Let the Planning Begin Muah Ha Ha

Almost 2 months till the 2nd best holiday of the year, Halloween. And now that I have a home of my own, you bet your bones I am going to ghoulify it and turn my garage into a haunted house. There is only one problem; can I keep on a budget.

Now I do know how to scare those pesky kids that always complain that I am not giving out the BIG candy bars. I just don't know if I can control my fascaious appetite of those wonderfully scary animitronics that are plentiful in the internet world. For now, I will just stick to the important pieces.

First and foremost, I need to design a layout and do an actual walk through to make sure there is adequate room. Since I am using my garage, and it is only a 1 car, I have to also consider moving things around or putting things such as the bikes, etc outside for that week.( my husband is going to pull the kids on the tractor and fill the cart with hay) I could also just see if my neighbor would hold them inside his garage as well. Use my puppy-eyed charm for that purpose LOL!

Secondly, and almost as important, is a theme. You can't very well have alien props in a medieval scene now can you. I was thinking more along the lines of a chop shop. I have gadzooks of tools, so why not let them be carelessly thrown into the mix. My work bench is also just the right height and width, oddly, to create it into a surgical table.Who knows later on I could have an actor play as a doctor while cutting up another actor or patient and them come after those pesky kids.

Lighting and plumbing of the fog machine will also have to be considered. I will be using duck cloths for my walls and ceiling. It is much more thicker than muslin and with my coupons from JoAnns, it will be the same price. Why ceiling also, you ask? Because it adds to the fun house feel, a sense of distortion which creates uneasiness. If they feel they are in a box room they can already sense where the actors will be to jump out at them or where the scare tactic will lie. But if you make your walls at a 45 degree angle and drape the ceiling a little, it will throw their perception off enough so that they might not see someone lurking in the shadows.

I wont have but a few lights since the garage is small enough. I was thinking about just using the main garage door light but added a flickering light bulb to it. I know I dread going down a hall that the lick is flickering, hoping that I get to the end before it goes completely out. So that is the image that I want to create. No strobe lights for health reasons.

Plumbing for the fog machine is going to be the easy part; or atleast sounds easy enough. I will just get enough PVC piping to cover the floor plan. Cut holes into the top of the pvc piping for ventilation. When that night comes, place dry ice in each pipe ( just slide it down if that is easier), cap the ends and link it to the fog machine. Dry ice gives the fog more weight and creates that graveyard mist effect. I don't want anyone choking on fog so keeping it low lined will not only help that but also distort their sense of flooring as well.

So still alot to chew and loads of work so far but I am going to enjoy every bit of this. I will keep posting more as I continue and throw some snap shots in the mix as well. Wish me luck and hopefully luck will only be needed to those who dare enter my chop shop. Muah ha ha!!

Pigs in a Blanket, has a whole new meaning

I was thinking last night while sitting around our fire pit, eating marshmellows, about what I missed about summer the most. I mainly miss family gatherings and the big cookouts that my folks would have at their house during July. Thinking back on that it only brought one thought "Pig ( well technically a hog) in a blanket".

One summer when I was 10, my family was getting ready for our annual hog roast. I was sitting with my best friend playing when all of a sudden my dad runs in my room, sweating as if he had just been chased. He shuts the door quietly and says " You two, whatever you do, do not go into the bathroom. I killed a man and I put him in the tub." Now knowing my dad, he is the ultimate prankster and will do anything for a good laugh. We just shrugged it off and decided to see for ourselves.
After he left our room, me and my best friend gave each other the " lets go look" nod, and tip toed out to the hallway. When we got into the bathroom, I instantly noticed that my old sleeping blanket was in the tub and looked as if there was indeed something hidden under there. With a gulp and a big breathe, I peered slowly under the blanket only to see pink flesh underneath. We screamed with all of our might and ran back to our room. Bursting into tears all I could think of was that I was going to jail for a very long time. I even pondered in seeing if I could run away to my grandmothers so that I could atleast stay out of jail.
And in that last thought and loud 'oh my god, what'll we do,' I heard the faint laughter of my dad and my best friends dad outside my bedroom window. I quickly opened it to harp at them for laughing at a time like this. They had finally got us quiet enough to explain that it was only a hog that they had no where else to thaw.

I had never seen an actual hog; only when it had been cooked in a roaster and on my plate. All I knew is that my reaction went from being to scared out of mind to revenge. I eventually started talking to my dad after I realized that I could not outsmart a prankster ( besides I could never keep a straight face when I tried to pull a prank). And every summer from then on out; whenever someone says 'pig in a blanket' we tell the tale and reminesce of the good ole days.

