The 2x4 armature. I do have 2x6's on what will be the bottom to make it a bit heavier. This makes it a bit sturdier while I attach the foam panels. Screwed together with 3" screws.
The theme of our 2017 Halloween party was "Notsag Island," thought to be an uninhabited Pacific island that has a Moai. The island has become a haven for lost people in history. Amelia Earhart, Robinson Caruso, the pilot, flight crew, and passengers of the lost Malaysian airlines. Gilligan, Skipper, MaryAnn, and the professor. Starbucks has also found our island. All invited had to have a back story as to how they came to Notsag Island.
This year we brought out all the old pumpkin pails. Collected from thrift shops and other random locations. Most priced at .50 cents. We already had cup hooks in place from previous holidays. Added a few sets of orange string lights and Presto!
How to create an Out of this World experience for your Halloween guests? I made the bathroom other worldly. Using blue grocery bags I (and my minions helpers Alton, Andrea, and Jessie) blew up a few hundred blue bags and hung them to the walls. The powder room was instantly transformed into a surreal blue installation. And just to remind viewers it was Halloween I added the spider on the toilet lid.
I used Rub n Buff to give the Jello Mold a gold patina. I went around the ray gun adding gold patina to give it balance. I should be getting the ray gun finished this week.
This is the current Ray Gun I am creating. It began the same way as my Simple Ray Gun. I found this Nerf Gun at the thrift store. I used a hacksaw to remove the yellow plastic pull that cocked the gun. I covered the hole with InstMorph a pliable plastic that hardens. This gun has a bit of black that is part of the gun. I masked the black part to protect it while I sprayed sliver over the green plastic. I removed the masking tape. Next I am adding a bubble wand and jello mold to make the antenna ray on the front of the gun. I will add photos when I am finished.
This year's Halloween Party is Out of this World. Outer Space themed. I needed a ray gun. Here is a simple How To make a Ray Gun. I found this Nerf Gun at my local thrift shop. Paid $1.50. I already had the masking tape and black spray paint. I always use a respirator when spray painting. Remember toy guns have an orange barrel. Painting over the orange could endanger your life if you point this gun at someone. This is designed to be a prop for a space party.
So I was inspired to create this after seeing a show on the Travel Channel. The show compared the best Haunted Houses in America. I cannot remember which haunted house it came from but they had a wall of eyeballs which look very dimensional and just creepy. So I thought about it for months before I decided I was tired of looking at this old art work. I liked the frame so I covered it with mostly homemade eyeballs and a few store bought eyes. I used white Fimo to shape my eyes. I baked it, then painted on the pupil and iris. After they were dry I used some dimensional clear coat to make them look shiny. Then came the really mess part, spray foam. I began spraying the foam all over artwork. As it began to harden I stuffed the eyeballs inside. Once the foam dried I painted it with acrylic paints to give it a more sinister feel.
Rogers Garden has the best Halloween promo to introduce their annual Halloween boutique. This years theme is Magic & Mayhem. I alway feel inspired to begin transforming my house into Gaston Manor. view here
This looks super creepy. How about spending the night in the AirBnB Paris catacombs? Let me know how it goes if you make it through the night. Sweet Dreams here
Over the years I have hosted many Halloween Parties, so my guests are on the look out for tricks cleverly placed around the house. This year I decided to place a large plastic tarantula spider inside the lid of the toilet seat. Knowing my guests would suspect something in the powder room I tried to distract the guest by placing a vampire portrait above the toilet. I had glued a second large spider to the mirror which attracted their attention as they did something mundane as lifting the toilet seat. So each time a new guest entered the restroom I waited to hear a scream. No screams came, instead it was muffled cursing. One guest came out and said, I suspected something, but I was too busy looking around when I lifted the seat, “Damn, that startled me”.
Here is a crystal ball with custom stand and lighting effects. I found this how-to here. I love the look. I believe I have all the needed items to build one myself.
As usual I am combing the internet for new ideas to add to my Halloween haunt. I came across this bell jar display. It was nice but what intrigued me was the materials used to create these vignettes. Plastic soda bottles. I thought it was an effective material to replace the expensive glass cloche. You can read all about them at the blog called "lifeartcollide". I have included a link.. Here
Inspired by the movie, Marie Antoinette with Kirsten Dunst. I created an 18th Century Pouf hairstyle on my daughter. Yes, that is her real hair, not a wig. I began with about 5 plastic grocery bags. I placed 4 of the bags inside one bag. I then shaped it into a pillow on top of her head. Her hair reaches about 2" lower than her shoulders. Here is a tutorial I found using a wig. Wig Tutorial. I just created a soft armature (plastic bag pouf) and designed it on her head instead.
This took about 45mins of just pulling up her hair around the plastic bags. I used about 80 bobby pins. So have plenty on hand. I also used hairspray on each strand. I decorated the finished hair with flowers and bugs for Halloween.
#TheGastonHouse.com #GastonsGhoulishGoodies
This morning to my amazement someone left a gift on our
doorstep. Noticing the festive black and
orange color, I anticipate the ghoulish delights that must be inside. My heart
skipped a beat….Halloween would soon be here.
I picked up my gift and took it inside to read the sweet
note that accompanied the package. To my surprise there was no handwritten note
in a familiar script written by anyone I knew.
Instead, a photocopied paper stating I had been BOOed and I needed to BOO
two more individuals after I place the “I have been BOOed” Notice in my window,
to stop future repeat BOOing.
I looked in the bag, it was filled with treats galore,
perhaps someone I knew must have given this, considering the perfect selection
of all my favorite candies, Cherry Air Heads, Cherry Jolly Ranchers, Gummy Life Savers, Frankenstein LIPS…..and
Purple Lips too. What is this??? A new
candy for Halloween?? Mike & Ike
Mummy Mix? Oh…it is too much to resist!!!!!
But wait!!! Who sent this ghastly ghoulish gourmet
concoction to The Gastons? To eat one piece without knowing where it came
from would be the same as taking Candy
from a Stranger. To my horror….I
realized I could not eat a single piece.
What kind of TRICK was this???? An
Evil trick, straight from Lucifer himself!
What could I do? The dilemma? Knowing that just last week someone had left
a candy on the desk of one of my students who immediately asked, “Whose is
this?” No answer from the room of
teenagers. As part of an unthinking
automated response to the SUSPECT candy,
he picked it up and walked straight over to the trash can and threw it out.
That was the end of that. He was not
going to eat any potential pre-licked candy.
So now back to my fiendish goody bag. I guess I will allow it to rest upon my table
until I figure out who my mysterious gift giver may be. But Wait, it also said I must continue with
the horrific tradition and do this to 2 more (previously un- BOOed persons) AND
have BAD KARMA? I cannot be the stranger
who gives candy. Nor can I condoned (as
a mother and educator) eating suspect candy without paternity testing. So those of you that know me ask, why don’t
you just check those cameras you have all over your property???? I ran to my computer immediately with my bag
of treats….waiting to catch the naughty neighbor while devouring my booty. But my heart stopped as I logged in. What?
4,954 images waiting to be viewed?
Let’s say I could go through 500 images per hour that would still be just
under 10 hours to find this perpetrator.
So…writing this message would take considerably less time.
Back to the message I have carefully danced around. Would it not be in the best interest of our kids
to do as we say, “Don’t eat candy from strangers”. And in the spirit of a safe Halloween, either
follow up with your name or leave a note. But until then my candy will remain
uneaten. Eventually it may end up in my
compost pile, because I would not want to have it end up in a landfill.
Jeanine Gaston