101 in 1001 - Update: Jack-o'-lantern Faces & Inktober

Jack-o'-lantern Carved!

This is just a little update on my 101 in 1001 list, because even though it's not even at 101 goals I want to achieve yet, I've actually managed to complete two goals from it already. Shockingly efficient! To be fair, these were relatively simple goals, so I shouldn't feel too pleased with myself just yet.

The first goal was:

• 028. Carve a jack-o'-lantern.

I began by acquiring a rather aptly named "Monster Pumpkin".

Monster Pumpkin

Then came the process of scooping out the seeds and flesh - again, all sounds very appropriate to the Halloween season, doesn't it!

I'll use the insides to make something

Next, I drew on the face with a marker and cut it out with a knife. Initially, it had fangs, but my hand wasn't cooperating at all yesterday (woo for cold pumpkins/days and having Raynaud's), so they were lopped off accidentally - oops! 

It wasn't as elaborate as some of the ones I've done in the past, but sometimes simple is effective, I suppose. You can see it lit, in the dark, at the top of this post.

The next completed goal was:

• 001. Complete Inktober 2017.

Capture of my Inktober 2017 - plus bonus octopus!

Above are all the drawings I did for Inktober this year. If you want to see a larger version of any of them, they can all be found on this blog under the Inktober2017 tag.

Inktober Day 15 & 365 Days of Art - Halloween

Inktober, Day 15 & Halloween

Day 15 of Inktober and number 168 on the 365 Days of Art list: Halloween!

Music:
Robot Koch - Instructions for Time Travel - Recue Remix
Sleep Thieves - Is This Ready?

Creepy Crawly Spooky Fun

This year's jack-o'-lanterns

You may be wondering why a photo jack-o'-lanterns is appearing in November. Sadly, the truth is that I simply didn't get around to posting about this until now. Plus, I rather like pumpkins all year round.

Anyway, the two disasters above were the result of my niece and nephew staying with me (as they have done for the past couple of Halloweens), them drawing the faces on and me having a "knife accident". Twice. Still, it adds to their...charm and character, I suppose? Heh. Last year's were much better and, since I didn't post those here at the time, here they are now:

The ones I carved myself

Together with the ones my friend did

Apart from carving jack-o'-lanterns, we also spent Halloween (daytime) at Optimus Halloween Horror Convention. My niece & nephew dressed as a skeleton and a mummy, respectively, for the day and various other attendees were wearing costumes as well. However, I just went in my regular clothes.

Me,

The corset in the picture is way too big for me, but I love the Universal Monsters print on it so much that I can't bear to part with it! 

The Optimus event itself was enjoyable and there were various things to keep us entertained. My personal favourites were the horror walkthrough, the Alien display (when we went to this, one of the guys manning it was dressed like Ash from The Evil Dead; complete with a chainsaw hand, haha), and the animal holding area (there were snakes, bearded dragons, tarantulas etc).

Mexican black kingsnake

Chilean rose tarantula

The giant Stay Puft Marshmallow Man from Ghostbusters.

The Alien film series display.

Horror walkthrough: Jason Voorhees from Friday 13th.

HW: Zoom
He'd turn to stare at you as you walked away,
lurking in the bushes, haha.

HW: This actor changed their reactions depending on what you did.
If you stared, they'd point, if you took a picture, they'd cover their face and
lie down before getting up and posing for the photo again.

HW: Pyramid Head from Silent Hill.
Along with Jason, this was probably my favourite in the HW.

In the evening, I decided to make dinner a little bit more spooky by making jacket potato spiders:

After that, my niece & nephew went out trick or treating, whilst I stayed to give out the candy! 

100 Happy Days: Day 28 - Halloween Tea

Although I took photographs for each day, I haven't updated with my 100 Happy Days posts for a little while, so there will be a few backdated entries today. Having green tea in a Halloween-themed mug is always a pleasant way to begin the day!