DIY RC Roomba for Mini Shark Cat

     I'm excited to present to you one of my favorite crafts I've made.  If you've seen my Halloween costume contest cat trophies, you've seen my original shark cat.  I liked it so much that I decided to make myself a shark cat.  When I made its Roomba, I mentioned to Brian that it would be cool if the Roomba actually moved.  He told me that we probably could make that happen and that's how shark cat came to be.  Before we get to the instructions, here's a video I made of my shark cat a an homage to the original video that inspired my craft.  I didn't have a toy duck, so I let shark cat chase around a wind up Easter chick.  I hope you enjoy!

Materials:

*Small remote control car (such as this one)
*Metal jar lid
*Silver paint
*Black paint
*Paintbrush
*Mini magnets (such as these ones)
*Screwdriver
*Cat figurine with shark costume (I give a rough sketch of how to make the costume in this post)

Directions:

*Paint the top of the jar lid silver.  Let dry.

*Add accents with black paint to make the lid look like a Roomba.  Let dry.

*With the RC car turned off, unscrew the screws attaching the top of the car to the bottom.

*Screw the screws into the screw posts on the bottom part of the car, in the opposite direction of the way in which they were screwed in originally.

*Place one magnet on top of each screw.

*Place the jar lid over the bottom of the RC car.  The magnets should hold it in place.

*Now your shark cat is ready to roll!

Last Minute Costume: The Yellow Ribbon

     Looking for an easy, last minute Halloween costume?  All you need for this one is a ribbon.  Alternately known as "The Yellow Ribbon," "The Green Ribbon," and "The Red Velvet Ribbon," this classic scary story has frightened generations of kids.  There are at least two variations, examples of which I've linked to here and here.  Since the costume itself is fairly simple, in this post I'm going to tell you about how I came up with my concept of the girl wearing the yellow ribbon and then I'll show you some pics from the "Yellow Ribbon" photo shoot I did with Brian.
     The girl wearing the ribbon has different names in different variants, but I'll call her Daisy throughout this post.  In the versions of the story I've read, Daisy's character is never really developed, so there is a lot of room for interpretation.  I see her as very feminine, so when I was looking for something to wear, I went for florals and light colors, lots of pink and white.  You can't see my earrings clearly in these photos, but they're cameos.  I don't have any light colored pants or leggings, so the black ones were the best I could do, although I'll probably stop by Target over the weekend to see if I can find some white leggings before I reveal my costume in real life.
     Since *spoiler alert* Daisy's head has been cut off and is held on only by the ribbon, I figured there would be no blood circulating through her head, so she would look pale.  I have a Temptu airbrush makeup kit and I opted for the palest foundation shade it had.  I thought that darker lips would accentuate the paleness, so I went with e.l.f.'s matte lip color in "wine."  Brian does my makeup for me when I go for full face, so I let him pick the rest.  We've come up with an eyeliner look that I think works really well.  He'll use e.l.f.'s liquid black liner above my upper lash line and then he will start from the inner corner of my eye above the black line he's just created and add a swipe of white glitter liner.
     I was planning on taking a couple of pictures in the "backyard" so I'd have one for this post, but Brian suggested that, since I was all dolled up, we might as well go to the UMaine ornamental gardens to try to get a few pictures.  We ended up taking hundreds of photos (and that's not an exaggeration).  There were lots that I liked, but the following fifteen pictures I thought worked well together to create an origin story for Daisy.  Maybe one of these days I'll write up a story to accompany them.

The Yellow Ribbon: Origins

     What's Daisy afraid of at the end there?  I guess you'll have to stay tuned.  Maybe next year I'll come up with a new installment in Daisy's saga.

"Just for Fun" Photos

     Here are some pics that I liked that I didn't think would fit as well into the overarching narrative I constructed.  I had so much fun with these and I thought some of you might get a kick out of them as well.

     Being a ghost with Shuppet:  Of course I had to get a photo with a ghost type Pokemon while I was all Halloween ready.

     I really liked these "crawling out of the grave" photos.

     Another zombie-like photo.  Daisy is supposed to seem perfectly ordinary with the exception of the ribbon she always wears, so I felt like I couldn't include the zombie photos with the main story, but they were a lot of fun to shoot.  I did manage to sneak one kind of zombie-like one into the main story, though.

