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
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
An easy Halloween prop. Cover a horse (or any animal) black, then paint on their skeleton. All rights reserved, Debbie Morrow
Scouring garage sales and thrift stores is a favorite past time for this frugal gal. Finding this horse made my shopping day. Originally, it was an average white and black patched horse. But what I saw was something entirely different.
A Halloween prop in the making:
Probably the shortest tutorial on my blog, but kinda cool results. Don’t you agree?
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
No, I’ve not been abducted. I just moved to another state. Image of Mulder on the Xfiles courtesy of Fox and Daily Mail.com.
Many of my followers and friends may be questioning: Where is Debbie from Frugal Frights and Delights? Did she fall off the face of the earth?
It sorta felt like that when I took the challenge of moving from one state to another.
The lovely cast acquired. Copyright D. Morrow.
Imagine packing about 4000 sq. feet of household and hobby supplies, such as Sally, the Mayor, and props – with a cast on (that’s another story, LOL) and mainly by myself. My husband had to quickly leave for another job, which left me with moving and selling a house – not a small task, indeed!
The Bright Side
We’re slightly settled into our temporary apartment until we buy a house ( oh no, another move? LOL). Yet, it is in a warmer climate which has many perks. Almost every prop I brought with us survived. Jack Skellington and Sleepy Hollow Pumpkin did not make the trip and will be remade from scratch. So I look forward to making them even better than previously created.
I’ve already been eyeing new ideas for future projects; I’m just waiting for the space to do so. I hope my faithful followers will still check back at my sites from time to time. I should be up and ready to begin new feats by early Spring/Summer.
I’ll shortly start adding content that many of you will still enjoy. So fret no more. Thanks!
An interactive exhibit of a Paper Craft Guillotine by Mandy Smith. Image courtesy of Make.
I know…it’s still summer. But this is the time I like to think about what I’d like to make for Halloween. Whether I can actually accomplish the things I dream of making…well – that’s another story. I’ve just had back surgery (all those hours of prop making can do a lot of wear and tear after so many years). But don’t count me out just yet.
By making your plans and item lists early, you can save a bundle. Especially in garage sale season because you can pick up a plethora of items for pennies on the dollar. You can also find priceless stuff on the curb.
While in my Reader, I found an awesome prop idea from Make. It is a paper craft guillotine that was used in an exhibit. I’d love to make one for the kids to try out. You’ll find it at Vimeo:
Unsure of what this season holds for me, I’d appreciate all my creative counterparts to start posting their ideas and if you accomplish your dream prop, shoot me a pic and a quick note so I can highlight you on my blog. 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
Baby dolls “transformed” into the walking dead. Image copyrighted, all rights reserved, Debbie Morrow
Here are my newest creations. Believe it or not, I had a nightmare the first night I started making these.
I’m not sure if I should stick them slightly into the ground or let them just be the walking dead. What do you think?
Jack and Zero need some prop friends. Which ones would you choose? Image courtesy of Marciniak Photography.
The beginning of summer is the opportune time to plan prop projects for Halloween. It gives a haunter the time and space to be more creative and allows for mishaps to be corrected. It allows for any reconstructions or cosmetic work to be completed in leisure – rather than a few panicked weeks.
Since I made Jack Skellington and his dog Zero last year, I’ve been contemplating what other characters to add. Jack’s girlfriend Sally, is at the top on my list. But how I will make her, is still up in the air.