...Last of the details

Well this post is just sort of a wrap up of the zombiefication process.

 Made some little brain matter barrettes to nestle into my hair. This was just one plastic brain that I bought from the dollar store and ripped up into smaller bits. I tried hot gluing the clips on but it didn't work the best so for some of them I just used a couple of stitches to tack it down.

 I made this 'wooden finger' out of an plastic glove and masking tape. A little brown paint on top and it will serve it's purpose well. (Although it did fall apart towards the end of the night.)

 Zombie makeup case.

 Zombied! The night before the crawl I shredded up my items and added paint for mud and blood. This way I got really good coverage for my bloody look but it was not messy at all! All I had to do was my hair and makeup the day of.

My 'handbag' with the extra fingers glued to it...see what I did there? Handbag. Hahhahahaha.

Almost ready...

The last couple days have been a bit of a mad scramble to make sure everything is zombified as possible. Tonight is going to be epic.

 Alteration of glove.

 The outfit in the official 'before' photo.

 First things first. Before blood and rips and mud you need to make your costume as functional as possible. This means adding pockets. Events like Zombie Pub Crawl are super fun but they are also long and you are probably not going to be heading back to your 'home base' anytime soon. Even though this coat has pockets on the outside I wanted to add one on the inside for things like my ID and cash. (Just for the record, who else thinks it is kinda pointless to ID someone when they are in full zombie getup?) Anywhoo I put on the coat and marked where I wanted my pocket to be (for me this was somewhere below my bust line- I don't need to be adding any more bulk up there). Then I just cut a piece of scrap fabric to the approximate size and sewed on three sides.

 It does not have to look good! But it does need to actually hold stuff. Pockets will make  your life so much better. Make sure you have plenty and remember when you get the the 'slashing' stage to be careful not to cut through your uber handy pocket.

 Speaking of hands... I wanted to make Margot's signature barrette zombie-esque. So I bought a pack of severed fingers at the dollar store and used a plain hair clip I had in my craft stash.

 The fingers actually kind of freaked me out! The unused fingers are going to be incorporated into my costume as well...waste not...

The final clip. I ended up sewing it on because the hot glue wasn't really working for me. Again the sewing of this fake plastic finger kinda grossed me out. Apparently I am not really made for this type of work!

Now off to finish aging and bloody-ing. The crawl is tonight! Stagger forth my fellow zombies!

Be safe and happy Z-Day!

They are coming...

...Zombies that is.  Last year a group of us went to the Zombie Pub Crawl in Minneapolis, MN. 

This year they are going 'all city' and having a dual crawl in both Minneapolis and St. Paul. After much deliberation we have decided to go with the St. Paul crawl. You could buy a wristband to both (and it includes transport between them) but we decided that one city was more than enough last year. And since we already did the Minneapolis thing last year we decided change is good...also the Guinness World Record attempt is happening in St. Paul. At 8pm this Saturday we are all going to be part of the attempt to break the record for the most zombies in a single place! A horde of the living dead. What do we want? BRAINNNNNNSSSSSSSSS. Epic good times ahead.

Of course I take the threat of zombie invasion pretty seriously. I consider every zombie movie I have ever seen to all be part of my training. The pub crawl is a fun way to take all of our (very real) fears and have some fun with it! Some people will get really self-righteous and say that "you shouldn't dress up as a 'fun' zombie as it ruins the authenticity of the crawl". Um? Authenticity? If this was a real thing people would be running for the hills and not to the next watering hole. The best part of the pub crawl is seeing all the super creative zombies out there. Why would I want to just be myself as a zombie? Boring, and may happen some day on its own. This year I predict a high number of Amy Winehouse zombies.

Last year I had a mini-break-down over my costume. I was going to go as 'Mary Poppins Zombie' and I was intensely invested in that idea for like a week. Then the weather was supposed to be really warm so I ended up going as Marie Antoinette Zombie. It all makes sense...trust me. But this year? What to be? I seriously considered Care-Bear Zombie but the lack of pockets and the added difficulty of peeing in a porta potty while wearing a onesie won that argument for  itself. Then I thought about returning to the Poppins idea but I couldn't make myself love it. So now I am going as Margot Tenenbaum zombie. Mostly because I love her.

