Halloween Artists Newsletter - October/November 2007
HA31 Krampus Art Event!
Find some devilishly cool Krampus art this holiday season!
Our HA31 artists are whipping up some wicked good art and
collectibles for our super special Krampus Eve art auctions
on ebay!
Read More...
If you're a Halloween lover, the season usually finds us in a
fiendishly frantic race to complete projects, greet guests
and decorate the
house. And of course,
there's creating art!
Take time to relax
and enjoy your favorite season! Try Great Grandma's Perfect
Popcorn Balls. Whip up your own creepy flesh using home
ingredients! Make our fast and easy Spider Web Cake for
the perfect spooky desert at home. Have fun with little ones
and craft some silly spiders. Share some favorite Halloween
tips and memories. Pour a cup of cocoa or cider, breathe in those scents
of pumpkins and crackling leaves and ENJOY!
Spider Web Cake
Ingredients:
One pkg. Chocolate or Spice Cake Mix
One Can Prepared White Frosting
Butter knife or Wooden Pick
For Spiders:
Large Black Gumdrop & Black Licorice Whips OR
Peppermint patty & Red Licorice Whips OR
Chocolate Doughnut Hole & Black Pipe Cleaners
Making the Cake:
Bake the cake according to package directions. Let cool
and remove both layers from pans.
Place first layer upside down on cake plate or cake board.
Frost top of cake and place second layer right side up.
Frost entire cake with chocolate frosting.
Making the Spider Web:
Using white frosting, make 4 to 5 concentric circles
from the center of the cake outward, starting small and
ending about 1 inch from the cake's edge. It should look
like you've drawn a bull's eye on the top of your cake.
Now draw a butter knife or wooden pick carefully from the
cake center outward like the spokes of a wheel. This will
pull the white frosting out to resemble a real spider web.
About 8 lines will make an authentic-looking web.
Making the Spiders:
Gumdrop Spider: Cut 6 one inches pieces of the black
licorice whip. Poke 3 holes on each side of a large black
gumdrop and insert licorice "legs". Plop the spider on your
wonderful web cake.
Mint Patty Spider: Cut 6 one inch pieces of the red
licorice whip. Place a small mint patty on your cake,
pressing slightly into the frosting to hold. Add 3 red
licorice pieces to each side of the mint patty. Pipe a
little reserved white frosting onto the mint patty for eyes.
Doughnut Hole Spider: Cut 6 one inch pieces of black
pipecleaner. Form each one into a rounded "L" shape. Insert
3 pipecleaner pieces into each side of a chocolate doughnut
hole. Place spider on your cake.
Halloween Basket Tip
I
make my son "Halloween baskets" kinda like Easter baskets or
Christmas stockings.
I fill plastic "trick-or-treating"
pumpkin totes with Halloween items like noise makers,
magazines, some candy, and all around useless but very fun
stuff.
I display the items as best I can, then add tissue in
the colors of what their costumes are.
I give it to him just
before he goes out dressed up in his costume and take lots
of photos! Very fun for him and me both!
- submitted by Flora Thompson, Bone*Head*Studios
Craft your own lifelike flesh effects!
Here is a cheap trick to craft your own lifelike flesh
effects and most of the ingredients can be found in your
home. This is a topical application so a spot test is
recommended if you (or the person who plans to wear it) have
allergies to food dye or gelatin. For the spot test: mix a
¼ tsp of Knox gelatin, a drop of food coloring and a few
drops of warm water, stir to a soupy consistency and place a
drop on the inside of the wrist. If there is
no reaction within a few hours, peel it off & get started.
Your end product will be flexible & forgiving so be
creative!
Ingredients:
1-2 pkts of unflavored Knox gelatin
red & blue food coloring
warm water
parchment or wax paper
a plastic knife or spoon
foundation makeup (liquid & powder base)
paint or makeup brushes
eye shadow or brown eyebrow pencil
alcohol or baby wipes
Optional supplies (actually this list is only limited
by your imagination so use whatever your crafty little heart
can come up with, but here are a few suggestions to get you
started):
needle & black thread
safety pins (any size)
fake bugs, etc.
1. Clean the skin with alcohol or baby wipes where
you plan to put the 'flesh' to remove any oils that may
prevent the 'flesh' from adhering.
