The Case of the Killer Plant

Yes, I know.

Halloween was Saturday and these posts are a bit late.

Yes.

But I didn't have any time to write posts during the spooky season because I was too busy creating new and fun things to hopefully inspire your next Halloween!

The first project for this year was probably my favorite. I had seen inspiration picture on Pinterest and thought that it looked both really easy and really spooky. This is the image that caught my eye from the Hometalk website.

Pretty cool, right? It was an awesome basic form, but I thought it needed a little sprucing up. I did some more image searches for reference and came across a couple of examples of desk top versions of the killer plant idea on the blog 102 Wicked Things to Do.

I used the same basic concept as the Hometalk one. I started with a $5 paper mache pumpkin from Jo Anns.

I sketched out the teeth and cut them out. I then painted it all green and the inside red. I found a stick in the backyard and attached the pumpkin with screws so it would stay on reliably. I then "rooted" it in an old flower pot with some expanding foam with rocks on the bottom as a counterweight. I covered the foam with Spanish moss from the dollar store.

It was looking okay, but I needed leaves. I ended up at Hobby Lobby where I found three large leaves that were a great canvas to add some fun color detail. I attached them with wire and by drilling holes in the "stem" and inserting them.

I painted it with regular spray paint, but then realized that it wouldn't show up under the black lights that we had all around the house. I turned to florescent spray paint for the added color I was looking for.

Obviously not the colors I used, but the same brand and type for reference.

When it was finished, I was pretty impressed with myself.

Just life-like enough to make people hesitate, but fantastical and kind of goofy at the same time. I was pretty happy with how the leaves turned out, too, considering it mostly involved spray paint detail that I'm not used to doing.

I made the sign using Photoshop, then mounted it on a piece of cardboard to keep it stiff. It is hung with twine just draped over the teeth so it can be taken off for storage.

In the blacklight, it looks even cooler.

Using the florescent paint really helped him pop in the dark. There are no extra effects on the paper, though it is printed linen paper left over from our wedding.

Extra detail shots:

He ended up greeting people next to our bar for our Halloween party and the reactions were pretty wonderful.

Did you create any monsters of fancy or fancy monsters for your Halloween holiday? Let me know in the comments! I'd love to see pictures!