A holiday Reunion-All the Feels

New commercial out reuniting Elliot and E.T. This was a beloved movie for me and my sister.

Happy Turkey Day everyone.

Video

Link to Youtube is here. The dining room and a few extra photos were added to the Halloween album.

Pumpkin Lights

Sorry for the gap in posting.

The pumpkins lights were a success. They have 4 LED's with a subtle flicker effect. They looked bright for 2 weeks at 6 hours a night. I changed most of the batteries a few days before Halloween so they would show up in photos. They would have made it 3 weeks only much dimmer.

The down side is they do take 3 AAA batteries. Even with recycling that is a lot of batteries used. I bought them in mega packs of 72 on Amazon. Most of the lights came from Amazon. Tried to pay $4 each only as Halloween got closer the price kept going up. The light pucks come in a solid white case or orange. Both colors are the same lights and the white ones are cheaper at Halloween. They measure 3 3/4 inches. Search for Pumpkin Lights and they come up under multiple sellers on Amazon.

The lights worked well and looked good. Bright light for at least 2 weeks. The pucks are being used year round in candle holders and lanterns. The remote control is the biggest selling point. Turning 20 lights on and off instantly is such a time saver. The lights are not water proof. A ZipLoc bag worked to keep them dry.

Video Clips

The final video editing is still in progress. Two quick clips. More photos are up in the Halloween Album. A few more interior and exterior photos are in the pile to edit. A good portion of the Halloween decor is stored. The post Halloween blues have set in.

Trying to go back and comment in blogs about the various Halloween activities and decor!

The Foyer

This house has a rare triple fireplace configuration. The entryway/Foyer, the parlor, and the living room fireplaces make a triangle and all share the same chimney. The fireplace in the entryway is the smallest. It is offset by a giant mirror. Great for taking photos of reflections.

More images of the Foyer is the Halloween Album.

Jack-O-Lanterns

Halloween 2019 Video

Low resolution video of a walk up and around of the front porch. My spouse shot the professional house video and is still editing it. You get a glimpse of the back of the scarecrows glowing head.

The head count

Mr. Old Fashion Halloween brought home the clicker used to count the audience at the theater. The official total was 171 kids. That did not include all the adults who came up to the porch to visit. We talked to people who had lived in our house and one gal who has photos from the 1950s!

Pretty good turn out for a very cold weeknight Halloween. Halloween falling on a Saturday next year might bring much bigger numbers. Absolutely exhausted. Tomorrow night we will take video footage. It was just too busy tonight. I should have more photos going up on the weekend. Hope you all had a great night!

Happy Halloween

Quick camera shot, side of house, as the sun was setting.

Yet, another neighbor telling us how much candy they go through in one night. Made a store run to buy a 350 piece bag to add to the pile! Now, I just need to sort out my costume and set up the candy buckets. Have a safe and happy halloween!

Zombie love

The make up and photos are really well done. The love and sense of humor in this family is what made me smile. Parenting done right! I wonder if it is too late to be adopted?

Witches

Great display in the neighborhood!

Plastic dress/body with a loose weave fabric shawl. Lovely pointy hats!

If the wind lets up I will try to get a better night photo.

Front of House

First run at shooting photos at night. This was my favorite. The windows up top now have a new flickering lights sequence programmed to slowly flicker up and down. Photos will eventually all be in the Halloween album here.

We had a group wearing light reflective vests and carrying flashlights last night. It was 11 and the lights were all off. We try to be respectful of neighbors and shut down between 9-10. The flashlights startled me so I stuck my head out the door and said give me a minute. Flipped the front of house on and used the remote to light all the pumpkins! Got a big thank you!

Update: At 11:15 pm tonight the security camera alerted me that someone was on our porch. You have to climb a lot of steps to get up to our porch. A woman dressed in black with a knit hat is on the footage with her back mostly to the camera. I think she was just looking at the lanterns hanging on our porch up close. Still, that is a little creepy doing it late at night dressed in black!

The stare off

The googly eye portrait I picked up at the garage sale and the matchbox cover. Part of my parlor/office mantel display.

Had a bit of real scare today. Chest pains so severe I decided not to risk it and went to the ER. Got the all clear after a lot of tests.

Mentioned I was bummed to not make the Zombie walk tonight to the tech that took me for a chest X-ray. She said she was going. Once she found out I was a costumer she asked for help with her sons Halloween costume! A conversation on adhesives, foam floor mats, duct tape, and yarn ensued. She was so grateful for the help and I was so happy to have the distraction!

Left Overs

There were so many different Terracotta pumpkins and statuary this year! It took trips to 3 different stores to get photos. There were strange ghosts that kept ducking out of camera range. Larger photos are in the Halloween album.

Behind the Scenes

Looking at the back of the left section of carved Funkins.

The shelf is from a Lowe's shelving unit. Zip tied to the porch railing. The Funkins are light so not much weight for the shelf to support. Used all the falling leaves to tuck in-between the Funkins. Remote control lights so I can just walk behind each section and turn off the lights.

All the Funkins have a hole in the bottom for drainage. Hot glued a strip of wood inside the hole. Zip tied or tied with twine over the strip of wood to attach the Funkins to the shelf. Heavy wind and rain last week and everything stayed put!

Right side shelf of Funkins facing carved side out to street.

Witch House 2019

The same fun house I love to photograph every year!

New this year was webbing and birds. A lot of little black birds! The faux boarded up house detail is often over looked with all the other eye candy.

Looks like a Minion got caught in the web!

Fortune telling boxes

Found these cute little slide boxes locally. You can choose mints or matches. The magic, fortune teller, and palmistry boxes can be found here. Mixing them in to my display. Love the boxes as small gifts for the holidays.

