Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Another Halloween Come and Gone

I just turned out the porch light on another Halloween. I had great plans to update the blog more often, but with the big move to a new office building this month, work seemed to take up much of my time. The move also meant there was no time for a company Halloween party. That didn't stop me from making Britta's witch's finger cookies.

I served them on my severed finger platter from etsy seller, foldedpigs.




These cookies are always a hit at work, and this year was no different. The cookies were all devoured by the end of the day.

After work, I rushed home to get the final touches on my decorations. I made sure \ all the lights were dimmed and the candles lit. I filled the potion bottles with "potions" made from hightlighter- tinted water and turned on the black lights. I think the witch's kitchen looks pretty good!








The rest of the dining room and living room were also decorated, candles were lit and lights were dimmed.











My Lemax Spooky Town got downsized this year since the only space available wouldn't accommodate a larger table. I think next year, I may try to rearrange some furniture so I can display everything.






The pumpkins were put out and I took some final pictures outside before the trick-or-treaters arrived.













We didn't have many kids this year. In fact, I was afraid we would only have family since we didn't have any kids until well after 7. In total, we had 33 neighborhood kids plus 8 nieces, nephews and friends.








Happy Halloween, everyone!

Hauntingly yours,
Amy
© 2007 Haunted Yard

Friday, October 05, 2007

It's Fianlly October!

Where did September go? Most of my weekends this past month were spent Halloween shopping and putting the final touches on 4 new tombstone. Since I now have a bigger front yard, I was able to up the tombstone count to a perfect 13! I wish I had the time to plan and build more props, but I kind of wanted to see how my existing stuff fit in the new yard and plan any additions for next year. The final weekend in September was spent setting up the yard.

There are a million "how-to" websites for making tombstones on the web, and mine is really no different. I've made all my tombstones from Styrofoam insulation, cut to shape with epitaphs "carved" with a Dremel. Since most of my previous tombstones were kind of silly and heavy on the puns, the four new ones were in the same vein. The new additions are:

Roland Stone -Gathering No Moss




Lee Ning:




Abbie Normal



Rick R. Mortis



The remaining tombstones from years past are:

Marcus the Carcass --the first tombstone I made to go with the Marcus ground breaker...who still lights up my yard after all these years!



Tom Thumb --the smallest tombstone at only 8 inches tall!



Clair Voyant --you wouldn't believe how many people I've had to explain this one to!



Les Moore --my abbreviated version of the real Lester Moore marker in Tombstone, AZ.



Johnny Yeast



Dracula



Frank N. Stein



Otta B. Alive



The Tin Man



Another new addition to the yard was a cemetery fence. I toyed with the idea of building one from 1X2 and PVC, so I made a trip to the local Home Depot to price materials. In the garden center, I found a 30" high Gothic-style iron fence. The price of the fencing cost me only $7 more than the materials to build one. It was an easy decision! I love the way it looks and it really adds a cool element to the yard.






The rest of the yard:









Even the trees have spooky eyes!



The porch:

My husband says I am a spider hypocrite. I hate and fear them when they are real, but don't mind them if they are for decoration!






Boris, the witch, new pillars and some ghosts:







Coming next: Decorations on the inside!

© 2007 Haunted Yard