You’ve Got To Have Friends To Create Halloween Displays

“But you’ve got to have friends,” Bette Midler’s song lyrics helped push me through the creative challenges of making my Halloween displays.  I’m not an artist or a crafter, so the struggle was real. Thankfully, two remarkable women, Sharon and Lauren, cheered me on along the way.

 

After I created my first display, The Amy Winehouse Twins, made of recycled bottles for Halloween last year,  Sharon kept encouraging me to create more art. My insecurities helped me blow off her comments until Spring.

But her interest in my creativity wore me down until I asked myself, “Why not?” I experienced so much joy creating the Winehouse Twins and Angela ‘LAMB’ sbury, it was worth a try.

I found a cheap plastic duck mask in a box in my closet. At first, a Halloween duck display didn’t make sense to me. But then, the name Cruella DUCK Vil popped into my head.

Still, even after that light bulb went off, I wondered if I could make a duck display. My paper mache skills were considered shaky back in elementary school.

Thank goodness for YouTube craft videos! I didn’t need to know there are so many types of paper mache available, from clay to cement, but the step-by-step demonstrations helped. After several frustrating days (weeks!) of trying to smooth out the seams, I moved on to decorations.

This step presented a whole new set of problems. I had never used a glue gun before, and my handcrafting skills were laughable or nonexistent at best. I had this ‘brilliant’ idea to decorate my Duck displays with candy.

Shortly after purchasing a bunch of candy, I found out that most types of candy don’t adhere to glue, and if they do, the glue deteriorates them. It was a sticky, hot mess. Then, after creating a 20’s style flapper dress using red licorice for Cruella, a hungry rat got into my apartment and devoured it.

Count Duckula, Cruella Duck Vil, Bri-Duck of Frankenstein, and Duck Vader are made from recycled bottles, shoe boxes, and New York Times newspapers with old-fashioned paper mache (flower and water).
Count Duckula’s costume is covered in Tic Tacs, cake sprinkles, Red Hots, Black Licorice, Dollar Store eyes, Chocolate Baking Dots, Recycled Red and Black Cloth Grocery Bags, and a Child-Size Dracula wig.
Duck Vader’s costume is made from a child’s Darth Vader costume, Take-Out Container, Trash Bags, Packing Supplies, Black Licorice, and Orange Tic Tacs.

Cruella and the Bri-Duck of Frankenstein were the last displays I decorated. By this time, I had decided to forgo candy and use household items for decorations. Cruella’s dress is made of placemats and Swifters. Bri-Duck’s dress is made from coffee filters, paper plates, doilies, Amazon wigs, and mops.

Periodically, through my creative meltdowns, I’d bump into Sharon. Her timing was perfect! Sharon’s excitement about what I was creating (even though she didn’t know what it was) and my friend Lauren’s enthusiasm boosted my spirits.

Lauren helped me with my displays last year, too.

When you tell Lauren you want to climb a mountain, Lauren will ask you ‘How many steps?’ she won’t question why you should do it. I love that! She’s a wonderful friend who cheers you and begs you to go BIGGER!!

Which I did!

Kitty Litter is made from recycled materials. Single-use bottles, packing supplies, boxes, and the New York Times newspaper with old-fashioned paper mache. Her head is a $14 mask from Amazon. Her bustier is made from assorted candy, including Dots, Licorice, three-sizes of Gumballs, Skittles, Mike & Ikes, Circus Peanuts, Tic Tacs, Jelly Bellys, Good n’ Plenty, and Swedish Fish. Her fins are assorted foil muffin liners. Her skirt is made of multi-colored spaghetti licorice. Her tail is made of three sizes of marshmallows. Initially, I wanted to use multi-colored mini marshmallows like my Aunt Francis used to put her in Ambrosia salad, but I couldn’t find them anywhere!
The rest of the Kitty Litter display is a nod to the enormous amount of single-use plastics in our oceans. Collecting my single-use plastics, including water bottles, take-out food containers, cups, straws, and food packages over two months opened my eyes to the staggering amount of trash I contribute to the environmental crisis.

I hope this post encourages you to create art, especially if you’re doubtful about your skills, afraid of failure, or unsure where or how to start. I shared all of those thoughts, too. But even at my most challenging moments, I had a blast!

This little boy’s excitement made my adventures in crafting worthwhile!

The spirit and community of West 69th Street inspired me to create some kid-friendly decorations for Halloween and learn how to use a glue gun. Sadly, many fingertips were burned trying to clue the marshmallows to Kitty Littter’s tail.

 

Halloween Displays: Count Duckula

This Halloween, I got a bit carried away with my displays. My office is on one of New York City’s Halloween streets, where thousands walk by to see the decorations or trick or treat.

For me, Halloween is about creativity, not candy. I love that people dress up, and I love that people decorate. It’s a fun time to express yourself and let your imagination take over.

Most residents decorate their brownstones with horror, blood, and gruesome monsters. My friend Lauren encouraged me to make kid-friendly displays.
I created a series of RiDUCKulous displays featuring four ducks dressed as my favorite Halloween iconic characters from back in the day.  I’m not a crafter, so making these displays was a reach. I never used a hot glue gun. I never attempted paper mache. And I don’t paint.  Between big moments of joy, I experienced a bit of frustration trying to execute my ideas.
Here’s my Count Duckula display. He’s made of recycled bottles, newspaper, and old-fashioned paper mache (flower and water). He’s covered in Tic Tacs, cake sprinkles, Red Hots, black licorice, Dollar Store eyes, cake sprinkles, black glitter, chocolate baking dots, recycled cloth grocery bags, and a child-sized wig.
One of my big takeaways from crafting my displays is how much garbage we make. I collected bottles and boxes so they’d be handy when I was making my displays. Reports estimate that each person creates about 147 pounds of trash per month, or 1,788.5 pounds yearly.
For inspiration, I googled Dracula, and found a picture of one of my favorite actors, Leslie Nielsen.

I love this actor and his movies so much that his Dracula costume inspired me.