Thread: Collective Halloween Development Blog 2009

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It is October! At last! We don't still have almost
any Halloween stuff here in stores, but I think soon.
Nice to see, what they have to offer this year.

We have one 'regular' store that has halloween stuff. Not much but better than nothing!
Plus 2 party stores that have had their decorations out for a week or two now.
I'm heading into town to hit up those stores with one of my clients this evening.
Getting paid to shop! Doesnt get better than that!

MsM

Nothing even vaguely halloweenie in the stores here, but theres some good decorations for sale on ebay uk and most sellers ship to europe.
We are having a halloween desert trolley and i am not very good at cake decorating so i was going to use bettys ready made butter frosting, it looks easy to use.
Next on the list is yo make a scarecrow.

Hallow HF Fiends!
Martha Stewart was just on Today Show describing her Halloween Decor and giving recipes. I love Martha and her ideas, BUT -- I realize that trying to be perfect about anything - especially Halloween, is just NOT a healthy way to to dive into my seasonal spirit. So here's a thought to this thread that may help us as we embrace the next 30 days (30? eeek!)! Quiet your inner Martha and take a tip from the zombies: drag your feet on perfection and reach out to grab the true spirits of Halloween! Enjoy the company of all the big and little monsters in your family and your life. And above all --- don't sweat it. Leave that to the zombies! BOO!

Haha, "Leave that to the zombies".

Here is some stuff I have been collecting during the years. Some
are just for Halloween, some I have around all year. And want to
say thank you to the nice birds, that have left their lovely black
feathers for me to pick. I have found many. They are going to
be a part of my Halloween scene this year.



STUFF 1.
STUFF 2.

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Nice 'stuff' ecula!

Susieboo....it wouldn't be halloween without a bit of stress. A healthy dose of stress is a good thing And no need to quiet the inner martha, I just remind her of her prison days and she shuts up instantly

MsM

I am ill. Can't make a single sound. Nada. Lost my voice.
Maybe it is just good to be quiet for a while.

*

squeak, squeak

Did... practice my mobiles I am going to hang from the ceiling.
Not a very good pic, but I guess you can get the idea:



Damn. I forgot the rusty barb wire

*

HEY...somebody's looking to start playing Vampire role-playing??? COOL!!!
I got into that a number of years back with some friends. Here's a little tip (assuming you have a game master that's intelligent and imaginative)...your back-story is VITAL to how well your character does in the game, as well as how MUCH he/she can do in the game. Mine was an Assimite (if I remember the clan name correctly) and came from a family history of kick-butt mercenaries and black-ops types. he kicked several vampire assimite butts in his last fight before being turned. Specialized in bladed weapons, mostly the katana.
I put a lot of detail into my back-story, and believe me, my character was one seriously dangerous dude as a human, and absolutely devastating as a vampire. Kinda ticked off a few of my friends tho, coz they didn't have characters with nearly so much going for them....oh well, not my fault if they lack imagination. LOL

I hope you get it going...I think you'll really enjoy it if you can get a good group together.

Anyway, I had a few prop ideas rolling around in the back of my rotten little mind. Dunno if I'll have the time to get to them this year, so I thought I'd share them and maybe some of you might have a go at them....

1. a grabbing hand that comes up through the candy bowl. Make it in a similar fashion as Merlin's FGC hands, but use softer wire or maybe string instead of coat hanger wire. Get one of those things from the dollar store that you use for picking things up without bending over...you know, it's a stick with a 2-prong grabber...you squeeze the trigger on the other end of the stick and the grabber closes. Anyway, turn the 2 prongs into the thumb and forefinger of a ghoulish hand. Add 3 more fingers, "link" them together at the knuckles so they all move in unison. Dress up the hand accordingly.
Then put it up through the bottom of a candy bowl (maybe sitting on a decorated box big enough to hide the operator), but keep the hand down inside the candy. When someone approaches the bowl, slowly raise the hand up (hopefully it will have some candy in its clutches), and when the person goes for the candy, snap the hand closed.
BOO!!!

2. Create a small "blackbox theatre stage", maybe something with a miniature staircase. Make the backdrop big enough to hide a person. That person wears black all over, except for his/her forearm. Do some gory makeup to their arm to simulate a severed stump or such like. Put the candy bowl at the front of the "stage". When some comes up to get candy, the hand/arm comes "finger-walking" down the stairs or across the stage and hands them some candy (pardon the pun!). Think "Thing" from the Addams Family.

3. This one's for the poor soul who has to be stuck answering the door for trick-or-treaters:
Get a cheap fake severed hand, arm, foot, whatever. Mix up some fake blood from red food coloring and corn syrup (add peanut butter if you need it thicker and/or darker). Get some red shoestring licorice.
Drill small holes all over the stump end of your fake appendage and stick a bunch of the licorice into the holes, so it's all hanging out and looks like veins. Drizzle your edible blood all over it. Now smear some fake blood all over your chin and maybe down the front of your shirt.
When the kiddies come to the door, open it and take a bite off the stump veins (appear to struggle a bit with biting off the licorice...just for effect)....chew it a bit, then look like you've been caught being rude, point the bloddy stump at them and ask if they want some.