Spooky Moon

Mausoleeeeuuum!

Posted by frykitty on October 28, 2016

Posted in: A Month of Spookdays.

maus-01

It’s done! The Spousal Unit is going to help me move it out to the yard tomorrow, so I can spend the day setting everything up.

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Here’s what it looks like inside. We had to mute the inside light a bunch, as it was overwhelming the projection. Now the skeleton is only visible between projection scenes, and is just a suggestion during.

I added a little ambient light, as it will be on the stones. Also, the mausoleum wasn’t visible on camera. It looks better in person, of course, but this is pretty darned neat.

Roofs and Skellies

Posted by frykitty on October 27, 2016

Posted in: A Month of Spookdays.

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The mesh is down. I tacked it on and pulled it taut, then laid down a line of foam glue. I was afraid the mesh might keep the glue from the foam, so I pushed it down with a stir stick.

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First panel of the roof is on. I’ll probably go out and do the rest later tonight.

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Popped the head off my old skelly. Long live the new skelly. You won’t be able to tell the veil plastic in the end. And if it turns out to be obvious, I have other options. I hope she doesn’t interfere with the projector too much.

Walls Up

Posted by frykitty on October 26, 2016

Posted in: A Month of Spookdays.

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And let’s hope they don’t come tumbling down. Got most of the inside painted black. Ish. Doesn’t need to be perfect.

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The facade is all painted and ready to go. Just waiting for glue to cure. Tomorrow, I’m going to attach a skelly to the frame on the inside, as I’m not sure I can do it after the roof is on. Then I mesh the front of the mausoleum, and get things glued together. Eee!

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Measure Twice…

Posted by frykitty on October 25, 2016

Posted in: A Month of Spookdays.

frame

So at this point, I’m so far behind I have only the vaguest hope of getting things done a few days before Halloween. I don’t feel too badly–because of the move, I couldn’t have started any earlier.

The frame is glued down to the first wall. I measured everything very carefully for the frame…and still had to cut a few inches off the bottom of the wall. I want the wall to “float” a little, so there’s no extra pressure on it from sitting on the ground.

Also: power caulking gun. Just say yes.

Partay

Posted by frykitty on October 23, 2016

Posted in: A Month of Spookdays.

party-01

I’m not much into parties, but I was going to meet an internet friend, so we decided to put in an appearance. A short one. This outfit is why I’ve been working on makeup. I think I make an adorable dead bride.

Thanks, Rachel, for the party!

party-02

Stones done!

Posted by frykitty on October 22, 2016

Posted in: A Month of Spookdays.

My goal was to have everything done two days ago, but really, that’s impractical, since I need help to put stuff out. So Sunday is fine, right?

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The stones are ready to go. I’d put them out, but then we’d trip over them getting the mausoleum out, and there’s enough to trip on. Like bears.

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My final step is always dry-brushing with white to bring out edges, letters, and details.

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The mausoleum walls are painted, and I got a start on the facade. I ended up really hating those foam tubes. They don’t take glue or paint well. Grr.

Had a minor snafu with the frame, and had to take another trip to Home Depot for adapters and more PVC. I’d really like that to be the last HD trip…but we know how that goes.

Which Ghost?

Posted by frykitty on October 20, 2016

Posted in: A Month of Spookdays.

I tried two more makeups tonight. One of them was more subtle, and the last was the least subtle. In fact, I slapped the second makeup over the top of the first.

So, from this tutorial, we get a kinder, gentler ghost:

Pretty creepy, eh? But now I realize those lip extension lines need to go up.

Now, from this tutorial, we go scary:

Got the lips wrong. That’s what I get for not re-watching the video first. Still, I wouldn’t want to see me in a darkened mansion.

So: here are the three makeups:

Basic dead chick

Still dead, but not as dramatically

RUN!

Opinions? Other than I need a shower. Which I desperately do.

Another Brick in The Wall

Posted by frykitty on October 19, 2016

Posted in: A Month of Spookdays.

wall-01

It’s time to paint a wall!

Step 1: Paint blobs of black and white, then mix them in random directions with a brush (Stiltbeast has a good video demonstrating this technique). I go over it a couple times until I’m happy with the mix. Then I wad up some paper towel and blot. Finally, after the section has dried a little, I’ll use another wadded paper towel to soften, using a random brushing motion again.

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Step 2: Use a flat brush to paint in the edges of the bricks. The lines don’t need to be complete or straight–a suggestion is better.

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Step 3: Use a dry brush to put in white highlights, then black shadows. I was trying to sell a brick across the seams, but that’s not working, so I’m going to add some shading tomorrow and go with the 2/1 pattern so clear here.

The wall looks okay in the photo, and I hadn’t seen it from afar. Then I came home from picking up the Spousal Unit, and I opened the garage door from the car. It looks amazing. I don’t have to do any more if I don’t want to. It’s selling exactly the illusion I want.

There’s always more paint than you think

Posted by frykitty on October 17, 2016

Posted in: A Month of Spookdays.

oct-16-02

The thing that didn’t get pictured: we have five really pretty pots on our walkway. They had mums in them, but they didn’t do well. Now the pots are upside-down, and each has a pumpkin on top. The first one is teal. I didn’t think to take a pic, and now it’s all dark. I’ll try to remember tomorrow, as it looks nice. A neighbor came by as we were putting it out, and just loved it. As a first grade teacher, she loved it even more when we told her about the Teal Pumpkin Project. She says this would be great for her class, so I am happy.

oct-03

I glued on some ornaments (yes, I should have done that BEFORE painting), and did a couple more coats of primer. There was only a bit of primer left in the can, so I poured it all into the pan. We know what happens next. I finished the stones, and had a bunch left over. I primed a mausoleum wall, and most of the front. I also glued down those foam tubes I bought for more embellishment on the mausoleum front. Before I painted. I swear.

Spooky People Doing Non-Spooky Things

Posted by frykitty on October 16, 2016

Posted in: A Month of Spookdays.

Oooh, pretty.

This was the middle of the lot. Yep, this way in both directions.

Today the Spousal Unit and I spent the day at the Renaissance Festival with Jenna and fam. The fest was HUGE, and there was a lot to see.

The costumes were confections of color and texture, and there were so many! Probably because there were so many people, period. It was full-contact festing. Which sounds dirty.