House of Shadows

A Whimsical Trio

One of my favorite things about decorating for Halloween is that possibilities are endless.  DIY project ideas can be found to suit individual tastes ranging from grim to giggles. If you enjoy painting and have a taste for the whimsical the Winfield company offers patterns worth looking at.  I love this company! Now that we have a grandson I’m sure some of my time will be dedicated to painting something fun for him to enjoy next Halloween.

See the Winfield Collection …. so many cute options!

http://thewinfieldcollection.com/catalog.aspx?catid=32&pg=1

Here is an example of how you can create Halloween decorations by repurposing everday items.  This project was done by Frankie’s Girl and posted on HalloweenForum.com.  Frankie went shopping for Angels to finish the tops of a pair of small columns she made.  She found a pair of Angels at Michael’s, one had a broken tip on the wing.  Frankie bought the pair for $8.00 and repaired the broken wing tip with air dry clay.  Then she painted the Angels with a basecoat of gray, covering the recessed areas with with a dark charcoal gray.  When the gray paint was thoroughly dry Frankie used a dry-brush painting technique to appy white paint.  A combination of strokes, including stippling was used to create a stone texture.  I must say, the finished product looks much better than the original.  Congratulations Frankie’s Girl for a job well done.  You’ve got a good eye for great deals.

The weather here is miserably cold so Christmas shopping will be delayed until the severe weather warning for our area is lifted.  I’m beginning to feel like I’m living in Victorian times.  We have been keeping one room in the house warm and turning the heat down in the rest of the house to conserve.  Our old house still has an oil furnace, not a good option since the war  started. But in the long-term, learning to do a better job of conserving is a good idea anyway.

This is an excellent time to focus my time on continuing work on The Immortal Pumpkin and preparing some skulls for molding. Like everything I do, I decided I wanted to explore options for painting the skulls once they are cast with foam.  It seems everyone has their own preference of materials and techniques. Some people use a combination of different colors of Minwax, others use acrylic paint.  The painting techniques below are adapted from  information posted on Grimvisions. As I discover other techniques that appeal to me, I will post them for your information.  I think it’s always good to study more than one technique before beginning a project.  You may end up using a process that is uniquely yours, but it’s good to know why you make certain decisions along the way.  The best way for me to learn is to dissect the work of others.  So here is one way to finish a foam skull:

Supply List:

• White Glue
• Brushes
• Black spray paint
• A foam skull
• Acrylic paint of various colors
• Matte sealer

Painting Process

1. Start with a 2 part urethane foam skull that you have cast, or purchase a quality foam skull
2. Coat the skull with white glue, thinned with a small amount of  water so it brushes easily onto the skull.
3. Make sure to apply a good; even coating and let it dry.  This helps seal the foam and gives it a better texture.
4. When the glue coat is thoroughly dry, spay paint with a layer of flat black paint
5. When the black paint is dry use a bone colored acrylic paint to paint the high areas of the skull randomly, you don’t want total coverage ( tip: one way to do this is use a sponge and if the coverage is too much quickly blot it off with a paper towel)
6. Be sure to leave some black showing in the deep recesses.  An airbrush can be used to apply this coat if you have one available.
7. After the bone colored layer dries, go back and highlight the lines and cracks with a watered down black. Then using a watered down burnt umber blot on some dirt-like spots here and there to add some antiquing near the eyes, jawline and mouth.
8. Let the paint dry thoroughly; at least one hour, then lightly dry brush the entire skull with original bone color paint.
9. Paint the teeth. Using watered down acrylics, or inks.
10. After the teeth are done, go back and very lightly dry brush the highest points of the skill with the base bone color mixed with a bit of titanium white (the brush should so dry that you can hardly detect any paint in it)
11. The final step is to spray the whole thing with a matte sealer to reduce the shine.

Thank you viewers and subscribers.  Your interest means a lot to me.

The picture of the aging tombstone above is one of my favorite examples of what an old stone would look like in a heavily shaded, abandoned cemetery. After years of exposure to the weather the stone erodes and gives a foothold for the moss to take over.  Admittedly, I am addicted to color and texture so I’m drawn to this picture.  I’m not sure if I want to go that extreme with my finishing details but it is a possibility.

There are so many ways to build tombstone props from Styrofoam and a  wide variety of finishing techniques offer you many choices.  Think about the overall look you want in your cemetery before beginning the building process.  Give it a history and the vision begins to drive your decisions.  I have posted some links that provide excellent examples of the possibilities.

Keeba’s Tombstones provides a comprehensive tutorial for  both building and painting tombstones.  Merlin’s Celtic Cross is excellent, but the Reaper is truly phenomenal.  The Rat Popin’ tombstone is an incredible, but advanced project.  I listed this link because it shows the potential for what can be accomplished with Styrofoam and a lot of talent.  The builder of this project carved some of his ornaments, but there are many ways to find objects that are ready made.  My husband laughs at me because I’m always looking at things  with an eye for the potential to cast it for a project.  I recommend Thurston James book “The Prop Builders Molding and Casting Handbook” as a reference if you are not experienced molding and casting.  The book is listed in my store; you can find a complete review by clicking the link in the listing.  The picture of the stone in the Mourning Cemetery is an exceptional example of how to add a lot of texture to your project.  These are only a few examples, but they can give you an overall reference that will get you started if you are a new builder, or perhaps show you some different  methods if you are more experienced in building Halloween props.

Keeba’s Tombstones

http://www.hedstorm.net/HAUNT/instructions/tombstones/index.html

Merlin’s Celtic Cross

http://www.hauntershangout.com/home/MyCelticCross.asp

Merlin’s Reaper
http://www.hauntershangout.com/home/reaperstone.asp

Rat Popin’ Tombstone

http://usersites.horrorfind.com/home/halloween/chrisscrypt/graves_01.html

Mourning Cemetery

http://www.mourningcemetery.com/Projects/crane/index.htm

I hope you will enjoy viewing the work of these home haunt builders.  Until next time …

Thank you for being our guest at the House of Shadows.  We hope to see you again soon!