Horror DVD Wall Art

     Looking for a fast, easy, and inexpensive Halloween decor idea?  If you have some horror DVDs with cover art you'd be willing to remove from the case, this may be the craft for you.

Materials:
*Horror DVD cover art
*Black cardstock
*Document sized or 8" x 10" black matching photo frames
*Mounting tape or gluestick
*Pencil
*Scissors

Directions:

*Cut cardstock to fit inside the frame.

*Cut the front cover portion of the DVD cover off from the rest of the cover.

*Center the front cover on the cardstock.

*Glue or tape down.

*Place the cardstock and cover art inside the frame.

This year I decided to go with a Stephen King movie theme.  For this, I used cover art from Creepshow 2, Pet Sematary, The Mist, Storm of the Century, Rose Red, and Sleepwalkers.  I have tons of horror movies, though, so maybe I'll switch things up next year.

Here's a closer look at a few of the frames.

My Halloween Party 2017

     This past Saturday Brian and I hosted our annual Halloween party.  We spent a good portion of the day on Friday and Saturday morning cleaning, putting up decorations, and making the food.  We were still finishing the snacks when the first of our guests arrived.  In spite of the business, I had a great time.  Here's a recap of our party.

Snacks

     Brian and I made our cemetery cupcakes (recipe in this post, although you'll have to scroll a little to find it).  I had picked up a skeleton mold on clearance at the end of last Halloween season, so this year I added bones to the cupcakes.  They didn't have any mint chocolate baking chips at Joann, so I opted to make the tombstones strawberry flavored instead.
     Brian made his classic eyeball deviled eggs (recipe in this post, although you'll have to scroll here too) and I made some cheese and pretzel "witch's broomsticks" (see this post).  I had stumbled across this caramel apple cream cheese spread online and decided to give it a try.  It was delicious and the easiest of the snacks we made.  The caramel sauce I used spilled off the cream cheese pretty quickly, so I'd recommend waiting to add it until you're about ready to serve it and keep extra caramel sauce on hand so people can add extra if they want.
     I poured the rest of the pretzel sticks into our new candy bowl.  The new bowl has a motion sensor that, when motion is detected, causes the eye to open up and causes the bowl to say something spooky.  Any time people got close enough to the table, the candy bowl would come to life.  We also had three types of pizza on hand, so everyone was well fed.

     For drinks, I had seen this vampire drink idea online and decided to give it a try.  I used Sprite Zero and liquid cherry Kool Aid.  You'll want to use clear plastic cups so that your guests can see the effect.  All you have to do squirt a little of the Kool Aid into the soda and the Kool Aid looks like blood as it disperses.

The Tablescapes

     We had our usual two tables, the snack table, pictured in the snacks section of this post, and the main table.  Some of the items on the tables are hand crafted, so I've included the relevant links in this paragraph in case you want to try making one of your own.  On the snack table, the deviled egg eyes are on top of the Halloween platter I made a couple of years back.  The cupcakes are balanced on my spider web cupcake stand.  The tablecloth I made as well.
     For the big table, I used many of the same adornments I've used in the past.  The only crafted item is the spooky faced candle, which Brian and I made last year for Halloween.  The tablecloth I picked up on clearance from Joann ages ago and the bat salt and pepper shakers came from the Target dollar aisle, also years ago.  I think the tealights might also have been from Target.

Outdoor Decor

     Here's what the whole outdoor setup looked like this year.  The eyeball path markers came from Kmart years ago.  The gnomes were a Christmas gift from Brian's mom a few years ago.  She got them from Oriental Trading.  The rest of the stuff you'll see in greater detail below, so I'll put in links there.

     Here's the door.  I didn't have a good way to display the Wayton manor sign, so I used a twist tie to fasten it to the old mailbox.  My eyeball wreath made an appearance again this year.  I also put up my spooky doorbell from Target and the jack o'lantern lights Brian got me from Rite Aid a few years back.

