My little cabin in the woods

After seeing quite a few cute Halloween terrariums online, I decided to make one for myself. I headed off to Dollar Tree to get a little round fishbowl type container and some natural/spray painted moss. The container I bought was small, with only a 3.5" opening. I quickly realized that I wouldn't have room for much more than the moss in this container!

Still, it was cool and only cost $1.00. I next went to a JoAnn's Fabrics/Crafts store in hopes of finding a much wider container. I found a wide bowl that only cost a few bucks after a lucky sale and a coupon. This container has a 6.5" opening. That sure beats 3.5"!

I had been thinking of building a little graveyard scene, but that idea seemed sad as I started assembling it. I decided it would be more fun to build a little house in this swampy scene and have some creepy thing stalking around it. Plus, I could have a light element. I gave some thought to what could be the source of light and decided the easiest thing to use would be a battery operated tea light candle. I measured the candle and built a house frame out of cardboard. The little cabin ended up being essentially free since I used an empty Kleenex box.

 

After measuring and bending it to my specifications, I stapled it together. Then I got to adding the little "logs" to the exterior. The logs are .25" high and 2" long, for anyone who is wondering. I put some Elmer's glue on the walls and started adding my logs. I did the same for the roof. After these pieces dried, I textured a little acrylic paint over the whole thing. I was going for a wood-like effect, and I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out!

 

The little candle adds a nice glow from inside.

After making my little cabin, I decided the scene needed some trees. I looked online for tutorials on how to make miniature trees and found this simple, instructive video:



How about that? You can make your own little birch trees from twigs you've found! Here are mine:

I kept them sturdy by sticking them in some floral foam.

There are plenty of other tree making tutorials online, but some require tools and more supplies. Most of these tutorials seem to be for model makers.

All in all, this project ended up costing around $3.00 (not including the cost of a Kleenex box and the floral foam and paint I already had). Some additions will probably be made to the scene as Halloween approaches. I think it would be fun to add a little werewolf behind the trees. I like that I can decorate the cabin for different holidays.

As for the little round glass bowl, I considered Modge-Podging some orange tissue paper in it. I ended up liking the tissue I placed in there with no glue. I like that this is temporary, so I can add different colors for different occasions. I think a number of these glowing orbs could look cool lining a walkway or a table for a party.

I wish you could see the candle flickering inside, because that really adds something. The glass takes on the look of a round flame. You could also put some fake flowers in the top and have a glowing vase.

I had a lot of fun decorating these glass containers. I had to stretch my skills to work small. Even with the larger container, my terrarium is busting at the seams! I'm happy to have learned how to make little birch trees and I know I will go on to make more cardboard houses in the future.

The Death of a B-Movie Star

Today I learned about the death of Yvette Vickers. Actually, she died about a year ago, but she was just found in her home. Sadly, no one had checked around for her in a year. She was only found because a neighbor noticed cobwebs in Yvette's mailbox last month, and thought to investigate. Her body was described as mummified, although I don't know why it was in that state. Here's a pretty photo of her:

Yvette is probably best known for her role in "Attack of the 50 Foot Woman." She also starred in various B-Movies including, "Attack of the Giant Leeches." This movie came out in 1959 and is like various other sci-fi movies from this time. There's some mutated giant creature (that would have been gross even at a normal size) running around, and there's some romance thrown in. I saw this movie years ago on Svengoolie, and probably slept through some of it.

If you have some free time, and can stomach it, here is "Attack of the Giant Leeches" in its entirety!

Also, here is some trivia about the movie:

* It was produced on a budget of $70,000. (I can't believe the budget was that high)

* The giant leeches were played by actors in sack-like suits made of thin black plastic - complete with fake "suckers" sewn on.

* This film was also called Attack of the Blood Leeches, Demons of the Swamp, She Demons of the Swamp, and War of the Giant Leeches.

* The music score for this film was a stock score used previously in the film Night of the Blood Beast (1958), also produced by Roger Corman.

* Stretched out by the divers’ air tanks, the giant leech costumes split during production; that’s why we only get to see fleeting glimpses of the creatures!