Making a Life-Sized Barrel from The Nightmare Before Christmas

barrel trio

I’d like to apologize to the frustrated creators, trying to find the link from my original post, Lock, Shock and Barrel Life-Sized Characters – DIY.  It seems a few years back, a glitch deleted content off my site. Here is the long-awaited tutorial for Barrel:

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Making a Life-Sized Shock, from The Nightmare Before Christmas

lock shock barrel

First, let me apologize to the several frustrated creators looking for directions for the Shock and Barrel tutorials. The posts were written, and I thought were linked/published. But after a creator clued me in on the missing posts, I went back and couldn’t find them. Continue reading

Making The Tree Portal From The Upside Down

nancy hand portal daylightSince I decided to build an Upside Down World for my 2021 Stranger Things Halloween display, making a huge Mind Flayer was a must. It was the first thing accomplished. Then, making all kinds of vines.

Next, it was The Tree Portal. The scene when Johnathan pulled Nancy back out of the tree, from The Upside Down World, must have struck a cord. Because I was determined to recreate it.

I knew whatever I used, had to hold up to the elements, allowed for a light to shine from inside out, and show Nancy’s hand through the goo and vines, reaching for Johnathan. This is how I accomplished it: Continue reading

How to Fix a Crack in a Cheesecake

One large crack has already been fixed. The smaller one, closest to the front, still needs a quick swiping. Copyright 2021, All Rights Reserved.

So, you’ve worked hard to follow a cheesecake recipe, and maybe you even did a water bath. But as you pulled the cake out of the oven, you noticed a big crack in the center of your cheesecake? Don’t fret. You don’t have to cover it up with fruit topping, or a ganache.

If your goal is to have an aesthetically pleasing cheesecake, you’ll appreciate this quick tutorial on how to fix even several inch-wide gaps.

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Easy Last Minute Super Bowl Recipes

Image, courtesy of Home is Where the Boat is. They also offer an easy,
no-bake recipe, for Football cake pops.

If you are still scrambling to figure out some easy, quick menu items for Super Bowl, look no further. These recipes are sure to please a crowd. Best yet, they’re so simple, anyone can make. So, don’t forget to enlist your kids to help.

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A Last Minute Valentine’s Day Gift to Make

After printing out on a black ink printer, use a red marker to fill in the hearts. Simple, but does the job.

It’s 2022, and many of us are still staying home, ordering online, or getting creative. Maybe we just forgot about getting a gift. This simple, quick template is not a fabulous design, full of flowers or crests. But for me, it does the job.

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Healthy and Easy Desserts for Valentine’s Day

Image courtesy of KraftHeinz, where their variation makes a layer of
sugar-free lemon/strawberry middle.

Some people believe: If it’s a special occasion, don’t worry about the nutritional value of a dessert. But that kind of thinking doesn’t help anyone that is diabetic, or on a weight-loss journey. Maybe your loved one is just trying to eat healthier.

Eating healthier means something different, for everyone. As always, respect the dietary restrictions of your loved ones, and they’ll be a lot happier.

Below are recipes that come straight from my own creative kitchen, or one used within my family, for generations. They are all very easy, contain 6 or less ingredients, and are almost foolproof. Plus: A bottom link was added to an amazing strawberry heart idea, I must try sometime. It’s perfect for Valentine’s Day, and It’s quite ingenious.

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Making and Wearing Masks More Effectively

N95 masks are still hard to find. Ensure your homemade/bought masks
fit your face snuggly. The CDC now has new recommendations,
for cloth, and differences in respirators. Image courtesy of Mark Morrow.

This site generally doesn’t touch upon such serious subjects. Yet, with the newest, very contagious, variant Omicron, sometimes we need to.

It looks like mask-wearing will be part of our lives, for quite some time. Buying disposable masks, is costly. Buying really good grade, disposable (KN95 or N95) masks, is even more so. With so many fakes out there, it’s hard to distinguish, which are which. Below are a few options, that won’t empty your wallet.

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Making Vines for Your Stranger Things Yard

After creating a Mind Flayer for my roof (tutorials Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3), I knew the creature needed something more: Vines. The Upside Down World was filled with vines that hung everywhere, and vines that attacked. They were a part of the hive mind, associated with the monsters of Stranger Things.

After scouring the web for prices on vines, it was clear: My budget couldn’t afford the 100 or more feet needed. Continue reading

Part 3 of The Mind Flayer Build

Mind flayer whole body made for roof

This is the third and final installment of how to build a Mind Flayer. In the Part 1 tutorial, you’ll find how the frame body was made. Part 2, goes over the head build. For Part 3, I’ll show you how I made over 200 feet of legs.

Supplies Needed:

  • Poultry Galvanized Netting (150 ft. x 3 ft.), often called Chicken Wire
  • Wire Clippers
  • Green Floral Wire, 22 gauge, at least 3 large rolls
  • Waterproof Filler : Many, many plastic bottles from 16 oz to 2 liters (about 2 or 3, 30 gal. bags full)
  • PVC Pipe 3/4″, 4-5 10 ft. pieces (more if needing to use as filler, instead of bottles)
  • Black Plastic Sheeting (should have plenty, if bought suggested size roll from Part 1)
  • Heat Gun 
  • Foam Pool Noodles
  • Spray Foam (optional for PVC leg filler, but will definitely need for vines hanging on Monster later)
  • Drill or Dremel (for holes in PVC pipe)

Hopefully, by now you know how long your legs need to be, and you know how to use a heat gun. If not, read instructions, and stay focused. You can burn yourself faster than you can imagine. Continue reading