Trading tips for dark displays and prop production.
#90547
Well not quite. I thought i'd show you all a few bits and bobs I made this year to go into my spooky room where I was displaying my pumpkins. No grand grim reapers or gravestones this year just random things. As usual I just tried to use things I had to hand.
I've been hoarding interesting bottles with a view to making them into various poisons and this year I got round to it. Some are whiskey bottles and others lemonade, I keep ones I think look a bit old or odd. I then went on to trusty old google images to find ready made poison labels. I usually fiddle around with them, add different font or a different image or border, so they don't look completely copied.

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I used Fuller's Earth to make them look dusty, added keys (metal or tree) or feathers and natural corks to those that didn't already have stoppers. I filled some with different types of twigs, moss, seeds, flour so they looked interesting inside.
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I printed off some medical sketches onto some tea stained paper and found some tarot-esque playing cards for a bit of interest on the sideboard. Ive a TON of old rusty keys so whenever I can use some I do.
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The teeth you can see on the top right of that pic are made of Fimo and stained with paint. I wanted them for my tooth fairy carve but didn't really make enough for a big pile so I stuck the ones I had to a potato to make it look like I had more. :)

Next up I made this strange picture. I don't really know what I was doing with this only that I wanted some sort of skeletal face coming out of a picture. I saved the frame from the bonfire heap. It is a genuinely old frame but the moulding was all falling off due to being left outside I salvaged what I could and repainted it to hold the rest on. I made the skull and hands out of paper mache and stuck a bought spider on the corner. A liberal covering of cobwebs hides any dodgy bits.
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I thought these picture frames looked like they'd fit in so I printed off a couple or pictures I found on Pinterest and stuck 'em in.
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I had kept two old sewing machine drawers because I liked their size and shape so I painted Happy Halloween on the side and added some leaves, monkey nuts, berries and candles for a table decoration. I kept this upstairs, to colourful for the spooky room. I think I might use the other drawer to make a christmas version with white candles and holly etc.
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I'll post the Sleepy Hollow box here to seeing as I made it this year. I'm storing craft things in it.
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I wanted to make a creepy Fiji Mermaid and display case but only got round to making mermaid so next year I'll display it properly. It's made with a cheap skeleton from B&M. I took the legs off and attached and wrapped wire round to make the tail. It's covered with cling film and heat gunned so it shrinks and looks like old dried skin. Painted with wood varnish and I added some Hessian threads for wispy hair. Pretty gross.
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And lastly (sorry long post) I'm late making this one but here's a sneak peak:
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#90558
Wow. Wow. Wow. Don't even know where to begin on this one! Everything looks so professional. Love that skull bottle topper and your signwriting skills with Happy Halloween is absolutely perfect. All those minute details, keys, teeth, skulls, anatomy prints. Your room reminds me of the Rembranthuis in Amsterdam - all propped out. Amazing.

That Fiji Mermaid takes the proverbial biscuit though. That is fantastic! You should curate museums or professionally dress spooky exhibits. Outstanding stuff. Can't wait to see the completed DDM. Wow. Wow. Wow.
#90601
Thanks everyone you're all too kind :oops: :) .
Zomb, don't be daft if I can do it anyone can. You just have to accumulate enough odds and ends that look a bit old or halloweeny. In short, hoard bottles and feathers and twigs and tat. :lol:
I've finished my Dia De Los Muertos tin but no pics yet. Nothing special anyway.
I got a glass dome cheap from TKmaxx that'll just about fit my Mermaid with a little bending. I'd have liked a Victorian dome but I don't want to pay a fortune for one. A few years a go I might have got one cheap but now everyone and their uncle wants 'em it seems.

Everything goes back in the loft tomorrow. The room will be bare. I'll have to start thinking of Christmas decs to fill the void.
#90612
You have got to be kidding me! Everything is fantastic!

I have a small collection of poison bottles I've picked up through the years from stores, pre-made. Yours are much more authentic looking. I love the "dust" on them although I would have a hard time keeping mine like that for decoration sake, the urge to clean them would ruin mine. :wink: I have some old bottles found buried in the woods and they would look great with some labels.

The picture frame is my favorite! Extremely creepy and a very clever idea! I think I would truly be afraid of walking by that on the wall, or one morning coming out to find the frame on the wall but the skeleton gone... It's often I think of some of my decorations suddenly coming to life. I may have been exposed to too many horror films as a kid..

Excellent job on all!
#90617
Wow! :shock:

The whole deal is fantastic. Although, the picture frame is something I now think I must have. :D

The bottles are awesome as well. Each one is unique and yet they all go together. The mermaid skeleton is also a stroke of genius. It's not my house but I feel a little sad that the Halloween room is all cleaned up.

Did you have a party this year or was all of that just for you? (and pumpkin photos.)
#90619
:cry: It's all gone except the decorative kins, they're still hanging around waiting for the soup pan. My real kins are outside waiting to see if they will be good enough for a firework party at the weekend.
Raven, I have a thing for old bottles. I've got loads of sea washed ones that my ma and pa collected from the sea shore/riverside. I love them, they'd look great with lights in them.
It's funny I wasn't that keen on the picture frame, I felt it was lacking something but I can't put my finger on it. It behind my wardrobe now for another year, no grabbing any passers by till then. :twisted:

Mes, no party this year. We had family staying with us the week running up to the big day so I'd have felt like I was neglecting them to make preparations. As you well know, there's always too much to do before a party. Maybe next year when it lands on a Saturday. I just decided to decorate the one room that ToT'ers could peer through if they dared. I wanted to incorporate the old Sideboard into Halloween too.

Two other little things I made that I forgot to post. First a bad picture of the DDM coffee tin. I might paint it in the style of the sugar skulls so it looks nice in daylight but for now its just white.
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And another little copycat thing. While trawling Ebay for inspiration I found a cute little vintage cardboard candy dish. Naturally I was too tight to buy it so I just saved the images and made my own. I was thinking of doing a christmas version swapping out death for St. Nick and the elf can be running off with a christmas pudding. Greens and Reds maybe?
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#92114
You have terrific taste when it comes to spooky decor that looks old and authentic. Great work on the poison bottles. Many people would be content with the labels, but you take it to a new level with all the little details. The skeleton emerging from the frame... brilliant! Love it. A Fiji Mermaid too? Where do you find the time and materials to make such stunning props?

I have a thing for old skeleton keys, medical diagram drawings, and animal skulls. Someday I hope to have a collection like yours. Eventually I'd like to have a room of my house permanently decorated like this. Or maybe the whole house. If it was good enough for the Addams and Munsters, it's good enough for me.

Anyway, thank you for sharing, it's truly an inspiration!
#92272
I cut the coffee can with a craft knife. It wasn't the easiest thing to do as the you can slip easily. I might add that it was made out of cardboard, I wouldn't know what tool would be best for the metal ones.