Making Some Witch Jar Lights

Few years ago Pumpkin Rot came up with this flicker light using some Ball Mason Jars he named Witch Lights. I always liked the look of them but then saw them in hanging from a tree in October Boy's Deadwood Cemetery video and knew it was time we added some to Shingle Creek Manor.

Belinda agreed, so off to my least favorite store in the world, that has the low low prices but the worst customer service...(I'm pretty sure you can guess). They had their version of Ball Mason jars for about $7 a dozen so I opted for them instead of the more expensive Ball Mason Jars.

The Rot method uses glue on the outside of the jar to give it a muddled frosted effect but the frosted glass spray (about $5) seemed like less work and because we're doing about 36 or more of these less work sounded good. A can of the spray easily did 12 jars with some left over.

Frosted Glass Spray and 12 jars about $12 with the tax. Pretty cheap so far!

 Next we experimented with splattering and dripping some flat black paint around each jar. Most of the tutorials I saw talked about then adding red paint or food coloring for the "bloody" look but I didn't like the results so we went think with more of an earthy-dirty look using brown and green paint.

Splatter the black paint, no artistic talent required. My kind of project!

Finally I picked up some some twine at Home Depot for $6 and we hot glued it around the top and some thinner twine as a handle so it can be hung from the tree branches with a piece of craft wire.

Added a plastic spider for fun but I need to glue his legs down.

 Total cost for each light is $1.50 plus a little paint! Just add a flicker light or tea light candle. Pretty pleased with the results but will probably fine tune the paint splattering and maybe add some details like hanging moss around the top later. They look awesome in the dark with the candle inside. I'll try a video but my camera isn't so good in the dark.

The Raven (2012)

I saw "The Raven" starring John Cusack at the movies yesterday. I wish I could say that with more enthusiasm...

Unlike many movie watchers I liked the almost super-hero reinterpretation of the recent Sherlock Holmes movies and I thought to a certain point the Edgar Allen Poe character would be developed somewhat similar. I also thought the premise of a serial killer murdering and leaving clues in accord with Poe's stories had fascinating possibility. I had visions of dark and ominous murders and crime scenes the likes of which we haven't seen since the movie Se7en ...

What I got was neither.

It's not that Cusack did a poor job on the part of Poe, but with his script and the manner in which the character was developed it was hard to ever really give a damn what happened to him in the movie. Detective Fields played by Luke Evans was actually more engaging than the hero Poe or Poe's girlfriend, the damsel in distress, played by Alice Eve.

 I have to say this one falls directly on the shoulders of director James McTeigue. Where was the heck was the suspense? Oh, the music score tried to build some with a movie that traveled at a pretty brisk pace, but it was lost. Also, How can you take grisly tales by Edgar Allen Poe and not have suspenseful or shocking scenes of death? The pendulum scene came close, but if your worried about a movie that's too bloody or violent close your eyes for this thirty seconds and your safe. Every other scene is just dead bodies?

Ok. It's not the worst movie I have ever seen, and I'm not a critic, but I'd wait for pay per view and save the movie money for some Halloween props.

Don't say I didn't warn you!

Hearse Craft

I've always been intrigued by "vintage" things, and for Halloween, the horse drawn hearse is at the top of the list. Admittedly I'm a bit envious of those people that have one in their front yard, but even if I built one I'd have no place to store it. Coupled with that desire,  Christmas has all those cool advent houses to countdown Christmas. My favorite of course is the Chevy Chase "Christmas Vacation" advent house but at over $1000 a house it's certainly not in my budget. Halloween sort of gets left out in the cold for any countdowns. So for your critique I introduce the the first of my Halloween hearse counters!

Not too many details on this one but I think it looks cools just the same. Red velour curtains with gold trim and fleur de lis at the base of each column. The top removes for easy access. It and the seat are made from Ash with a brown mahogany stain.

Primed and ready for a final sanding and paint.

 
Actually this is only the hearse. I intend to use countdown blocks seated on top of a coffin. Still a few details to sort through but I am pretty satisfied with the design. I'll post another photo once I get the counter portion put together.

Haunter's Video Awards!

Congrats to all the winners of this year's Haunter Video Awards! I know some of the winners by reputation only and even have one or two of Spyder Rider's prop on my Pinterest. There is one winner's blog I do follow regularly, our own Countess VonRauber of 2nd Street Cemetery! Congratulations Heidi!

Now I need to go back and watch the winner's videos again...