Finally, all four of my Princess Frog sculptures are displayed for Halloween at West 69th Street in New York City.
I was overjoyed when a young girl pointed at each frog and said, “Ribbit, Ribbit, Ribbit, Ribbit.”
West 69th Street is one of New York City’s iconic Halloween Streets, where over 2,000 children trick-or-treat annually.
Rapunzel
Once upon a time, there was a little frog, Who lives in a pond, in a cozy little bog One day, she meets a prince who is lost in the woods, And she asks him kindly If she can do him any good.
“Please help me find my way to the tower up ahead, Where my dear Rapunzel lives with her long, luscious hair, unfed.” The smart little frog knows the way, and she hops along the road, Leading the prince until they reach the tower of cobblestone
But when they find Rapunzel l, She is no longer a maid, But a slimy green frog, who has been cursed and betrayed. The prince is surprised, But he takes the frog in his hands, And kisses her on the cheek, Breaking the witch’s spell demands.
And lo and behold, The frog turns into a princess fair, With golden locks of hair and eyes like the sun’s glare. Hand in hand, the happy couple go on their merry way,
leaving the little frog to deal with the tower’s disarray.
On the floor, the frog sees Rapunzel‘s beautiful locks of hair
And decides to make a wig that she can wear Next, she sees a big pile of pretty, lacy dresses All of which seem fit for a Queen or Princess
Beautiful dresses covered with buttons and stripes,
others with purple flowers in designs she likes
The frog tries on a pink dress with long, pillowy sleeves She looks in the mirror and decides it suits her to a tee She hops to the bureau, where she finds a gold crown She stares in the mirror, sees her reflection, and laughs out loud
Suddenly, she hears a creak when the couple opens the door To find the little frog draped in velvet, pearls, and furs galore Rapunzel and the Prince shriek at the frog in delight Thrilled to see the frog beaming in jewels shining bright
Rapunzel runs to the little frog and gives her a squeeze “You saved my life, little frog. Take whatever you please.”
Slowly, I am staging my upcoming Princess Frogs displays for Halloween. After quickly staging all the display elements – the four Princess Frogs, handpainted signs, lily ponds, and foliage—together in a temporary location, I am relocating them to their permanent location on West 69th Street.
I was overjoyed when a young girl passing by screamed, “Princess Frogs!” when she spotted my display. Her mother told me that her daughter loves to dress up as a princess. My target audience gets me!! My display will be on one of New York City’s iconic Halloween Streets, where over 2,000 children trick-or-treat annually.
Everything, except the wigs and crowns, is made from recycled materials – water bottles, pizza boxes, FedEx boxes, paper towels, toilet paper rolls, New York Times newspapers, bubble wrap, coffee cans, lids, and packing foam.
Croak-A- Hontas
Once upon a time, in a far-off tranquil stream
Lives a princess frog named Croak-A- Hontas, with high self-esteem
She is green and slimy but oh so regal,
And her croak is sweet and pure, like a golden eagle.
Her father is the king of all the reptiles
that live near the stream for miles and miles
And Croak-A- Hontas is friends with one and all
if there is a fight, she is quick to break up the brawl
But one day, an evil stork comes to the pond,
And snatches her up, leaving her father beyond.
Croak-A- Hontas is scared, but she doesn’t give up,
She knows she can escape without a hiccup.
So she kicks, and she wriggles and finally breaks free,
And lands with a splash in a nearby tree.
There, she meets a nervous snake
with a rattle on his tail, he likes to shake
She comforts him as best she can
and promises to take him back to her land
Together, they begin to trek across the valley
making new friends and often stopping to dillydally
Croak-A- Hontas is fascinated by all that she sees
Her mind fills with a boundless curiosity
For every rock and tree and creature
has a life, has a spirit, has a name that can teach her
My Princess Frogs display is a twist on the perennial tale Frog Prince. Instead of a woman kissing a frog to break the spell and turn it back into a prince, I wondered if a man would be willing to kiss a frog and turn it back into a princess.
If a man was willing to kiss a frog, would the frog want to be turned back into a Princess? Sarah Ferguson, Diana Spencer, and Meghan Markle‘s comments about a princess’s real life make it clear it’s not all it’s cracked up to be. Life as a frog might be much easier than life as a princess.
“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.
