Halloween at my house #decorations

A tour of the decorations I had out at the house this year. Most of it on the porch lights up, but the video I took didn't do it justice. Unfortunately, we had a disappointing turn out of kids coming by.

Happy Halloween!

Haunted Halloween @AtlantaHistoryCenter this Friday #ad

 

Haunted Halloween

Friday, October 20, 2017
6:30-9:30pm
Atlanta History Center

Be prepared for thrills and chills as you walk through the Atlanta History Center’s foggy gardens and haunted historic houses! Step onto the page as fairy tales, Victorian literature, fables, and nursery rhymes take on a new twist. Scare factors help you determine which trails and historic houses are the adventure you are seeking. This year, you are invited to a whimsical and wacky Mad Hatter Tea Party as you kick off your night of fancy and fright.

This special program is $20 for general public; $15 for members; $10 for children.

SCHEDULE OF ACTIVITIES

BUY TICKETS

Happy Halloween!

Don't forget to move your clocks back an hour before you go to bed!

There's a witch sleeping in my ivy #Halloween #crafting #maker

I regularly get crafting ideas across my feed on facebook and sometimes from pinterest.  This year, I decided to take some old pool noodles and turn them into witch legs.  The noodles have been in my garage for ages and I've had no real idea what to do with them, so this worked.  I will say that instead of socks that most people recommended, I tried painting the noodles.  The spray paint I used was fine until I had to use painter's tape to mark off the lines.  The painter's tape peeled bits of the paint back off.  If I do it again, I may just use the base color of the noodle and something like duck tape for the stripes.  The hat is a cheap one from Dollar Tree.  I had made one, but I decided I didn't like the way it came out.  The "shoes" came from Dollar Tree as well.  I didn't feel like sacrificing some of my own for the yard decor.

Spiders in the garden #crafting #Halloween #maker

Not as pretty of a spider.  He's 2 garbage bags.  I found the bottom half of a tv tray's stand and covered it with a garbage bag.  I sliced it and inserted sticks for legs.  The body & head are one bag that I zip tied to make separate.  The eyes and fangs are made the same way as the other spider, coke bottle tops and plastic bottle holders.  He'll look better at night when I put a small light on him from below.

Halloween crafting #spider #maker #crafts

When making stuff for Halloween, I prefer to reuse parts I already have on hand.  In this case, a large pot and some tubing I'd gotten for a different project.  I also used a black garbage bag for the head and attached the tubes/legs to the bag as well.  That way, when the holiday is over, I have less to clean up.  The eyes are coke bottle caps, the fangs are pieces of plastic that hold multiple bottles together (ie ketchup bought in bulk from Sam's).  He's "hiding" under my rose bush to cover flaws in design and implementation.

I've achieved wings! #diy #maker #Halloween #craft

I don't remember if I got this idea from pinterest or youtube.  My daughter has already challenged me to the next stage, though that one won't happen before Halloween.  The frame is crudely bent metal coat hangers.  I did my best to match them up as I was bending them.  There is electrical tape covering the sharp edges at the end and holding the pieces together.

The material covering the frame is from Hobby Lobby's scrap material area.  It has cool spider webs on it for the Halloween theme and only cost about $2 total.  I tried to get a shot of the material up in front of the window, but my camera wasn't sure where it was focusing and tried to get the trees through the wing.  The material covers both sides and is hot glued on.  I used ribbon around the edge to clean up the edges.

The strings to hold it together to the body are extra shoe laces.  I took an extra bit of coat hanger to the middle of each to give it support/structure, then glued them on.  I'll go back at some point and may use thread to reinforce it.

VOILA! Black spider webbed wings.  Not sure what I'm going to use them for, but they look cool to me.

Ready for Halloween #DIY #homedecor #WW

Halloween Cauldron #DIY #Maker

I got the idea for this from Pinterest.  I changed it a little, but not hugely.  The equipment needed was a plastic cauldron, piece of cardboard cut to fit the top of the cauldron, hot glue gun, expanding foam insulation and a wire basket.  Optional is a light set to put into the foam for extra effect.

Step 1: put cardboard circle into mouth of cauldron.  This took some work for me as I cut the cardboard to fit exactly.  After some play and the use of a coat hanger slightly bent, I got it into place.  I then used hot glue to make sure it stayed there.

I moved outside for the rest as I most assuredly make a mess, despite my attempts otherwise.  Instead, I now plan to minimize what mess I make to make clean-up easier.

Coat the top of the cauldron with the expanding foam.  As much or as little as you think makes a good bubble.  While it's still wet, you can embed the lighting into the foam.  Try to keep the lights outside of the foam but the cord in. You can add more foam as necessary.

