Ghoul Friday on Hauntcast? Yeah, Baby!

So I can at last reveal my super-secret first-ever (and last!) interview on Hauntcast's Charmed Pot! Ghoul Friday will graciously join me and class up my tiny part of the show. She is truly a witty and charming addition to The Charmed Pot, so even if you think my segment generally stinks like five-day-old road kill, you should listen to this one!


And? There are rumors of a super-special extended interview with that worthy being uploaded to the Hauntcast site for-wait for it-free! Can you believe it bruthas and sistahs?


We even talk about shaving our legs. What could be more gripping, more Radio Gold than that?


I just don't know. But tune in tomorrow, July 1st, and you just might find out!
Hauntcast 32. Be there or be completely inadequate in all avenues of your life. Really!

Let it Snow!

In honor of the five inches of snow they had in Tahoe the other day, I bring you this sleigh hearse.

Image via The Ossuary on Tumblr.

Classic Black

Via Hearse dot com.

Found Through GoE Yahoo! List

Best. Commercial. EVER! Thanks to Rob Horton for posting this!

Eerie Hollow

An elegant haunt by Scream Team member Denhaunt. Beautiful work and photos!

More of Eerie Hollow here.
Nice work, Denny!

UPrinting Winner

The winner of the flyers is Pam Morris! Hooray! Pam, if you could send me your info so I can forward it on to the folks at UPrinting, that would be fabulous!

Congrats!

Progress Report: Perfect? No. Much Better? Absolutely!

The paint job is finished, the stencil is stenciled, and it only remains for Mr. ShellHawk to put up the shelves for me to have a mostly functioning studio. I say mostly, because I have to figure out where to put everything I took out!


Like all of you, I'm a bit space challenged. I appropriated a small part of one of our gardening sheds to put my giant air compressor, since our neighbor has our lawn mower on a semi-permanent basis and that space is free. Of course, that involved cleaning out the shed and re-arranging things so it was easy to get to what you needed. I'm always amazed at what a daisy chain of tasks is created with one seemingly simple project!


There will be more rearranging and organizing as time goes by, more shelves, and someday some actual cabinets for proper storage. One step at a time, though! I'm just happy the space looks this good! If you look back at my "before" post, when I was just starting this project, you'll see the big difference.


For someone who didn't know how to use joint compound for its originally intended purpose, I think I did pretty well!


In other news, Sam is growing so fast! I had completely forgotten how fast big breeds can grow, so it came as a bit of a surprise to notice his increase in size.

Big Shepherd and Little Shepherd, guarding the new studio.

Just as an example, Mr. ShellHawk cuddles Sam on the first day we had him in the first picture, then the second picture was yesterday. I can even see his color is changing.

We're both guilty of picking him up and carrying him like a baby from time to time, as we will almost certainly not be able to do it for long. He already knows "sit," mostly knows his name and the "come" command-although that last one may be attributed to selective hearing. I think I need to reinforce commands more with treats! So far, he's gone out to breakfast with us, and also ventured across the street to neighbor V's pool and mini-dachshund. He's not so sure about the pool, but he likes to play with the other dog.


Tomorrow, Mr. ShellHawk's dad is flying up for a visit and gets to meet the grandpuppy, which should be a blast. Of course I'll have to keep a sharp eye out for treats being slipped under the table...

Hauntcast: Keepin' it Fresh!

Just a heads-up that Hauntcast's upcoming show will have not one, but two new segments for your listening pleasure! So in addition to being free, we've upgraded the site and are giving you some great new things to keep your build season interesting, informative, and mildly entertaining! 

Yours truly has even mixed up the Charmed Pot a little bit by adding an interview with--- well, wouldn't you like to know? I'm not telling you, yet. So there.

Tune in next week and find out what we have in our treat bag for you!

Giveaway in Progress!

Don't forget to enter your comments on the original post for the UPrinting Flyer Giveaway! One lucky person can get some pretty cool flyers made up for their haunt this year for free, so take advantage of the opportunity!

In other news, here's a link to some hilarious and NOT SAFE FOR WORK autocorrect disasters. I could not stop laughing! Great way to start a Monday!

Voted Most Fantastic Droid App of the Century! Hauntcast App is Now Available!

The Hauntcast Droid app is now up, running, and available for FREE! Download the Hauntcast app for droid here, and get your haunt on!

Progress Report

Before, with pegboard

 Progress continues in the shop, though of course not as fast as I'd like!

