# Headless Creations for 2012



## Headless

I've run out of the timber for the fence pickets - however I have 3 of these made. The last one has 3 of the 4 pickets on the right hand side missing and I'm thinking I might leave them off OR perhaps put another half a picket hanging from the top as though the fence has been broken and sit my groundbreaker just inside so it looks like he broke through. The other pieces of wood can just lie on the ground or something (out of the way). Not sure what to do about distressing it yet - I don't think the timber will discolor enough between now and October so I might have to do a bit of paintwork. I'll see about the end of September how it's looking.










I also got the first tombstone almost done... Hey humour me - I'm new at this stuff..... LOL


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## QueenRuby2002

Hey I think it looks great. I haven't even started my tombstones. Thinking of being lazy and just slaping a coat of paint on the old flat ones. Anyhow keep up the good work. And ignore any list of props to make that you made. Nothing ever gose as planed.


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## Headless

LOL if I ignore my list of props I won't have a haunt ...........


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## Headless

But thanks for the compliment QR. I'm learning so much from the fantastic info on the forum. I can't help but improve....


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## Bone Dancer

Your work is excellent, no humor needed here.


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## Glenbaer

I'm with QR and BD. Those look great!


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## jdubbya

Great work! I love that tombstone! The paint job is perect and you got some nice streaks/staining on it. "Stella Live"......nice!


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## Pumpkin5

:jol:Very nice work, Headless. I like your fence and the way the pickets are askew. And I LOVE your tombstone. Lots of detail work and the cracks look fantastic.


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## RoxyBlue

That's a tombstone pun I hadn't seen yet

If you want to age the wood quickly, here's a technique that would work for you involving steel wool and vinegar:

http://miniatures.about.com/od/miniaturebasics/f/vinegarwood.htm


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## Spooky1

It took me a minute to get the tombstone name pun. That's a new one to me. 

Here's a link to a thread on aging wood.

http://www.hauntforum.com/showthread.php?t=17697&highlight=aging+wood


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## Doc Doom

Mix some baking soda and water and brush on the wood to help age it.


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## Headless

I was going to put "Date of Death unknown" under the name but... well I didn't. Kind of wishing I had now. I found it on a list of names somewhere. 

Thanks for the tips on the fence. I will leave it out for a while and see how it looks. If it doesn't fade enough I'll hit it with some stuff.


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## Headless

I'm going to tackle a Stollepumpkin..... wish me luck.


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## kprimm

Nice work on the fence and stone. The more you build the better you get for sure, but your stuff looks great right now.


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## cerinad

Very nice job u have done.. lol. They look great!


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## Headless

Thanks for the encouragement everyone!


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## Lord Homicide

RoxyBlue said:


> If you want to age the wood quickly, here's a technique that would work for you involving steel wool and vinegar:
> 
> http://miniatures.about.com/od/miniaturebasics/f/vinegarwood.htm


I'm going to bounce off Rox's vinegar part. I made different "solutions" of the vinegar and steel wool for an electric chair and found this:


Straight vinegar will create a grayish aged color
The more steel that is added, the darker the aged look
Make several batches of different mixtures first then test. If you have metal fasteners (nails, screws, etc.) make a solution of vinegar poured to the top of steel wool so you can add a rust run effect. To rust nails or screws, throw non-galvanized or non-zinc plated ones into a can of water for a couple of days.

Awesome job man


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## Headless

Finally got some pics of my invitations for this year.... It will fit a DL size envelope.


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## RoxyBlue

You did a fantastic job on the invitation, Headless.


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## Lady Nyxie

Cool fence and tombstone.


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## Lady Nyxie

Doh! Hit post before I finished!
I love the inviations too.


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## Headless

I thought I was finished with the tombstone however I bought some "moss" colored paint yesterday and put it on this morning before I headed to work. VERY happy with the result. I didn't get to take any photos but will hopefully find the time over the weekend.


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## Sawtooth Jack

Everything looks great. That steel wool and vinegar solution works like magic...it will literally age your fence years in half a day.


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## CreeepyCathy

everything looks great!  Especially love the invitations.


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## Headless

Not the greatest photo in the harsh late afternoon sun, but here is "Stella" finally finished with a little visiting friend I found on Ebay......


