Dead? Or alive?

I bet you thought I had abandoned this blog since Halloween is over.  Well I haven't, Halloween is something we think about all year long we have just been crazy busy and super stressed.  Buuuuuuuuut....... I promise we will be back soon.

Another blogger suggested a No Spend Month in January, where you do not buy craft supplies, food, clothes or anything else that you do not absolutely need (you can buy fresh produce you just can't buy food until your pantry and freezer is cleaned out), and I am considering doing this and seeing what Halloween projects I can get done for next year with the mountains of things I have lying around the house. 

OOOHH!!! By the way... our Halloween decorations are still up, for any of you who are challenging our dedication ,)



liz

Paper Bats

I originally saw a great photo of felt bats pasted on to an exterior door on countryliving.com (via pinterest.com) and wanted to do it.  I decided that I had so much scrapbook paper however, that mine would be paper.  This also meant they had to move inside.  Then I found this, she was also inspired by Country Living but wanted to use paper.  Her bats look great flying through the dining room and I have a great dining room for it too so I started cutting bats.  You can use the template from her web site, she links to the Country Living Template, and print it out then re-size it on your scanner so you have a couple different sizes. 

I have tons of scrapbook paper so I just dug out some Halloween colors, patterns I thought would look like bats and things I liked.

I folded the paper in half with the back showing so I could trace my multiple templates.  

 I found it was easiest to draw several on the page and then cut them all out.

Once cut out, you can unfold them and you have easy bats.  You can do this freehand if you would prefer to give them more character.  Use the scraps you have for smaller templates and/or freehand small bats.  (I have to say that my freehand bats were pretty hilarious to everyone else while we were hanging them up)

Do this as many times as you want, unfold and admire your bats.  We used lots of graphic patterns instead of just black.  We also used shades of brown, maroon, grey, green and orange.

We let them swarm towards a vent in the dining room so they flap in the 'wind' a little.

We ended up with tons of them so they flew all around the room.

If you look at the top of the doorway here, you can see that my clever little brother put a couple hanging upside down like they hadn't flown off yet.

Some stragglers flew around the room and perched on the light switch....

the fan cord....

even on Justine's face!  lol

I love the way this project turned out.  =)

liz

Zombie Make Up

Our zombie costumes from last weekend were the most complete once we put the make up on to make ourselves look dead, bloody and bitten.  Here's how I did it.

I started off by smearing white grease make up all over my face.  I don't use a lot because I'm already fair and because too much looks too fake.  Be sure to blend everything really well at the edges of the make up and into your features.  Blend lightly onto your neck, ears and into the hairline so it looks even.  Then smear some red cream make up from mouth to chin working in light layers. 

In each layer go a little farther down.  I wanted to look like I had bitten people so I wanted the blood to run down my face.  Be sure to get above the top lip and out to the sides some.  Zombies don't eat delicately, they dive head first into their food and make a sloppy mess.

Each layer of red makes it look  little better, the time to do it little by little pays off because you get good depth in the make up.  My blood was going to run down my face and to a blood stain on my shirt where it pooled so I dragged the sponge all the way down my neck in long swipes.

A little black cream make up added on top of the last red layer makes it look old and dried.  This is what makes it start looking less like make up.

Because we were specifically zombie Longhorn fans we used a grease crayon to add words to my face.

I make sure to get make up on my lips so it looks like I was feeding but kept my mouth closed tightly.  I use only a tiny bit on my lips because its not really good to ingest.  Putting lip balm on top will keep you from licking it or using translucent powder to set it while it is still wet will also keep it in place.