After, with drywall

The drywall guy came last Saturday and got the drywall up, put up the drywall tape and the first coat of joint compound. Though it has been rainy and cold-very unusual for us this time of year-in honor of my first application of joint compound, the weather turned hot. So hot, in fact, that the joint compound started to dry as I was applying it. Admittedly, I'm not very fast at the application, but I didn't think I was quite that slow!
The positive, of course, is that it was ready to sand on the same afternoon. I started the third coat Thursday, and went around the room to check for holes and dings to fill while I was at it. I also sanded and put up another coat of joint compound on the ceiling seams, which the previous owner had never finished. Let me tell you, you haven't lived until you work in 98 degree heat with the garage door closed. I couldn't have the fan on because of the dust it would have blown around, so even this self-proclaimed "desert lizard" was having a pretty tough time trying to stay hydrated. Of course, while I could have the door up, the newest "shop hound" was on hand to supervise.


So can I tell you how much Sam has grown in just a week? I couldn't believe it! I'm sure all of you have seen the video of Dunder, growing up in just forty seconds, but it's weird to see it happening in front of your eyes! We had a little get-together last night and our friends we haven't seen for a week all commented that the boy has grown noticeably since last Friday when they met him.

He had his first vet visit on Monday, and as you can see from the pic above, he was asleep through almost the whole thing. I can't help but think that his days of being picked up and put on the exam table are numbered! The vet will have to get down on his level very, very soon. He got to go to work with me on Monday morning, too, and was just as quiet as can be in his crate. Of course, I played with him to tire him out and made sure all his business was taken care of, so all he wanted to do was take his morning puppy nap.


This Monday is the final firing for the Raku class I'm teaching, which means a cruelly long day for me, as I teach in the morning (and doing a Raku firing is very physically and mentally demanding, since I have to wear long pants and sleeves and it'l be at least a zillion degrees by 10:00a.m.) and then go back in the evening to teach, too. One of my neighbors will sit for him for the morning session, as I suspect I'll be doing the firing until at least 2:00, and that is far too long to leave him in his crate. My neighbor has the coolest old dog ever, and he and Sam seem to get along just fine. I'm sure Sam is going to have fun on his visit. I'm very happy my neighbor wants to babysit! We're also going to take him on his first boat ride next week!


Well, off to breakfast with Mr. ShellHawk and the little Hell Hound. Be back Tuesday!

I Am a Bad Hallowe'en Person

I admit it.


I have noticed the posts going up everywhere in the Hallowe'en blogosphere, which they do, every year around this time.


The pumpkin posts. Trials, tribulations, progress. Tips on how to make them bigger, smarter, faster. How I love them. In the past, I've made them myself. But not this year.


This year, I didn't plant any.


With the continuous swirling chaos that has been my household this spring, I just couldn't seem to get to it. I have the seeds. I bought them in plenty of time. I even bought a pack suggested by Mr. ShellHawk.


I never got them in the ground.


I can blame some of it on some rearranging we've been doing in the back yard, but that truly isn't the entire reason. There's been school, teaching, ShellHawk's Creations on Etsy, Hauntcast and The Charmed Pot, and now the studio remodel and the puppy. Somewhere in there, I have to get the studio completed so I can get back to making Hallowe'en stuff to sell this year. There are fairs I can still get in to, and I plan to do an open house or two here at home.


Yes, I know some of this chaos is self-inflicted. I'm still going to whine about it!


I hate when life takes away from the fun part of Hallowe'en. Phooey.

Zombie Preparedness

Image via kristindearborn.com. 

UPrinting Flyer Giveaway!

It's been quite a long time since I've had the chance to do a UPrinting Giveaway, and I am really happy to do this one because I know some of you haunters out there can really use it and make it look fantastic!


Here's the official text:

Nightclub Flyers / Flyers
250pcs. Flyers for one winner
4.25" x 5.5", 4" x 6"    
14pt Cardstock Gloss, Front Only Printing,
nightclub flyer templates and business flyer templates also available for download
3 Business Days Turnaround, *Free Shipping
Restriction: Limited to *US residents 18 years old and above only

Flyers - http://www.uprinting.com/flyer-printing.html
Nightclub Flyers -  http://www.uprinting.com/night-club-flyer-printing.html
Nightclub flyer templates - http://www.uprinting.com/print-templates/nightclub-flyers/

This giveaway is sponsored by UPrinting, no monetary compensation was given and I will receive night club flyers for hosting. For more information about flyers, please visit UPrinting.com. 

