Welcome Boils and Ghouls, to another round of "The Mad Lab!"
The SEI (specific everyday item) for February 2010 was frames... how did Dr. Jekyll know I was using frames this year in my haunt?? I've planned on making a haunted portrait gallery and library (think Disney's Haunted Mansion) inside the house this year.
So I scoured the internet for inspiration, and I always end up at Madame Talbot's Victorian Lowbrow and Gothic Lowbrow dreaming and drooling over the lovely oddities on the screen before me. If you follow the link above, you'll see a variety of shadowboxes ranging from just over $100 to over $1500! {gasp} Now that I've recovered from sticker shock, I decided that I, too, can make a cabinet of curiosity.
The Funeral Shadowbox is filled with real and actual funeral items. This is to be an homage to those who have passed away that I have loved. This is real and this is true.
For starters, I found a gaudy old frame that was glaringly gold and some stray 1x6 wood and plywood that was lying around in my garage.
From there, I cut the 1x6 into pieces that would make a box that fits with the gaudy frame that I chose. Using wood glue and screws, I assembled the beginnings of the box.
Next, the plywood was cut to fit the box. It was secured using wood glue and screws.
Now that the shadowbox was completely assembled, the next step was to start transforming these pieces into something that looks really, really old. First everything was painted red.
When the red paint was dry, everything was painted chocolate brown.
Once that was all dry, black paint was used and both pieces were dry brushed inside and out. Close attention was paid to the corners and edges.
The project then dried for 24 hours. A palm sander was used (or you could use a piece of sand paper) to rub away some of those layers of paint. I kept in mind how I thought this shadowbox would have been handled over the years and I really scratched away the paint in the areas that would have been touched a lot.
Spray adhesive was applied to the main area of the shadowbox and the fabric was secured leaving the sides of the fabric loose. Hot glue secured the side panels of fabric to the sides of the shadowbox. I didn't pull the fabric taut but rather left it loose and billowy to add depth and interest inside of the shadowbox.
Next I trimmed away the excess fabric by clipping it closely to the edge of the shadowbox. Then it was time to add my treasures!
The ashes needed to be visible, so I chose a bottle of appropriate height and aged it using paint. After the ashes were placed inside and capped, a piece of fabric was added to the top and an antique ribbon secured the fabric. The round metal tag is from the local funeral home and it was also aged with paint. The small cross was the final touch added to the bottle. The antique photo from a funeral was given height in the box by attaching a piece of styrofoam to the back of the photo.
A small Madonna and an actual funeral prayer card were placed close to the ashes.
A necklace with a cross was attached to the fabric by using three skinny pieces of double-sided foam tape. The chain was stapled to the shadowbox at the very top of the display area. Dried flowers including roses, baby's breath, and fern were added to soften the corners of the shadowbox. A lonely spider meanders over the top of the photo.
After the inside of the shadowbox was finished, a piece of double-sided foam tape about 4" long was quartered lengthwise (making very skinny adhesive strips). These strips were applied to the inside lip of the decorative frame which will hold the plexiglass.
Before the plexiglass was secured to the frame, it was cut to size, chipped and cracked to add interest, and aged with paint by misting it with overspray along the edges.
Four hinges were used to attach the decorative outer frame to the shadowbox. Two eye bolts were used at the upper sides of the exterior and wire was added so the piece can be hung on the wall.
Miniature skulls and skeleton hands were painted to match the frame and secured with hot glue. The skulls had portions cut away so they would face particular directions.
The Funeral Shadowbox is a beautiful work of art and a handsome tribute to those who contributed to its contents.
So, after seeing Madame Talbot's other display curios, I wonder what price tag she would put this little gem. Hmmmm......!
