31 Halloween Projects-2 Snake Wreath

Project 2 of our 31 Halloween Projects is just fixing a project that I did last year but since I started ALMOST from scratch I thought I would still share it.  Last year I made a wreath that was covered in rubber snakes and painted all black.  It ends up looking like a crazy snake nest since it is all one color and the snakes overlap so much.

^ This is the inspiration that I got from Martha Stewart.  She had a really neat idea and I really like that it was matte and subtle.

Last year I found a wreath of branches at Hobby Lobby on sale half price (love a deal) and hot glued rubber snakes all over it and then sprayed it with black multi purpose paint.  It looked great and my mom even asked for one when she saw mine.  I was so excited.

^ This is how my wreath looked this year.  All my snakes fell off!  I fell in love with this shape when I saw it because I thought it looked a little creepier and less store bought.  The extra twigs that were not trimmed off made it look even better.  This looks like a perfect snake den to me, feel free to experiment with different shapes and sizes.  You can also make them in different colors or you can add details to the snakes so they stand out more.

^ You can see all the spaces where the paint is missing because the snakes are gone this year.  I was pretty disappointed that ALL of the snakes fell off before I even used it one season.  This is not from packing or storage, they came off the next day!

^ I pulled all of the extra hot glue off of the wreath, it came off pretty easily.  I was just left with a black wreath with some weird spots on it.

This is where you would start if you did not have to do any repairs and had a fresh wreath to work with.

I ordered more rubber snakes from OrientalTrading.com and started to glue them back on to the wreath.

Since hot glue was clearly not working I decided to go with a sure fire adhesive, E6000.  I started using this in Art class in high school since it glues almost any surface to any other surface and is strong while it is still easy to work with.

I like to spread the snakes out as I glue so that I get the wreath covered pretty evenly, if you like it more random then do it however looks good to you.

^ Here is a photo of the wreath once all of the snakes were glued on.  The bright colors make it easy to see where I placed the snakes and how they are woven together and through the twigs organically.

^ I wanted to show you my spray painting set up also.  I usually paint my projects at my parents' house since they have the room and we live in an apartment but I was impatient and had a small area to paint this time.  I used a plastic tablecloth folded in half, I taped it to the balcony railing so I would protect that surface and then taped it to the ground so the wind would not move anything.

I sprayed the wreath with satin black paint and covered every inch that I could see.  This was a really quick process since the wreath was already mostly black.  It takes a little longer when you do it the first time because you really have to spray it from every angle.  I did a general coat on the front and then just rotated it around to get all the sides.  Once it was dry I sprayed it from the back and inspected it for any hints of color or unpainted twigs.  (I actually noticed a spot that I missed after it was hung and took it down to do another quick spray.)

 

Here is the finished wreath.

And here it is hanging on my door.  I really love the way it turned out.

Tell me what you think.  Any suggestions for making a different version?  Anything I can do to explain the process better?  Leave me a comment.

~Liz

Bad Costumes

Worst 'Sexy' Halloween Costumes, you have to see this.

31 Halloween Projects-1 Googly Eye Photo Frame

Ok, I am getting ready to get a ton of projects finished up and am really excited to see what you think of them!  I am officially starting off the 31 Halloween Projects posts with number one, a googly eye photo frame.

I, of course, found the initial inspiration on Pinterest.  Here are a couple of photos I have found floating around.

^ This is the one I liked best and is pretty close to what I ended up with.  The original link is here.

^ Here is another one I found.  This looks like it is just a photo that was taken and pinned so I am not sure where it came from.

Below is my version.
 I found a wooden frame and some googly eyes at Michael's. I also had on hand green paint, paintbrushes, multi-purpose glue, ribbon and a cut out.

I started by painting the frame all over on the front and back.  This is a terrible photo of the color by the way; it is a very bright, almost neon, green.

I then opened my bags of googly eyes and started to spread them around on my frame.  I bought several different packages because I wanted different kinds of eyes on my frame so I opened all of the packages and poured them in a large bowl so I could easily pick out the ones I wanted.  I started with the largest eyes I had so that I could space them out the way I wanted.

Optional:  Put the large googly eyes on your face and make creepy faces with your husband.

Keep adding eyes and fill in the spaces as you go.  I tried to vary mine as much as possible so it would be random.

The sizes of eyes you use and the space you have to fill will help determine where to put everything.  Just keep filling it up.

I took some close up photos so you could see all the different eyes I found.  I got a package with lots of different sizes so I had very large (bigger than my eyes) and very very small (the top of a stick pin).  One package had different colored backgrounds, I only really loved the green ones from that package because they matched my background perfectly so I didn't use a lot of them.  Another package had eyelids and eyelashes painted on the front of them.  There was even a package that had different colored irises (the inside of the eye).

This is the jar of what I have leftover, you can see more of the colors that were included that I didn't use.

Keep adding more and start paying attention to the colors as you add them so you don't have too many of the same ones together.

Once it was all finished I was so excited!  I love the way it turned out and a few finishing touches was all it needed.  I touched up any areas that needed more paint and found some ribbon and a Halloween scrapbook punch out that I had.

The ribbon is self adhesive so I just cut it to length and wrapped it around.  I used vellum dots to attach the label so it would stay nicely.  Tip: I made sure to paint the back nicely and wrap the ribbon all the way around the back since mine is on a stand and you will be able to see the back of it.  I bought the frame in the broken/discount section because it didn't have the stand on the back so I bought a cheap plate display stand at the dollar store and used that.

I spent a total of $8 on my frame and I just love it.  You could save money by getting a frame at the dollar store or using one package of eyes instead of the 5 that I bought (I had a TON leftover).  Hanging the frame on the wall or getting one that isn't broken will also save you from the display cost.

Here is the finished product with my fave photo from last year in it.  This is a photo of all the costume contest winners and I just love how goofy they all are.

Leave me comments with your questions.  Is there anything I can do to make the instructions easier or clearer for you?  Let me know.

~Liz

Slap on the Wrist

I have been a terrible blogger and neglected this blog all year long practically and here we are IN October and I haven't posted anything for you guys to see yet.  Damn.  Well I promise that once I get past whatever is making me so sick I will start posting for my 31 Halloween projects!  I already have several mostly finished so get ready for some fun stuff! 

~liz

Web Sites to look at

I found a couple of cool web sites that should help in your planning as well as mine.  I don't know about you but I usually like to have a theme in mind and start working towards the party in August, and its getting closer!

Divine Dinner Party -has good themes

Yahoo Voices -neat theme ideas

eHow -a great checklist and info for beginners

These are a couple to start with.  Leave me a comment with your favorite party planning web sites.


-Liz

Back in Action

I know it's been a long time again..... I promised you projects through the year and we did not deliver.  I am SURE that this Halloween season you will get lots of projects, tutorials and posts.  Oh, you didn't know August was Halloween season?  Well it is in this house and apparently Michael's agrees with me because they had a whole display and two aisles dedicated to Halloween when I was there yesterday.

So I will update you about party stuff and put some tutorials in between.  Get ready!

-Liz

Brain Storm

My friend CZ had the coolest idea the other day and I wanted to record it so I don't forget it.  She said we should fill the fridge and freezer with body parts and props so that when people get ice or drinks out they will see them.  Awesome idea.