We're getting closer and closer to the big day. I'm both excited and nervous at the same time. There is SO much to do. The carving starts tomorrow, but today I spent my afternoon and evening making arms. Doesn't that sound like a blast? Well...when you have full-bodied characters you can't just leave them without appendages.
Last year, I saved the arms following the Pumpkin Massacre. I didn't know if I'd use them again, but I did know that they were a giant pain in the butt to make. I'm really glad I saved them. Having them handy meant I only had to make four new sets.
If you want to know how to make these babies, I did a quick tutorial last year...plus there's a bonus...it's on the post with my jambalaya recipe.
So...I still needed arms for the mummy, Frankenstein, the zombie and the skeleton. Using my basic idea of the hangers from last year, I modified the original version to create three different specialized arm types. Okay...specialized kind of makes them sound more fancy than they are...
For the mummy, I used the same foundation as the original arms. Instead of the filled gloves, I wadded up a couple of the "lost socks" from our pile in the utility and stuck them on the ends. To keep the mummy theme going, I wrapped the entire assembly in a bandage...they were handily left over from when Collin managed to dislocate his elbow last month. At least something good came out of that ridiculous bill...
I a second type of arms for Frankenstein and the zombie. The more I make these guys, the more I've decided that I'm going to have to slightly modify the original yard layout plan. They're starting to look too similar...both green...both with the same hands. Granted, their faces will look totally different...
For these arms, I wanted them straight. They were SOOOO much easier. I took the crossbars of the hangers and hooked two of them together. I mounted the stuffed glove on the ends just like last year and attached them with masking tape.
After they were all assembled, I painted them green so that they'll match their bodies.
Then it was down to the skeleton. Oh...the skeleton. Not my favorite pumpkin. I'm mildly dreading it, I'm not going to lie. The only character causing me more stress is the Headless Horseman.
I wanted his arms to look like bones...down to the fingers. Ugh. Such a painfully hard idea.
I started out with the basic arm model, but I modified it to mimic arms...one bone on the top, two bones on the bottom. After that, I the tops of the hangers into individual fingers and joined them together with thinner wire (hangers are not great benders). I attached the hand assembly to the end of the arm assembly with the same wire.
I made the zombie and Frankenstein green, so of course I had to make the skeleton white. It took me a bit to think of it, but I came up with the idea of wrapping the fingers in medical tape. Collin happened to have some handy out in his truck. So...I wound it all around the wires for the fingers...thus hiding the ugly. They still aren't exactly supermodel hands, but I think they'll pull of the intention.
Tomorrow it's on to the real deal...it's cutting time. I even have some new knives for this time around. Drat. Apparently I'll also be running an errand first. I forgot to bring home the carving tools I have at the office...they came in handy last year. Regardless...I'm still excited to carve!!
This post is part of a series. For the other wickedly awesome posts, click here.
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