Finally, its here...Happy Halloween everyone!
Here are some shots of our haunted house--inside & out.
I took Friday off work to put the finishing touches on everything...
I think it all turned out nicely--but can't believe its done!!
I will walk you thru everything so you don't get too scared....
One of my most favorite thing to make were the tombstones. I got the idea and inspiration
from HGTV. I loved working with that sheet/board foam insulation. It was fun to cut & carve.
When you spray paint it, there is a chemical reaction and the paint
eats away at the foam--making it look old, weird and deteriorated.
Which is a very cool and highly desired effect!!
Which is a very cool and highly desired effect!!
These signs were a fun way to keep things silly while still alluding to something foreboding.
PLUS, they were easy and quick to make out of cardboard, poster paint and yard sticks.
The WITCH!!
This was the one task I delegated to Greg and he did a great job.
Although he says she turned out pretty mediocrely-- I am happy with our witch...
She does, however, have shoulders most linebackers would envy--definitely solid!
I got the idea and inspiration here.
OH! The bats...I love, love, love the bats...
I wish I would have cut out a hundred more--but you have to draw the line somewhere...
I got the awesome idea and templates here.
And the fun idea I got to "board" up the windows, I saw in Martha's Halloween special issue.
Very effective, simple and cheap!
The ghost was a fun way to greet our guests...I think next year-- I will use 12 yards of cheese
cloth instead of 6 yards...it looks like she is wearing a mini-skirt! : ) Idea from here.
Down the hallway, I made an art gallery old black and white horror movie characters.
Bela Lugosi as Dracula, 1931
Elsa Lanchester as the Bride of Frankenstein, 1935
Boris Karloff as Frankenstein, 1931
Lon Chaney as Phantom of the Opera, 1925
Thanks to my awesome neighbor for lending me the frames!!
This is where the $1 stores comes in really handy:
I bought the witches mask (for witch above) and skeletor here for, I think, $3.99 each.
Some fish line and 3 AAA batteries were all it took
to make opening the basement door a VERY SCARY ordeal!!
My FAVE!! The headwaiter...
A styrofoam wig head, some cheesecloth and some coffee was all it took.
I loved making this guy and I think this might have been the creepiest thing at the party!
Idea from Martha...see here.
Just some more fun details from the kitchen/dining room.
Below are some shots from the living room
where the kids read scary stories Saturday night.
Above is the wall opposite the fire place in the living room-- this is something else I am quite proud of!
I love old 19th century illustration: medical & scientific drawings, specifically. This style has always intrigued me, maybe because I love photography so much--these drawings blow me away--the detail is incredible. And they don't mean to be creepy but they just are...I printed out the images, soaked them in coffee/tea to make them look old and then cut out black card stock "frames".
I painted silohouettes with black paint on orange fabric to hang in the upstair windows.
I got the inspiration here. The orange florescent lights you can buy at Home Depot
are awesome for setting the mood.
And there you have it! That is basically where I have been for the last two months.
This is BY FAR the biggest undertaking of my craft career and it took a lot of time and planning--
I don't want you to think I just whipped it all up in a day.
I started in earnest in early September and was just finishing right up
'til the first guest rang the door bell at 6pm Saturday night--when our party started.
For the last 8 weeks, I'd get to work on things at night--
right after the kids went to sleep and I just kept plunking away...
A haunted house has always been something I have wanted to do
and I feel so proud and satisfied...
I also feel like I don't want to look at anything scary, spooky or wicked for a very, very long time...
HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!
awesome
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