Every curious kid wants to see what's making that eerie glow from across the room.... and I am no exception. Of course I like to check out old buildings... peek around in the dusty corners and see what cool things were left behind. On one such excursion through an old building, it could have been some type of offices or something like that, a small group of us headed in just to see what we could find. We had our flashlights and cameras with us which was a good thing since it seemed to get dark awfully fast that night. I can't really remember what floor we were on, but we stumbled on a room with tons of old, dusty books and journals strewn all around. This must have been some kind of an old medical lab but the notes in the journal were very odd. While I had my nose buried deep into one of those journals, I heard my friend Rhonda call out that she could see a light. How strange, I thought, since this building was totally abandoned. I closed the journal and tucked it under my arm and met up with the rest of my friends where Rhonda was standing. She wasn't kidding. There, down a long hallway was an eerie faint glow. This wasn't a ghost or anything like that, but it was very strange. We just had to go check it out! As we walked down the hallway, the room where the glow was coming from held shelves upon shelves upon shelves. There we found more journals, bottles of various things, strange tools, and several things covered in rudimentary bags made out of old towels or burlap. One of those bags had a large hole in it, where it appeared that someone had been watching whatever was inside and that's where the glow was coming from. We all were silent. Of course they pushed me toward that eerie green glow and with my camera in my free hand, this is what I found:
You could see the corrosion on the metal.... this thing had been here for a very long time. The closer I got to it, the more I could see that this was some kind of vat... with air hoses on the top and several knobs all around it. It was very hard to see what was inside exactly, until I got right up on it.... I could hardly believe my eyes! There, inside this old forgotten building, down the long hallway into a room filled with all kinds of weird things and this strange container that glowed a creepy green color was...... a brain!!
I couldn't believe my eyes! Then I realized the room that we were in was a storage type room and there were body parts everywhere! One of the girls screamed and another one dropped her flashlight but we all took off in a dead run to get the heck out of that place! I had forgotten all about that journal that was still tucked under my arm......... and that's exactly what I'm going to tell the Trick or Treaters this year when they come inside to see the Mad Scientists' lab.
Ok... so this is my most expensive project to date. Some of the parts I've been saving to use (like the hex aquarium and pump) but other things had to be purchased. I bought the brain online at Zowie Fun just under $10, including shipping and handling. I went to a local fish store and bought the bubbler hose for $10 and the special one watt, blue moon glow LED light for $40, and some air hose that fit into the holes of the second SEI (an SEI is a Specific Everyday Item and required by The Mad Lab in their contest), aka 'the planter' for about $5. The rest of the stuff that I used -- the knobs, the silver screw on caps, paints, etc., I had in my stock.
Every project starts with an idea.
The flower things at the bottom of the picture above are actually heavy metal samples from work. I used some of those as weights in the brain so it wouldn't float away.
Here's the brain and several of the 'knobs' I used for this prop. The little top hat-looking things are actually finials used on lamps to keep the shade in place. The glaze that I use is an oil based glaze so when I age the outer parts of the prop, it will stay in place and not wash away.
Here's the actual hex aquarium that was used. It's your standard table top beginner's fish tank type. I didn't use the black spray paint afterall (even though it's shown in the photo).
In the photo above, the special light is there in the yellow package. In order to reduce the temperature so that something electric wouldn't melt the plastics (causing a fire, perhaps) and drop into the water (possible electrocution...), I had to find a light that would be bright enough and still be low temp. Almost any LED light would work, but the nearly black-light color of the light (you'll see this in later photos) gives off a great color. The bubbler hose is the other new package and it's really cool when it's bubbling away. As far as the planter, it's the cheapest thing out there (from a purchased plant) and I spray painted it silver before anything else was done to it. There's also some PVC (which qualified as the first SEI of tubing) that I painted silver and the air hoses that I mentioned earlier.
So there's everything except the third SEI in the above picture. Then I went to work on the prop....
First things first... gotta get that brain to float. Using ordinary fishing line, I made a simple tether on the top of the brain by using a needle. Pretty easy. Then I cut a small incision on the bottom of the brain and stuffed some of those heavy metal flower shaped samples into the brain until it floated the way that I wanted it to. Using a small drill bit, I made a couple of holes into the lid or cover of the tank and suspended the brain using the fishing line in the water. It took a bit to get it right.... buoyancy can be difficult! It looked like this:
Once the brain floated the way that I wanted it to, I cut the PVC exactly to size, painted it silver, and fit it over the tank's pre-existing tube to give the prop a more 'industrial' feel. I'd removed the rubber guards from the top and bottom of the tank and here's where the project gets dirty.
Grab a set of disposable gloves before you do this next step!!
Put a dollop of Great Stuff foam into your glove covered hand and smoosh it onto the planter and the guards. (Yes, smoosh is a technical word!!!)
Whenever you use Great Stuff foam, always keep in mind that LESS IS MORE!!! This stuff has a mind of its own and will continue to grow, so use small amounts and add more later!! Once the foam is dry, paint the surfaces silver to duplicate the corroded metal look and feel.
Once the paint is dry, drill small holes to insert the silver screw-on caps and glue some to the holes on the now topside of the planter. On the other holes not covered by those caps, insert the larger air hose and let it hang down and touch the tank. Where they touch the tank, simply hot glue it into place. A couple of clamps were used for effect on the front air hoses and the lamp finials-now knobs were hot glued into place on the tank. Remember to let the top area be where you can disassemble the prop when needed so don't glue absolutely everything down! Once all the little extras are in place, use the glaze and age it all -- think dirty, dusty, rusty, forgotten! Here's a picture of the prop without the highlighter in the water... it's a very cool blue color, but it looked too nice and pretty for such an evil prop!
And here's a close up of the tank so you can see the bubbles in action. The brain actually bobbles in the tank since it's tethered from the roof -- a very cool side effect!
Then came the third SEI of the beach towel..... now I really had to get creative. Here's the items I used:
Using an old towel, holes were punched into the sides with an awl and ordinary twine was used as sewing material as the sides were stiched closed. Then a simple back and forth pattern near the top made up a drawstring closure for the bag. Once it was all built, the bag was dyed with and icky brown color and a basic black. Here's how it turned out:
Once all of that was done, it was decided that the water needed to look very gross. In a bright neon yellow color, a highlighter was disassembled and the color cartridge was immediately placed into the water and the highlighter bled completely into the water. The nearly black light makes the flourescent color glow a creepy green:
Here's a few more pictures of the completed prop:
This is certainly a great addition to the Mad Scientists' Lab this year. My creepy friends love this project and it's one of my favorites to date.
Thanks for taking a look!!
This was another project made for the monthly Mad Lab contest. Be sure to check out my HauntSpace page, too!
The Mad Lab contest for May actually let me cross something off of my to-do list. The Parkfield Morgue needed some additional props and by using ping pong balls to make eyes, this new prop fit perfectly into the plan for 2009.
Ingredients are as follows:
a potentially diabolical canister ($2.99 at Goodwill)
aquarium sealant ($4.98 at Home Depot)
ping pong balls ($8.98 at Wal-Mart)
oil-based paints (no cost -- from my Garage of Evil!)
two large jugs of cheap hair gel ($7 at Big Lots)
Time spent for this creation: about a week and that includes a lot of drying time!
This particular canister was originally used for hair care products so it was not water-tight. The canister featured a lot of metal including a handle and latch which really was what I wanted for this prop. I washed and dried the cannister and then followed the manufacturer's instructions for the aquarium sealant giving it ample time to dry properly.
While that was drying, I cut a sponge to a circle slightly larger than a wine cork. For the iris, oil-based paint was applied using the sponge and allowed to dry. The pupil was added by dipping a new pencil eraser into black oil-based paint. The effect of a cataract is achieved by thinning white or grey oil paint and sponging it over the iris and pupil.
Using the catalog from the Anatomical Chart Company for inspiration, the ocular muscles and areas of bloodshot were added to the eyeballs for effect. Puff paint was also added to give more texture to the effect of the ocular muscle. To dry the eyeballs, I found that they fit perfectly into the holes drilled for tea lights in the PVC candles that I'm making!
Using a combination of green, red, brown, and black oil paints, the cannister was aged dramatically.
The hair gel came in two colors: a gross, deep yellow and an ice blue. I mixed them together and came up with a weird green mixture. The eyeballs were placed by hand all around the canister and I used a chopstick to push them away from the glass. During Halloween, I will use a glow stick or two to illuminate the prop which will be placed in the center of the gel. For the pictures, I used a low-temp light so the gel wouldn't cook.
'Eye' love this project! Thanks for taking a look!
National Geographic magazine has some very interesting articles. If you've missed the recent February 2009 issue, then you missed the photo-essay "Voices from the Crypt". In this story with its amazing photographs, you can look at death up-close and for as long as you like, because, as it says in the article, the living would never tolerate it. How true.
The photos are mesmerizing. The embalming procedures used on the deceased pictured really allowed the body to be preserved like you can't imagine -- wait until you see the picture of the girl who died in the 1920's...
So, if you need to see something different, if you need inspiration for that blucky, or if you have a thing for the dead, then be sure to check out this article (click on feature article) or go directly to the photos.
The Mad Lab really challenged me this month! The SEI (Specific Everyday Item) was to use an ordinary kitchen bucket for the April challenge and I really had to think to come up with an entry this month. My logic (as usual) is to look outside of the box -- to push the limit and to use the item in a different way. So... this is what I did to the bucket...
Total cost for this project: $3.75
Items used for this project: 2 identical buckets, spray paint, latex paint, a heavy old chain, and severed foot props. For the pictures, bones were added and the use of a live model helped greatly!
I bought two identical buckets and drew the pattern on to one, then traced it to the other. In the design, I left the handle or bail of the bucket intact and included it in the design.
After all the designs are cut (I used both scissors and a woodburning tool), I zip-tied the handles together. I then duct taped the bottom of the bucket on the top of the zip-tied handles.
Here's where my camera took a crap -- actually the SD cards, but that's another story! Anyway... I used spray paint in an ivory color intended for plastic as a base coat. Over that coat, I spray painted one coat of a hammered copper-y metal with a basic flat black here and there for interest. After the spray paint was completely dried, I took an old wine bottle cork and stamped it around the lip of the bucket (which is now on the bottom!) in a dark grey acrylic or latex-type paint. After those dots were dry, I highlighted with a lighter grey color of acrylic/latex and lowlighted (or shadowed) with black. After those were dry, I added the icky rust marks. For added effect, the rust was also applied to the areas at the bottom of the teeth of the trap. I used a dark crimson red on the teeth inside and outside of the trap making sure to add some drips and pools of 'blood' also.
The remaining pictures that I have are in a series, so you can see how the trap works.
The one thing I should have mentioned is that this is not a spring loaded prop!
So there is my April entry.... The Zombie Trap .... made from ordinary household buckets. Thanks for taking a look!
You can check out more of my creepy creations here on HauntSpace and on my brand new website. http://artsychiqua.webs.com/
Thanks again and please take the time to vote in the Mad Lab! That place rocks!
Welcome, my devilish fiends, to Parkfield Cemetery!
Would you believe that these 7' tall columns are made out of styrofoam? Let me show you how they were made.
First... I have a friend who works as a prefabricator in a foam factory. Her machinery allowed us to make specific cuts and designs for the columns. (that's my bff on the left, and our prefabricating friend on the right)
Eight long pieces were cut and they were glued and screwed together with very long screws. Once the major shape was complete, the styrofoam pieces of decorative baseboard and capitols were added with an industrial hot glue gun.
The basic column is now complete.
