An Unorthodox Halloween – Page 39

Random acts.

You may have guessed at how busy October was for me, with The Harvest and all. But, An Unorthodox Halloween has been spreading Halloween spirit and cheer out in a wider footprint this year as well.

First, a Rory, a coworker friend of mine, purchased this really LAME Hellboy costume.

From 2010 Buildup

Pissed off, and about to bag Halloween all together as a result, I couldn’t allow THAT to happen. So, I worked a little magic, and sculpted him a better set of horns…

From 2010 Buildup

A little molding, and a little slip latex later, he had a decent set of prosthetics.

From 2010 Buildup

For the hand of doom, we brainstomed using a hockey glove. I offered to alter it further, but he was happy with it just painted.

From 2010 Buildup

Complete with the Samaritan he was already making for the original costume…

From 2010 Buildup

We once again proved home-made costumes totally kill store bought crap.

From 2010 Buildup

But, work was not done providing me with opportunities to spread the Halloween spirit. Ashley, another friend from work, was wanting to throw a Halloween party in her new house, with nary a decoration or budget to do so.

Rummaging through the leftovers I was not utilizing for The Harvest, I was able to hook her up with a number of those blacklight skulls I had been working on earlier in the year for the Spider Woman theme that wasn’t panning out for 2010, and the tank assembly from our Laboratory, as well as a number of black lights and a strobe.

From 2010 Buildup

It even was able to serve as a greeting ‘laboratory’ area for trick or treaters later.

From 2010 Buildup

The fun, however, was just beginning.

Our awesome neighbor was having a little crisis, and afraid her cemetery would not make it up this year, needing to go ‘shopping’ for parts, and unable to do so.

But, that shopping list of stakes, black paint, and some screws is something us Halloween wierdos have in spades, so I dropped off a number of them. A few nights later when I saw the tombstones up, but not quite secured to the ground, Kyle and I headed over and drove the stakes in.

I even lent the green and blue LED spotlights I wasn’t planning to use. Unfortunately, I wasn’t over in time to get a pic while they were still at their brightest. My wife informs me it looked especially nice for Trick or Treat.

From 2010 Buildup

Finally, I was most excited to hear there was a member of Halloween forum right around the corner from me. She was feeling a bit down with some negative comments from her neighbors, and I just happened to have ole jack sitting around. So, we drove it over and dropped it off on their lawn on one of my corn and/or reed runs.

A barren lawn at the time.

A few weeks later, it had transformed into one pretty impressive display.

From 2010 Buildup

Yeah, I think Jack is perfectly happy with his new digs.

From 2010 Buildup

2010 has been a remarkable year for trick or treat.

Product Review: Acolyte LED tea light.

As you may have noted, The Harvest featured a LOT of pumpkins.

And, they were lit by a combination of Floralytes, “Super Bright Clip on LED“, and the Acolyte LED tea lights.

The Acolytes were a last minute purchase this year, as I knew I did not have enough lights, and I was a little concerned about the super brights to buy more of them. (and with good reason, see link to them above) So, I placed a last minute order with 100candles.com for some Acolytes in white and amber

The order did not go off without a hitch, with some going on backorder without me getting notification, and me returning from my trip wondering where my order was. They answered the email in a hurry, however, and offered to swap products, rush shipment, or anything else needed for me to get them in time. Fortunately, none of that was needed, however, and they arrived just in time to be put to use.

After about 13 hours of use, the lights were still going strong, unlike the clip on lights mentioned above. The on/off switch on the bottom is a lot simpler to manage than the screw on/off nature of the floralytes.

While not quite as bright as the floralytes, they were more than adequate to the task at hand, and actually provided a more natural feel, especially the amber colored ones.

The one complaint I have is that the battery cover on some of them was a bit loose, and would have to be jostled around in order to get them to light properly.

Overall, based on my experience the last 2 years, I’ld heartily recommend the Acolyte LED tea lights for lighting pumpkins over any of the other options, based on price, durability, battery life, and quality of lighting, and plan on purchasing many more to come.

The Harvest wrap-up.

Ah, everything torn down, and time to reflect…

Our preview party was marvelous. And a big thanks to everyone who came out.

The wide variety of styles and faces created by the completely random nature of the carve is something that simply couldn’t be re-created by a handful of people alone.

From 2010 Buildup

For the first time, it actually created that feeling that this is another realm. Moreso than the old field of skulls could manage, in my opinion.

From The Harvest

The creepers garnered the most comments on the evening. And a special thanks goes out to the inspiration for them.

From The Harvest

Fred was the second most popular. With many thinking he was completely new, not having noticed him on his pole before…. and everyone marveling how neither he nor the rope were burning.

From The Harvest

Unfortunately, Kyle’s cross, he’s demonstrating here to his friend, was a casualty to the rain Saturday evening for Trick or Treat. As was the fog adding to the atmosphere.

From The Harvest

This left Kyle to wander, and he decided he’ld rather guard the candy.

From The Harvest

This left me to wander around, keep everything running, and break up large groups when needed. (yes, we’re well aware of the plan to crowd the candy bowl with a large group to grab handfuls instead of one…)

From The Harvest

So, other than rain lowering numbers and breaking a few things, it was a very fun Halloween.
For more pics, you can view them here.

We’ll be getting some other pics up soon. For now, it’s time for a rest.

Preview party

A few photos from the preview party.

A host of neighborhood kids descended on the house, carved up some pumpkins and went out putting them where they wanted. Then, they were lit with random colors…

A few problems with my camera herein, most notably a couple autofocus errors, and an apparent dislike of the color red on my camera’s part, and I didn’t preview to know to compensate manually. We’ll get better ones later.

The Harvest is forming.

First light this morning.

From 2010 Buildup

As you can tell I had already been at it for some time…

A pumpkin creeper body, waiting for a head.

From 2010 Buildup

Couple more hanging off the fence.

From 2010 Buildup

So, day’s end.

Front back together, and torches posted.

From 2010 Buildup

I got this panicked moment when I realized that, with the gazebo broken this year, I had no way to get the chords across the path. Raven grass is my answer. I planted this stuff specifically for use on Halloweens, but hadn’t planed on using it this year. I’ll tie the tops of it I have posted to either side of the fence there to make an arch, and presto, chord up and over. (In about 2-3 years, I’ll have LOTS of this grass)

From 2010 Buildup

I’m not a HUGE fan of the scarecrows, but it’s the clothes I could find in short order. (mostly cast aways from my son)

From 2010 Buildup

‘The orchard’ area. I’ve decided we’ll hang some lanterns and spray some webs in these trees.

From 2010 Buildup

Fred on his spit.

From 2010 Buildup

Fred seems to get better with age…(now 3 years old)

From 2010 Buildup

The fence creepers. I was out fiddling, trying to get them on after dark. Torches lit to see what I was doing, and get a feel for things. A car was stopped in the street watching as I plugged these in and I just hear a “holy crap that’s cool” waft out from the window.