     Next up is my favorite part of my Halloween decor, my Halloween cemetery.  The cemetery has been gradually expanding and this year I decide it was finally time to make a second row of stones.  Since I'd been leaning my handmade stones against the house previously, I didn't have a way to get them to stand.  I used toothpicks and that held them up for a while, although they were no match for the strong gusts of wind we had that day.  By the end of the party, most if not all of them had toppled.
     If you're looking to make some foam tombstones, check out these posts.  It's kind of hard to see, but my eerie graveyard bouquet is in front of Ada Lillian's stone.  My cemetery angel ended up all the way at the back, next to the small gravestones which are hidden from view by the taller tombstones.  Two of the other stones, the fencing, and some of the bones came in this Halloween cemetery kit from Target.  The other two visible stones I picked up at Dollar Tree a while back.  The "haunted: keep out" tape I picked up at A.C. Moore on clearance a couple of years back, but I also got some from Kmart last year (when we still had a Kmart in this area).  If you look closely, you can see my haunted hedge eyes (from Target) peeking out from behind the tombstone with a bat at the top.  The bat gate posts at the ends of the fence came from Dollar Tree.  They had some purple and red paint on them which I thought was kind of awkward looking, so I painted them black.

     Here's my "beware of werewolf" display.  As far as Halloween displays go, this one was relatively easy to make and people tend to like it.

Indoor Decor

     We don't have a lot of room in our apartment, so when it comes time to put out Halloween decorations, I throw some fabric over the printers and storage containers and put the decorations on top.  Here you'll see the spellbook I made a couple of years ago with my Silhouette CAMEO (I describe the process a little in this post) and my haunted mirror.  The spooky radio is a new addition.  I had seen it at Target last year, but it sold out in store before I had a chance to get one.  I ordered one online, but it wasn't going to arrive until after Halloween, so it became part of my Christmas present from Brian :).  Turn the knob and you'll hear quirky ads, song snippets, and news bulletins.  It's so fun and it has become one of my favorite Halloween decorations.  The spooky telephone is also from Target and that's another fun prop.  The lenticular portrait came from Rite Aid and its frame from the Orono Thrift Shop (if you scroll to the bottom of this post, I talk about reframing store bought lenticulars).  The little blue bottle is an antique poison bottle my dad gave me.

     Here you'll see my murderous dolls, my creepy rag doll, and my gingerbread zombie.  If you've seen last year's post, you'll notice that only a couple of the lenticulars that I usually have as part of this setup are featured here.  I needed more room for the dolls, so I moved the other lenticulars to the wall.  To cover this storage container, I threw my tie dyed sheet over it and then covered the sheet with some cloth I'd gotten from Dollar Tree.

     Here's my potions shelf.  If you're looking to make some potions, you'll find ideas in these posts.  The eyeball beakers and test tubes came from Target.  I filled each one with water and added a few drops of food coloring.  I also made a couple of last minute potion bottles and added some glass bottles my parents had given me to fill out the shelf.  There's the trophy Brian and I won last year for best couples costume up toward the top.  My pom pom pals are also paling around on the shelves.  The candle came from Kohl's ages ago.  The book of spells and potions I made this year.  I don't think I'll have a chance to write about it this Halloween season, but I hope to get a post out on it for next year.

     These are some figurines my mom got me from A.C. Moore years ago.

     This year I added some decorations to the fridge door.  I actually managed to get the Halloween countdown calendar and its Halloween clothespins set up on October 1st and so far Brian and I have been remembering to turn them over each day.  The radiation hazard sign I made using my CAMEO.  I plan to post the template next year, along with the template for the biohazard sign I put on my bedroom door.

     Felt sleepy bat and my Halloween sign ended up back at the edge of the hallway again this year.

     Here's the biohazard sign I mentioned earlier.

     I ended up decorating the bathroom too this year, using some of the decorations from my The Shining themed birthday party.  The door became room 217 (from Stephen King's book.  If you're a fan of Stanley Kubrick's movie, you'll know this as room 237).

     Inside the bathroom across from the mirror I put up the letters spelling out "redrum" . . .

. . . which you'll see what it means if you look in the mirror.  I put the invite I made on the sink (to see the invite in more detail, check out this post).  It got a drop of water splashed on it, but it should be easy to reprint for next year if I want to go with the same theme.

     I tucked the roque mallet in beside the bathtub.

Costume Contest

     Unfortunately I didn't think to take many pictures during the party, so you'll only see a handful of them here.  In addition to the pictures below, we had Rick from Rick and Morty, a werewolf, and a zebra.

