close, but the West Coast Haunters Convention was finally in Portland, and there was no way I was missing it.

13th Door brought a friend

13th Door brought a friend

I went on Saturday. Sadly, I missed a couple classes on Friday that I would have loved, but time is what it is. I ended up taking a class on Zombie Skin. The class was great fun, but I wasn’t impressed with the durability of the product. I left a good swatch of the stuff on my arm, and it was peeling off badly in less than 30 minutes. Next I went to a class on facade design. Grr. The guy googled “spooky house” and made a PowerPoint presentation out of it. I wish I’d walked out of that one earlier, but I did get to see 15 minutes of Alex Hansen using his stencils. And do click on that link, because iStencils is amaaaazing.  Last class was scenic painting, and that was just stuffed with information. I learned tons.

Had a great time wandering the vendors. Wish it had been four times bigger!  I got to sit and have a horrible burn applied to my hand (sorry, pics were blurry), and I got to play with an airbrush for the first time. That could be addicting.

I think the best thing I got out of my visit, besides the t-shirt, was the stencil link. I’ll be using that a lot.

A teddy even I could love

A teddy even I could love

A Small Ghost Story

Posted by frykitty on April 20, 2013
Posted in: Halloween.

I’ve shown you what I got from my Secret Pumpkin, but what did I make for my recipient? I had to wait a few days to make sure she had it in hand before spilling the beans. As it turns out, my giftee is one of my favorite people in real life, the very talented Lisa Harkins of Fibre Isle. Naturally, I wanted to make something special.

A few years ago, I started a novella called A Quiet Haunting. The Spousal Unit wishes I would finish it. I decided to write a tiny story based loosely on the ghost I’d written earlier, and create an accordion book around it. The story:

She stilled, willing everything quiet
Her hair, her dress, still, still.
They were home, they were here,
And if they noticed
The gentle slope of her shoulder
Outlined softly in dust motes,
They would shriek, they would startle,
And her gossamer self
Would scatter to bits again.

The lines of the story were divided into nine Artist Trading Cards, and fitted into the pockets of the book.

box

Here’s the box, stained, decorated, and sealed. I didn’t take a picture of the inside, but it’s done in orange and purple, because hey, Halloween!

front-wrapped

Inside, wrapped in black cloth, was the book. Closed with black twine, decorated with a web, spider, and burned-ribbon flower, and tagged with “A small ghost story from your Secret Pumpkin.”

inside

shriek

Inside, ATCs nestled in delicately creepy pockets.

back-trees

back-ghost

The back of the book shows a windswept evening landscape, and another glimpse of our ghost.

I’d never made anything like this before, and it was an absolute joy to put together. I’m sure my little ghost will be happy in her new home.

My Secret Pumpkin Rocks

Posted by frykitty on April 17, 2013
Posted in: Halloween.

Last October, I signed up for the Secret Pumpkin exchange run by Shadow Manor.  The idea is that you receive something when Halloween is far away, to warm your creepy little heart. In exchange, you send something to another pining Halloweenie. Yes, I made something, but you don’t get to see it until the recipient gets it. Be patient. What you get to see today is what I received from my awesome, awesome Pumpkin. Behold:

Vampire Hunting Kit

Yes, it is what it looks like: a vampire hunting kit, delightful in its completeness and authenticity. I am completely bowled over by this thing.  I kept saying “oh man, oh man!”  and giggling as I opened it.

Contents:

Wooden stake
Mallet (because really, pounding that stake in is harder than Buffy makes it look)
Wooden cross with St. Raphael medal
Wooden box to contain vials
Large vial for holy water
Thunderstone
Salt
Flour of Garlic
Holy Incense
Poppy Seed
Brimstone Powder
Cemetery Earth
Coffin Nails
Vial of collected vampire fangs
Mysterious key in pouch
Note in latin that basically says: “I am leaving you my holy kit to fight the evil Nosferatu that walks the night.”

A few more pics:

kit-fangs

kit-vials

kit-cross

Wow. I want to figure out what every little thing means. Then I want to get an all-leather outfit and take the kit out hunting. Also, because she had to make sure I hadn’t moved, I got to know who my Secret Pumpkin was, so here’s a big, public THANK YOU, YOU ARE SO FREAKIN’ AWESOME to Jenna, the mistress of Shadow Manor herself.

It Begins

Posted by frykitty on February 4, 2013
Posted in: Halloween.

It begins

Sorry about the lighting. It’s late, and I just wanted to get this up for posterity. I’ve got a big Halloween project this year (don’t I always?), and this is where I start. What you’re seeing is a large slab of pink insulating foam, cut into quarters. As we were checking out, the clerk patted the foam and said it was so pretty, it was a shame we couldn’t do something crafty with it. The Spousal Unit and I both smiled, and I explained that, in fact, this foam is going to become gravestones.  We then got off on a tangent about arts and crafts, and she showed us her great earrings and bracelet set she’d made from polyclay. I always love shooting the breeze with other creators!

Home stones

It’s been a long time since I was able to make stones. These are from 2006. Having a shop in the garage makes things ever so much easier, but honestly, that’s the only thing I miss about living in that oversized house. I will find a way to manage these pieces in our apartment. Though I’ll probably make a massive mess doing it! Eh, that’s what vacuum cleaners are for.

Though I plan on treating myself to a new hot wire knife, I’ll get going with the equipment I have. This year’s stones will be a bit more complex, as they will be hiding secrets! Shhh! Can’t tell.

Treat Bags!

Posted by frykitty on October 31, 2012
Posted in: Halloween.

It’s the day before Halloween, so it’s time to assemble treat bags. Had the Spousal Unit hide the candy until I needed it. So I ate, um, less of it.

Not much to these, just stickers and candy stapled to a strip of paper, staple it closed, then put stuff on the outside. Swear repeatedly when stuff refuses to stick.

Treat Bags