Preparing for Halloween

[BriarRose Kildare]

YAY..... My Boss asked me to decorate her restaurant for a Halloween Party.....

Now me mind is buzzin' with all kinds of fun ideas.....

Oh.... and the place has a real ghost..... I have to get all the details from Carol about it, but a Lady Hung herself in the house that is now the resteraunt... she dosen't mess with anyone, but she will move things......

COOL.... Halloween in a real haunted house......

Ah Patrick that is way too cool. Can I come help you decorate? I could talk to the ghost for ya.

Wow! What a treat you are gonna have. Don't forget to ask the ghost for help in decorating. I am sure she will appreciate it. Ghosts sometimes like to be included on things....especially decorating.

[Red-Handed Jill]

Big Lots is starting to stock Halloween items - they have a pretty good collection this year!

[Patrick Hand]

I was sketching out ideas.... the front of the Restaurant has a small lawn surrounded by a low hedge.... so I'll put in a cemitary there.... I'll get some dead branches, and put those along the front, with some of the green spider web bunched together and touched up with some paint, so it looks more like sSpanish Moss... up both sides of the walkway, I'll make a PVC fence.... styrofoam headstones, a hand coming outta the ground... the usual stuff....... it should look cool at night with the strobe lights tho.......

But (And I have to play with this to get it to work exactly right...) the flying ghost should be kinda fun.... There is a post that holds a sign out front, I'm thinking of putting a pully on the post, and another at the back of the front yard on the gate, then stringing black parachute cord between the pullys. on the cord, will be a "T" shaped PVC frame (also painted black) that will hold up the ghost. The ghost will be wooden dowels painted white and loosly conected at the joints, and covered with a ragged torn shier cloth. The ghost will be attached to the PVC frame with black carpet thread.... so by pulling the cord through the pullys the ghost hanging below it will fly out to the post... right to the front of the graveyard, and next to the sign that will set-up the story for the haunted restaurant.... anyone reading the sign is fair game....

I'm going to have to start scrounging for the parts to make two fog machines, and the fog chiller... (I spent mose of today looking at different Halloween sites.....)

The tables inside will be covered with torn orange tablecloth,and black napkins.... each table will get an interesting centerpiece, and I'll put up torn black curtains in the dining area.... I have to use some restraint on gore effects in the dining area.... but I figure going with orange and black will give it a good Halloween feel......

It's a good thing I have two months to work on it..... I have to figure out a list of drink specials, and the advertising for it..... well and make everything.......

[LadyBarbossa]

Cool! :::whimpers::: wish I could see all yo'r hard work, Patrick!

Cedar Rapids is one bleedin' dull place! I don't know what to do, where to go, etc... cause there really is nothing around here for Halloween. Just a wee spat of 2 hours Trick or Treating for the kids and that's about it. Rarely do you see folks dress up. It's pathetic.

Depends really on what I'll be doing when Halloween rolls around.

~Lady B

[Lily Alexander]

Patrick,

That sounds awesome. Best of luck with this project. Please post pics, I'd love to see how it comes out.

I have one suggestion for you. If you contact some of your local florists, ask them if they would save their dead or not usable flowers for you. They usually just throw them away at the end of the week. You could use these in your centerpieces or even flowers in front of your tombstones. It's a great way to add that extra something and best of all it's free. Our florist has been doing this for us for years. In a strange sort of way, it's also free advertising for them. Someone always asks where the flowers came from.

Happy Haunting.

[Black Syren]

Patrick while you are sketching out ideas I have been too for next year..So take a gander and see if you can use any of these tips..

http://www.agirlsworld.com/amy/pajama/hall...decorindex.html

http://members.aol.com/pumpkinave/decorati.../decoratein.htm

One of those links shows how to make your fence with the cornerstones...really nice...

[Misson]

I have another link for a floating ghost project that I found a few years ago:

http://www.phantasmechanics.com/fcghost1.html

Admittedly, I've never done a floating ghost myself, I was using the details on that page for a story I was writing.

I am changing my haunted house room concept for this year. I started out riffing "It's a Small World" with singing skull flowers and have since decided to modify the idea because I don't have a very large room to work with. I'm going to make a skeleton swamp scene with fluorescent lights and glow paint with the centerpiece being a "skeleton tree," made mostly out of bones and Great Stuff! where some of the branches ending in skulls will sing or talk or something (if I can get it to work). Good ol' Great Stuff!... a haunted house mavens best friend.

[BriarRose Kildare]

Patrick, I am so excited for you. Please take some pics for all of us anxious to see your decorating.

By chance where is this restaurant and it's name of course?

[Lily Alexander]

Patrick, Do you want or need links for food and drink ideas?

[Red Cat Jenny]

It's not period...but

"oooohhh caaaaaandy cooorn" < said ala Homer Simpson

[BriarRose Kildare]

Ooh, Hot Apple Cider with Cinnamon or a Cinnamon stick. And don't forget the Candy Apples....with Caramel of course. YUmmmmmmmmm!!!

