A Blog Getting A Makeover

       Okay, so I never envisioned myself as a "post a day, omg let's chat all night!!" kind of blogger. It's not that I'm antisocial...at least not when it comes to the computer :) . The problem is I am a busy girl, working roughly 50 hours a week and working the hours that many do not want to deal with (3 pm to as late as 3 am, depending on the day) which works out fine because I am a night owl. I knew I would be working during the quintessential dinner-with-my-ipad-so-I-Can-catch-up-on-my-fave-blogs hours, I just assumed I would post....SOMETHING.

       It's been over a year since I've made a post. It's not that I'm NOT crafting, quite contrary actually. It isn't that I haven't been going on exciting adventures (I went on a two week roadtrip across country!). The problem has been two things: getting inspired, and staying inspired when my blogger won't work over and over and over again.
   
         I cannot blame blogger or my blog layout entirely for this, because I knew they were being slow and glitchy and I did not take the time to solve the problem (which is funny, since I am all about trying to fix anyone else's technological issues), but I have tried to post 3-4 times since my last post, only to get an error sign. I have spent more then one hour elaborately writing a post, only to have blogger time out, then not save, or save it to draft but it "cannot publish at this time" and after having the error for a week or two, instead of hopping on the computer and trouble shooting, I just got rid of the (weeks later, seemingly lame) post. Aside from that, I just didn't feel like it was "me", like I couldn't quite identify myself in the blog world, you know?

      Enough of my whiny post. With the new year comes new business aspirations in the craft world, a new header for my page (do you like it? I designed it with my own dinosaur drawing!), and a new layout from 17th Avenue Designs .

     


             I'm not saying I'm going to post much more, I am just letting you all know I'm considerably more inspired then I was before :)
                                             

                             

Keeping Halloween Cheap and Creepy

For Halloween this year, I wanted a "crypt" of some sort for this ghoul/ghost that I got on clearance last year at Ross for $1.99 . 

 

A sweet price, and I wanted to keep it that way! To keep things cheap, I found a large and thick cardboard box for my structure (the only thing that wasn't cheap was the tv that came in the box!). If you would like to build your own, and would like it to last longer and be more durable, I would recommend plywood or luan. 

The above photo is a two-step jump. Basically, I used a marker to make a cathedral style doorway shape that was about as wide as my ghoul's arms. I did not measure, which shows in person, but I was not worried about perfection I just wanted a large opening. I stabbed the center with scissors to get an opening, then used a jigsaw to cut the rest. Originally, I started with a serrated knife but it wasn't cutting very well so I moved onto power tools! After it was cut, I painted the front, sides, and visible insides grey. Whatever base color you use will become your "mortar" later, so keep that in mind. I also taped the open side shut at this point, to paint over it. 

 After the paint dried, I used a thumbtack and wrapped the ghoul's hanging string around it. To get it to height, I kept winding it then taped over the whole thing for good measure. You can't see it in the photo, but I also took a string of Christmas lights and taped them right inside the edge of the box, making sure to keep the lights as hidden as possible. There was a hole in the bottom right back corner of my box, so I sent the cord through there. If yours does not have one, simply cut a hole in there wherever you would light your cord to come out.

Next, I took my grey paint, along with some white and black, and dabbed it on a plate with an old kitchen sponge to create a stone color palette. Try to avoid mixing the paints on the plate, it gives better depth to use spots of color then blend them together as you paint, rather then before you paint, ya know? 

I used the size of the sponge for my stones around the "window" then free handed bigger stones everywhere else. Since my window wasn't even, I had to make some stones bigger or smaller depending on how much space I had to paint! I painted the front, top, and sides. I did not paint the back. This photo shows it about halfway painted to give you an idea of where I started painting.

Also, see that shiny gold stuff? That's a foil blanket from the camping supply store! I had it already, and thought it would reflect good color. If you don't have one, or can't find one, aluminum foil crinkled up would reflect well, or you could add colored tissue paper. Whatever you add there, be sure to tape it down! This would be a great spot for pumpkins or plastic bones, use your imagination! 

When I put it on the porch, I used duct tape and attached it to a heavy object (a planter) from behind  to keep it on my porch during the windy nights of October. To add more pizazz to my porch, I cut a clear trash bag into a half spider web and spray painted it with a light glitter to make it easier to see. It matches the other giant spiderwebs that were already on my porch :) . The lightbulb is a flicker bulb from Walmart ($1.79) and the "bootiful night" sign was from the dollar store two years ago. 

Happy hauntings, friends!