VOILA!  A bubbling cauldron.  The original post used a tripod they built to hang the cauldron.  I found a metal plant hanger for less than $2 at a local shop.  I already had the hook in the yard with a bird feeder on it. I just took down the feeder and swapped out for the holiday.

Frightening Friday Spiders #maker #recycle #Halloween

I've been making again.  This time it's for my Halloween scene outside.  I made one of these guys last year, I made two this year.  The body is a black garbage bag full of newspaper.  The head is a grocery bag full of newspaper.  Legs are rolled newspaper and rolled garbage bags.  Eyes are the bottoms of cups, fangs were cut out of a paper plate.  They don't look overly spooky now, but on Halloween I'll place a small spotlight on them and they'll do very well.

Happy Halloween!

This year's Halloween decor

Many of the decorations come out every year and the theming tends to remain the same. It's just the way it gets organized each year that changes.

The graveyard is back to the ivy island, set up courtesy of my daughter.

My spider area. I added a spider I made this year (you can check out my pinterest board under crafty stuff).

My witches. The owl lights up and is new this year. I bought him 1/2 off last year after Halloween. This whole section will look different lit up on Halloween.

I'm also contemplating adding "eyes" to the bushes and ivy island. I saw a cool craft out of tp tubes to do it and that seems a cheap/easy add on. My daughter wants to do the 'glow jars' out of glitter and glow stick goo. I think my kids and I tend to enjoy dressing up the house for Halloween.

Halloween Fun - daughter Hunter #ww

My daughter has been inventing new cosplay outfits out of what she has.  This one is a "Hunter".  Can't say I know the reference, but her brother did as did someone out at Six Flags when she wore it.  Note the marker on her face is "blood".

Six Flags Fright Fest

I took my kids to Six Flags yesterday with a couple of their friends. We stayed for Fright Fest just to see what the buzz was about.

The lines for the rides were rather long, this one was Goliath. My daughter and her friend "dressed for effect".

You can see the boys on the ride here. The girls are just out of view on the far seats.

I think we checked this one out too early. It would have been better if we'd waited until after dark. It was fun, though, to check out the costumes.

I met a new friend during our adventures.

Fright Fest haunted stuff is an added charge to the regular admission. This once I paid it to check out the happenings. We did Kill Island (a bit too early, I think), one of the trails (more fun) and the "Asylum" haunted house. I had more fun watching the couple in front of us get spooked. The kids and I agreed it was enjoyable, but I think we liked watching the costumes and efforts more than anything. We didn't really get spooked. We've decided that if we're going to go for "fright" we'd have to check out something like Netherworld.  Not to say that there are those that this would be enough to scare them. There were several little girls that ran screaming from my friend as he walked through the park.  So, it depends on what you appreciate and what it takes to spook you.

Wordless Wednesday - Squirrels ate my brains! #WW

The day after putting out this pumpkin, the "brains" were ALL MISSING! Just killed the display..

Happy Halloween!

Be Safe and Have Fun!

Devil Went Down to Georgia

In honor of Halloween (which is tomorrow!) I thought this would make a great preamble..

Halloween Decorations - conclusion (The witches)

Most everything in this section makes noises, lights up, moves, or otherwise makes you jump. I'll have a fog maker going here as well. I call my witches "the twins". They both talk. The bats are actually home made, they're simple construction paper hung on fishing line. Any little wind makes them flutter nicely.

You can never tell what the twins are up to. They've caught themselves a ghoul, have a singing cat, various potions out on their table, and a gargoyle that makes random appearances.

This one is just for fun. They sit right next to the door.

Up until Halloween I'll be tweaking, adding, changing the display. There are lights that will be on the spiders (can't see it by daylight) that also make noises. I'm thinking I'll add more eyes to the plants, have to make those first. I also like getting silly string and spraying my trees so that the webs continue out into the yard. That varies depending on weather. Silly string doesn't hold up well to rain.

Once Halloween is over, I'll start hitting the sales and picking up new things to add to next year's display.

Halloween Decorations part 2 (scene setting)

My kids always laugh at me when I set up half of our front porch just for the spiders. I love to stretch the spider web cotton all over the front and then put as many spiders as I can in the scene. This year I added an extra "victim" to the scene.. they've cocooned my small scarecrow.

This is my skeletree. Hidden in the ivy (that you can't see until dark) are eyes that light up and blink on/off. Makes for a great spooky feel.

This year I put my grave stones together in their own area. I took some left over garden "fencing" and created my own grave yard. The two hanging skeletons are getting "married".

Either someone is crawling out of the grave, or something was left behind.. Two of my "stones" make noises and/or have lights.