THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS

Halloween 2015

This weekend I kick off the 2015 Halloween Display. I can't believe that a year has gone by since we did the monsters.  "The Nightmare Before Christmas" is the chosen theme. It is a bit of an undertaking and I don't have long if I want to get the majority of it out by October 1. That is my traditional goal. The good news is that each year I get a little better at these sculptures, hopefully it will flow smoothly. Keep in touch to watch my progress.

The first cut is the deepest!

Oogie Boogie 

We started strong but then the rain came. Florida is famous for it. We ended up having a nasty storm. As with all of the Halloween projects it starts with it's foundation and that is Larry's job. I just lend support when needed. Besides, someone has to take the pictures right? Here is what we have so far.

Zip ties come in very handy for this project. 

This is where Oogie Boogie will live. Our flag pole will hold him nicely. The top corner of his grin will be at the top of the pole and his feet will touch the ground. In other words... He is going to be pretty big. 

Day Two (September 8)

We were finally able to finish the body frame. We had to cut some wood and sometimes skies in Florida are way to threatening for power tools (lightening capitol). I began wiring up the sculpture last night, I have the scratched up arms and hands to prove it. It would have been wise to use gloves (I recommend work gloves from home depot that are super tight) but I prefer to work without them. The body is just about ready for mud, he needs a little more weight as you can see, I will probably add more to his his love handles and a belly with wire, but some of that will be painted to make him look fatter with shadows and highlights. I will work on his head after the body is completed. I've invited my friend Ami over tonight to help mud. She has helped with these sculptures every year.  I expect my friends Vicki and Mandy will have a hand in the display somewhere along the line as well.  Dad's going to help me paint it up. I will post more pictures tomorrow.  

THE MONSTERS

 2014 DAY ONE

The Usual Suspects

FOR THE BONES

We took a trip to Home Depot after work for some supplies.

For these guys we needed to following things for their armatures.

PVC thin wall 1 1/4" 7 pipes

Fittings - A bunch

Chicken wire

Drywall screws

Pool NoodlesJoint Compound

Latex Paint
Burlap

When in comes to burlap...
For Beetlejuice I used scraps I found around the house. You want something a little sturdy otherwise the wire armature will show through. Burlap works best.

Paint...
You will need to use latex paint in the joint compound to make your "Monster Mud". I usually use a different color than the final paint to make sure it is completely sealed. The best and cheapest bet is to get OOPs paint from Home Depot. When dry I will paint these monsters Greyscale. I want them to look just like the old movies. For The Horse and Beetlejuice I used an outdoor paint. You have to make sure you coat it well if you want to keep it dry. There were some areas of the horse that softened up a bit. I may look into coating them with something stronger.

We plan to wire-up the eyes to make them light up. I want them to dim in and dim out. You want to think of these things before you start or it may be too late. We will send the wire through the armature.

One more thought before coating...
We would like a metal rod to hold each of these guys in place in the yard. Like Beetlejuice it will keep them from tipping over.
             

The Usual Suspects

Frankenstein, the Werewolf, the Mummy and Dracula all set to wire up tomorrow night. We need one more fitting on the werewolf and some arms. Noodles and to shoot some screws in. We found some wood across the street for the bases. We will screw them on tomorrow night. If all goes as planned I should be ready for mud by Thursday night.  Dad's coming over to help.

The Guts
We had to stop at HD and pick up a couple of things.
We needed a couple more elbows and some metal straps.

Last night Dad and I started wiring up the Monsters. First Larry had to strap them down to the boards which will later be decorated to look like grass. I'm glad we can work in the AC and not deal with the real blood-suckers.  I feel like we got a good head start on our Dead-line. I bought some good gloves for both of us but 10 minutes in decided they were a pain in the butt and I took mine off. Now I have a bunch of cuts and scratches all over me. We finished wiring up the Mummy and started on Dracula. I plan on finishing Dracula up tonight and Sunday tackle Frankenstein.

Working on Dracula with Dad

Dad tightening up Mummy Arms

Tonight Vicki came over and helped kick off the muddiest on "The Monster". Since he was the largest I figured it would be best to get him out of the way. Larry and I stopped by Home Depot and picked up the joint compound, latex paint and I spent the morning cutting up burlap. We were all set for the project and here is how far we have gotten. 

Tools of the Monster Trade

And we're off!!

Vicki hard at work

I will add a Jacket and pants tomorrow. 

Just checked on the Monster and he is drying beautifully.

Check back tomorrow night to see how he is coming along. 

We dressed the monster today and he's looking pretty sharp. Obviously I couldn't find clothes to fit him so we needed to be creative. Once he's painted he will look amazing. Well...at least I hope so. Thanks to my friend Mandy for all of her help today. 

Last night I finished mudding the MUMMY and the body of Dracula (not the arms) I will post pics this weekend of all four mudded. The plan is to work on their heads and hands separately and attach. "The Monster's" head wont fit in the garage. I'm going to my Dad's tomorrow night to work on his head and hands. Dad says he has some tricks up his sleeve to make it look amazing. I'm sure he does...The Man's A Genius.

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Getting Close to Finished.

This weekend is painting weekend.  It's hard to believe it is finally here.

I knew this would be a big job going into it but with help from Larry, Dad, Vicki, Mandy and of course Ami, we have gotten through it.  I am so excited to unveil these guys to the Lake Clarke Shores public.  I know that we have gotten some folks hooked on our displays and that is always a thrill.

Here are some more pics of the progress. The Wolfman has been mudded but is not shown. He still has a little more work. Coming along though.