I brought back with me several other styrofoam pieces to add to the basic columns. From those odd pieces, I used parts of a circular column's capitol to design a sconce that will hold a candle for eerie lighting.
Decorative pieces were added on the top corners as will be a plaque as shown here.
On the plaque, I carved a plate for each column.
After everything was attached, all screw holes were patched and corners were filled.
Then the base painting began.
I added moldy streaks on each column.
Since these columns were supposed to be from 1828, I gruesified them until they looked the part.
The columns look great by the light of a candle.
The finished columns look great flanking my driveway.
(For this challenge, I received 10" styrofoam letters that spell out Parkfield Cemetery. I was hoping to have my archway complete by the deadline, but alas, they are not. I have constructed an internal support type box out of wood inside each column which is designed to hold the arch over the columns. I have the letters inside of the arch, but the paint and lighting isn't anywhere near complete.)
There's bats in my belfry! For the cost of spray adhesive and some fabric that we in the furniture industry call dust cloth (it's that stuff on the bottom of your box springs or on the bottom of your sofa), this is a cheap, cheap, cheap way to make some bats. I can whip out a bat, from start to finish, in less than an hour now and what a great way to recycle milk jugs! Here's how you do it (10 easy steps!!):
1) cut the handle/spout area and the bottom off of the jug
2) use a heat gun to gently reshape and flatten the plastic and remember to remove any labels
3) cut your basic bat wing shape (I folded my plastic in half and cut both sides at once for better balance)
4) cut the handle/spout area to fit onto your wings. you may have to cut the spout off or trim very closely to it to fit it on the wing area
5) use spray adhesive to attach the fabric onto both sides of the wings. it's easier to glue and cut and glue and cut again because the fabric is dark and the plastic disappears
6) use a basic hole punch and make 3 holes (2 in head area and 1 at tail area) and use strong fishing line to thread for hanging (the yarn is for demo only)
7) determine the angle you want your bat to fly at and knot the fishing line very, very well (again, yarn is for demo only)
8) use spray adhesive on the INSIDE area of the handle/spout and tuck the fabric to the inside and secure (the fabric will stay loose on the outside and that "hides" the handle)
9) using a basic stapler, secure the body onto the wings. you can cover the silver color of the staples with a standard black sharpie marker
10) make a bunch of (cheap) bats and fly them proudly!! I have the perfect tree for a bounty of bats...
Another Halloween has now since passed ... Thanksgiving is near and that "other" holiday is in count-down mode. Our 'season' of higher traffic and (hopefully) better business is upon us now here in southwest Florida. Northern areas have had some snow and the temperatures have dropped a bit here, too, thankfully. It's official... winter is here.
With winter comes a slight depression for many people. Myself, I miss the hot temperatures. I stay away from the chilly gulf waters and reminisce about the days when the water felt as warm as a jacuzzi. I'm bundled (and the northerners can't begin to understand why) and chilled and huddling with those that I care about for the warmth of their bodies. Fire pits crackle and marshmallows get toasted and all seems right in the world. Well, for most people, that is.
I'm a haunter. I dream in black and orange. My sketchbook is filled with scary images and nightmares that will hopefully come true. The garage is filled with all of my Halloween stuff and there are times that I find myself in there... staring.... holding the gargoyles.... smelling the spray paint....and missing Halloween. How can all of this planning, all of the hard work, all of the sheer enjoyment be over??
Fortunately there's photos -- TONS of photos -- wonderful, delicious snippets of memories of the times recently shared. This years' party was a huge success and the costumes were fabulous. My guests really put the effort into their creations and they brought their "A" game. The mural of the morgue made a spooktacular background, too. Take a peek:
As more of the party pictures are unsurfaced, I'll add them to this post. I've been under the weather for so long (stupid cold that kicked my butt for 10 days, went away for 4 and is kicking my butt again for now 8 days....) that I am seriously behind documenting Halloween 2008! I will get caught up, I promise!!
