Awesome haunt Johnshenry!!! Night spa....it sounds so nice!!!
Omenwood Hotel (Night Spa and Funeral Parlor)
Ok, here are where the pics are going to be:
Login to a private Photobucket.com album
If it asks you for a password, its "skelly".
I will use photobucket because it is easiest basically. I can upload lots of pics quick and add descriptions.
I will organize the pics by prop, such that you can scroll through a series of pics for one prop and see them in order. If I add pics of a prop, I will put it next to the last pics of that prop. I will not create separate albums for each prop, etc. Descriptions may be minimal.
I may from time to time post a pic here in this thread (like the invite cover above).
For those who don't know, this is our 16th annual Halloween party. Last year was only the 2nd time in an 18 year stretch that we didn't have one. I just threw the mental health flag after a busy summer last year, I basically do everything myself and it is very draining. It is an ugly snowball effect (as I am sure many of you know) you have to out do yourself year after year.
These are adult parties, the invite list is now well over 100. Last few parties I think we had about 45 attend. I am an engineer and Disney Special Effects Designer wannabe. I love the "big show". Last several years we have done a "blackout event". I have the whole house wired on X10, and after a few prep moves by me and my wife, I take a wireless remote out of my pocket, press a button and the whole house blacks out. I mean completely blacks out.
Then the fun begins.
Anyway, the Hotel theme (thanks to Lady of Chamberwell Manor) is new this year. I am fortunate to have a house that BEGS to be made into a psuedo walkthrough and has tons of open space for large groups of partiers. So "new" for this year:
The reception/check-in desk, with all sorts of old 40s props including an old hotel guest register. If I get my group buy Buckys in time, I'll have a skeleton behind the desk.
My wife an I will be dressed as dead hotel employees, me a "Night Manager" and she a maid.
I bought another 750 watt strobe (3200 watts of mega strobes was not quite enough, dontcha think?) and this year the lightening will be outside, not in the house. Will hit the front (blasting through the front windows) with the 1800 hypersonic strobe, and three 750s light up the backyard. So when the house blacks out, there is a storm outside (thought of last night, wouldn't it be SUPER cool if house blacks out, strobe/lightening flashes hit the backyard every 1-4 seconds..... and ZOMBIES come walking out of the woods out back toward the house!!!!!).
Coffin cooler will be set up in the front dining room, not the back "big" room like years past.
Will make an "ice pipe" fog chiller to (hopefully) dribble fog down the staircase into the family room. Some tattered sheeting will cover the stairs under which will be some blue rope lighting for effect. Also blue light in the upstairs hall.
I am converting the 150+ LED tealight candles I bought 2 years ago to hardwired on a wall wart. This is so I can turn them on and off (X10) all at once. Will to the white hot glue stick drip (another excellent idea here) and make clusters of candles. Love the LED flicker lights, don't like 150+ button batteries and 150+ tiny pushbutton switches. Watch for pics of that conversion on the Photobucket site.
I may steal a projector from work and project some music videos on the family room ceiling (it goes up 22 feet), I particularly like the Shakira "She Wolf" video.... Not sure if I can pull that off.
So there ya go, save the link if you want (I will try to put it in my sig). I like to take pics of my work, but just can't afford the time to upload, create sites, links, attachments, etc. I feel pretty good that I am off and running full stride before Oct hits, and friend are already asking me "You ARE going to have Halloween party this year, aren't you?????".
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"chicken wings!"
LUV IT!! We too have a wooded backyard that blends into a bit of wetlands before it runs into a small condo development. Some of the teens in my neighborhood have been begging to help me this year! I think your idea may be worth a try - even on a small scale. THANK YOU for the inspiration!! and the helpful info. "Chicken wings - here we come!
LUV IT!! We too have a wooded backyard that blends into a bit of wetlands before it runs into a small condo development. Some of the teens in my neighborhood have been begging to help me this year! I think your idea may be worth a try - even on a small scale. THANK YOU for the inspiration!! and the helpful info. "Chicken wings - here we come!
Uploaded a few more pics to the photo bucket page (see my sig). Today was like Christmas, I got FIVE packages from the PO. My Minions webber, this cool old phone from the 40s (which I probably paid too much for), some white glue sticks for candles, a 3 volt wall wart to power all my LED candles and a fire alarm that I will use for the booby trap bathroom closet.
Here's a pic of the phone and a cast Valet Bell I got a couple months back:
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I swear that phone weighs 10 lbs. The handset weighs as much as 20 cell phones. It will go on the reception desk with a cool old Guest Register from 1937 I also got on eBay, and Bucky skeleton behind it, ALL webbed nicely with UV reactive webbing.
Tomorrow it is supposed to rain all day so I hope to get the front sign mostly done. I borrowed and overhead projector from work so I could project the Hotel lettering and mark it up.......