Don't see it?

 How about now?

Haha. Well here is what I have thus far:

 

Dress, coat, bag. All thrifted. Still need: Blond wig, shoes I can destroy, and pink gloves. And of course some much needed zombifying!

Halloween Shopping

Not to be confused with 'Halloween Thrifting' this post is about things bought at a plain old store. Of course most of this haul was from the dollar store. There is something strangely satisfying by getting an entire shopping basket full of skulls and severed hands...

I was a little mad that I found 'grow your own body parts' at the dollar store. You may remember from an earlier post that I bought some at the craft store for $2 each! Boo. But this way I stocked up a bit. Also 'grabbed' a couple more severed hands (get it!) some severed fingers, a brain, a heart, 'spooky curtain' and the good old bag of cheap plastic spider rings! Good stuff. Some will be used for decor and other stuff will be used for this weekend's zombie costume. Oh yes, I said ZOMBIE COSTUME. Zombie pub crawl is this weekend and going to be just as epic as last year! (Ok, it could be a little less epic..)

Annnnnnndddddd I spent too much at the fabric store. Got some super cute stamps for a buck each but then I splurged on some vintage-inspired Halloween fabric. Projects to follow : )

Happy Haunting!!!

Soundtrack to Haunt By

Oh internet!!!!! LOVE!!!! Pretty much the greatest website ever for those of you who love Halloween.

Halloween Hits is an amazing collection of Halloween music. A new compilation comes out every year! But hurry! The website goes down on Nov. 1st not to return again until next year. Check out past collections as well. I am listening to the 2011 set right now.

Halloween Thrifting!

Only October 3rd and I have fallen off the wagon....missed a post yesterday but I was not idle! I got a few of my outdoor decorations up.

 Got the little skeleton guys up and the windsock and wind chime. Later this week I will be sharing a dollar store outdoor craft.

 

If you look closely you will see an unhappy fat cat sitting in the window. Unhappy kitty apparently does not like Halloween. 

Also I have been trying to be a bit more budget conscious this year so I have been hitting the thrift stores for some Halloween goodness.

This haul is the result of a couple of trips to a certain thrift store. Mondays they have 25% off all of their used merch so I go and stock up! Most of the pumpkin buckets were about 50 cents! Now you can get these in a plethora of colors at Target for a buck but I am enjoying getting different sizes and levels of wear. The little monster figures look like they originally clicked into something and lit up. I just liked them I might try to take off their little caps on the bottoms to see if I can get them to illuminate. 

Not Halloween, but just good thrift stuff. Two more pie plates (good lord I have sooo many of these!) A couple of old books. A silver plated cake platter with server and an old orange tupperware set. My mom has one just like this but green.

Happy October!!!!!!!

The best month of the year is with us again! Welcome to the 31 days of Halloween on the RubyMarilyn blog! The 'plan' is to have as many Halloween related posts as possible including some fun crafting ideas for the spookiest holiday!

Today we begin with a month-long series of My Halloween pictures. These pictures are a record of my Halloween History. So flip through those old albums and cuddle up to a scanner and share your own!

Three year old me on Halloween day posing with our pumpkins. Ah the good old days before I had a sister. We just had three pumpkins back then and this was our first year in the house that I grew up in. The two smaller pumpkins were smashed that year. It had to have been by some pretty young kids because they couldn't lift my dad's pumpkin off the steps (it just looked like they tried to move it and failed). Nothing is sadder to a kid than a smashed pumpkin and I remember being pretty upset. Since that night we never again put our pumpkins on those front steps but kept them by the back door (that we always used) to keep a closer eye on them.

So much to do still this month! Parties to plan, costumes to make, and yes pumpkins to carve. Time to get after it!

Shout out to Katie and James on their wedding day- I will be celebrating with you in a couple of hours!!!

Happy Haunting everyone!