So what are the rules this time? Let's see...
1) Leave a comment telling me you'd like to win these flyers and tell me what you'd use them for.
2) Do a blog post about this giveaway and link back to this post, then leave me a comment with the URL of your post.
3) Tweet about this giveaway and leave a comment that you did.
4) Facebook about this giveaway and leave a comment that you did.
5) Become a new follower of this blog and leave a comment that you did. (BTW, becoming a follower and then dropping out after the giveaway is complete just means that the world will know you're a poopy-head, so don't put yourself through that kind of embarrassment, o.k.?)
6) Leave a comment telling me the city from which you're visiting The Nest.
7) In a single sentence, tell us why you love Hallowe'en.
8) Buy anything from my Etsy store and leave a comment----oh, wait, just kidding! You can't get an entry for that! (But you can get some cool stuff! ;oD)
9) If there is another social media thingy you use that you can link back to this contest and blog, go ahead and it will be counted as an entry!


Each comment will count as an entry. Sucking up may help, too. Please don't enter if you've won a UPrinting giveaway in the last six months. Thanks!


Contest ends on Friday, June 24th!


If you have a home or charity haunt that needs more traffic, these flyers would be a great way to get the word out, wouldn't it?

Good luck, everyone!

Fart Man: Hallowe'en is Incomplete Without Him

Anniversary present for Mr. ShellHawk? Not in my budget, but oh, so tempting! 


WARNING: PRETTY DOGGONE RUDE AND OFFENSIVE! Click on the pic to watch.

Available at The Horror Dome, if you can get past the stench.

Fearsome Zombie Hunter (In Training)

We've survived the first few days. Other than tummy upset, he's been perfect! He slept through the night on Friday, and Saturday night he whined a little at around 3:30 a.m., but went right back to sleep. I took him out in the garage and ran the shop vac and made other noises, and after some fussing, he settled right down. And more importantly, he forgave me for making noises.


He's coming along nicely on the leash, and we've only had two "accidents" so far, both very minor. Of course, that's because I'm a total helicopter mom who doesn't let him out of her sight to have accidents, so that works fine. Mr. ShellHawk was caught snuggling the puppy on his lap, smiling in that delighted way new fathers have.


We are starting well. We'll see how things go when he's comfortable here!

Last Call!

No, not last call for alcohol, though that's not a bad idea! Nope, it's last call for pre-orders of Hauntcast t-shirts, babydolls and hoodies!


If you want one of these and have very specific size requirements, now's a good time to make sure you get a top in your size.


Head over to the Hauntcast Gross-ery store to place your order. Chris will be placing the order on Monday, so run-don't walk-um, your cursor over there!

While you're there, be sure to check out our site redesign! Guy of House Bloodthorn and Chris have been working their little fingers to the bone to get things working properly. I think it looks great!

Baby PicS!

At the breeders, waiting to come home.

Hell Hound Girl, wondering what just happened

Getting to knooooow you!

This Is It! -And Other Things

Sam at 1 week

Today is the day I've been waiting for for six months: the day Samhain comes home. (As if you weren't painfully aware of that!)


I'm heading out to the garage right now to put some Great Stuff in the gaps of the foam board insulation I installed a couple of days ago, so it's ready when the drywall guy comes this afternoon to install and mud the drywall. I find it hilarious that as long as I've been using joint compound, Great Stuff and foam board insulation, this will be the first time ever that I've used them for their intended purposes! 


After, I'm going to continue puppy-proofing, as I remembered in the middle of the night one area in which sharp, pointy things could seriously hurt him. I'm also trying to work out in my mind the best configuration for an outside containment area that he can play in and learn how to access through the dog doors, but won't restrict the other dogs. We may have to go back to playing doorman for a while.

In other great news, The Bloodshed Brothers are going pro! They have joined forces with The Field of Screams and will be haunting from The Haunted Stadium this Hallowe'en! Head over to this Blood Vlog for details. I'm so very excited and proud of these guys! They're great people and fabulous haunters, so I'm looking forward to seeing what they do in a pro forum.


O.K., gotta run! Will be back with pics of Sam's homecoming very soon!

My Scarecrow - burnt woods

My Scarecrow - burnt woods, a photo by EwaJ on Flickr.

I almost thought this was one of Bean's photos, but alas... It's still quite good, though!

Jeepers Creepers?

scarecrow, a photo by Bill Hornstein on Flickr.

Scarecrow

Scarecrow, a photo by Del Barfoot on Flickr.

Sort of post-apocalyptic look for this guy...

