Happy Samhain

Wishing you all a happy Samhain tonight!

Halloween- Budget Breakdown

Hi everyone,

If you remember back to the start of the month I said that I want to throw a Halloween party on a budget, specifically for £20 or less. Now as a pack rat I already had most of the materials needed but even if you don't hoard things like I do you should still be able to get a lot of the supplies for free, ie: glass jars, old newspaper, etc so I have not included those in the budget breakdown. I have also not included commonly available tools such as pencils, pens and paintbrushes because if you don't already own those you will almost certainly have a friend or relative you can borrow them from.

So let's see how I did-

Hemp cord (50m)- £1.30
Brown wrapping paper (8m)- £2
PVA Glue- £1
Acrylic paint set- £2.80
Clingfilm- £0.60
Cotton pillow case (pair)- £1.75
Food colouring- £2
Tealight candle (12 pack)- £1
Rice paper- £2.60
Hessian sacking (0.5m)- £2
Wool- £1
Polyester stuffing- £1.10
Polystyrene balls- £2
Masking tape- £1
Poster paint- £1

TOTAL- £23.15

Urgh, ok so £3.15 over budget, (or 16% over budget if you prefer). Not great but still a lot cheaper than buying any of these decorations pre-made from a shop. In total I made 16 different projects so that's an average of £1.45 per item made.

I hope you all enjoyed this Halloween Special. It was a lot of fun for me and I've got an awesome stash of props out of it, most of which will last for years to come. Have a happy Halloween and Blessed Be.

Halloween- Fake Bones

If you eat meat you can make plenty of creepy Halloween decorations out of real bones (chicken drumsticks, spare ribs etc) but if you are vegetarian or vegan you can also make some bone decorations out of papier mache.

Things you will need-

• Old newspaper or scrap paper
• Masking tape
• PVA glue
• Acrylic paint 
• Paint brush

Roll a page of newspaper up into a tube and secure it with a bit of tape. Cut the tube into several smaller sections and stuff the insides of the tubes with crumpled paper for added strength.

Scrunch two pieces of newspaper up into rough ball shapes and tape one to each end of the tube.

Next mix up a ratio of 1:1 PVA glue and water to create a paste. Tear up the rest of your newspaper into strips and dip them into the paste. Scrape off the excess paste and start wrapping the strips around your basic structure to build up the bone shape.

Once you are happy with the shape you have place the bones to one side and leave them to dry completely.

Next you need to paint the bones. If you look at a real bone you'll see it isn't a pure white but a very pale yellowish brown colour. Start with a blob of white paint and gradually add very small amounts of yellow and brown  until you have a colour you like.

Leave the bones to fully dry and you're done. You can place these on a table as they are for spooky decoration or you can wrap some yarn/cord around them and hang them up instead.

I turned mine into a hanging mobile as hanging decorations really add a lot of atmosphere to any room. 

Lifestyle- Nemi Comics by Lise Myhre

Today I wanted to give a shout out to the awesome Nemi series by Lise Myhre.
Nemi is a cynical yet hilarious goth who struggles through the daily rigours of work, relationships and general life stuff.

Nemi is generally presented in short comic strips for laughs with the occasional longer comic story thrown in with an important message to the reader. Reading Nemi has made me laugh, cry and want to get back in touch with my inner child/spirit of playful youth. 

Below is an example of one of the short strips. If you want to see more you'll have to go out and buy a copy for yourself and support the artist. (Which I strongly encourage doing because Lise Myhre's art and story telling is amazing.)

My copies are from Forbidden Planet but I have also seen it available at Waterstones and on Amazon.

Halloween- Animal Poppet

Animal poppets are cool little trinkets for any witches house. You can label them as tools for capturing animal spirits or as dolls that turn into the creature they represent following the proper ritual.

Things you will need-

• Aluminium wire
• Yarn or wool (optional)
• Rough yarn such as help cord or hessian strips
• Glue

We are going to create a simple snake poppet today because unfortunately I don't have time to create a more complicated one (8 month old puppies take up a lot of time!). Cut a length of wire 140cm long, fold it in half and twist it to provide more strength and durability to your frame. Next shape the twisted wire into a coiled snake shape as per the photo below. 

Take your yarn and wrap it around the wire. If you like you can use a dab of glue to hold the end of the yarn in place but this shouldn't be necessary as you just wrap the yarn over the end several times to secure it. Don't worry if you accidentally bend the wire out of shape as you can bend it back once you are finished. I bulked up the shape of the snake with a softer wool before going over it with the rough hessian as the wool is a lot thicker than the hessian so takes less time to create the body. 

Keep going around the wire and build up the body shape of the snake. A snakes body is thicker in the middle than it is at the tail and neck, and the back of the head is wider than the tip of the nose. 

Clothing- Red Corset

I recently ordered a couple of corsets from a sale on Corset Deal. One of them I'm using as the base for my wedding dress bodice and the other is one is this gorgeous red and black gothic number.

I'm really pleased with how it looks, though full disclosure it does seem a little roomy around the bust to armpit area, maybe I'm just not as well endowed as the ladies this corset is designed for. Still, I'm not falling out or exposed when I move so it does the job ok. 

The corset has a hidden zip on the left hand side and tight laces up the back. It is a steel boned corset so can suck me in 2-4 inches. All I need now is a reason to leave the house and I can show it off....I suppose I could always dress up and wear it out walking the dog! ;-)

Halloween- Creepy Plants

This idea isn't so much a DIY project as it is a temporary adjustment to your household flora. Adding some paint to your plants makes them look like they are diseased or poisonous, perfect for a witches house.

Things you will need-

• House plants 
• Poster paint
• Spray bottle (a paintbrush will do if you don't have a spray bottle)

Please note for this Halloween decor you MUST use poster paint on your plants. Poster paint will wash off whereas acrylic paint will stick and risk harming your plants. You must also be careful not cover the entirety of the plant as they need to 'breathe' through their leaves. I suggest covering the top side of the leaves only and leaving the underside bare.

ALWAYS carry out a preliminary test on a single inconspicuous leaf to ensure the paint you have is non-toxic and will not cause any harm to your plants. I am not responsible if you don't carry out this test and accidentally harm your plants. 

I am using black poster paint for my plants as it creates an unusual and eerie look. However if you would rather try using a red paint to suggest blood covered leaves instead then try it out. So first you need your houseplants. I am using a banana plant as the bigger the leaves are the easier they are to both cover with paint and wash off again afterwards. Take your poster paint and water it down slightly, you want the paint to be thin enough that it streaks slightly when you apply it so that some of the leaves original colour will show through.

In the photo above you can see how painting a green leaf compares with painting a red leaf. If you are using a paintbrush start from the stem and work outwards following the grain of the leaf to get a natural effect. If you are using a spray bottle filled with paint mixture you will need to put down some newspaper to stop the paint getting on anything else, or better yet put your plants into the bathtub and then spray them so that you can just shower away any paint that got on the tub. After you are done spraying your plant make sure you wash the spray bottle out with warm water to remove any paint residue and stop the nozzle from clogging. 

I would advise only applying this paint the morning before any Halloween party and washing it off the morning after so that you limit the amount of time your plants spent being covered. Poster paint will wipe off with a damp cloth, there is no need for soap.