It’s over

Well it’s gone. I took down everything this weekend expect for the fence and columns. Bring on the doldrums. Yay. LOL!

I keep flirting with idea of decorating for Thanksgiving and Christmas, which is why the fence and columns are still up in the yard. Yeah right! I really like them and don’t want to take them down yet.

Let’s see how long I can push this one.

Anyway, since this was the last time I would see everything together, I couldn’t resist snapping a few more pictures during the day. Got a little creative with the photos this time. I’ll give a virtual cookie to the first person that tells me how I took the photos.

Halloween Night 2010

As Dixie mentioned before, we were both too wiped to put up the haunt on Monday. So, we left everything up so I could take a few more pictures that night. It’s a good thing I dragged myself out there to get a few token shots, because early Tuesday morning a torrential downpour started that did not stop until this afternoon. Hopefully our paper mache items will recover. They are a little soft, but still intact. I currently have a triage area setup in the garage so I can operate on the worst cases.

Ahhh…the splendid night of the 31st! Much less TOTs this year versus other years, but a really quality group of people this year. Everyone was very well behaved, and not one teenager looking for trouble. I really hammed it up this year to get them to stop by the haunt. Our house sits two doors down from a very busy street that runs to an affluent neighborhood just to the North of our neighborhood. I situated myself on the street corner in full costume motioning for cars to divert to our street. I got quite a few! Those that didn’t stop, honked at me as they passed. I’m sure people will be talking about the freak on the side of the road for a good bit!

We now have regulars attending our haunt every year, and they go out of their way to let us know that we are now a tradition on their Halloween nights! Wow! We also had a rather large tourist group from Spain stop by our haunt. These people were going on and on about the haunt. We must have spent 20 minutes just posing with each of them for photographs. They probably hung out at our haunt for close to an hour just taking pictures of everything we had. Really nice people.

I’ve probably mentioned this before, but I really enjoy the people more than anything else about this holiday. The kids are the best! There was a family of 5 that showed up with a small 4 year old boy that was not afraid of anything. I had a very scary costume and had been scaring the socks off of people right and left all night, but this little guy just walked right up to me and gave me a big hug! I ended up playing Simon Says, Peek-a-Boo, and Hide-n-Seek with him! I haven’t laughed or had so much fun in a very long time! I hope he comes back next year.

Anyway, I could go on and on about the fun that was had, and the plans for next year, but you people have all heard this before. So, lets get with the pictures already!

 

Plus, here is a cheesy YouTube video slideshow:

364 More Days, eh?

Happy New Year, right?  Planning for 2011 starts today.

For me, planning began last night around 1am.  Sitting across the street, smack dab on the sidewalk - in our costumes, because our feet hurt so bad, staring at the panoramic view of our haunt. 

Just staring at it…. Saying things such as:  I like this…. I like that…. need more of this…. need more of that… take that mess out completely, and wouldn’t it look cool if we had a big huge one of those right about there.

You know the drill, right?

We got the kids off to school this morning, just a few hours after we finally got to bed ourselves, and today is resting, and planning the 2010 take down.  We took today off to put everything away, but still need more pictures, so it will stay up a few more days.  Which is good, I don’t think either of us could move if we wanted to!

What is up with that?  I know I just turned 39 last week, but that’s not old!  I think we pushed ourselves way too hard since Thursday night, trying to get more and more and more done.  We didnt eat a bite yesterday, rushing around, it felt chaotic, like our wedding day. 

The only thing I don’t understand.  We plan all year.  We have sketches of the “finalized haunt” for positions, etc.  We scheme, we makes lists and discuss every little detail…. yet…

Every year, we spend the last 4 days like chickens with our heads cut off, trying to ADD this and add that.  Never satisfied, always looking for just this or that extra little detail.

I guess I need to buy less food that needs to be cooked for the last 4 days of next year, and more Power Bars, lol.

Pictures coming soon in a Jaybo post, I’m sure.

Haunter Fatigue?

If you guys are like me, then you have been getting very little sleep and stressing about every little detail of your haunt. Details that no one would probably notice except yourself. Family and friends have all been asking about your haunt and wanting to see it all right now, oh and by the way they just happened to mention it to 400 other people that you would give personal tours and they could drop by at anytime because you are such a nice guy.

