Cheap Halloween Costume - Challenge Accepted

  So I thought I would roll my Halloween costume idea for this year into a mini tutorial with a bunch of masks so if the idea of what I am doing appeals to you then run with it. It could have been done much better. I used what I had on hand in the house. If I was going to do it again I would buy two spools of black ribbon and a little bit wider this time. So this is what I started with, a pair of old thermal underwear, a spool of ribbon, hot glue gun and some scissors.

  I did not step by step this since I literally just glued on what I thought stick figure lines should look like. You can make yours different, use what you have and do what you think might be fun. This is just an idea to help get your juices going.

  Memes- I joke about them all the time. The stick figure costume imho can go with ANY meme mask. I am going to attach the Dia de los Meme masks I made for fun. You are more than welcome to photoshop out my muerto lines, color them, seek other masks. That is up to you.

Click on the pictures to enlarge them. Right click save as to print and cut out.

And here are a few pictures of me making a fool out of myself in said outfit.

 

Why I draw people as skulls.

  Much like the What is a Tank-O-Lantern? post, on occasion I feel the need to write blog posts explaining things I do to better educate those around me. This is going to be another one of those. The most heart breaking thing for me is to have people look at one of my calacas and call them ugly or scary. They are not intended to be and why I feel the need to write this for those interested in the why.

  To start the largest influence on my work is The Day of the Dead. Once I was introduced to the parade here I was instantly fixated with the holiday. This was the first time I had seen death embraced or as Zarco Guerrero states so well in this video we metaphorically dance with death every day why not embrace it and live a healthier life free of fear of it. I found Jose Guadalupe Posada  and instantly fell in love. I myself am not going to talk alot about the holiday itself, I left you all the linkage you could want peppered in here to keep my wordage down.
 

 So needless to say I started emulating this style, mostly just dancing skeletons and sugar skulls. I also started painting my face and going to the parade every year. I go bringing something from the people I lost over the previous year. I also started memorializing those I lost in pictures of them as if painted to march in the parade with me. It was the best way I knew to honor them.

  In all the people I have loved and lost there was one that took her life. This left me reeling for far longer than I thought it should have. I drew her in my grief. The thing that struck me the most was how much she loved my art and how the best illustration of her I ever made she would never see. This rolled in my mind over and over mixed with other thoughts and beliefs of life. Previous to having lost her I had been trying to make it a point in my life to tell those around me how much they mean to me before I loose them. She knew I thought she was amazing but is not the point. It struck me that there was no reason that I could not celebrate those around me in life and draw them now and not have this amazing illustration project I started become something driven only of grief as that is the opposite of how the calaca is typically seen. It is lighthearted, fun. I started to think of it more as painting the faces of my friends as if going to the parade with me in life. People loved it. I do still draw memorial calacas for those I have lost but it is in celebration of the life they lived and how awesome they are.

  So yes it kills me when people come in and start saying these are scary.
These are my friends, family, my trolls, my fans, these are people I love, like, respect. 

That is why I draw them as skulls. They ask for it as they want to symbolically dance with death with me. Not because we are death obsessed, evil or any other nonsense. 

Because fun. A better reason than because potato. 

Wenchkin's 366 project is ending soon. Did YOU get some?

  There are certain things I do not blog here simply because I blog them elsewhere. One being my 366 Mail Art project. I originally decided to start it over on my brand new Google Plus page since unlike Facebook I was not going to be stuck at an image limit of 200 photos per folder. That is not even close to enough for a 366 project and I did not want to split it up. It can be found in it's entirety right here. For those that for some reason do not like Google Plus I also do blog the whole project over on Modern Rosies.

  I have less than two months left of this project. I have never put out a mail call on my blog for no real reason. So I thought I would offer to you, our readers a chance for a piece of my 366 Mail Art project before it is over. I do not sell your address, spam you or anything of the sort.
  I do have a few rules, or rather one. I only send mail to you. Not your kid, your better half, someone else you know. If you yourself would like a card I need to email me a physical mailing address to wenchkin@gmail.com.
  Please do not add addresses to comments or email addresses for me to write you. I keep one folder in gmail for all my mailing list addresses and I work off it hence why I want you to mail me there.
  So 53 days means 53 more cards will go out before the project ends.

 
People I have mailed in the past - Do I have your current address? Did you move?
Send me your new digits.

Wenchkin's Coloring Pages - Dia de los Hipster Skull Mask

I saw Mike Searle recently doing some masks for fun on Google Plus and thought, man it has been ages since I made a mask. Since Dia de los Muertos is right around the corner from Halloween I thought I would make a few Sugar Skull masks for you to print, cutout and color for fun.

There are four others, the Stache Skull, regular Sugar Skull, Sugar Skull Mask with Roses, and Women's Calaca Mask

Click the picture to enlarge, right click save as to print and color
For the masks it would hold up better if you printed them on a heavier card stock.

