Ahhh
… fall. When the air gets cool and crisp, the leaves on the
trees turn yellow, orange and scarlet, and the undead walk among
us. On Halloween, make the local ghouls and goblins feel welcome by
turning your innocent home into a den of fright, a pit of iniquity,
a tenement of terror.
Ahhh … fall. When the air gets cool and crisp, the leaves on the trees turn yellow, orange and scarlet, and the undead walk among us. On Halloween, make the local ghouls and goblins feel welcome by turning your innocent home into a den of fright, a pit of iniquity, a tenement of terror.
We’ve gathered a few projects – from simple to more complex – to help you get into the dispirit of the season and get your house in ramshackle shape for the spookiest night of the year.
Let your imagination run wild – if you can dream it up, you can probably re-create it with clay, paint, paper, styrofoam and glue. And remember … this is the time of year when sickly and gross are the way to go.
If it turns your stomach or creeps you out, it’s perfect.
We suggest getting a few friends together, brewing up a steaming, bubbling concoction and having a miserable time.
Headstones
Front-yard graveyards are sure to drive up a home’s value.
You’ll need:
1 1/2 inch – 2 inch thick styrofoam
gray spray paint
black acrylic paint
Cut the styrofoam in the shape of a headstone and paint it gray. It may take a few coats. After it dries, paint the epitaph on in black paint. Set the headstones at odd angles in the yard to simulate an old, neglected cemetery.
Shrunken Heads
There’s nothing like a shrunken head at the entrance of your horrible abode to say “welcome.”
You’ll need:
apples
whole cloves
a few grains of rice
1/2 cup lemon juice
2 tsp. salt
Peel a large apple and coat with mixture of lemon juice and salt to prevent browning. Carve out eye sockets, a nose, mouth and ears.
Use whole cloves for eyes and raw rice grains for teeth, or just carve and let dry if you want to keep it simple. Sit apples on a wire rack in a warm, dry place for about two weeks and shape the faces as they shrink. You can also set them in an oven on the lowest temperature, but it’ll still take several days.
Hang the heads from your fence or the eaves, or impale them on fence posts for a particularly ghastly effect.
Wanna freak out your friends and trick-or-treaters? Stick one of your shrunken heads in a friend’s coat pocket or at the bottom of a bowl of candy. Then, watch them recoil in horror.
Gruesome Heads
You can get pretty lifelike – and therefore pretty creepy – with these heads. When you’re done, set one in the middle of the table as a gruesome centerpiece or impale it on a fence post next to the shrunken heads for a before-and-after effect.
You’ll need:
styrofoam wig head
modeling clay
marbles
acrylic paint
artists paint brushes
wig or other hair material
Cover the styrofoam head with aluminum foil. Then cover the face part of the head in modeling clay, and shape into a face. Use opaque black marbles to give the eyes shape and a vacant stare. Use an inexpensive Halloween costume wig for a stylish coiffure. Use the acrylic paint to add gory details, like warts and scars.
scary Bodies
You can attach these bodies to the heads or just place them near each other for a still life grouping.
You’ll need:
old clothes
plastic grocery bags or leaves
Stuff the old clothes with the grocery bags or leaves to the bodies shape. If you’re feeling adventurous, put the bodies on the porch and attach fishing wire to the clothes. Run the ends through pulleys to a spot where you can operate themwithout being seen.
Scare the daylights out of your guests by pulling on the wire ends to pop up a torso, a set of legs or even an entire body (with a head or without) as your visitors approach the front door.
Source: www.about.com
Window silhouettesÂ
Give your nosy neighbors something to look at when they peek in your windows – witches, giant birds or man-beasts.
You’ll need:
A panel of white muslin or polyester, cut to fit the window
A template – try drawing a witch, raven or werewolf
A black plastic garbage bag or plastic weed barrier (available at garden centers)
White chalk
Scissors
Fabric-stitch glue
Hem the muslin or polyester and sew a channel in the top to slip the curtain rod thorugh. You can also just tack the finished panel to your window frame.
Trace the template onto the plastic with chalk and cut it out. Glue the plastic beast to the fabric panel and hang in the window. For an especially eerie effect, use green or red light in the room – it’ll shine through the window and give the effect of a mad scientist’s lab.
Giant Spider
Even fake spiders are creepy.
You’ll need:
A large plastic or paper spider
Black acrylic paint
2 styrofoam balls, one slightly larger than the paper spider’s head, the other slightly larger than its body
Serrated knife
Hot-glue gun
Black fake fur (optional)
2 red beads, for eyes
3 straight pins
White cotton string
Paint the paper spider head, body, and legs with black acrylic paint. Cut foam balls in half using the serrated knife. Paint one large half and one small half black. When the paint is dry, glue strips of black fur to the larger ball for icky spider hair. Glue the halved balls to the paper spider’s head and body.