The stress gets to the point that you want to throw your hands up in the air and shut it all down. We don't need this. We do this for the love and joy, and we are not feeling that anymore.

Stop. Breathe. Relax.

Better?

Umm...you are supposed to breathing a little slower. That's actually bordering on hyperventilating.

Ok, put down the rifle and ammo. That's not the answer!

Ok, time to break out the silly. Watch the video below.

Why?

Because it's silly, has nothing to do with Halloween or haunting, and it's good for our soul.

Hang in there everybody! We're in the homestretch now!

Gravestone Artwear

Evidently Dixie has been cooped up in the garage carving gravestones for much too long. She eats, breathes, and NOW wears gravestones!

 

 

She wanted me to tell everyone about Gravestone Artwear. Looks like these guys take rubbings of actual New England gravestones and silkscreen them onto all kinds of things. Looks like a pretty cool site.

Now, excuse me while I try to explain to my wife why a 4ft long foam gravestone is not meant to be worn like a hat. The neighbors look at us funny as it is, we don't need to give them any more ammunition.

makezine.com: DIY Haunts

Looks like Make: is running their Annual Halloween Animatronic contest. We need some tech heads from the community to step up and win this thing. We can't have a non-Haunter winning!





makezine.com: DIY Haunts

Counting the Days…

Ok, no end of Summer Blow Out Bash for us this Labor Day weekend. It’s time to bust out some props and try to make up for the lack of production the last few months. Yikes! Seriously behind schedule this year.

So, the project for this weekend are new columns with an integrated count down sign. I have the frames for the two 8ft tall columns built, but only have one a little over half way skinned with foam and carved. Dixie has carved out tons of numbers and hard coated them with

vinyl concrete patch mixed with wood glue.

 

The concrete patch is my new love this year!

Dixie will be working on the countdown sign, plus a Nickols Manor sign, to go on the columns. The plan is to velcro the numbers to the sign so we can change them out each day.

 

The numbers and letters of the sign will be base coated in white latex paint and then detailed with Wildfire Luminescent paint.

 

 

I couldn’t wait to see what this all looked like under a blacklight, so I grabbed a few numbers, my half finished column, and my camera. This is not what the final product will look like, but it shows you what we are going for…plus the Wildfire paint is cool as hell!

 

 

Ok, that’s it for now. Gotta get back in the garage and get to work. Wish us luck!

 

Oh, and happy Labor Day for those of you in the USA! Throw a burger on the grill for me and save a beer!

Costume Gathering

Well, its August, and I am so behind on gathering all the pieces for my costume.  It’s been 3 years that I have worn the same one, and I am so looking forward to something new.  Based on my last costume, there are a few things that I KNOW I want…

1.  Working with the light.  We use blue and red lights.  Which made for an invisible dress, being that it was black and emerald green.  This year I want lighter colors, which will absorb the light better, without making me look too cheery.  (In most of the pictures last year, you couldn’t make out anything except my clown white makeup, and my white wig, it was just a little TOO weird, lol)

2.  Proper hemming.  I was not born with the amazing ability to sew, hem, or even thread a needle.  I actually duct taped about 6 inches of my dress hem, so that I could walk in the yard without tripping.   Yes, duct tape.

3.  I like the full skirts of period dresses… Civil War, Early Victorian, Rococo without the added hips (which I seriously don’t need extra padding?!?!) so I am sticking with the old ghost of the Manor gig.

Love the stripes, hate the extra hip, I don’t need extra hips ;)

Good combination of colors, lovely waist cincher, this is a heavy contender

Love this one, the stern neckline and sleeves are good for warmth… just wish it weren’t so black…

 

4.  I am stuck on all thing Burton, and love the quirky-ness of black and white vertical stripes.  I want something kind of half serious, half quirky.

Love this quirky fabric – from the (who’d a thunk it) Dr. Seuss line (haha!).  Wish I could work this in somehow…

So with a list like that, I have not found what I want looking at Etsy, Ebay, or any of the other sites I have found.  I believe that I’m going to contact a seamstress or two, and see if there is any way I can afford some help of someone that knows OH SO MUCH more than I do about this stuff.

I guess my idea of a quirky, old, crazy lady that died in a house and was buried in what appeared to be half circus costume is not such a common item!  (I make myself laugh on this one)

Love these too!

Now, all I need to find is a wacky hat………..

Happy building everyone!