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
Just a brief post to introduce my latest Nightmare Before Christmas, Halloween prop created: Dr. Finklestein. I’ll try to add the tutorials, when I get the chance. He joins Jack Skellington, Sally, Lock, Shock, and Barrel, Oogie Boogie, and the Duck/Vampire prop. Zero, the ghost dog, was sadly showing his age, so I actually found a new one the same size, and is now happily flying in the yard too.
If anyone wants to scramble to make this fella, he stands about 5 feet or less, and I used extra couplers of 40 degree or 90 degrees to have him sit. So if you follow my usual PVC prop skeletons (See Lock, Shock, Barrel), you’ll be able to figure out the sizing.
The tutorial for Dr. Finklestein will be split into a few different segments, because there are too many steps (especially the head), to put into one single post. If you were determined or had help, all could be complete within a week. But alas, it took me at least four weeks to finish. If you want every post sent directly into your email, click the ‘Follow’ and you won’t miss the entire process. Thanks!
Lock, Shock, and Barrel are now full sized and ready to join the Nightmare Before Christmas clan.
If you follow my posts, you’ll remember I made the Lock, Shock, and Barrel masks about two years ago. I’m pleased to announce their full life-size versions are complete and am here to start sharing how I did it.
Since tutorials tend to be long, each character tutorial from The Nightmare Before Christmas, will be split up for easy reading. The first tutorial will be on Lock – the devil costumed character. Continue reading
The baby vamp from Nightmare B4 Christmas. Copyrights reserved, Debbie Morrow
My previous post gave a tutorial on the duck that appears in the same scene as the baby vampires in The Nightmare Before Christmas (NBC) movie. Although in the movie the vampire didn’t ride inside the duck, I couldn’t help myself by making it so. It seemed like a fun and almost “Burton-ish” thing to do.
At first I looked at what others had done in their tutorials for making the vampire. They were either foam or stuffed and that just wasn’t what I was looking for. Since I was already creating more doll zombies and clowns, I sat there one night and thought, “why not turn a doll into a baby vampire?” So here is the quick tutorial to transform a plastic baby doll into a NBC vampire. Continue reading
Made from a vintage duck blow mold and a doll, Nightmare Before Christmas magic was made. Image copyrighted, all rights reserved, Debbie Morrow
If you’ve been checking out this blog, you might have guessed that I love the Nightmare Before Christmas (NBC) characters. I’ve made the Mayor, Jack Skellington (with a few improved remakes or blunders), Sally, Oogie Boogie, and Zero. As you can see from the image, I’ve added a duck and baby vampire to the family. I’ll be breaking these tutorials into two posts for the sake of shorter, more manageable reading.
You’ll Need:
The new remastered Jack with Sally.
I don’t know what it is about The Nightmare Before Christmas (NBC) that caught my attention. But since the movie came out, I’ve wanted to make every character for Halloween.
Jack Skellington was one of my first attempts. Now when I say attempts, I can honestly say, I’ve spent more time and effort making, remaking, and eventually, rebuilding him completely. Continue reading
An Easy DIY – Lock, Shock and Barrel masks. Image courtesy of Debbie Morrow. (c)All Rights Reserved.
Anyone who is familiar with The Nightmare Before Christmas (NBC), knows these trick or treater masks were used by Lock, Shock, and Barrel (LSB). It had been a few years since I added other characters to my NBC clan because of the lack of free time. So the plan is to make the masks this year, their body props next. But many enjoy the masks on a wall, as is. Here’s the tutorial on how to make them: Continue reading
It took over 50 PVC cuts to make the Mayor but it was so worth the effort. Image courtesy of Debbie Morrow. All rights reserved.
For those who have been waiting a year – I’m so sorry for being so tardy. If you’ve followed me in any way – you’ve seen I lost a huge part of my heart the day after Halloween – which has thrown me off kilter.
My loyal friends gently reminded me of my promise to post the tutorial – so here it is – the images are added first and then some explanation will follow with a specs sheet – that has all the measurements. Please read all before starting your project.
Don’t forget to write the word “Mayor” in Black permanent marker in white circle of ribbon. Putting Head and Hat Together: Cut a long piece of PVC pipe, slide the head on through the hole (make sure it can move so you can switch the head view when you feel like it).
Slide the black circle you cut earlier over top of head and place your PVC shish-ka-bob style piece into the “T” at the neck part of the “H” frame. Top the hat with a piece of pool noodle and cover with black fabric with a hot glue gun. Make a strip of grey trim fabric around hat and glue. * You’ll notice that the black rim of hat made out of foam board shows the white inside – use your black paint to touch that up all the way around.
The hands are made similar to my Sally, Jack, and Ring Girl. I added a stripe to a cheer horn to give it a “Tim Burton-ish” feel ( a word from the book of Deb).
Mayor Specs DIY Nightmare Christmas
If anyone has an issue opening the PDF specs. sheet, please feel free to shoot me an email so I can send you the word document. If anyone has a question, please don’t hesitate to email me too. Happy Prop Building!
The Mayor is ready for my yard haunt.
A new prop has joined the family: The Mayor from The Nightmare Before Christmas has been completed and in the next week or two I’ll be posting the tutorial.
If anyone needs the tutorial earlier, or wish to email me, please feel free to use the contact form below. Thanks!
Sally posed to hold a skull, large flower head, or potion.
This is the last part to making Sally from The Nightmare Before Christmas. Part 1 covered making the body and frame, Part 2 covered the head and hair, and Part 3 dealt with making the dress. Now we’ll cover the skin, hands, shoes and how to preserve your prop.
As mentioned before in Part 1, Sally’s skin color in the movie had various tints of grey to blue. I went with a grey-blue hue. Either way, you’ll be able to make the skin by finding a pair of tights to match your chosen color.
You’ll need:
2 pairs of adult tights (matching the color of your Sally face)
Black outdoor acrylic paint
Paint brush with a thin tip
Boxing/package tape (clear) Continue reading