Props and halloween on a TIGHT budget

[RastaPasta]

As a college student, I have a VERY tight budget but I still want to create chilling atmosphere in time for halloween day around my apartment and give my roommates a little scare.

Are there any projects that aren't too technical and affordable that you guys would suggest? :devil:

[ithurt]

the pvc candles are pretty cheap and easy, more of an atmosphere thing than scary.
1 1/2 pvc (5' piece is like $5) dollar tree, grocery outlet (if you have one) led tea lights 2 for a buck, hot glue gun hot glue for melting wax (or real wax dribbled down the side) to keep it cheap you could hot glue the tea lights in, and use a screw driver to turn them on/off. there is a link some where for a tutorial on this. I will look for it.

cheese cloth ghost (washed in fabric shampoo) are cool and easy. I just took a clear balloon and one of those dollar clear faces from walmart, cleaned the paint off the face with solvent and taped the face to the balloon. Then used spray adhesive on the face, then stuck the cheese cloth on there gives a pretty cool ghostly impression with little substance, also very light.

the people on this board are insanely talented, I mean embarrassingly. So do some searching. You will find tons of info. I just started on the first page of the props and read my way through to the end. Yeah I have no life.

hope that helps

later skater

[Spartan005]

Proper lighting makes just about anything look creepy. check out www.skullandbone.com for info on that. Is there a particular theme you're looking into?

[RastaPasta]

the people on this board are insanely talented, I mean embarrassingly. So do some searching. You will find tons of info. I just started on the first page of the props and read my way through to the end. Yeah I have no life.


thanks! yeah, even atmosphere works - anything thats screams halloween time. and I've noticed! the things people have created here are very impressive, i can only hope to be able to get that good later on.

Spartan - I'm a huge fan of lighting of all sorts, haha, cant believe i didnt think of it before. Not too sure yet on a theme, once i find a couple of things, maybe then ill start leaning towards a theme. but usually i go towards dank and dark haunted victorian manor-esque.

[NickG]

construction scraps (ask first!) the dump, scrap metal, and recycling bins are all places to find stuff to haunt with for free. Second to that, there is thrift store like Good Will and Salvation army... then, there's the freebies on craigstlist too.

[biggnboog]

construction scraps (ask first!) the dump, scrap metal, and recycling bins are all places to find stuff to haunt with for free. Second to that, there is thrift store like Good Will and Salvation army... then, there's the freebies on craigstlist too.

yep all my stuff was done with recycled wood and stuff it was cheap.. if not free :D

[Spartan005]

If you have some free time than check out a few garage sales. You wouldn't believe the amount of stuff that I got last year from those... and you probably wouldn't believe that people were actually selling the things they did. I got a couple dozen old books, three chandeliers, mirrors, rusted lanterns and more for just about nothing. I'd check out michaels too, they have a bunch of really cool looking busts that might fit your theme and I'm pretty sure everything is on sale 50% off right now. If not than check the discount forum and click the coupon thread. hope that helps!

[Revenant]

Look for the threads on here by Toktorill. He's the Maestro of Cheapo... big, in-your-face cool-looking props for sofa change. Make a few of his prop ideas and throw in the right lighting and and you won't believe how far you can stretch a coupla bucks and get a really wild looking haunt.

[Monk]

If you have some free time than check out a few garage sales. You wouldn't believe the amount of stuff that I got last year from those... and you probably wouldn't believe that people were actually selling the things they did. I got a couple dozen old books, three chandeliers, mirrors, rusted lanterns and more for just about nothing. I'd check out michaels too, they have a bunch of really cool looking busts that might fit your theme and I'm pretty sure everything is on sale 50% off right now. If not than check the discount forum and click the coupon thread. hope that helps!

You and me both. I'd say 90% of the stuff I build is made from "trash"