I added some black and blue vein lines around the edges of my face and into my hairline and also smeared some red make up on my forehead for a little added gore.  The lines were easy with a paintbrush, you can buy the make up in crayon form and that is even easier.  The blood helped it look better and less like just white paint.  I smeared it down my nose and across my face too.  Make sure you rub it into hairlines, eyebrows and facial hair by pressing hard and moving your finger or sponge or applicator back and forth.  You can go over the hair lightly with a damp cloth or sponge if you don't want it on your hair, just on the skin.  Doing this is a great trick that makes it look more professional and gives it some realism.  If you don't care about that, cool don't worry about it then. ,)

Green make up completed my face by giving it that sickly look that zombies are known for.  I did it mostly around one eye and then used my fingers to trail it around the rest of my face lightly.  A touch up on the words was needed because you could no longer read them.

I pulled my hair into messy braids and the look was pretty much done.  All that was needed was some fake blood.  I flipped my hair upside down and sprayed it all lightly with hair spray then quickly braided it on either side into very messy braids.  I pulled some strands out, teased it up a little and ran my hands all over it so it stood up.  I sprayed it lightly again so it would stay.

For Thomas' face we went a little different direction.  He had not eaten anyone yet, we decided, so he had less blood and more dark make up.  We used the white grease make up to smear his face again and then used black cream make up around his eyes so it looked sunken and rotten.  A little blood on his forehead looked good and some green smeared around his face completed his easy look.

Now zombie bites!

Use a paintbrush or your finger to dab a round bite mark where you want to showcase your wound.  Using a dabbing motion instead of just making a circle gives the impression of teeth.

This step looks a little funny and seems fake until you put the other make up on top of it.

Add red to the center carefully so you don't smudge the black too much but make sure it is thick.  This is the source of your zombie state-make it look good!  Also rub red around the outside of the black make up and blend outward with your fingers or a sponge.

Use blue grease paint to add dabs of blue around the edges of the wound.  Mix with the red slightly and blend out so you make bruising.  Use your brush and light black paint to touch up the bite mark if it gets too smudged.

Subtlety is a key component with the wounds and bite marks because it will really make the difference.  Use yellow, the darker the better, to add around the edges to give it more bruising effect and to start the sickly look.

Add green paint around the edges and blend out to look like the infection is spreading.  Your bite looks great!

After you have created all of the wounds and bite marks that you want, use fake blood to drip off of wounds and anywhere else you think is appropriate.  I added mine directly to the center of the three bites I had and then let it drip down.  I also added it right below my lips where my blood stains were.  Rub green and red paint into the skin anywhere you think you want a little more gore and give yourself a disheveled look.  I coated my hands with red cream paint and ran them through my hair so I was coverd in blood.

Happy feeding fellow zombies!



liz

Creepy Party Food

We are fast approaching party day and working on the list of munchies for the occasion.  Here are a couple recipe we plan to use this year:
Petrified Cheese Log
This turned out looking super creepy and tasting really delicious.  I'm a huge bleu cheese fan so I devoured this simple recipe.  It can be made a couple of days in advance too, which is a bonus for me.
Texas Lizard Eggs
We make these for nearly every party we have because they are so requested.  We did modify the recipe last year to make it a little easier on us and we didn't find any difference in the quality.  This recipe calls for you to clean out peppers, slice them in half, fill them with cream cheese and wrap them in sausage then bake.  We found that this was very time consuming for a dish that is literally gone within 20 minutes of putting it out.  Last year we sped through the prep time by dicing the jalapenos and folding them into the sausage and cream cheese together and roll them into little meatballs.  This took much less time.  We cooked them in mini muffin pans so they were easy to take out and did not stay greasy.
Buffalo Chicken Dip
This was introduced to me by a good friend HB and we can't get enough of it.  I laughed when her husband just ate that for dinner with chips or bread, but once we made some of our own I have to agree that may have happened at our house.  This is easy and delicious and can be prepped early.
Spinach Artichoke Phyllo Cups
This recipe is one I found that is similar to something I whipped up last year when I felt like we were missing something.  I had all of the ingredients except the phyllo cups in my kitchen so it was simple to do.  I made mine with cream cheese instead of mayo so it was thicker.  Bite sized pieces you can carry around or easily put on a plate are always great party food.
Cookie Bowls
This is something new for this year but I found it on Pinterest.com (if I have not expressed how completely awesome and addicting this web site is, I am sorry) and just could not pass it up.  I think these are really neat.  I plan to make chocolates and put a few in each bowl.
Severed Finger Cookies
Another new recipe this year, sent to me again in Pinterest.com.  I really think it looks cool and should be fairly easy.  I plan on making the cookies a few days in advance and dipping the ends in the jam just before I put them on the platter.  Oh!  I also plan on using jalapeno raspberry jam cause I think that little kick will be fun.