For beady little eyes, slide a red bead onto a straight pin, and stick it into the top of foam head. To hang the spider, pin string to the foam body and attach the other end to the ceiling or a rafter with a pushpin.
Hand Bowl
This will feel like a lifelike hand reaching back to grab trick-or-treaters’ fists.
You’ll need:
Drill with 1/2-inch bit
Bowl, with pedestal base
Keyhole saw
Rubber dishwashing glove
Halloween candy
Drill a hole through the bottom of the bowl near the center. Using the saw, cut out the bottom circle of the bowl, with the hole as an entry point for the saw. Put the hand of the rubber dishwashing glove inside the bowl and thread the rest of the glove through the hole. Stretch the opening of the glove over the pedestal. Fill the bowl with candy.
Ghastly Ghosts
If you don’t have any ghosts living with you, you’ll have to make your own.
You’ll need:
styrofoam balls
jars with necks narrower than the balls
Elmer’s glue
gauze
scissors
needle
fishing wire
Place a styrofoam ball on the mouth of a jar to keep it steady. Mix three parts glue with one part water. Cut the gauze into squares that fit over the ball with enough extra gauze to hang below the ball. Dip the gauze into the glue mixture, squeeze out the excess, and drape it over the ball.
Allow the ghosts to dry for about four hours before removing them from the jars. Use the needle to sew the fishing wire into the center of the ghost’s head, tying a knot on top. Hang the ghosts, or stand them up.
Haunted House Curtains
Thread count is very important in haunted house draperies – the fewer threads, the better.
You’ll need:
coffee and tea
cheesecloth
scissors
gloves
pushpins
Brew two pots of coffee, make one three to four times stronger than the other. Brew tea in different strengths. Set aside about 2 cups of each in separate bowls.
Twist sections of the cheesecloth together, and snip off little bits at random to make holes. Bunch and pull on the cheesecloth, so that the holes and the weave separate and stretch. Fray the ends of the fabric.
Wearing gloves and old clothes (it’s likely you’ll stain something), dip the cheesecloth into a light-strength tea or coffee to create a foundation color. Wring out any excess dye. Add highlights by dipping bits of the cheesecloth into the different dyes; wring out the excess.
Set the cheesecloth in an area where it can dry without staining its surroundings. To speed the drying, use a blow-dryer. Hang the cheesecloth from a curtain rod and around the sill and secure with pushpins.
Eyeball Ice
Keep an eye on your guests – and a couple in their drinks.
You’ll need:
radishes small enough to fit in the individual sections of ice cube trays
pitted olives
Trim the stem and root ends of a radish, and use a paring knife to scrape off most of the skin. Leave just enough red to give the radish a veined appearance. Rinse the radish off, and use a small melon baller to cut 1/2-inch-diameter hole into the radish. Fit an olive, cut side out, into the hole, and place the radish in the ice-cube tray. Fill the tray, then pour water over the eyeballs, and freeze.
Ladies’ fingers
Finger food for a tasty treat.
You’ll need:
2 tablespoons red food coloring
30 blanched almonds
2 large eggs
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
5 tablespoons granulated sugar
Pinch of salt
1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
Step 1 Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper, and set aside.
Step 2 Place food coloring in a shallow bowl. Using a small paintbrush, color one rounded half of each almond. Set aside to dry.
Step 3 Separate 1 egg. Set aside the white. In a small bowl, whisk together yolk, remaining egg and vanilla. Set aside.
Step 4 In an electric mixer, combine butter, confectioners’ sugar, granulated sugar and salt. Beat on medium speed until well combined. Add egg mixture, and beat until smooth, about 2 minutes. Add the flour, and mix on low speed just until incorporated. Wrap the dough in plastic, and chill until firm, 20 to 30 minutes.
Step 5 Divide the dough in half. Work with one piece at a time, keeping remaining dough covered with plastic wrap and chilled. Divide the first half into fifteen pieces. On a lightly floured surface, roll each piece back and forth with palms into finger shapes, 3 to 4 inches long. Pinch dough in two places to form knuckles. Score each knuckle lightly with the back of a small knife. Transfer fingers to prepared baking sheets. Repeat with remaining dough.
Step 6 When all fingers are formed, brush lightly with egg white. Position almond nails; push into dough to attach.
Step 7 Bake until lightly browned, about 12 minutes. Cool completely.
Source: www.marthastewart.com