I can't thank my friends enough for the help.

Drac Looking Dapper

Then There Were Three

Dad sculpting Frank's Head

Time for the mud. The wig head is really just holding him up.
We did talk about making it look like his brain and calling it abby normal.

These guys help a lot.

Ami made awesome hands for Frank.
They are mudded now and all will be revealed soon enough.

It's been a while since I blogged about the Monsters. Halloween is over but I did want to share some of the images of the event. The guys turned out out awesome! It was a great event. Thanks for following along. Check back next season to see what's next on the Blische Haunt blog.

We got the guys standing out in the yard and everything was great!

Then the rain came down and down and down and so did "The Monster" in a very funny way.  It was hard not to cry (with laughter.) So Dr. Larrystein had to do an operation. 

Add caption

Of course we got him standing again and my Brother In Law Kevin added some electricity.

Thanks again for following along!

GHOSTS OF HALLOWEEN PAST

People who make real HAUNTS would not consider this a haunt. We don't have a walk through just a display. I still liked the title. Moving on...

Some people have asked me why I would want to put so much effort into something that will just come down?  Here is my answer:

When we bought our house I was very excited about decorating it for the holiday season; I LOVED the holidays as a kid and creating that magic for our neighborhood kids and big kids seemed like a fun idea. It was also a great opportunity to involve my Dad and some of my close friends including my Husband Larry in something creative to get us away from our computers. Other than that it is great fun to see the reactions of people as they walk or drive by. It is always my mission to get this thing up by October 1st and take it down November 1st.

This obsession started simply enough.  A projected sign and a decorated Honda Element. We obviously weren't ready to commit to anything hard yet.  We had a wheel for the kids to spin which decided whether they got candy or a Halloween toy (we always gave them both anyway).  We also served margaritas to the parents and our new neighbors brought snacks. It was great until it rained. That sucked! That's Florida.

2009 The Owl

The first year of putting in some effort, I painted an owl on a board by my front door. The window had been broken by a rock that was ejected by the lawnmower. It was the perfect temporary solution. You can't see it but it was coated in a black very fine glitter. It was beautiful and I hated taking it down. We focused primarily on our doorway.  I can't figure out what we used around the doorway below the lights. It looks like a garland.

 

2010 The Skeleton Crew

To follow that, the following year we put a spooky ghoul out front. It obviously didn't require much effort but when the setting sun hit him just right he was awesome. Cheaply made but effective. We used leftover grapevine as a garland which covered the front of our house and we lit that with orange and purple twinkle lights. We tied black gauze throughout it which gave it a spooky effect blowing in the wind. We added the VERY OLD lady to our doorway. We always had a lot of fun with her. We bought the chair at goodwill and we painted it. Added some great details to create a back story about her.  I'm going to see if I can find a picture of future renditions of her. She was always fun to have there.

2011 The Ghost Carousel

The following year we invented a ghostly carousel which danced around in our front yard. My Son-In-Law engineered this and it was splendid. We still get requests to bring the ghosts back. They were really eerie up close. The ghosts were crude but a very effective set up. A wig head, gauze, sheets,wire hangers (sorry Joan) and paint. Oh and the ever helpful duct tape.  Lucky for us we had a very breezy October.  We painted them with glow in the dark paint and lit them up at night. The rustling of the trees made them even spookier. They would always turn in the same direction and that made it look like a dance. It was very relaxing to sit and watch them dance.

2012 The Headless Horseman

Then comes the Headless Horseman.  It was a BIG undertaking but we were feeling very enthusiastic about the season and wanted to challenge ourselves. We still put the lady out but added a chandelier above her. We added a limo driver for her holding an umbrella with bones hanging from it. We lit the driveway up with luminaries and created two of the creepiest sisters you would never want to me in a the woods.  The Horseman was sooooo cool. He stood taller than our house.  We counter balanced him with buckets of covered buckets of water  (didn't want anything breeding) We used a glowing LED ball for his eye in red or green depending on his mood.  The head he was holding was a bit realistic looking.  I was afraid kids would not come close to it. They loved it. Little freaks!

The head it was holding turned out really well. Scared the wee ones.

Real candles in these bags.

These girls were so creepy with the strobe at night. But even creepier on a rainy day.

2013 BeetleJuice

Last year we did Beetlejuice and he was amazing. At this point we have started to build a following. People parking to take a picture with him was very exciting.  He stood about 7 feet tall to the tip of his highest hair spike. He was a lot of fun to do. My Dad who always helps with this stuff was so excited when the pizza delivery guy knew who he was. I mean Dad Really? It looks just like Beetlejuice. We replaced the old lady with the shrunken head scene  of Beetljuice on the couch, the hunter and the big voodoo priest.  We also used the horse one more time and put a smaller Beetlejuice riding him. It was sad to toss him but he was too large to store and so we had to put him down.
 

He was so much fun to make.

 

This picture was taken after he was placed. He was placed over a pipe that went up to his neck.  He kept him from tipping over.  I still can't believe how great he looked.  We painted a giant hose to create the sand snakes next to him and eventually filled up the yard with some fun little details like wooden signs that said Beetlejuice! Beetlejuice! Beetlejuice! He also had an awesome tombstone behind him that my Brother In Law contributed. 

The Golden hour

 

She had a good run!

We got a lot of laughs from this sign

This year Four Monsters are in the line-up. Classic Horror.  Dracula, The Mummy, The Werewolf and of course the big buy Frankenstein. So off we go. Visit "MONSTERS" post.