Here's a pic of the phone and a cast Valet Bell I got a couple months back:
I swear that phone weighs 10 lbs. The handset weighs as much as 20 cell phones. It will go on the reception desk with a cool old Guest Register from 1937 I also got on eBay, and Bucky skeleton behind it, ALL webbed nicely with UV reactive webbing.
Tomorrow it is supposed to rain all day so I hope to get the front sign mostly done. I borrowed and overhead projector from work so I could project the Hotel lettering and mark it up.......
Progress on the Hotel sign. Employed a "bored" teenager with a Sharpie.
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Never done this before, but I'm pretty happy with the way it is coming out so far. I carve the big section of the letters out with the utility knife, do some detail work and thinner parts with the soldering iron, then lightly pass a butane torch in the cavity to "cauterize" the foam, and melt away all of the "fray" and "crumbs".
I'll paint the cavity with flat black, then roll the whole face with a med-light gray paint, then dab on some contrasting color with a painters sponge...
Stay tuned, more pics at the photbucket site, URL below...
Never done this before, but I'm pretty happy with the way it is coming out so far. I carve the big section of the letters out with the utility knife, do some detail work and thinner parts with the soldering iron, then lightly pass a butane torch in the cavity to "cauterize" the foam, and melt away all of the "fray" and "crumbs".
I'll paint the cavity with flat black, then roll the whole face with a med-light gray paint, then dab on some contrasting color with a painters sponge...
Stay tuned, more pics at the photbucket site, URL below...
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I painted the reception desk. I spray painted the black in the recesses, then rolled on the gray with a foam roller, then dry brushed on some aging and misted some water. I'll probably age it a bit more, maybe some pea green, or dull red dabbed on with a sponge.
The top surface I rolled with gray and black paint that was not mixed together in the tray much at all.
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Finished the first overlay roll of paint on the sign. It needs some more detail work, aging and "mossing." I want it to look REAL old. The flickering vacancy sign will dangle below it with one of its chains broken.
Pic is fuzzy, didn't have the camera set right.
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The top surface I rolled with gray and black paint that was not mixed together in the tray much at all.
Finished the first overlay roll of paint on the sign. It needs some more detail work, aging and "mossing." I want it to look REAL old. The flickering vacancy sign will dangle below it with one of its chains broken.
Pic is fuzzy, didn't have the camera set right.
2
Did some aging on the main sign, and added some lights. They are landscape lights on painted copper tubing and screwed to a brace on the back of the sign. They have 5 watt halogen G4 bulbs in them, but I power them with a 9 volt adapter, so the light is dim an yellow. I'll get a pic at night once it is on the front of the house. I did a little bit of webbing on it too with my Minions webber.
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I am making a bunch of PVC candles by taking apart tealights and hard wiring them. I will be able to turn them on after the blackout with the X10 controller.
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So far the RSVP response to the invites has been pretty good. All of the "fun" people are for sure coming, plu s a few "virgins"...... MWwwaahahahaha!!!
Lots more pics at my Photobucket, link below...
I am making a bunch of PVC candles by taking apart tealights and hard wiring them. I will be able to turn them on after the blackout with the X10 controller.
So far the RSVP response to the invites has been pretty good. All of the "fun" people are for sure coming, plu s a few "virgins"...... MWwwaahahahaha!!!
Lots more pics at my Photobucket, link below...
2
Some "ice pipe" tests:
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Trying up high to see if the fog "drops". It does!
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Built a luggage/valet cart out of scrap plywood, PVC and the wheels from the kids wagon. I think I spent less than $10 on it. Rolled the PVC with poorly mixed black and gray paint. This will go on the front porch with some suitcases, and something hanging from it. Any ideas? Was thinking of an old garment bag with my 3 foot skeleton poking out...
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Getting carried away with PVC candles, although all of these ones I cut pipe for in '07 for our last party. Now I am hard wiring the LED flicker circuits and will run them off an AC adapter. This long board will go up high on a palldium window sill where you can only look up and see them. So I don't need to make "tops" for them...
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More pics added to my photo bucket page, see my .sig...
Trying up high to see if the fog "drops". It does!
Built a luggage/valet cart out of scrap plywood, PVC and the wheels from the kids wagon. I think I spent less than $10 on it. Rolled the PVC with poorly mixed black and gray paint. This will go on the front porch with some suitcases, and something hanging from it. Any ideas? Was thinking of an old garment bag with my 3 foot skeleton poking out...
Getting carried away with PVC candles, although all of these ones I cut pipe for in '07 for our last party. Now I am hard wiring the LED flicker circuits and will run them off an AC adapter. This long board will go up high on a palldium window sill where you can only look up and see them. So I don't need to make "tops" for them...
More pics added to my photo bucket page, see my .sig...
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