# Place for getting props?



## Psyc0 Walrus (Sep 1, 2009)

Where do all you guys (and girls) go to get all your props, clothing, and accesories when you make your custom props? I thought of goodwill and Spirit Halloween/Party Stores but where else should i go?


----------



## Warrant2000 (Oct 8, 2008)

Thrift store for clothes, shiatsu's, dolls, glass.
Home Depot for nuts, bolts, PVC, paint, Great Stuff, chicken wire.
Craigs List for pallet wood, steel drums or other lucky finds.
Party City/Spirit/Target/Walmart/Big Lots for end of season sales for next year. I rarely spend full price for a prop if I can wait to get it at discount later.


----------



## RoxyBlue (Oct 6, 2008)

Don't forget Curby's - people have found useful items sitting at the curb on trash/recycling pickup days in their neighborhoods.


----------



## tot13 (Jul 25, 2007)

I get pallets and very heavy cardboard for free from Lowe's. I buy all of my paint as Oops paint from Lowe's and Home Depot for $5 a gallon. I let all of my friends know not to throw anything away without checking with me. Keep an eye out for Curby's, and then go to Goodwill. Props are important but you need to make the setting right also, and that's where a lot of the "free" stuff can help. If you're just getting started, hold some cash back for the after-Halloween sales.


----------



## Spooky1 (Aug 25, 2008)

Don't forget yard sales & flea markets.


----------



## fritz42_male (May 5, 2009)

I just picked up some styrofoam slabs for tombstones from outside a house (bulk refuse collection time)


----------



## nixie (Sep 17, 2008)

My husband does construction, so we're blessed with lots of leftovers, if you know any one in construction, you could ask them to save you stuff. Maybe stop at sites where things are being torn out or down and see what they might let you take.
Appliance and furniture stores always have foam scraps to spare.
Eventually, you start to see potential props in every object you lay eyes on!


----------



## Bone Dancer (Oct 7, 2005)

Eventually, you start to see potential props in every object you lay eyes on!


When you get to this stage there is no turning back from being a haunter.


----------



## jaege (Aug 23, 2009)

I go everywhere. As I have just started making my own this year, I tend to go to Lowes, Home Depot, A.C. Moore, and Micheals for the stuff I need. But in years past I have bought at those places, the Party Store, Fright Store, K. Mart (typically has some nice stuff), Walmart, Target, Ebay, and various online outlets. I seriously shop around.


----------



## dasjman (Sep 10, 2008)

Bone Dancer said:


> Eventually, you start to see potential props in every object you lay eyes on!
> 
> When you get to this stage there is no turning back from being a haunter.


Oh don't I know it! My time in full scale haunts came to an end last year, and I decided to spend that time concentrating on my yard instead. I'm already out of control. Have to keep that salsa jar! Tree dies in the front yard? Automatic prop! You got a new fence? Well I'll just take this old fence off your hands. I can see my wife's eyes rolling already!


----------



## nixie (Sep 17, 2008)

Ah, the dead tree! We've imported the dead trees of others' into our yard! I also wait to cut back my garden plants until after Halloween. It may not be the best gardening practice, but the dead growth adds so much atmosphere!


----------



## fick209 (Aug 31, 2009)

getting a little off topic, but actually that's not at all a bad gardening practice. My mom is a master gardner and she has always told me to deadhead everything, but then leave it alone all winter and do big cleanup first thing in the spring.
Getting back on topic, I work in the plumbing & HVAC industry so I am able to get lots of free scrap materials from construction sites. Friends and realitives are awesome for keeping an eye out for me at thift shops, garage sales, etc.


----------



## Psyc0 Walrus (Sep 1, 2009)

ok thanks all of you! now if only i could find a goodwill nearby!!! they all moved away!!! and the closest salvation army is like 50 miles away!


----------



## Revenant (Mar 17, 2007)

Check the neighborhood for any house with a construction dumpster in front. There may be slabs of insulation foam and lots of wood scraps... those pieces of 2X10 make awesome bases for props... 5-gallon buckets, maybe even old light fixtures and accent hardware. Ask a member of the construction crew, or the homeowner, if you can do a quick D-dive.


----------



## Psyc0 Walrus (Sep 1, 2009)

Revenant said:


> Check the neighborhood for any house with a construction dumpster in front. There may be slabs of insulation foam and lots of wood scraps... those pieces of 2X10 make awesome bases for props... 5-gallon buckets, maybe even old light fixtures and accent hardware. Ask a member of the construction crew, or the homeowner, if you can do a quick D-dive.


well my bro works at a local shop that sells lumber and pvc so ill see if i can get any scraps from him and while i wait finish up on my drop panel project


----------



## Wyatt Furr (Jun 5, 2006)

It is not beneath me to root through the neighbors trash on pickup day.
They all know my haunt ,so they are always asking ,"Do you need this for Halloween".
I nod, drool a bit over it, then sneak it back home to the garage.


----------



## Psyc0 Walrus (Sep 1, 2009)

Wyatt Furr said:


> It is not beneath me to root through the neighbors trash on pickup day.
> They all know my haunt ,so they are always asking ,"Do you need this for Halloween".
> I nod, drool a bit over it, then sneak it back home to the garage.


hahaha if i actually get my haunt big enough im sure my neighbors would do the same XD


----------



## waldiddy (Aug 4, 2008)

Tree dies in the front yard? Automatic prop! -

That's funny! We had a tree in the back, right where my cemetary will go, that finally kicked the bucket last month. It's gonna look awesome.


----------



## Psyc0 Walrus (Sep 1, 2009)

waldiddy said:


> Tree dies in the front yard? Automatic prop! -
> 
> That's funny! We had a tree in the back, right where my cemetary will go, that finally kicked the bucket last month. It's gonna look awesome.


dont have any trees in my yard where the haunt is XD


----------



## HauntDaddy (Apr 14, 2009)

Ollies clearance store and marcs discounts in Pa & OH also walgreens and gabriel bros


----------



## Psyc0 Walrus (Sep 1, 2009)

HauntDaddy said:


> Ollies clearance store and marcs discounts in Pa & OH also walgreens and gabriel bros


ohhh yaaa i forgot about gabriel bros my grandma used to work there!:jol:


----------



## tot13 (Jul 25, 2007)

nixie said:


> My husband does construction, so we're blessed with lots of leftovers, if you know any one in construction, you could ask them to save you stuff. Maybe stop at sites where things are being torn out or down and see what they might let you take.
> Appliance and furniture stores always have foam scraps to spare.
> *Eventually, you start to see potential props in every object you lay eyes on!*
> 
> I think that's the key, along with collecting "parts" until you see what the prop will become.


----------

