Ghostess' Monster Mud Entry

[Ghostess]

"Pushin' up Daisy"

I had a little flash of inspiration while sitting at my desk the other day. I was looking at this little pen turned "flower" in a tiny pot that my daughter made me for Mother's Day and decided I'd make a pretty flower for my monster mud project. Daisies are my favorite flower, and they are used quite frequently as the subject of what happens when one dies, ie pushing up daisies. So the idea was planted, and this is what grew from that tiny seed of inspiration. Everyone, meet "Daisy":

http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h100/ghostessdeanna/HalloweenProjects2007/daisy/daisy2.jpg

http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h100/ghostessdeanna/HalloweenProjects2007/daisy/daisy5.jpg

http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h100/ghostessdeanna/HalloweenProjects2007/daisy/daisy4.jpg

And my little ghoul, Emily who so kindly held the tape measure.
http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h100/ghostessdeanna/HalloweenProjects2007/daisy/daisysize.jpg

Daisy is 4 feet 4 inches tall.

Parts & costs list:

Paper Mache skull :
tin foil - .15
paper towels - .25
8 pages of phone book - free
Elmer's Glue - .50
duct tape - .10

terra cotta planter - free given to me from neighbor
pieces of cinderblock - free given from neighbor
5 feet 1/2" PVC - .75
1/3 can Great Stuff - 2.00
1 oz Gorilla Glue - 1.63
cardboard from empty 24 packs of Coke - free taken from recycle bin
6 feet of 14 gauge wire - .96
8 feet 9 gauge fence tension wire - 1.36
2 yards burlap - 3.24
1 quart Oops black paint - 1.00
1 oz Oops green paint - .15
1 tbsp Oops brown paint - .05
1 tsp oops yellow paint - .05
1 oz Oops light grey paint .15
2 two foot sections rebar - 1.20

Total cost- 13.54

The how-to can be seen here:

http://www.howloweenqueen.com/daisy.htm

[pyro]

thats cool, i like that what a neat idea

[Samhain]

Brilliant work as always Ghostess. I like him a lot

[HalloweenZombie]

That's sweet in a sick sort of way. You're not supposed to make props while taking acid, it gives you an unfair advantage. Nice work as always Ghostess.

[BuriedAlive]

Very unique idea, Ghostess. And quick, too. Great work.

[Lilly]

Very Ingenious Ghostess...
Like it alot. That's an all yr plant I think
nice additon to your graveyard I'm sure..

[dave the dead]

Looks like Audrey II's little sister...Keep her away from the blood!

Nice job. Very Unique!

[slightlymad]

Thats the best flower I have ever seen.

[ScareFX]

Very clever use of MM. Great job!

[heresjohnny]

Dang Ghostess, first we had krough setting the bar, then Dave, now you! And I am still playing with beach balls and bottle caps!

[Ghostess]

LOL... Thanks y'all. That was a record setting prop for me with it only taking 4 days from concept to a DONE stamp.

[slimy]

I love the originality of it. And so quick.....


You done good, Ghostess.

[morgan8586]

Nice Job Ghostess. (as always)

[Ghostess]

Gracias amigos :)

[Hauntiholik]

I like it Ghostess! Very unique. Now you need a few more for a deadly garden.

[Darkside]

Yeah, real nice job. I like the dealy garden idea, too.

[dflowers]

Very nice ghostess!

[Sickie Ickie]

Looks like an idea that I did not too long ago. You did great! Mine isn't made of MM of course. I'll post it in the showroom section. Nice job!

[Wyatt Furr]

Great Job,Ghostess
But then,we dont expect anything less from you.

[Ghoulbug]

I really like that!! and a garden idea is great i think...Lil you reading that??? we can add some between ur dying flowers this october

[Revenant]

OMG that is SICK! I love it!!! You are freaking brilliant. Well, a freak. Who is brilliant. I think I'm in love.

And your Wee Little Ghoul is so adorable!

Wow, the garden idea is awesome... A garden of flowers sprouting up in a graveyard... how great that would be for a haunt with the Cursed Family theme, or the Unhallowed Grounds idea... man, ideas pop up and spread like weeds in this place!