The Great Puppy Saga of 2011-Samhain is Coming Home

Your days of peace and quiet are over, guys. Sorry!

Sam at 6 weeks

Tomorrow, Samhain, puppy Hell Hound, comes home to be with his family. The two dogs pictured above-the current Hell Hounds? Yeah. Their lives will be ruined.


At least, that's what they'll try to tell me. Well, maybe just the lab. The Shepherd will be ecstatic.


For the past week, Mr. ShellHawk, who originally wasn't 100% behind having another dog (except when he suggested it four times last year, after the lab tore the ligament in his knee and we thought we were going to have to put him down), has been asking, "Where's my puppy? Did you call her, yet? Did she say when you could pick him up?"

Sam at 5 weeks

I kept telling him, "It hasn't been eight weeks, yet. He'll be a better dog the longer he stays with his mama. After this long, another week won't matter."


But Sandy sent me an email yesterday and told me it would be o.k. to pick him up tomorrow, just shy of eight weeks. So after my hair appointment in the morning, it's off to Elk Grove to pick up the boy!


We're scrambling to finish puppy-proofing the house before he comes-although that phrase really seems like an oxymoron, now that I think about it. I need to pick up some puppy food and some bully sticks, but other than that, we're set to go! I'll post pics and vids very soon!

What Was I Thinking?!

I think I've mentioned this before: my studio is in my garage, and while it's been drywalled, it was never finished. For some bizarre reason known only to him, the previous owner put up pegboard along one entire wall. Perhaps it worked for him, but it doesn't suit my practical needs.


Frankly, it's been driving me nuts.

Additionally, other "stuff" keeps making its way into my studio. Stuff that really should be stored elsewhere (if we can find "elsewhere"), such as the battery box for the boat we no longer have. Baseball cards (?!). Random scraps of wood. Saw horses. And on and on. Some of it we need, and there truly may not be any other place for it. Some of it is just crap.


I decided that I've had enough, and that this is the year this space gets a face-lift.


My husband, who is well aware that I take on epic projects and take forever to finish them, gently reminds me that I should be making stuff to sell for Hallowe'en and that other holiday. It's not helpful. I am On A Mission to beautify this space. After all, part of the grand plan is to eventually have a mailing list and actual wine and cheese open houses for my art, and I don't want this space to look like what it is: a shitty garage conversion. Case in point, this picture:

I really understand that when you're trying to save money, you do things yourself, right? But can you at least see that this looks like crap and re-do it so the ceiling and walls come together right? Oh, and the drywall tape isn't supposed to show, either, jackass.


Oh, and by the way? What the hell is that random piece of metal for? It has no structural purpose. Nothing was hanging from it. So why is it there? It's a mystery.

So, I'm plunging into this myself. I've discovered since starting to do repairs on the drywall joints  that the Painters and Plasterers Union has nothing to fear from me. Their jobs are completely secure! But, I'm plowing on, watching the how-to videos on YouTube, and I'm getting better.


Studio Improvement Anecdote: Mr. ShellHawk comes home from work and can hear me scraping away in the studio. 


"Whatcha doing?"


"Fixing the drywall with joint compound and paper tape."


Mr. ShellHawk eyes my handiwork. Small eye roll.


"At least you're going to be sanding it."


*sigh*


Though I wasn't going to touch it initially, I've decided to take down the pegboard and get some foam board insulation to stick in the outside wall and then drywall over that. I'll probably keep a little bit of pegboard, but not much. My eventual plan (read: when I have money) is to hang cabinets so I have a modicum or organization in there. Putting up the drywall will be step one towards that goal.


I'm taking the opportunity to remove random pieces of wood and strange hooks from the walls. I'm throwing away mysterious "artifacts" which have long since ceased to have a purpose. I talked to neighbor V about a possible rearrangement of the space before it gets put back together. Something more efficient for my needs. And she's rolling it around in her mind, too.


I'm telling myself that I'm creating space, not only to create art, but for some of the cool posters I've collected over the years. It will look great, I tell myself.


But the answer that comes back is, "Hanging drywall? Seriously? And Sam's coming next week??? What were you thinking???"


Well, off to Home Depot. Wish me luck!

Wave at the Bus

Yes, that's a real pegleg. I think these are his street clothes...

I'm sure some of you have run across this blog at one time or another. I came across it via Perfessor Evil, creator of Haunt Project. (I'm pretty sure he's a shoo-in for the Evil League of Evil this year, too. His application is strong.)