How about making the dirt dessert and make it look like a spooky cemetary? I did that once for my one college class on the paranormal. It was great fun.

Or I would make a bunny cake and give it red jelly bean eyes to make it a demon bunny. My professor really liked that one.

[Patrick Hand]

Do you want or need links for food and drink ideas?

I might be re-doing the menue and changing how it looks for the week, but not really changing anything.... I also have to figure out the drink specials... but keep it simple.... Bloody Mary's (maybe Sangrea) or Zombies.... stuff they can make easily enough....

By chance where is this restaurant and it's name of course?

It's The Wild Grape ... Restaurant and Tapas Bar in Murphys California.

I have another link for a floating ghost project that I found a few years ago:

I saw a picture of that one.... but I wanted something that moved around, not just up and down.... so I didn't look at the "How-to" part..... untill you posted ...

Kinda funny.... for the framework for the ghost they used coathangers.... I came up with almost the same thing, but using wood dowels...... cool....

[LadyBarbossa]

Hey, shipmates!

Got the latest catelog of theOriental Trading Companyand they had some awesome piratical fun stuff in there for Halloween. And a few things you can use any other time not just Halloween!

Check 'em out!

~Lady B

[Lily Alexander]

Patrick, How's your project coming along?

[Red Cat Jenny]

Hey here's a good question...

Anyone have a "Costume Malfunction" you'd like to embarass yourself by sharing?

[Lily Alexander]

Well this isn't a Halloween story, but it's funny. I, and group of other dancer's, once performed a ballet dance with June bugs flying out of our tutu's. I consider that a malfunction of sorts.

[BriarRose Kildare]

Here it is only Sept. 4th and I am thinking about dragging down all of the Halloween decorations to decorate the inside of the house with. I miss decorating the outside, but where we live it is a mute point...no one would see it. Hmmm, maybe sometime later today I will start dragging stuff out.

[Patrick Hand]

I checked my proposed layout, and everything fits.... I have to extend the pvc fence around the front, but where I want the flying Ghost is perfect, and the gazebo out back is tall enough for the hanging body.....

I've been reading about fog machine coolers, and I have to see if my Boss still have the 12" light fixture so I can set that up with a black light....

I'm still in the "planning" stage..... but soon I have to get the sheet of insulation foam, and start carving the tombstones.... and make the cloth dummy to hang in the gazebo..... and edit some music for the whole thing.......

[Lily Alexander]

Today is the designated going through boxes and boxes of stuff day. Yippee!!!

So far we have the new stone pillars constrcted & carved out and are almost ready to be painted. Once thats done, we can put up the fence and get the other things out and repaired. I really didnt want to do more tombstones this year but of course we're adding the newly deceased Potter characters. Why did she have to kill off so many?

What are you using to carve your tombstones Patrick? Dremmel or exacto knife?

It's been my experience when carving tombstones, that the 2" insulation (pink) foam, works much better than the other stuff. Easiest to carve and more durable.

[Christine]

If all goes well I finally will be able to attend the Halloween party at the Playboy Mansion. Came so close last year, but it was really hard to get in, it was quite booked. Even with a friend of mine, who is a producer for Playboy, he still had a tough time getting me and my guyfriend on the list. And my guyfriend has been to the mansion before for the party, twice even! But it still is not easy to do each time you want to go. Since we're also friends with Chuck Mccann, a close friend to Hef, that might help a little bit this time around. *crosses fingers*

If we do get the invite this time I'm planning on going on as the slutty version of Alice in Wonderland, woo-hoo!

[Patrick Hand]

What are you using to carve your tombstones Patrick? Dremmel or exacto knife?

Thinking of pipe clamping some metal stock to form a kinda router for my dremel clone...........

The Halloween party at the Playboy Mansion.....as the slutty version of Alice in Wonderland,

Dang.... can't figure out why I compleatly lost my train of thought after reading that tho............

No chance of any photos are there ? ...............

[Christine]

What are you using to carve your tombstones Patrick? Dremmel or exacto knife?

Thinking of pipe clamping some metal stock to form a kinda router for my dremel clone...........

The Halloween party at the Playboy Mansion.....as the slutty version of Alice in Wonderland,

Dang.... can't figure out why I compleatly lost my train of thought after reading that tho............

No chance of any photos are there ? ...............

LOL!!!!!

Nope, they have tight security. But Hef of course does have hired photographers that take pix during the party. I guess better than nothing huh, lol!

[Patrick Hand]

So I gotta buy the Halloween issue to see you in the slutty version of Alice in Wonderland........

Hummmmm..... could be worth it.......

Awh.... just joking........ (but me dirty mind is awhurl right now..... )

[Lily Alexander]

We're finally in full swing Halloween mode. Our first project was to remake our pillars and arch and install all the fencing. I didnt like the gargoyles so I repainted them to show the detail. On to the next project.

[LongTom]

Lily, WOW! (prostrates self, kowtows before the goddess of haunting) we're not worthy!

Oct 1st. I can finally start getting stuff out of the attic without getting The Arched Eyebrow. My boys and I are working on a Frankenstein's lab machine.