[turtle2778]

Extremely well done. I LOVE IT. Im always in awe of your projects. Excellent work!!

[beelce]

Just GREAT Ghostess...As always you are able to inspire the masses. Your DAISY gave me the chills...A garden at night with that thing...wow!

[Black Cat]

Ghostess that turned out great. What a creative mind you have. I too like the haunted garden idea.

[Lauriebeast]

WOW...Daisy is beautiful! What a great project and very creative. Fabulous job there girlie!

[Hellrazor]

Pretty good Ghostess. I like the idea!

[Ghostess]

Awww, shucks, now y'all done gone and made me blush! Thanks everybody. :)

[1031fan]

very cool and original - will get plenty of deserved attention this year - the garden would be great and a prop called "viscious vines" would be KILLER in there - there like long tendrils/thick vines that wriggle around and look basically alive - would be one hell of a creepy effect - there better me more of these on the assembly line!!! possibly some different flower types to go with it? fly catcher plant with a sick looking skull in the middle?? - keep up the good work! - riley

[nicole]

great job on the daisy. very original and unique.

[Da Weiner]

Me likes!!! Me likes!!! Great job Ghostess. Keep letting your imagination run wild.

[scareme]

Love your daisy. Let me ask you, how does your garden grow?

[Fangs]

LOL, I was thinking the same thing scareme!


Ghostess, That is one pretty daisy you've got there! What an awesome MM prop!!!! You seem to have quite the knack for MM! :D;) You go Ghostess!!!! :jol: Give them boys a run for the money! Hehehehe:devil:

[Ghostess]

Thanks! :) I think I may make some smaller companions to go with her. She is lonely.

[Liam]

Nice work, Ghostess! Indeed, I think she needs some friends. A whole garden of lovely daisies would be great!

[Wildomar]

Thanks! :) I think I may make some smaller companions to go with her. She is lonely.

Flower Power!! Really great work, florally-speaking, of course. :D

Okay, I'm done with the puns. It really did turn out great. Please post pictures when the little ones are done so we can see what a cemetary flower garden looks like. Sweet work!

[strange1]

I love it, excellent, what an imagination, I love it!!
Me thinks I know what my next project is now.:D
Thank you Ghostess for the great how-to.

[widowsbluff]

Great job, best part they don't need watering. I will have to plant a few.

[Merlin (The Quiet One)]

What a unique idea! Too cool.

[Adam I]

Wonderful !!!
You defiantly thought out of the flower box.

[edwood saucer]

What a hoot - I will show it to my wife who loves to garden. Great job.

BTW - I think I've killed some of them in my lawn!

[Ghostess]

LOL... Thanks y'all!

[mikeq91]

very creative, i never would have thought of something like that

[Johnny Thunder]

That is soooooo awesome, D! I want 6! :D

[MistressOfMayhem]

Ghostess - love the daisy! Very imaginative. Would love to see a whole garden of them.

[Front Yard Fright]

That is so cool!
I love the idea... very unique.
And I too, would think that a bunch of them in some sort of garden would look amazing!

Here, I was off to a great start with my entry... but haven't been working on it for a while!
Now that you're done it should start a fire under my butt to get mine going!
:).

[Ghostess]

THanky thanky!

Hey JT... I'm RIGHT on that half-dozen for ya!

[Hellrazor]

Lookin good D. You have so much talent!

[kidzero2525]

"from tiny acorns mighty oaks do grow" I hate to think what's 'buried' in your garden. Honestly great idea, you have a very fertile imagination.

[Lagrousome]

Ditto Ditto Ditto to all comments!
Good Lord....I can't even get real flowers to grow....now I have to think about making dead ones! I may just have better luck with your version!

[BobC]

Ghostess, Very creative and artistic. This is really on another level. Something everyone thinks is happy and good made into something Bad and Evil. I really like it great work. :jol:

[Ghostess]

Thank you! :)

[Evil Eyes]

Ghostess, great idea! You are so creative and brave to actually use monster mud in the house! I'm wondering where you store all of your props?

