Perhaps you remember my Jacob's Ladder from last Halloween? We've used it for years in the front window, safely away from little fingers, but this year we want to put it on the mantle in the living room for our party, so I made this label to keep folks away. Do you think the wording is strong enough? I don't think it would really kill anyone, but I don't want any experimenting.I'll show you how I made it.
First I snagged a skull and crossbones off the Internet, mocked up the label and printed it in red on white paper. Then I got out my pastels.
To make it look old and yellowed I shaded it lightly all over with a yellow ochre color...
and rubbed it all in with my fingers.
Then I did that again with a sepia color, but a little lighter.
Next I took a rusty red and made irregular swirls around the edge....
and blended just those areas using a circular motion.
The last touch was black all around the edge and a few tears up and down from the edges.
I smudged those in straight lines. The only thing left to do is trim the edges. I didn't trim it straight; I faked a worn crooked line, but I suppose you could use deckle edge scissors. Then I glued it to the transformer. Looks old and creepy, doesn't it?
I also snagged some poison labels off the Internet, printed them out, aged them and glued them to old bottles. I added some bloody fingerprints too by wetting my fingers, patting them in red and brown watercolors and touching the bottles all over. Of course, the bottles only have colored water in them, but they look pretty scary, don't they? 
First I snagged a skull and crossbones off the Internet, mocked up the label and printed it in red on white paper. Then I got out my pastels.
To make it look old and yellowed I shaded it lightly all over with a yellow ochre color...
and rubbed it all in with my fingers.
Then I did that again with a sepia color, but a little lighter.
Next I took a rusty red and made irregular swirls around the edge....
and blended just those areas using a circular motion.
The last touch was black all around the edge and a few tears up and down from the edges.
I smudged those in straight lines. The only thing left to do is trim the edges. I didn't trim it straight; I faked a worn crooked line, but I suppose you could use deckle edge scissors. Then I glued it to the transformer. Looks old and creepy, doesn't it?
I also snagged some poison labels off the Internet, printed them out, aged them and glued them to old bottles. I added some bloody fingerprints too by wetting my fingers, patting them in red and brown watercolors and touching the bottles all over. Of course, the bottles only have colored water in them, but they look pretty scary, don't they? 
These bottles and the Jacob's Ladder will be in the Living Room which will be set up like a mad scientist's laboratory. You know, strange potions, gruesome tools, skulls, bones, body parts in jars. Hmmmm, does anyone know where I can borrow a gurney?
4 comments:
They are utterly brilliant, I thought the top picture was genuine until I read down, and the bottles look completely authentic to me - and rather beautiful.
I LOVE it! Please, please, please post photos of the Mad Scientist Laboratory! I do a small Mad Scientist display on my dining room hutch each year but haven't gotten it started yet!
That Jacob's ladder is so perfectly, morbidly brilliant!
You are so creative with this stuff. Looks awesome! You will have keep posting pictures of your decorations.
I'm so glad you downplay Halloween :-). I'll wager your children loved the holiday when they were small.
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