A "Couple" of Ground Breakers

I had such a GREAT weekend. I'll post more later about that, but most importantly... I finished my first project(s) of the year (so behind).

Last week I mentioned the beginning stage of "hacking" a certain store-bought ground breaker. These guys were super cheap, one was picked up from a store - after halloween sale, the other came from a lot-for-sale off of Craigstlist. What to do, what to do... so I searched the internet for inspiration. Came across this lady.

I mentioned before in a previous blog how I mangled the head here. I used the same technique. Took the head off the body, removed the hair, cut the styrofoam and used paper towels and carpet adhesive. (note: I used Bounty, should have used Viva - no bumps/designs in paper towels are best). Waited a good week for that to dry, then painted their faces with craft paint and used polyurethane to seal.

In the meantime while their heads were drying. I gathered up some of the extra red velvet I had from some curios I have been working on. I also grabbed some black cheese cloth, along with little items I had in my craft/sewing box (the black satin rose). No sewing required on my ghoul-friend, just hot glue and used my imagination. Went into my costume bin and grabbed an old witch wig. Asked my son if I could have his old suit tie which worked perfect for the guy-ghoul. I used water and craft paint to make the tie dirty and used a dull razor blade to give it a grungy effect. Added plenty of moss on the bottom of their torsos as well as sporadically on their body, hands, face and head. To give it that fresh ground breaker look.

I can not begin to tell you how happy I was after I finished her.

Below you can see start to finish photos.

I'll meet you at the cemetry gates

So, I started decorating on the last weekend of September, thank the ghouls I started early because last weekend there was a lot of rain. The first two pictures is the fence I made all by myself. Some of the pictures will show you some of the creations that I previously blogged about, you'll get to see the finished products now. As you enter my cemetery, note the smoke machines and strobe lights are not up yet, they will be on the weekend of Halloween.

Now, I will take you from the porch in the front of my house and into the dead end cemetery...

We've only just begun...
and so it begins... (real black light - purchased at Home Depot) the ones you get at the halloween stores are just purple lights (FYI). Also my favorite and one of my very first halloween decorations is the Crypt Keeper my mom got me many years ago.

Here's the potion jars... with flash
and without flash under black light! (use tonic water for the glowing effect). My spirit ball witch... she's a funny one!
Another potion jar and my cauldron.


My front door.


Dylan's costume from last year, mannequin head and body I made out of chicken wire!

This is my halloween boyfriend, he doesn't have a name other than "my boyfriend", he no longer is scaring the pants off my friend, Kim. haaaaa
The walkway...

You will now enter the cemetery... ps: those are not orbs from the cemetery, it's just a lil rain.
with flash!


don't fear the reaper



with flash!
without flash!

Tim's part in decorating was adding and inserting this shovel ;)


Not sure why my skeletons are all drunk in the graveyard...

the pumpkin king!
another one of my faves... the candelabra with flicker bulbs. One has bats the other a witch.



my North Carolina ceramic pumpkin my mom got me. I had two some devil child stole the other





Oddly enough... the only decorations in my house.
This last picture is for Tim (inside joke, because we're pranksters.... he scared me 2x this morning. So while he was taking a shower I threw cold water over the curtain. heeeee
24 more days till Halloween!!!!