Wenchkin's Coloring Pages - Women's Calaca Mask

I saw Mike Searle recently doing some masks for fun on Google Plus and thought, man it has been ages since I made a mask. Since Dia de los Muertos is right around the corner from Halloween I thought I would make a few Sugar Skull masks for you to print, cutout and color for fun.

There are three others, the Stache Skull, regular Sugar Skull, and Sugar Skull Mask with Roses

Click the picture to enlarge, right click save as to print and color
For the masks it would hold up better if you printed them on a heavier card stock.

Wenchkin's Coloring Pages - Sugar Skull Mask with Roses

I saw Mike Searle recently doing some masks for fun on Google Plus and thought, man it has been ages since I made a mask. Since Dia de los Muertos is right around the corner from Halloween I thought I would make a few Sugar Skull masks for you to print, cutout and color for fun.
There are two others, the Stache Skull and a regular Sugar Skull

Click the picture to enlarge, right click save as to print and color
For the masks it would hold up better if you printed them on a heavier card stock.

Wenchkin's Coloring Pages - Moustached Sugar Skull Mask

I saw Mike Searle recently doing some masks for fun on Google Plus and thought, man it has been ages since I made a mask. Since Dia de los Muertos is right around the corner from Halloween I thought I would make a few Sugar Skull masks for you to print, cutout and color for fun.

Click the picture to enlarge, right click save as to print and color
For the masks it would hold up better if you printed them on a heavier card stock.

Wenchkin's Coloring Pages - Sugar Skull Mask

I saw Mike Searle recently doing some masks for fun on Google Plus and thought, man it has been ages since I made a mask. Since Dia de los Muertos is right around the corner from Halloween I thought I would make a few Sugar Skull masks for you to print, cutout and color for fun.

Click the picture to enlarge, right click save as to print and color
For the masks it would hold up better if you printed them on a heavier card stock.

Wenchkin's Coloring Pages - Dia de los Patsy

I started this sketch awhile back and for some reason put it down. Rediscovering it today I decided to finish it and add it in as a coloring page for fun. Why? Because I loved Absolutely Fabulous and Patsy.

Click the picture to enlarge, right click save as to print and color.

Wenchkin's Coloring Pages - Jack-O-Lanterns

I crowed sourced ideas as usual. Circus and pizza came up and I just could not get into the swing of either. Since it is October I figured I would fall back on what I know and love. Pumpkins.

Click the picture to enlarge, right click save as to print and color. 

Wenchkin's Coloring Pages - Mini Mom

This was taken from a picture of my mom as a little girl.

click the picture to enlarge, right click save as to print and color

And here is one with the skull features and background blacked in for fun

Wenchkin's Coloring Pages - Dia de los Hot Air Balloon

Here locally we are right smack in the middle of the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta. Talking to J.L. Btwee the other day I realized I had never seen a skull balloon and we thought someone should change that. Me being poor have only my dreams...
Well and a pen, I do not have money to go make a skull balloon but I can make a coloring page for fun and dream. Enjoy

Click the picture to enlarge, right click save as to print and color

Wenchkin's Coloring Pages - Sugar Skull Bear

Click the picture to enlarge, right click save-as to print and color

Month in Review - September

Ok, ok, this is really late in the coming but better late than never.

Scott has two things going on.
1. He got a new camera. A real one. Now to learn how to use it.
2. He is working his way through painting his characters one by one on a whole ream of card stock. He is crunching through it much faster then I thought he would.

Me, gearing up for HALLOWEEN!
I have added so many new coloring pages I am not going to list them individually, click the link.
I already have an ongoing 366 mail art project that can be found here...

but for fun since we have so many tanks I am doing a mini project on Google Plus of
30 days of stuff glowing on our porch.

Together we thought it would be a good idea to sit down and write a post called
What is a Tank-O-Lantern? Since so many people ask  what it is and how we make them.

For the record, Scott and I no longer use Facebook but we can both be found daily playing on Google Plus. If you are on Plus come play with us Scott's page and My Page

As usual we did turn around and list a whole new line of Halloween tanks, 13 of them to be exact.
That collection can be found for sale here in our store.

If for some reason it is just not in your budget this Halloween season to buy one of our tanks, we do understand that. So in conjunction with Skull-A-Day  we are giving one away!
Click this link and leave a comment on the original blog post

Seriously, Go NOW!!!! Now! Contest ends Oct 10th. You have less than two days! Just do it!

we are giving away this bad boy, you know you want it so hurry on over. 

Expect a lot more fun coming up this Halloween / Dia de los Muertos season!

Wenchkin's Coloring Pages - Skeletal Big Bird

  I know I was not due for another coloring page til tuesday but I did not feel like sitting on this on until then. So enjoy.

Click the picture to enlarge, right click save as to print and color

Wenchkin's Coloring Pages - Skeletal Masquerade

A bonus page for sun today. Partly due to the fact the first page I posted lacked any skulls.

Click the picture to enlarge, right click save as to print and color

Wenchkin's Coloring Pages - Halloween Tree

Since October is finally here I will be rolling out a few new Halloween themed coloring pages during the course of the month.

Click the picture to enlarge, right click save as to print and color