Moving Along

Sorry I haven't posted in a bit. I have been busy with modifying plans, building props and trying to keep dry.  Calgary has seen a lot of rain this summer and it has really affected everything from being able to work and build outside to how I am feeling from one day to the next. 

So, lets get this show on the road and give you a quick preview of what I am working on.  First, I have written a back story for the haunt which, of course, called for new props to bring it all together.  I started with new tombstones.

While working on them, I went into our shed looking for my Surform Shaver. I never found the shaver but met Mr. Mouse. He should have been a little gray mouse but due to munching on the bird seed I had left in there, he was a pretty big mouse.  This meant we now had to pull everything out of the shed  to clean up the mess and bleach it down.  During this process I discovered that several of my old tombstones had been used as nests. It was suggested that I keep them and just chalk up the damage to age and wear but I could not find any real reason a piece of  'stone' would have a perfectly round hole in it. Off to the dump they went.

Now I had to replace them. On the bad side was the extra work (and cost) I wasn't counting on.  On the good side -  I could remake them better than they were before.  When I first made tombstones I used the white Styrofoam and trenched out the backs to add PVC that would slide over rebar. This always meant they could only really be seen from the front.  My new tombstones have the PVC in the middle so now I don't really need to worry about which direction they are seen from.  More flexibility in setting up the graveyard. I am also using a combination of pink and white Styrofoam. More expensive  pink for the carved front and cheaper white for the backs.  In all I will have about 9 new tombstones this year. 

Next I decided I needed to replace my witches' old spell book.  My original was carved out of white Styrofoam.  The cover was just a piece of construction paper.  The open pages were printed out and glued to the inside of the open book.  Then I Mod-Podged the entire thing to make is a bit more resistant to the elements - which around our neck of the woods is usually snow.

Well, that old book is now looking a bit worse for wear so I decided to do up a new one.  I am still working on it but this is what I have so far.

I started with some old legal size paper that was lying around my house.  I folded sections of it in half.  Then I put them in a pile.  I had an idea of what I wanted to do but decided to google and see if I could find some actual info on building a book.  I loosely followed the instructions on

http://geekygoblin.blogspot.ca/2011/07/binding-book-pages-together-sewing.html


I also sew so I went through some old material and found some left over white broadcloth and grabbed a needle and thread. Then following the instructions on the above blog, sewed the pages together.  I now have the basics of a book. 

My next step is to find some cardboard to build the cover and attach it. I will then press the book open and glue the spell pages I created and printed into the middle. Then I think I will antique the entire thing. Lastly, I will either Mod-Podge it or pick up some clear Leak Seal and spray the entire thing to protect it.  I also don't want the pages to close while people are walking through the haunt.

A few other projects I have been working on are: getting the back story finalized to be posted, a couple of promo videos, a stirring cauldron, a flying crank ghost, building a prop wood stove, a few more wall frames, and a few more sections of fence.

I think that is it for now. Keep an eye out for my back story which I will be posting soon. 

Happy Haunting!