Monday, November 5, 2007

Some more halloween




One of the eyeball projects. I picked up a fake plant at the craft store that was on clearance, and went to town with the glue gun. Gotta love the glue gun.

It doesn't show up in the photo, but I had a fish tank pump hooked up to the chemistry stuff. It made bubbles, but didn't really have that dramatic of an effect.

And finally, my great grandfather's secretary, turned into a cabinet of skulls. My aunts were shocked. :-)

Sunday, October 28, 2007

Halloween Extravaganza #4: The Great Pumpkin Party





The big Halloween event has come and gone. It was a blast and a bit crazy - and so lucky it was a beautiful day so we could have tables set up outside. My little house just can't handle 75 people all at once! As always, desperate scrambling was going on to get it all together in time, but I think everyone had a good time. I'm pretty happy with how it all turned out.


This is the pumpkin innards chandelier. It's not at all what I was originally imagining, but I really like how it turned out. I hung an orange rope light around the perimeter of the room, then hung orange streamers from the rope light to the hanging light fixture that was already there. I added some curly ribbon, and some paper mache giant pumpkin seeds. Hanging all those streamers was not fun, but definitely worth it.

More pics of the individual projects coming soon... after I finish recovering!

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Sir Pongo Zarafa


Finally finished the giraffe painting! I could easily spend hours and hours fussing with it, but it was done enough for the party. Final size 24x31 - luckily Kinko's does fast oversize printing. I'm excited to see it in its fancy frame. Too bad I don't have a mantle over which to hang it.

Sunday, October 21, 2007

Vampire Emergency



Less than a week until the big Halloween Party... and I'm finally starting to get some of my projects done. Today I finished up the Vampire Emergency Kit, and framed many eyeballs in a fancy gilded frame. Both have problems I'd like to fix, but since the clock is ticking... good enough for now!

Next up - gotta finish that giraffe!

Sunday, September 30, 2007

sneak peak



Just a few short hours until October and then Halloween preparations will begin in earnest! Actually, between work and freelance, haven't gotten that much done. So far I've mostly been sorting through all the accumulated knick knacks and slowly setting up the mad science lab shelves. Above are a couple teaser shots of the unfinished lab.

Wednesday, September 5, 2007

I C U


A couple months ago I decided I had to have some glass eyes. I didn't really have an agenda for them, but thought it was a must-have for a mad science lab. Sadly, glass eyes are a bit pricey. I asked my mom if she knew of any special secret places for nice but cheap doll eyes, as she is a porcelain doll maker. She couldn't find anything cheaper than I had, but checked with her teacher at her doll class. Her teacher offered several pair of eyes she said she wasn't going to use, and another woman who owns a doll supply store offered any damaged or mismatched eyes from her inventory.

So all in all, I ended up with about 52 pairs of eyes - for free! Thanks Katha and Coleen! I have a few ideas for them.

In other Halloween-ness, I'm actually having a small window of opportunity where I'm waiting for feedback on my freelance jobs, and the day job is pretty much caught up! I'm hoping to get a lot done this week by way of getting everything set up for starting all of my projects for this year's party. I've also been working a bit here and there on the tuxedo'd giraffe painting. I've decided painting drapery is so not my thing. But it will be cool. I have a really beautiful frame to put it in - a quite over-the-top gilt frame - well, at least as over-the-top as I could afford.

Only 6 1/2 weeks until the party!

Monday, July 30, 2007

Jackalope!


So maybe this is a sign that the obsession has gotten a little out of control...

The CEO of the company where I work was out of town last week. Friday morning she called to say she's in Jackson, WY and has found a bunch of really nice Jackalopes, and would I like for her to pick one up for me? So of course I said, "Yes!" She brought it to the office this morning, and I thought it was all very thoughtful. She and her husband got a big kick out of picking it out for me. But also made me realize: I really need to remember to have a few non-halloween related conversations from time to time!

Monday, July 16, 2007

The Addams' Giraffe Friend


Here is a project high up on the priority list. This painting is from the set of the tv show version of the Addams Family. For whatever reason, I think it would be terribly fabulous to have this painting in my house. I've been on the hunt for frames before I start painting my own copy. I had a little bit of luck at a Hotel Liquidation Warehouse down in Las Vegas. I picked up a couple great frames for some other projects, but none were big enough for the Giraffe. So... still hunting.

Sunday, July 1, 2007

Now with Lasers!



A few weeks ago I decided I needed a laser. I found one for "such a deal" on eBay, and was anxiously awaiting its epic-ness. Well... it arrived. And it wasn't anywhere near epic. I guess I should have realized my dreams of a Pink Floyd concert-like experience in my front room were a bit far-fetched. That big black shoebox looking thing in the top picture is a fog machine. I thought the fog would make it more epic, but whatever the fog juice stuff is, it gave me a headache. I'm thinking it's probably not wise to have that thing going in a small room.

So I got an ultrasonic mist maker, thinking that would surely make my laser more epic. That white bowl has the mistmaker in it. The mist looks cool, but stays pretty localized in its bowl of water. It's also pretty messy and splashes all over, so I'm thinking that's not going to work too well in the mad lab either. But it'll be nice in a cauldron or something.

Anyway, above is my little laser lab of fun currently residing on my dining room table. I've got the laser pointing at a chrome ball inside a glass dome. It's been fun to point the laser at things even if it really isn't all that epic.

Wednesday, June 27, 2007

Taxidermy Fun


So you've seen the Two-headed Goose. I've commissioned a Flying Squirrel. (As in, a normal squirrel with bird wings.) One of the things I learned during my internship with Master Guarnaccia was that you have to have at least three things for it to be a collection. (Powerful words to live by.) I can't figure out what my third "unusual" bit of taxidermy should be. My nephew insists I need a Jackalope, but that seems so... um.. cliche. Any ideas? I had thought of a deer mouse.. hmmmm.

Above is Don Seegmiller's stuffed Raven he let me borrow for last year's party. He wisely took it home as I covet it. I'd love a Raven, but that doesn't really fit the theme... oh decisions.

Hard life I live, eh?

Saturday, June 23, 2007

Humble beginnings - 2004







I had only been moved in for less than two months, but the main order of business was my first ever Halloween party. A bit simple, but not bad for starting from scratch. You can even see the humble beginnings of the mad science lab behind Billy Bob pals Bill and Lorien. Sorry for the blurry pics - but they are the only ones I have. I kinda forget to take pictures while playing hostess.

Friday, June 22, 2007

New Blog!


Welcome to the Two-Headed Goose! (Known to friends and distant relations as Bertie and Gertie)

Almost three years ago I moved into a cute little house after years of studio and one bedroom apartments. I decided that it was perfect for the having of a Halloween Party. Each year The Party has sort of ballooned. This year promises to be a bit over the top if I manage to pull off everything I have floating around in my head. So I thought it would be fun to chart the progress in a blog separate from my normal illustration one.

So far I haven't had time to work on any actual projects, but I do always have it on the mind. Whenever I am out and about, if something catches my eye, I pick it up. Also, eBay is my friend. Found out earlier today my mom has hooked me up with several dozen pairs of glass eyes. So cool.

A couple recent acquisitions: