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Tips please- to turn a Dollar Store prop into something more interesting

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  • Tips please- to turn a Dollar Store prop into something more interesting

    There is so much talent on this forum. I would love to hear your ideas how to take a Dollar Store Halloween Prop and turn it into a much better prop.
    School is out for a few more weeks and I want to put some willing teens to work with creepy crafts ideas.

  • #2
    I LOVE the Dollar Store for haunted house type things!!!

    Some ideas I have off hand would be voodoo lanterns. I buy the 3 pack of LED tealights and grunge them up and put them in a jar (glass or plastic) that's grunged up with a little moss or ash or dirt in the bottom. Add some twine and voila! These can hang from anywhere and you can also get the twine from $1 store.

    Also the cheap grow in water critters look great in jars as well. You can make specimen labels on your computer, grunge the paper up before you send them through unless your ink is water permanent or use a copier to make a copy and you can grunge over copies. You can make tags, labels, etc this way for a whole apothecary full of bottles and such.

    Allen has a ton of awesome Youtube videos on using $1 store finds. You can find him under Stiltbeast Studios. He makes fake blood, corpses bones, and lots of good stuff!

    If there's something specific you are hunting for, I might be able to help with a low cost solution. I love cheap stuff.

    I also included a pic of my Venus Fly Trap plant, which was essentially made for free minus the plastic urn it sits in and some cans of $1 spray paint. It's all lightweight cereal box style cardboard and newspaper. And Model Magic for the teeth. plant 1.jpgplant3.jpgswamp lantern oc.jpg
    Kimmy


    http://hauntedkimmycreations.weebly.com/

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    • #3
      The Venus Fly trap is amazing!! I think we could paper mache that and add green tissue paper. I am working on your dead squirrel today.
      Thanks Kimmy! I would love to see your Haunt with the light on!! Your crafts are wicked!!!

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      • #4
        I can attest to how incredible Kimmy's creations are! She made a very generous donation to our Relay for Life haunt. The lanterns are incredible for an affordable prop, and she makes the COOLEST eyeballs. They are so gross and realistic, the severed toes/fingers are just disgusting and you have no idea how cool her eyeball rings look to outfit a witchy ticket taker Hands down one of a kind, super cool, affordable, and high quality stuff. Kimmy is INCREDIBLE.

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        • #5
          Don't focus on Halloween the Dollar stores carry, but on stuff they carry youcan CONVERT to Halloween items!

          Remember the season is about done on the summer stuff. Stock up on the fun noodles for pools, great to use for arms in dummies, pad props or corners, even just add a small weight on the bottom and hang a ton of them in a dark hallway! I saw a hummingbird feeder that looks like an old fashion light bulb.Stick an LED or flicker bulb in it and you have old fashion or stempunk ligh fixtures. I've taken some of the LED lights they carry and if it have a cool housing I wire a transformer to it instead of the batteries.

          The list is only limited by your imagination! I usually hit dollar stores, home centers, etc and just walk the aisles looking and thinking how to adapt things!
          R&J Productions
          Las Vegas, NV
          www.LasVegasHaunts.com

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          • #6
            Allen has great ideas! I have so many projects on the go thanks to Allen and Kimmy's brilliant minds. I think I read in an older post where Allen made stanchions from Dollar Store buckets and poured cement in the bucket. I have a number of those curing now. I will use Dollar Store crows and rats on the posts with lots of glue gun drool dripping from their mouths. I also added black feathers to the crows. I love the Dollar Store when we operate with such a limited budget.
            I must say I love any of your craft ideas ..I get up at 4:00am to work on Haunt crafts before I go to my real job!
            We also have a number of volunteers anxious to help.

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            • #7
              Lets see....DS=Dollar store
              An awesome Jackal style head cage can be made from DS 8x10 frames and plastic hangers (will end up as a you tube tut one day I bet)
              I made some killer wall sconces out of DS garbage cans cut in half and painted metallic
              I use the DS baking sheets and tupperware all the time to make molds

              Im sure I can help more if you mention the theme of your show, that way we can suggest things that make sense for it.
              Allen H
              www.Stiltbeaststudios.com
              http://www.youtube.com/user/Stiltbea...s?feature=mhee

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              • #8
                Originally posted by Wellinton View Post
                The Venus Fly trap is amazing!! I think we could paper mache that and add green tissue paper. I am working on your dead squirrel today.
                Thanks Kimmy! I would love to see your Haunt with the light on!! Your crafts are wicked!!!
                Oh please take some pics when you get him done! I would love to see him!!

                PS: I was in our $ Store today and scored a set of 4 baby skellies. I so think the are going to hang somewhere on my costume, just not sure where.
                Last edited by hauntedkimmy; 08-10-2011, 09:02 PM.
                Kimmy


                http://hauntedkimmycreations.weebly.com/

                Comment


                • #9
                  Originally posted by screamforadream View Post
                  I can attest to how incredible Kimmy's creations are! She made a very generous donation to our Relay for Life haunt. The lanterns are incredible for an affordable prop, and she makes the COOLEST eyeballs. They are so gross and realistic, the severed toes/fingers are just disgusting and you have no idea how cool her eyeball rings look to outfit a witchy ticket taker Hands down one of a kind, super cool, affordable, and high quality stuff. Kimmy is INCREDIBLE.
                  Oh my golly, that is sooo going right to my head!!!! I am blushing right now!! LOL, I really enjoy working on this spooky stuff and glad that I can share it with others. It make me happy!
                  Kimmy


                  http://hauntedkimmycreations.weebly.com/

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                  • #10
                    I agree Kim is great!
                    Damon
                    Frightmasters
                    Damon Carson

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                    • #11
                      I found large frogs and medium size frogs (that peep) in the garden centre of the Dollar Store and just glue gunned bumps all over them and painted them to look like toads. My cat thought they were alarming.

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                      • #12
                        Great idea on the toads! I have stygian witches in my show this year and I will o a few of those for their area.
                        www.Stiltbeaststudios.com
                        http://www.youtube.com/user/Stiltbea...s?feature=mhee

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                        • #13
                          I cant stand witches when they are stingy!
                          Damon
                          Frightmasters
                          Damon Carson

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                          • #14
                            Here is a door that I made with free foam that I found on Craigslist, and the skull hinges are actually walkway stakes that I got at the dollar store, I just ripped the chains off of them and glued them on!
                            door.jpg
                            The secret of life is to appreciate the pleasure of being terribly, terribly deceived.

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                            • #15
                              Love the doors! Awesome idea, and how cheap!! To buy that it would be big bucks!!. Awesome job!!

                              I took the skellie garland and worked it into my costuming. Its kinds hard to see, but I had a chain dangling with bones, and little skellies and rotting fingers, and a squirrell tail. But it's on there, LOL! The baby skellies and the twine were both from the $1 store.kimmy hag full shot.jpg
                              Kimmy


                              http://hauntedkimmycreations.weebly.com/

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