Blue Gel

Quick phone camera shot. We have 2 big vanity lights that light up the side of the house at night. Tonight we covered both lights with deep blue theater gel. It really makes a nice contrast to the cheery warm pumpkins. The window with the dancing skeletons looks better too.

Still testing and tweaking things for the big day. 2 new path lights will hopefully help with any tripping hazards. Hard enough when you have a mask on trying to navigate. A big heavy rubber mat from the basement will cover a spot where the bricks don't match evenly.

Lanterns

Dining room

It feels like fall. I was bundled up for an evening walk. A lot of lookers tonight and a genuine fascination with the Funkins. Everyone thinks they are real pumpkins!

Halloween Tree Ideas

This article features several clever Halloween tree designs. We keep saying we will have a Nightmare Before Christmas theme one year that will stay up through Christmas. Christmas merchandise has just about edged out Halloween in the stores now.

Remote control lights were added to all the paper lanterns on the porch. We had a surprise storm last night and everything still looked good. I did zip tie down 2 of the pumpkins. Wind was strong this afternoon and everything stayed put!

Tomorrow I tackle the dining room! It looks like a Halloween store piled high on the dining table table right now. Started dumping out boxes to find decorations.

Projections

We are using a projection in one window this year. Purchased a download from Atmosfx. They have all kinds of seasonal imagery. We chose the dancing dead from the Bone Chiller collection.

The projector is from TotalHomeFX. Target was selling a projector and blue tooth speaker for halloween maybe 4 or 5 years ago. $130 and we bought it at 75% off after Halloween.

The skeletons are dancing in an upstairs window. I will post video of it running.

We are apparently attracting a bit of attention. Most of the decor went live tonight. We met more neighbors, for the first time, tonight! There is a neighborhood Halloween Parade that starts at 5 pm! We were told to expect 300 kids! Feeling a bit overwhelmed. Working on safety lighting now. Giant cement stairs and then a wood staircase to get to our door.

Scary Clown Pumpkin and Lights

Worn out from setting up the yard today. Decided to make a run to Lowe's and grab a Beyond burger on the way. Carl's Jr. has IT theme drink cups. The manager said an employee painted the IT pumpkin. They did a pretty good job!

Funkins are attached to the porch railing. Lights are waterproof, fingers crossed, in plastic bags. We get so much rain it can be a challenge to keep things dry. I can't even begin to express the joy of turning on/off 20 lit Jack-O-Lanterns with a remote! Made an investment in 20 LED flicker lights. Plan to write up a review of how they worked out after Halloween.

Carving patterns

If you need Jack-O-lantern carving patterns The Pumpkin Lady has a massive collection of great patterns by theme.

Free patterns you can print. Resize before you print to fit the shape of the pumpkin. We usually like to freehand draw designs only we had 21 Funkins to carve this year! I was trying to express to Mr. Old Fashion Halloween a design. Searched for an image and found it at the Pumpkin Lady patterns! Her witch and cat patterns are my favorites.

Blow Mold Cuteness

Only one of the Fred Meyer stores had these blow mold figures. Sadly, none of them were plugged in.

Growing up with the plastic lights it was nice to see something new. In the 70s we had the black and orange beauties like this collection.

This collection was at the Vince Wood Farms pumpkin patch.

City Flowers Halloween

Starting with evil clowns and darkness. Oh, wait we have normal stuff too and will pan the camera by the fall candles! Tiny store packed with so much Halloween goodness.

October

The halloween Tree is up! New tea lights with a timer. The brand is youngerbaby 24 pcs flameless amber tea lights and they sell on Amazon for $11.99 a set. One of the best investments for Halloween! I used to turn on all 24 candles by hand in the tiny lanterns.

We have lights and we have Funkins ready to go. Forgot about all the triple A batteries needed to power the new pumpkin lights. Fingers crossed the pumpkins could be up on Friday night.

Running behind. Washing the porch tomorrow and then the light strings and decor will start going up!

Light Strands, Signs, and Panic!

This LED light string from Walmart really impressed me. They look more like carnival lights with the round shape and warm color. The purple strands are harder to find. If you can find them.

Three Walmarts in town all with different inventory. Found these tin signs that are a really good buy at $4.88. Great graphics with a little faux distressing as part of the image.

Alrighty then, on to the panic! October arrives on Tuesday and I am so behind with the decorating. The first problem is we moved. I can't find boxes of the Halloween decor or it was moved to a new box not in my memory files.

The second is my back. The great herniated disc debacle of 2017 has returned. Steroid shots, physical therapy, and swearing are keeping me upright. Hence, the panic!

Feeling the pressure as everyone is expecting great things with the new house. Honestly, we are still living out of boxes in 2 rooms. The down side of selling the old furniture and not finding new pieces yet. We are enjoying the hunt at estate sales. On the plus side, we do have nearly all the Funkins carved. The Halloween Tree went up tonight! Fingers and eyeballs crossed the rest of you are on schedule with Halloween preparations.

The terracotta pumpkins 2019

The new batch at Fred Meyer in Oregon and Washington. Lowe's and Home Depot usually have smaller versions.

Mystical and Celestial Halloween

Fred Meyer has a gorgeous line pf products featuring this cat in the crescent moon.

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The light string features the images on the dishes, tray, and pillows. One of the prettier lines out there this year. The constellation pumpkins are similar to the ones at Grand In Road. More photos in the Halloween Album.

Ghost in the Mirror

Found via a My Modern Met article. I really like the male ghost in the mirror. The artists etsy site is filed with gorgeous sculptures.