Wave at the Bus started when a son was heading off to his sophomore year in high school. Mom told dad to go wave, and dad did it one louder: he did it in costume, just to embarrass the kid. 


Then he kept doing it, all year. In 180 different costumes.


While I'm sure his son was initially embarrassed, He may have gotten past it a little bit, since his dad became a minor celebrity. Head over to this article to read a little more about it.


Almost makes me wish I had kids.

Blogger- Phooey: Partial Retraction

It turns out that the trouble I've been having with posting is caused by none other than The Evil Empire.

Also known as Microsoft.

I upgraded to the "new and improved" Internet Explorer 9. Phooey to that! IE 9 is why I haven't been able to leave comments on many blogs and boards. I installed Firefox, and everything is as smooth as silk. If you're also having trouble, you might want to try installing Firefox and see if that works for you.

I thumb my nose at your supposed "superiority,"  Microsoft.

We're Gonna Get Letters on This One...

To save your little fingers from typing too much, I thought I'd 'fess up to a mistake on my Charmed Pot Segment.
Yes, I know it was Boris Karloff, not Bela Lugosi who starred with Vincent Price in The Raven.

My bad. I was really drunk at the time. (Actually, I wasn't, but it's as good an excuse as any.)

That's why Johnny Thunder does the movie reviews, and not me!

We're BAAaack! Hauntcast is In Da House!



Yes, boils and ghouls, we are!

Hauntcast has had a site redesign to make it easier to find what you're looking for. The original, high quality content you've come to expect from the Scream Team is at your rotting little fingertips.

Rev gives you the News From Beyond and delightful mind-bending info in either Theater of the Mind or The Bestiary. Johnny Thunder guffaws his was through another Fright Flicks, and Denhaunt amazes us with his prop building prowess, and by still being around! There's an interview with Matt Ford of one of my favorite haunts, House at Haunted Hill, and of course, your Mistress of Mayhem is stirring the Charmed Pot once again. (Hint, if you love Vincent Price as much as I do, you need to listen!)

And we are, once again, free, just in time for build season.

Spider Rider and I will be listening today as we rebuild my stupid witch. What props will you be building while you listen?

Hauntcast. Original, high quality, and always on!

Get Well, Unkle Pigors!

Eric "Unkle" Pigors suffered a heart attack this week. He was due to attend the Second Annual Haunted Mansion group art show at Halloweentown in Bubank, California, this Saturday, but the doctor gave him the thumbs-down and he won't be able to attend.

If you're in the area, pop by the store. Here's the news from Halloweentown:

Aside from helping Eric out by purchasing his exhibit artwork, you can also participate in a raffle promotion at the opening night event to help him cover his medical bills.

For every Toxictoons print, shirt, book, or mask that you buy at the event you will get a raffle ticket making you eligible to win a $100 Gift certificate for Halloween Town!
The raffle will be held at the end of the event Saturday night, you must be present during the raffle to win.
We will also have a donation jar up front at the register, and you can also drop off any get well cards or any goodies for Eric and we will make sure he gets them!

Thanks for your support!

HALLOWEENTOWN
2921 W. Magnolia Blvd
Burbank, CA 91505

I'm pretty sure that even if you can't make it, you could probably call up the store and order something of his to help him out. You can also head over to the Toxictoons store online and pick something out for yourself.

Get well soon, Eric! We're all glad you made it through!

Flying Dog!

I loved that movie, even if the dragon was a dog.

Blogger-Phooey!

So, seriously, Blogger? The Seventh Level of Hell to leave comments?

I went over to Devil's Eve's blog yesterday and saw he left this sweet post about Hauntcast. So I tootled down to the comment box to leave a comment. I leave my thanks. Blogger asks which profile I want to use to leave my comment. I use the one I always do. It sends me to the Blogger sign-in page. I sign in. It takes me back to the comments page, but this time, it shows my comment as being from "Anonymous," even though I just signed in. Then, it does that stupid word verification. I filled it in correctly. It sends me back to the sign-in page. I sign in again.

And again.

And again.

Then I did the sensible thing, and gave up. I literally could not leave a thank-you for someone who had done something really nice for all of us at Hauntcast. (BTW, GC, Thanks for your warm and lovely post!)

His is not the only blog that puts me in the Seventh Level of Hell. There are several people's blogs in which I've experienced this. (Thanks, Mike C. for your great mini movie starring my mini-ghost and his after-dark antics!) It really sucks.

Is anyone else experiencing this, or am I on some crazy Blogger blacklist for comments?