I have a few other things on the list that don't need recipe posts:
cupcakes decorated like monsters and graveyards
raspberry lemonade
blue corn chips (they look black) and salsa
pigs in a blanket (wrapped like mummies)
chocolate covered pretzels
jello shots
various veggies chopped up

I will post some more about jello shots because these are Halloween legend around our place.

liz

Bloody Longhorn Shirt

In order to be an undead Longhorn fan, we needed the right costumes and part of that was a cool idea we came up with, a bloody longhorn.  If you are unfamiliar, most Texas Longhorn shirts are white with a burnt orange longhorn symbol on the front.  We decided a red, dripping longhorn would be a fun twist.  You can do this with anything really.  You could use a company logo or a well known image to have a little fun.

Here is how we did it.

I bought a blank white t shirt at Target to start with.  Then, I traced a large longhorn from a different t shirt I already had on to a piece of paper. 

I then cut the picture out of the center.

Put a handful of newspaper or cardboard inside the shirt to keep it flat and to be sure the image does not bleed through onto the back of the shirt.  Place the template you just made over the area on the shirt where you want the image and apply the first layer of paint.  A sponge works best but a brush or paper towel would work as well.  Dip the sponge into the paint and then press it onto the plate or paper where you are keeping the paint so it is not overloaded.  I used 2 different colors for this project, Hot Rod Red from Plaid Paints that is indoor/outdoor gloss and Rust Red from Anita's All Purpose Acrylic.  You can use any colors that work for the situation, in this case a brown color would work for a more dried look or a small amount of light green or yellow would be a gross puss option.  Apply the second layer while the first layer is still wet so they can blend together.

Once you remove the template you will have a perfect outline of your image.  Be sure not to let the template move while you are painting so the layers line up.  If it is large or complicated, weights on the corners could help keep it still.  In this case, leave a little white space makes the image look good so it will be imperfect.  Be sure to dab near the edges so the image is clear.

Once you are happy with the image, mix the colors you are using a little so they are still streaked together and not completely combined and then dab large amounts of paint in several areas along the bottom of the image where you want the paint to drip.  Be sure that this is done while the paint is still wet.  Lift the shirt up and shake it a little back and forth to get the drips started.  If they are not falling the way you want to try adding a little more paint to the spot or use a small paint brush to start a small line and the drip will follow it.

After you are happy with the look of the image and the drips put the shirt back down flat to dry.  You can use the paintbrush to stipple around the drip spots on the image so the colors match.  Keep the paper in the shirt until it is completely dry.  I used acrylic paint so I can fix any spills, stains or areas that I did not like.  Once it is completely dry, you should be able to wash it without most of  the paint coming off.  I would hand wash it alone if needed.  If you want something that can definitely be washed try using fabric paint.

liz

Zombie Walk Photos

Yesterday was Zombie Walk Dallas 2011 and we went downtown to participate.  It was a blast!
We went as undead Longhorn fans.
Here are a few photos:

Go to www.zombiewalkdallas.com for more info about the cause and how to get ready for next year.  They give business to the local area, this year focused on how downtown has gotten safer.  They also take blood and monetary donations to Carter Blood Care.  Its something really fun and a good cause.  Thousand of zombies wondering around downtown Dallas?  SO MUCH FUN.

I will post how to for make up and costumes soon.