2. Mix a packet of Knox gelatin with a few drops of
red food coloring, a drop of blue and a few drops of warm
water (tip: the warmer the water the longer the time you
have to work with it) until you have the consistency of
corn syrup.
3. Put the gelatin 'flesh' onto the skin or onto wax
or parchment paper in the length & width of your 'wound' and
set it aside to
set up. When it reaches the consistency of a gummy worm it
is ready.
4. Mix another batch without color, spoon this out
onto the edges of the colored wound. This will be the fleshy
part of the wound. Make sure the uncolored mix touches the
colored mix so they will adhere to one another.
5. Next, a small runny batch of the gelatin & water
should be mixed to act as glue. (This step is not necessary
if you've created your 'wound' directly on the skin.) Smear
the glue onto the spot where you want the wound to
stick. Carefully peel the wound creation from the wax paper
and place it atop the glued area of skin.
6. Dust the uncolored portion of the wound with the
face powder, then pat the liquid foundation into this
same uncolored portion to blend with your skin. The ridge
(place where the colored & uncolored portions meet) of the
wound can be detailed with the eyebrow pencil or eye
shadow.
7. Once finished, you can embellish your wound (being
careful to avoid touching the makeup) with pins or
stitching, being mindful of course that you do not stick
yourself in the process. If you are really feeling
adventurous, a small balloon filled with red corn syrup
attached to fish tank tubing will allow your wound to ooze
blood. Again, the possibilities are limitless, just use your
imagination. Most importantly; have fun, stay safe and have
a Happy Halloween.
- submitted by Josie Ditzler, SkeletonInMyCloset
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Craft a Spider from a Bulb!
Lots of giggles will ensue when you whip up a batch of
these spiderlings from old decorative bulbs, pipe cleaners
and a little paint! Click
here for free project.
Ahhhh, Halloween Memories...
"One of my favorite Halloweens was back in my teens
(hey, that rhymes!). It was the first time I ever went out
with friends just to play tricks, rather than beg for candy.
We had a wonderful time soaping windows, throwing small
stones onto porches to startle the occupants and doing minor
"bad things" like hiding rakes in trees and ringing
doorbells and then running like mad giggling all the way. It
was perfect Halloween weather, too - there was a full moon
and a chilly breeze and as we walked, the crunch of leaves
underfoot...all combined to make it a Halloween to
remember!"
- D. A. Sweigart, Grim Prim Studio
"I grew up on a farm where houses are few and far
between. Our large family didn't have much money to
spend on store bought Halloween costumes, so each year we would
make our own, nothing fancy. We usually just took paper
grocery bags (before everything went to plastic) and cut
holes out for eyes and mouth and then decorated the bag with
paint or crayons, added string or buttons with glue, just
anything we could think of to out-do each other. They were
pretty hideous looking.....but then, that was the idea!
It was a long walk between houses and everyone gave out
pretty much the same things, popcorn balls, apples, sugar
daddies and sometimes homemade fudge. That was the best! By
the time we got home from the long walk, our treats were
pretty much GONE!
I do remember one year we just didn't feel like making a
paper mask so we took some of mom's nylon knee-high
stockings. We just carried them until we got to the house
and then pulled them over our heads, went to the door and
shouted Trick or Treat!
I dare not even think of what could happen to someone that
would try that in this day and age!"
- Shirley Olsen, Auby-Doby
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Great Grandma Ora Ingraham's Popcorn Balls
1-1 1/2 Cups unpopped popcorn
3 Cups Sugar
1 Cup White Karo Syrup
2/3 Cup Apple Cider Vinegar
1/3 Cup water
1/2 pound Butter
1 Tablespoon Vanilla
Pop Popcorn and set aside.
Boil Sugar, Karo, Vinegar and water to thread stage. (Very
important you don't under or over cook thread stage or
popcorn balls will not form into balls or will break your
teeth)
Remove from heat, add butter and vanilla. Pour on popped
popcorn. Gently stir well. Cool slightly and then press into
balls. (tip for forming balls, use food service gloves
covered with butter- can get gloves from deli counter at
most grocery stores)
- submitted by Mellisa Ingraham, Adore the Seasons
Don't forget to walk the halls of our Haunted House!
It's a spooky interactive graphic with lots of fun
animations PLUS a whole gallery of our favorite artwork,
with links on each page to each artist's ebay auctions this
month! Click here to
browse!
Till next month, have a Happy
and Artsy Halloween season!
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