Sunday, October 12, 2014

I love me some classic monsters Day 12

I have a natural propensity towards the weird and the unusual.
Always have, as far back as I can remember. 
The fact that my grandparents were magicians and were married
on Halloween may have had something to do with it.
And I was named after my grandmother as well.


  Man, I miss them.

I have always had a love of classic horror monsters like The Wolfman, The Mummy
and The Creature from the Black Lagoon. Not so much Dracula for some reason.
Too human, maybe? To prim and proper? I can't stand Lestat, sparkly Edward,
or Bill Compton-type vampires. Lame. 

 To give photographic proof of my love of classic Universal monsters,
here's some of my cool schtuff.

I do find a sweetness, or a sadness even, within these types of monsters.
Tragically misunderstood, and innocent victims of their own environment.

This was a toy from Burger King '97.
When you squeeze his diaphragm while underwater, it sucks up the water.
Then, when you squeeze it again, it squirts the water out of his mouth. 

This guy is from Jack in the Box, but no year is printed on it.
He has uneven wheels underneath, and when you wind him up he
walks kinda wonky. Slowly. 
I'm pretty sure I have a Dracula with a red coffin
and a blue wooden coffin for this guy somewhere...

As my love of monsters has grown, so has my ability to afford nicer toys.
Nothing super spectacular or pricey, but for a collector on a budget
these are much nicer than the stuff I had as a kid.

I got this handsome mister last year for myself for my birthday.
I love how stylized he is. The sculpt is quite nice and detailed, too.
Very nice paint job.

Nice articulation of the hands. 
The outfit is all cloth except for the pants.
Overall, very cool.

I was totally looking forward to the release of The Creature in this line.
I figured with the way Frankenstein's Monster turned out, this one would be 
bad ass. Hmmm. Maybe I was wrong.....
He looks kinda constipated.

Nice sculpt on the body. The waist turns, as does the chest.

Nice articulation of the ankles/feet.

The face is kinda lame. Not stylized or unique enough for my taste.
The Mummy figure has just been released, but I want to see a close up 
of it before I order him. I'm diggin' the pictures I've seen of it so far.  

I'll save the piece de resistance for tomorrow's post.
Don't wanna over do it.

 Here's my art project for today. 
It's a corrugated cardboard base wall hanging.

Back when I was on the Rick St. Dennis design team
he was thoughtful enough to draw an image for each of the
design team members. This one was for me. It's a 'Glo-Bug'.
Ever since he drew it, I have had this idea of putting it under a cloche
for safe keeping. Finally, that has come to fruition. 

I die cut the TH bell jar/cloche using black cardstock for the base and 
clear packaging (acetate) for the jar part. I used TH Distress paint in bronze, 
for the base and after drying it with a heat gun, I painted it with 
Rock Candy crackle paint.
   
I even managed to get some modeling paste and stenciling
on this thing. Used some Silks glazes in black and iridescent copper
for some sparkle and shine. 

After adding the metal corner pieces and the spider web die cut,
I adhered the 'Creepy' banner sticker as my title. 

This is adorable!! Momma is pleased with herself.
It's going to hang (somewhere) in my craftroom. 

Thanks so much for stopping by today.
I'm almost sure it was your visit that has made me feel better.

See ya tomorrow with my newest Universal Monsters collectible,
and another Halloween art project for the 31 Days of Halloween and


17 comments:

  1. Absolutley love this post. Your grandparents were cool as! Love the card too. X

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  2. Can I say I like you more and more everytime I visit?
    Frightfully fabulous collection. I am sitting on the edge of the chair waiting to see the big reveal tomorrow.
    Your grandparents performed at Ren Faires!
    I remember hearing their names.


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  3. Your card is a glorious tribute to the glowbug created in your honor.
    So much creativity to love.
    I can't tell you how much I love it.

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  4. Love those pics of your grandparents, how cool. You have an awesome collection of monsters. and oh my gosh your wall hanging is freakin' fabulous!!! Love the texture, the sparkle and that sweet little glow bug under the protective dome. What an amazing work of art! :)

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  5. I have to agree the "creature" does look a bit on the upset stomach side and no real definition as far as other facial features goes. I love your wall hanging for today's post. Love the details and textures you used. Glad that you are feeling a bit better.

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  6. This is so awesome! I love everything about this portrait! The Creepy banner is just fantastic! You should be proud and happy, it is super incredible!
    Thanks for sharing pix of your monsters and talking about your grandparents, awesome!
    ~kim

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  7. I need to see this fab collection in person. I need to see you in person. We've gotta make this happen! I sure love Rick's version of you. Under a cloche, eh? As if that could contain you. LOL Love this! xxD

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  8. Fabulous Wall Hanging Glo! I love your 'toys'! And a fabulous project today too - love the image and the bell jar!! And great banner too - looks fab on there, love the textures! X

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  9. So freaking scary. But the most awesome thing ever. Love it

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  10. Love your wall hanging cute image and love the banner!

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  11. Absolutely LOVE your post today, love seeing your grandparents, love your monster figurines and love love your ode to self creation featuring your RSD you! Everything is gore-geous!

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  12. Awesome way to display something pretty special! I love this!

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  13. I love reading your blog!! In fact I am a new follower!! This creation is awesome! Where do I start? Love the image and the banner - but all the rest too!! Just fabulous!

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  14. Great project for today. Love the coloring and all the awesome details.

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  15. I adore your piece today! So much to look at--the glowbug, the texture, the "CREEPY" banners, the vintage labels at the bottom...I could go on and on! Great work.

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  16. I love your collection! It's amazing the amount of detail they can create so tiny. Love your art piece today from that awesome "creepy" banner, right down to that totally cute image :)

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  17. That is a really wall hanging with tiny banner! What a cool collations you have. It's nice to get to know you better! I have always loved the horror genre myself! For as long as I can remember too! Were those your grandparents? If so, wicked cool photos!! I was married on Oct 28th to my late husband Jerry. I shall have to share those pictures of our wedding to the group! They are really kinda cool if you ask me! Yeah, those are cool figures for sure!!!!

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