HALLOWEEN RISETH!!

Stuff went up.  Not all the stuff.  Cause I'm not done with some of it.  But the bulk anyways.  I've been tinkering with the lights, which means I've been going out when it's freezing to walk around and try lights from different angles.  I'm still not sure if this version will the final one, but it's definitely closer.  The biggest hurdle to overcome was getting the app lights to configure.  I picked these up...2(?) years ago on clearance from Home Depot for like $12 each.  They're really cool lights...if you can get them to connect and program.  They're basically spaced out little spotlights that work with an app on your phone and have a bunch of different settings/colors/modes.  The first night I put up everything, I could not get them to connect, so they were just on crazy rainbow mode, all colors, flashing around.  I mean, I tried to convince myself it was fine--that it would add randomness to the yard.  But omg no.  Too chaotic.  So I'm reeeeeally glad I tried to program them again.  I tried the Halloween setting, steady, and it came up with the spotlights turning red, green and purple.  Which are conveniently the colors of the Sanderson sisters--and I moved the graves around accordingly.  I also originally had a yellow led halogen in front to light up the cemetery sign--but decided that it was just way too bright--it was washing out the other lights--so I switched to an LED blue halogen--definitely spookier, but still lights up the letters of the sign.  The only bummer is that the lightning light really doesn't light up that well.  I'm wondering if it's because it fades in blue light?  Maybe I'll try a red halogen out front.  Like I said...lots of tinkering still to do. 

As for today, I worked on finishing the rest of the interior.  I had bought 2 of the wood panelling scene setters, thinking I would have enough because I had gotten it last year for stranger things.  But I forgot that I had only used it on the interior.  Doh!  So each panel went all the way around one side, then about half the other side.  Sigh.  So I got one more (thank you one day Amazon delivery), and finished up.  I'll need a second person to set up the doorway, but for today I just went about and got all of the 'furniture' in.  The bench for the pumpkins, the cauldron.  I was originally going to bring in an actual shelf to have a bunch of witch kitchen stuff to put on it--but the porch really isn't that spacious--so I opted instead to make a hanging shelf out of a cardboard box.  I covered it with some wood contact paper I got at the dollar store a while back and which was left over in one of my Halloween boxes.  I rummaged around the house and found a few items that were light and that could be taped or glued down (and that if they fell, wouldn't break) and fixed them onto the shelf.  This way, there's no floor space being taken up unnecessarily.  I still am considering a board on cinder blocks to get a bit of a table in there....but it'll be minimal.   I hooked up some green LED lights in the cauldron.  I (probably) won't use these on actual Halloween (not quite bright enough), but these can be on the timer for each night. 

I also put up some holographic portraits--the ones that change faces when you move around--they work as a nice touch.  Now it's all about adding in little details here and there. 

Oh, and the other really big thing I installed was the window.  This was Sam's suggestion--to have a faux window that would help to sell the idea of a cottage.  So I got some clear contact paper and black duct tape.  I cut out two large pieces that were roughly large enough to be two side by side windows.  From the movie, the panes have a criss cross pattern.  The contact paper was laid (carefully) on top of each other.  Then I went over it with a pen to draw the pattern.  I cut duct tape in long quarter strips to make the pattern on both sides of the contact paper.  And then trimmed the edges of everything.  In 'installing' it, I cut out a piece of the scene setter juuust slightly smaller than the size of the window, then took long pieces of black duct tape and adhered them on all four sides, on both sides of the scene setter.

 The result is not a window you can actually see out of, but it hints at the lights from either side.  Conveniently, one of the flame bulbs hangs just above the window on the interior, so from the outside, it looks like someone's definitely at home.  While a bit nerve wracking to cut into the scene setter I had just spent a few hours putting up, I really liked the result.