Thread: Started setting up this weekend...YAY!

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So we finally started setting up this weekend. Hip Hip Hooray. I'm giddy as a school girl and completely exhausted. The mausoleum and the cemetery pillars are assembled at last and sitting in the garage waiting for me to paint them. My moving reindeer/werewolf is getting close to being done, got a lot done on him today. Not sure if he'll be as nice as I wanted him to be but I've learned a lot in the process and can make him better for next year. Key note to people wanting to use one of those wire reindeer with motorized moving heads to make a werewolf- prissy skinny wire deer bodies do not a mean bulky werewolf make. I spent hours building a frame around and part of the wire deer structure to make it look convincing and recently had the epiphany that I could have had a lot easier of a time had I just built my own frame and transferred the entire motor assembly over to it. Ugh, the cruel joke of hindsight. So many things completed or close to completion, and so much work.

We're running down to the minute with this completion. I remember asking hubby back in June to start talking about Halloween. His response, "It's not even summer yet. I don't even want to think about fall." Needless to say he wishes we started back in June. I have finally convinced him that Halloween of 2012 begins on Nov. 1st 2011, if only to spread the costs out over a longer period of time. Last year was our first year in a house and we had nothing but hubbies cutesy indoor decor and we only had two weeks. I think we did okay for what we had back then, but this year I had big plans. This year I finally got Halloween planning started back just before September. I'm hoping this year is a success. I like how it's looking so far.

It's funny as we started working on props in the garage over the past weeks a few of the neighbors who knew what we were doing came by to take a peek and tell us how much they liked last year. But as soon as we started setting up in the yard we had neighbors that we never even talk to coming out of the woodwork. I didn't realize we had made that big of an impression. As I said earlier I think we did the best we could last year and I was happy with it, but I didn't think it was extremely noteworthy. A few people said someone should call the local paper and that kinda baffled me. Maybe their just not used to Halloween gone wild around here.
So anyway without further adieu here are the pictures. The first ones are from last year completed. I will confess the pictures from last year didn't do it justice.

Halloween 2010

And below is the beginnings of 2011. No props out yet just kinda scene setting.

So that's the beginning of Ravenfell Manor 2012 and my poor naked werewolf. Let me know whatcha think.

I could use some cornstalks and a werewolf..naked would work, clothed would probably be better in my neck of the woods..

Would like to see the finished werewolf...you've given me some ideas

Looks terrific, so far! Keep it up!

I think its looking great...looks pulled together!

Nice job, Ravenfell Manor

looks GREAT!!!

Thank you for all the compliments they are helping to kick my butt in gear. Hubby works all week so all of the big last minute projects have fallen on me to finish alone. Tonight I am working on painting the cemetery columns and the mausoleum. I wish the garage wasn't so crammed at the moment. It would make painting a lot easier. My poor pants have paint all over the butt from where I frequently brush against a wet pillar while trying to squeeze through to another area. Will post pics of the completed werewolf when I get him done. Right now the painting takes precedence since that actually needs to dry. Hopefully he will be done by Friday or Saturday.

Great job!!!