An Unorthodox Halloween – Page 97

Kyles Mold

So, we finished out the first mold for Kyle.

And, he made his own first casting.

Other than not listening to me on a couple places, it went rather well.

Again, for more pics, and a detailed account of the process, please look here.

And, we got around to prepping the lindberg skull for making my own mold.

Toothless, because I want it to be. The eye and nose sockets are much deeper than my other skull molds, and the face is larger, but the skull as a whole is slightly shorter. I’m looking forward to making a couple molds with various numbers of teeth…

Of Thrift Stores and Garbage…

Previously I told you we bought an umbrella frame.

Well, fact is, we really needed an umbrella…Just, I’m not willing to trash a $60 umbrella just for Halloween. I did find a $40 one all done up how I wanted online, so I wouldn’t have to trash it, but after shipping, $60.

So, goal for this project: Keep it under $40.

Here is the lovely frame, $5. And my messy garage. The bead curains are even in those cardboard boxes…

Breaking out the box of assorted crap, we find that roll of fabric I’ve been saving for just such an occasion.

A little glue down the ‘ribs’ of the frame, and mash that fabric in place.

There, half done in a flash.

Yes, it’s horribly ugly…all the better. Now, what possible use I need for an umbrella and bead curtains, you’ll just have to keep guessing for the moment.

Meanwhile, on to the garbage.

A little garbage, a little duct tape, a little clay, and there you go.

These ones still need to get all sewn up and properly presentable, and all of them still need to get some hair.

I’ll be getting a more in-depth look at the entire process the next batch I make.

School Project…

So,about a week ago, I come home, and am told Kyle has some “mini society” and he has to come up with a service or product to produce. I knew immediately where they were going…

Jen goes on, “Kyle and I were talking…”

*sigh* He wants to make a bunch of skulls and sell them, and some bracelets for the girls.

Yeah…I don’t have any portable-size skulls.

Thank god for the wonderful people of the Halloween Forum. I posted a query where to find such a skull, and not only got suggestions where to find one, but was offered one, just pay the shipping.

So it was Friday, we set out and started the process of making a mold.

If you want a step-by-step account of how to do it your self, please go looky, here.

Also over the weekend, we got Talia into her little skele-girl shirt.

AND, I found out the Lindberg skull I ordered came in as well. Just to the neighbor’s house…
This was part of a group purchase done to get bargain pricing, again thanks to the Halloween Forum, and to RBC for setting it up!

Ah well, a new model to diversify my skulls even more. Not that most people will notice. We’ll be getting pics of it up as soon as I get the glue to actually put it together.

More pieces

Damn weather.

I should be out corpsing the bucky by now. Nooo, we had to go get several inches of snow.

So, it was taking Kyle off to look for a suitable model for his school project.

While finding that model proved fruitless, we did come home with a cute little skeleton onesy for Talia, and a pool umbrella frame.

Yes, just the frame. I’ll leave you to guess what possibly for, for the moment.

And, to top it off, I got 3 new skulls made last night.

Will have pics of the onesy as soon as she wears it, and pics of the 2 major projects once weather clears to a point we can actually start DOING something on them. Till then, it’s makin skulls, and waiting for supplies to show up in the mail for the shrunken heads and Kyle’s school project.

Indiana Jones…

I’ve added a countdown to the new Indiana Jones movie up top there.

The Indiana Jones movies have influenced my whole design of Halloween for some time now.

Or rather, The Temple of Doom has, specifically. (Not that the face melting and super rapidly aging nazis from the other films are not also great sources, mind you.)

Oh sure, ask most anyone, and they love Raiders of the Lost Ark, and/or The Last Crusade.

Me? My favorite remains Temple of Doom. The first.

See, the events of Temple of Doom actually take place prior to Raiders of the Lost Ark. Yep, a little known fact, Temple of Doom is a PREquel. Yes, it is dark. Yes, Indy is protrayed as little more than a mercenary for much of the film. And, yes, it is the movie that invented the PG-13 rating.

Add to that human sacrifice, bugs, bizaar priests, skull motifs, voodoo dolls, a wonderful dinner scene, and the fact I rode my bike to the theater to watch this thing at the dollar matinee as often as I could, and it should be no wonder I often plug Temple of Doom into the dvd for a little inspiration whenever needed. Rare is the film that draws the same level of scare that I aim for on Halloween, myself. Temple of Doom aproximates that level very well.

And now, they are making another Indiana Jones. Certainly “Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” has a lot of potential to include some inspirational content as well. I have already been researching Mayan/Incan/Aztec religions and symbolisms for some years for inspiration. If you know where to look, you might even catch the references in my photos. And with recent hollywood productions like “The Fountain” and “Apocolypto” providing some of that theatrical flair to the subject, I’m quite optimistic there will be something for me to draw inspiration from in the new Jones film, which is sure to be a more enjoyable watch than the other two…