[Ghostess]

:) Thanks! I use all kinds of messy stuff in the house, It helps that I have tile everywhere except the bedrooms. lol My desk is covered in glue and paint right now.

Storing it all is getting harder every year.

http://hometown.aol.com/howloweenqueen/storage.html

And right now, the new stuff is in the dining room. The tree and probably Daisy will stay there all year.

http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h100/ghostessdeanna/HalloweenProjects2007/treediningroom07.jpg

[Hellrazor]

can I sidetrack this thread for a minute. I notice you have stuff in your attic. I am building an attic entrance so I can store Halloween. How do you make sure that what you put up there would not be damaged by heat/cold?

[Ghostess]

We don't get cold here. We get hot and hotter. :) I haven't had anything get ruined by heat yet, and I can tell you, it gets up to 120° up there. The only thing I would worry about would be latex.

[Front Yard Fright]

The only thing I would worry about would be latex.

That is a very important part to remember!
:p.

Latex just falls apart after getting too hot... or too cold for that matter.
I'm lucky enough to store all of my latex and costume stuff in the basement... along with some other stuff that I don't want to risk breaking.
:).

[Hellrazor]

I was worried about candles and electronics. I would never have thought aobut latex. Thanks guys.

now back to our regularly scheduled thread... WOW Ghostess, your flower is awesome!

When are you putting it outside? Did you coat it for the outdoors eg: urathane?

[Ghostess]

Don't put candles in the attic unless you want to find a big wax mess when you go to get them out again. I accidentally put a candle in a box of stuff a few years back (it was a decorative candle that I just never light and I guess forgot that it was a candle) and when I went to get the stuff out of the box, everything on the bottom of the box was covered in black and green wax. Electronics I don't worry about. We even have computer parts up in the attic, and don't worry about them. *shrug*

And thanks :) Daisy will be staying inside until the week of Halloween and the party. I didn't coat her with anything, mainly just cuz I got lazy. I may coat her with some exterior varnish eventually.

[Lakeside Haunt]

that is very creative and sick. You have quite the twisted mind!

[skeletonowl]

please coat it! That is so unique and no one will expect that!

[Zero]

Very cool! Nice work!

[Spooklights]

I like the Daisy; she's one of a kind! Can you imagine getting a bouquet of these?

[spideranne]

Perfect for a touch of erie in the yard. Nice Job.

[Eric Striffler]

Looks great! :D

[Eric Striffler]

Hey check it out!
I was reading the Halloween article in the paper and look at what I was surprised to see in a picture!
http://img505.imageshack.us/img505/4226/uploaded92207002editedod9.jpg

:D

[HalloweenZombie]

Ghostess is famous!

[Eric Striffler]

Haha yes she is!
I saw it and i was like "holy piss!"
That was a cool article.
I wouldn't be surprised if it was someone on this board who wrote it.
It was all about props and stuff and how people should start building now if they want to have the best house around.

[Ghostess]

Oh MY GAWD! I didn't know Denise got the article done! She called me for an interview a few weeks ago. She is on the Halloween-L mailing list, but for some reason she can't post, so she's a lurker. I didn't think anyone would actually SEE it. :D

[Lagrousome]

Congrats Ghostess!!
WhooooooHoooooo!
Is there a link to the entire article?

[Hellrazor]

Thats super cool! post the article, I would like to read it too!

[Ghostess]

Well, there's not much in it really from me, but she and I did talk on the phone for a while.

Here's the link to the online article:

http://www.newsday.com/features/printedition/ny-etlede5380836sep20,0,1421333.story

[Grave Watcher]

i like the head on the flower

[Hella]

Amazing Ghostess, I love this. Cute but manages to be scary at the same time..lol

[kirkwood]

Did I miss something? Is there a reason why you aren't on the ballot????

[Ghostess]

Thanks y'all. :)

kirkwood, I'm a moderator and can't actually enter the voting part. :)

[kirkwood]

ooooohhhhh. makes sense. but i would have voted for ya.

[The Juggerhaunt]

sweet prop dont see those kinda flowers any more

[Ghostess]

Thanks ! :)