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## RoxyBlue

"Stella Live" - LOL. Punny tombstones rule


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## Headless

Finally got my mache pumpkin finished today - painted him and I am very pleased with the way it turned out. I LOVE the organic finish the toilet paper gave to this guy.


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## Cat_Bones

WOW awesome job on the tombstone & fence, those invitations are phenomenal!!
<---totally have my jealous face on that you made a stolloween pumpkin!! I'm dying to make one of those!!


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## Headless

Thanks Cat Bones - I'm sure it hasn't come up anywhere near as awesome as a Stolle pumpkin but I'm really happy with him for a first attempt. I learned a lot from making him.


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## Sawtooth Jack

Pumpkin looks great. That first shot almost looks as if he is made from burning embers!


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## Headless

Thanks Sawtooth - I'm really happy with him for a first try.


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## jdubbya

Really digging those invitations and the pumpkin is excellent. Some of you guys turn things out as a "first try" that rival those with a lot of experience. Nicely done!


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## Headless

Thanks jdubbya - but I give ALL the credit to the amazing inspiration on this site. Without that I know I would still be just buying all my props.


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## Headless

OK here is an update on today's finished props.....

First up is the Spell Book. Pretty happy with how this turned out, however I think I may have to dirty up the ribbon a little.


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## Headless

Then there were the pumpkins I made out of a piece of dryer vent hose.


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## Headless

And finally - my Crystal Ball - made from the end piece of the dryer vent hose, mache'd with toilet paper, spray painted gold, add half a little plastic skull and one of those large plastic ornament balls. I'm pretty sure in the dark you won't see the join in the ball. I may put a bit of cobweb or something inside the ball to make it look "cloudy".


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## Headless

Tomorrow's project is to paint a medium sized bookcase to prepare for my collection of odd shaped bottles.


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## jdubbya

Excellent job on the spell book! You're really cranking out the stuff! Looking great!


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## Pumpkin5

:jol:WOW! Headless you have been rocking and rolling! I just love your invitations! They are so great, and anyone who is lucky enough to receive one will be thrilled! And I love the moss addition to your Stella tombstone. Gives it just the right amount of 'earthy'! As for your mâché pumpkin, it is fantastic! Very Stolloweenish, and that is a great compliment as you know! And I love the vent pumpkins, you did an awesome paint work on them. You have done great things Headless, and you should be so proud of yourself! I wish I was you!

P.S. I love the crystal ball and Spellbook too!!!


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## Headless

And Sunday produced.......


























I have a heap of old bottles. Some I will fill with liquid, some with solids. Not sure if I will put labels on them yet or not. Probably. I also bought some little long thin flashlights which I'll mount at the top front of each shelf to light the bottles. I might do a few from the back with UV as well. I will have a few other things on the shelves too. What? Who knows LOL. But happy with this for a day's work. I still have one side that needs to be drybrushed but it wasn't quite dry enough when I was out there before. Might manage to get it finished before dinner tonight.

I also sprayed two of the fence panels with vinegar - I didn't put steel wool in the mix as I really want a grey - not brown - finish. We'll see how that goes.


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## Headless

Wishing I had taken "before" photos as the shelves looked REALLY ordinary before I started.


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## Pumpkin5

Headless said:


> Wishing I had taken "before" photos as the shelves looked REALLY ordinary before I started.


:jol:Hey Headless the bookcase looks awesome! I know what you mean about wishing you had taken photos before...been there so many times myself. Guess that is why hindsight is 20/20...


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## smileyface4u23

Love that bookcase!!! And the invitations, and the pumpkins, and, well, just everything - it all looks great. Keep the pictures coming!!!


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## katemsingleton

Bookcase is GREAT! Did you grab that at a thrift store or just have it laying around?


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## Headless

It was just out in the shed filled with "stuff". I just now need to find a new home for the "stuff"...... LOL. Thanks for the comments folks. It has been so much fun playing with this stuff.


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## OlliausHamm

Wow looks great !


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## Copchick

Wow Headless you've been busy! All the props look great! Your invitations are so detailed, I can see why it takes you a while. The mache pumpkin looks great too and looks so creepy with only the light on inside. Very nice!


