Halloween Hideout

I was awakened about 4:30 AM by a lot of rattling and banging from the garage...

I got up...Got dressed and went out to see what was going on.

It was the Terrible Two.  Last year, after Halloween, I bought one of those large light up Halloween pumpkins on sale.  I had good intentions....But never got around to doing anything with it.

It seems that Tessie has a long memory, when it comes to things that I am supposed to be doing for her benefit.

The two of them dragged Jack in and placed him on my bedside table.  The inspected it and pronounced it "do-able".

Then the proceeded to gut it(take out the light) and handed me a bunch of tools.

Tessie, very sweetly, said, "Get to work!  I want this done by 10:00AM.".

OK. It was only sweet by Tessie's standards.

So... I got to work.  What is the use of arguing with a short, short tempered witch?  I know better.

I couldn't find my keyhole saw.  That would have made an easy job of it.  I suspect that the two of them have been installing doors in the real house walls again.  They find it easier to get from room to room, without getting stepped on, that way.

After I got the hole cut, the longest part of the job, I discovered that the inside was a bilious green plastic... I covered that with acorn brown paint.

Did I mention that they no longer make Styrofoam pumpkins.  They are now made out of a pretty hard plastic and the thickness is about 1/16".

The next step was to make a pattern for the floor.  I laid a piece of copy paper in the bottom and creased around the edge, where the floor meets the walls. Then I cut that out of 1/4" foam core.  I tried it for fit and trimmed it a bit.  Then I cut one just a little larger.

I found some shredded cork paper in my stash and decided that would be good for the flooring...After all, this is not a museum piece and will probably rest in the garage between Halloweens.

I also found a piece of the embossed plastic ceiling tile that was painted black, with silver highlights.  Perfect to cover the hole where the light had been.

I used some silk rope trim around the edge of that, clipping Vs at the corners. and glued the tape attached to the rope to the back.

I also used this for the front opening.  Starting at one corner, I glued across the bottom and as I approached the corner I clipped straight in on the tape so that it would fit nicely in the corner.

I didn't bother with moldings.  Most of that part is covered by the furniture.

While I was working, the Terrible two grabbed a tray and raided Tessie's Townhouse, my workroom and the Witches Warehouse.  I have a feeling they aren't done.  They did find enough to make it look livable for photos, but I noticed that there wasn't any food or drink around.  Oh well.  That will come later.  I have to go clean up the mess from a four hour project, minus time for breakfast. 

I am hiding the other pumpkins.  I have one like the one to the left of the photo in real life size.  It would only hold a 1/4 or 1/2 scale house...Thank goodness!

See you tomorrow.