     "Most creative costume" went to Katie for her "it's raining cats and dogs" costume.  In the background, you can see my plushie garland hanging over the entryway.

     Jacob won "best costume" with his Buckethead costume.

     Brian and I won the "best couples/group costume" award for our dark sorcerer and witch get ups.  Like my look?  Check out the following links for how to make the cape and hat, the broom pendant, and the magic wand.  You can't really see my top in this pic, but it's by Dare to Wear fashion and it's pretty awesome.

     Here Katie and Jacob are with their trophies.  Brian and I didn't get a pic with ours, but you can see it in this post.

     Well, that about sums up my Halloween party 2017.  I hope you can find some ideas in here for your Halloween get together.

Haunted House Sign

     Any house can be a haunted manor this Halloween season.  Why "Wayton" Manor?  The "way" is for Hathaway and "ton"is for Toner.  I don't like cutting craft foam (and if you're like me, I definitely would recommend buying foam letters instead of cutting them out by hand), so "Hathaway-Toner Manor" would have been too tedious for me.

Materials:

*Picture frame
*Foam letters
*Foam Halloween shapes (optional)
*Bronze colored paint
*Paintbrush
*Black cardstock

Directions:

*Remove the glass and cardboard backing from the picture frame.

*Paint the frame and the foam letters, as well as any Halloween shapes you'd like to include on your sign, a bronze color (I mixed black and brown paints with a gold paint to achieve the color I used).  Let dry.

*Place the black cardstock inside the photo frame, in between the frame and the glass.

*Arrange the letters and shapes on your sign as you wish and then adhere them to the cardstock.

DIY Halloween Potions

     These Halloween potions are easy to make and work with any witch or Harry Potter themed Halloween setup.  Need more potion ideas?  Check out these Pet Sematary inspired potions, glittery potion bottles, Halloween potion pendants, "Magic of Christmas" ornament, and this nebula in a bottle.  Between all of these ideas, you may find some inspiration.

Halloween Potion Labels

If you're not familiar with the process of staining paper with coffee to make it look aged, check out my Halloween potion pendants tutorial to find out how to give paper that aged look.

Phantasma

Materials:

*Glass vial
*Stuffing
*Coffee-stained "aged" paper
*Black gel pen
*Hole punch
*Twine

Directions:

*Take a small amount of stuffing and separate it out until it looks wispy.  Place wisps of stuffing into the bottle until it is full and then close off the bottle.

*Cut a tag from the "aged" paper.  Punch a hole in the top.  Label the tag "Phantasma" or "Ghost in a Bottle" or whatever seems fitting.

*Tie the tag around the bottle's neck using twine.

Faerie Skulls

Materials:

*Glass bottle
*Skull beads
*Coffee-stained "aged" paper
*Black gel pen
*Hole punch
*Twine

Directions:

*Pour skull shaped beads into the bottle and then close the bottle.  Try to maneuver the beads such that the hole through the middle is not noticeable.

*Cut a tag from the "aged" paper.  Punch a hole in the top.  Label the tag "Faerie Skulls" or whatever seems fitting.

*Tie the tag around the bottle's neck using twine.

Nightmares

This potion is just a full sized version of the "Nightmares" potion pendant I made a few years back.

Materials:

*Glass vial
*Black glitter
*Coffee-stained "aged" paper
*Black gel pen
*Hole punch
*Twine

Directions:

*Pour glitter into the vial and then cork the vial.

*Cut a tag from the "aged" paper.  Punch a hole in the top.  Label the tag "Nightmares."

*Tie the tag around the bottle's neck using twine.

Love Potion

Materials:

*Glass vial
*White glitter
*Small, heart shaped sequins/spangles
*Coffee-stained "aged" paper
*Black gel pen
*Hole punch
*Twine

Directions:

*Fill the vial about halfway with white glitter.

*Add some heart spangles and shake until the hearts and glitter are well mixed.  Add more glitter and hearts until you have the desired ratio of the two.  Cork the vial.

*Cut a tag from the "aged" paper.  Punch a hole in the top.  Label the tag "Love Potion."

*Tie the tag around the bottle's neck using twine.