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## Hairazor

Good grief Headless you have been busy. Everything is top notch. Those invitations are SUPER.


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## Headless

Thanks everyone. Really enjoying making this year's creations.


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## Headless

Here are some photos of the lanterns I made out of 2 black plastic disposable plates, an A4 sheet of clear plastic, two pieces of garden irrigation hose, a piece of garden irrigation riser hose, a length of wire, a battery operated candle and a few dobs of hot glue.


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## RoxyBlue

Holy crap, that lantern came out amazing! Damn!


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## Headless

In daylight if you give it a good look - it looks like paper plates - but in dull light or at night it looks pretty good really. I was very pleased with how it came up. I'm thinking of having a few of them along a hallway maybe with some hands holding them. Anyway this one took me about 15 minutes to make - maximum!


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## Hairazor

Crikey, you just keeping putting out awesome.


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## Copchick

I looked at the pics and thought "where is the one she made?". I thought you posted an example of one you wanted to copy! At first glance, I couldn't tell that it was made of paper plates. Nice job!


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## Spooky1

Wow, that turned out great.


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## Headless

Thank you!


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## Great Pumpkin

headless Great JOB! I especially like that creepy bookcase you did! AWESOME!


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## Headless

Here is my Drop Panel from the back.










From the front before I painted and put the matting on the photo.










And My Blaircrow!


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## Copchick

I love your blaircrow! I like the top pic with the woods in the background. It looks foreboding.


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## RoxyBlue

I'm sitting here admiring the graining you have on your picture frame, which is the least spooky thing in the pictures

I didn't know Mona Lisa had a Medusan sister:jol:


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## jdubbya

I love the drop panel!! This is a must have next year for me and I've already planned the scene we'll use it in as we downsize our haunt., I'll be picking your brain on this but if you have some time and could send me some detailed measurements of the lumber, latch mechanism pics etc, and just some info on how you built it I'd be so appreciative!


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## Headless

Will do jdubbya - I still have the measurements on sheets in the shed. Will bring them in tonight and see if I can't do a better drawing.

Unfortunately I didn't take pictures of ALL the components but I can explain what I did and had to adjust.


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## Headless

Here are the photos of my Mushroom!


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## Copchick

That is some crazy looking ankle biting, cyclops mushroom! Cool!


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## RoxyBlue

I can totally see that mushroom as the star of a good old fashioned B horror movie:jol: He reminds me of the creatures in The Crawling Eye (one of my personal favorites).


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## Hairazor

That is one hunka creepy!


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## Headless

OK - here goes - some photos..........


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## Headless




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## Headless




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## Headless




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## Headless




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## Headless

And last but not least - the drop panel fell.........


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## mingle

I am in complete awe of all your props!! You are definitely an inspiration for all haunters. That bookcase is so cool!!


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## Copchick

Headless - You did a fantastic job! Your hard work really paid off. Very impressive!


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## Lord Homicide

Headless said:


>


I love this fake candle. Do you have more pics of it?

The dolls are creepy but they look really nice! The bookcase is awesome too. I really like all the puns like Wicca'd accessories - lol. Job well done!


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## RoxyBlue

Holy crap, when did you find time to DO all this?!?! 'Fess up now - you do this for a living, right?

You put a lot of work into this project and it really shows. The skellie bookends are adorable, your dolls are perfectly eerie, and the shopping "maul" window displays a hoot. You got great reactions to your drop panel, so I believe your guests enjoyed themselves Well done!


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## Headless

Thank you Mingle, LH & Roxy! LOL Roxy I wish - how cool would it be to do this for a living????? I actually ask myself the same question now about when did I find the time, as it seemed I wasn't getting far with my projects but it all came together in the end. It was a bit of a rush though - the Herb Garden was made the day of the party! But I was really happy with how the final result looked and yes everyone seemed to enjoy it.

LH I don't have a close up of the candle it seems, but it was simply a toilet roll cylinder cut down a little, a Styrofoam insert to hold the battery operated tealight, lots of hot glue, and painted with white and black paint. I did several of them, including short ones for the 5 plastic plate lanterns I made. They were so effective and most people thought they were real candles.


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