OK here is the project I am working on now. I was supposed to be done by now but I hurt my back in September and lost that month.
I need a new entryway for the front of the house. As you can see from my sketch I want a Gothic church design. Construction is the same as the one last year. The wood frame is riped down 2x4's and it is designed to be light. I strategically place solid wood where you will place your hands to pick it up.
Both columns will have a shelf with Terra's flicker candle's and if I have time it will have an illuminated stained glass feature in the center.
Second pic is the steeple construction. It is a pumpkin from a Halloween tiki torch that i bought some time ago because I knew I could use that cool pumpkin for something. It sits on a turned wood bun and I am using a resin garden cross from Lowe's (they are on sale, half price right now!)
You are definitely one of my favorite creators. I'm looking forward to the painting. You design these in any CAD programs or anything? Just sketch out the dimensions?
Thx Deadted.
I just sketch out the dimensions and go from there. I always seen to alter things as I go along and sometimes add or change stuff once I see it in person.
Here is todays work. also there is a pic of the small skull on the lower section of column. it is a $1.99 foam skull from the Halloween store near me that I cut down. It is with some misc scroll work from Lowe's.
I will try and go into some detail with the painting technique when I get there.
OK now at end of post and I'm so loving your yard. It's simply stunning, every piece of it. I can't wait to see the stain glass area installed. How are you planning on attaching it now that everything is painted and how will you illuminate the stained glass window? Man I wish I lived nearby to see it in person. What makes this so exquisite is that it blends so nicely with your house. You could almost see keeping it up as a permanent piece to it. I'm sure your neighbors wouldn't complain. So anyone approached you to hire you out for design/construction work of their haunts, etc.?! Thank you so much for sharing your work.
Another killer prop! As another previous poster said, you are one of my favorites. Looking very gothic and is perfect for my cemetery. WHEN ARE YOU DELIVERING IT? lol!
I worked on some trim details tonight
Also you can see where I am going with the candle shelf and Tera's flicker flame style candles
I will not be able to work on this project for a day or two because of work and family stuff. I will report back soon.
OK I got some more work done this past weekend. One thing I am doing is taping joints with masking tale to hold things tight while the glue dries. I might leave it on for a day then pull it off.
Also I am adding texture with a hot soldering iron. There are many ways to do this but this works best for me
I would have to say that the table saw is the most used tool for this project.
Here in this pic you can see what I am thinking with the stained glass feature in the middle.
Paint soon!
It is three sections, the two collumns and the top. It is all very light.
Adding texture with a small hand torch is a fun step. I first spray everything down with water. I then lightly heat up the surfaces with the torch to get a pitting effect. Also try and use your foam with the lettering on the inside so the plain foam is on the exterior of your prop. The ink on both the blue and pink foam will effect how it melts and you will be able to see it thru your paint. I also use Map gas because it is hotter than propane
For the next step I sprayed all foam surfaces with a hardener. I usually use Gel-Coat but this time I wanted to try something new. Sculpt or Coat - Foam coating, adhesive, clearcoat, texturing agent
This stuff did OK but not great. I sprayed on two coats. Anyone else ever use it? It is not as hard as I would like.
For painting I first spray everything with a dark Grey. After this dries I spray it all down with water and use a 4" foam roller to work wet on wet. If i get too much paint on I just mist it to wash it out.I work with the roller in one hand and the hose gun in the other. Don't use to much water and also wait and add paint in different steps. I start with cream and go to a moss green.
I this pic you can see the pitting and aged look the torch can give, just be light with it.
The crack was added in the torch step. I used a hot soldering iron and a dremmel tool with a 1/8 bit.
Here is a pic of the steeple.
I used epoxy and made it all one piece now to add strength.
The finish is aged copper using Modern Masters finish. Modern Masters
It looks better in person
Your work, is w/o a doubt the best I've ever seen. The detail is outstanding, coupled with the creative touches, scale and of course the finishing. Not sure what you do for a living but I'd guess architect or something in a design related field. Unbelievable!
Seriously Eerie your stuff just ceases to amaze me. BTW....I wish I could have a workshop like yours! My garage is exploding at the seems with all my Halloween props in various phases..plus my tools everywhere lol.
How do I post pics? For this project I used a free image hosting service ImageShack® - Image Hosting I post them there and cut and paste the link (set to forum thumbnail) from that page to this reply
I finished the painting last night and just set things up for the first time.
Here is a close up of the right pillar. You can see that I cut some wild grapevine and added it for realism. I will also add some moss soon.
Also you can see I added Terra style flicker lights. her great tutorial can be found here Halloween Forum - Terra's Albums
How did you make the archway for the top of the Cemetery gate? I'm trying to build something similar but have been struggling with how I'm going to do that. Thanks in advance!
Ha. Do let me know if you get by Bandacoot and I will have a beer ready.
Here is a great shape for the stained glass feature I am thinking about with this project. Colors of purple with blue and red?
But I think I may hold off and work on it this winter.