A quick how to on making your own photo shoot

For some reason my camera does best with hallogen lighting vs natural sunlight. I think this could be due to my yard is either 100% shade or 100% sunlight. I have 9 trees in my backyard and then a " no mans land" that is just a solid patch of open area. Althought that is a great area for volleyball and teeball; it is not great for pictures. So what to do?

I figured since my garage is a perfect little area for making my photo shoot ( it also easily contains the little ones so you are not chasing them all over gods creation ); I figured I better have a looksie and see what I have laying around before I even attempt it.

In my garage we had an old wooden pallet about 4' x 6' which was perfect to hold a backdrop. Now if you don't have one of these laying around, that is okay. You can either look around to see if you have something of that size, maybe a closet door, Or you can use pvc piping to make your own like this one:

It will cost you approx

bucks and you can find the info on parts here.

Then you will need to something for a backdrop. Sure you can go to the fabric store and purchase some muslin, however a sheet will do just fine. You need to pick one that has a higher thread count though. The more thicker it is the better. You dont want to be able to see through it. It will also give your camera a break as well. Cameras will see that there is a mix color if the backdrop is see through, and give the background a very pixelated look. Here is just an example of what I came up with:

My husband had an old hunting chair that is armless that was perfect to sit underneath. However you can use anything you prefer.

So that is basically it! Youre next step is just to find a good angle to shoot and take loads of pictures.

Back to School Time.. Yay for parents, Boo for kids

Its that time of year when parents get excited that they can finally have some peace.. school time. Back to homework, meeting new teachers, and most importantly back to normal sleep schedules.

In this house atleast, my kids have not stayed on a normal sleep schedule all summer long. It might have started out with good intentions but it ended with my children trying to sneak around at 1am. Most of all this little toot, Hannah:

So hopefully now that either school is starting soon or your kids are already back; you are getting some much deserved sleep.

Spirit Bow Giveaway!!!!

I finally broke down and decided to do a give away. With everyone else doing cool stuff; I thought I would join in on the fun. I will make this extremely simple. All you have to do is just reply to either here, my blog; or you can go to my fb page here and click under the discussion tab.
This giveaway will run today through July 17th. Then at midnight ( EST) I will select a winner from random.org and announce the winner. The winner will have 12 hrs to respond back.

Now for the fun part... The winner will get a totally customizeable spirit bow. You choose the colors and choose the image you would like for the bottlecap. Whether its for your daughter school or your favorite team, it is totally up to you. I am pretty good with photoshop so don't let creativity slip out the door. I will work one on one with you untill you are totally satisfied with it.

Easy enough?? Then what are you waiting for.. start replying!!

Tearful..

I have been a little down in the dumps today. With next Saturday being my first craft show, you would think I would be excited; think again. I am just not feeling my perky self today; feeling like I am alone in my creative world. My husband showed today how much he is a non supporter of my shop, and that made me loose all hope.

I was talking today about what I still needed for the show or farmers market. I have tables, tent, and product but nothing to put or display them on. Franticly I went online seeing if there was a how to on a display that I could do. I found a couple of ideas but nothing that really caught my eye. Well I finally found something that did, mesh crate cubes at Walmart. They were only 19 bucks and I could use them for other things later on; good deal. But by my husbands sour smirk and huff; it suddenly turned from exciting to shattered dreams. I wont ramble on much more about this; lets just say I'm still a little teary eyed about the ordeal.

I just feel like I am trying soo hard but hitting a brick wall at every corner. I soo would love my real first sale; that I would go beg and plea a stranger off the street to buy one. I want people to love my things just as much as I do. What am I doing wrong or heck, what am I doing right for that matter??? For now I will just keep chucking away. I still have alot more things to make before next Saturday. Who knows; I might have a good day. But I feel if I have a bad turnout; it will break me.

T-Minus 8 days and counting to first show!!!

8 more days and I can officially say I know the feeling of my first craft show. With trying to stock up on items and planning, it has left me excited but fearful at the same time. I don't know whether to jump for joy or puke, LOL!!

I should really know what to expect but since my prior experience was an epic fail I have shut it out from my mind and decided to start from scratch. So going through a checklist; I have gotten most bases covered.

Now I am just praying that the good ole Indiana weather is nice to me and lets the rays shine throughout the day.