Hello all you guys and ghouls, it’s Halloween night and its time to break out your plastic pumpkins, dig out your skeleton flashlights, string on your glow sticks and go a-candy beggin’. But, if you waited till the last minute to get into the spirit, then here are some resources for you (slackers).

Life Hack: Make Your Own Zombie

Extreme Pumpkins

Thread Banger: Halloweeny Wednesdays: Slacker Edition

Scary Guys: Halloween How-To For Everyone

MAKE: Blog: Dress up as a You Tube Clip

Monster List of Halloween DIY Projects

Instructables Halloween DIY 2007(the image below comes from Instructables)

Or, in real English, become an artist with Drawspace. I just came across this site today, so I don’t have ton of information, just a basic overview. But I do have to say, just from giving it the old once over that Drawspace is looking good. It appears to be serise of free classes in drawing. Some of the lessons are available to anybody, some it looks like you need to register for a free account to view. The lessons run from beginner level to advanced and cover such topics as “Learning to see positve and negative spaces,” and “Drawing on the Masters: Nose Study (Leonardo Davinci).” There are a whoooooole bunch of lessons (my quick estimate is 156) and after reviewing a few of the open access lessons (available online or in a pdf), head drawing goddess Brenda Hoddinott seems to really know her shiznit. But don’t take my word for it, check it out yourself.

Check out Pack Rat Magazine, Issue #1!

Isn’t it disappointing when you google D.I.Y. and you come up with all these lame country crafts, or nothing but home improvement sites? Where is the variety? Where is the creativity, the diversity? It’s all over at D.I.Y. Life. This collective blog is part of the Weblogs Inc. universe and features everything D.I.Y. in life, from the obligatory crafts and hobbies and home improvement, to Home & Family, and Tech stuff. They even have blogs about recalled items. Many of the projects include handy price guides (just like Pack Rat, only their projects aren’t quite as affordable :0D). But one of my favorite things about them are the little tricks and tips they have, like how to open your combination lock if you lose the combination, and how to chill a bottle of wine in under 10 minutes. Plus, they totally won me over with their Halloween article, “Jawa Jive: Build Your Own Star Wars Jawa. Wootine!” The Wootine had me giggling all morning, I’m just that big of a Star Wars nerd.

Check out Pack Rat Magazine, Issue #1!

It’s my personal opinion that you can’t spend your money on anything better than a graphic novel.  They have it all!  Great story telling, amazing art, and like a movie they have immediacy as well as  the clarity of vision.  But, like a book, they leave so much open to your own imagination.  They are, in a word, brilliant. And I’m not the only one who thinks so.  Graphic novel sales have skyrocketed in the past ten years. I remember having to drive an hour away when I was a teenager, just to get a look at the good stuff. These days they are in every major chain bookstore.  But maybe you haven’t caught the fever yet.  Maybe you’re trying to avoid superhero comic book cliches.  Well I found a helpful article from Time magazine, published about a year ago, called “5 Gripping Graphic Novels for Grownups.”  The titles they recommend are a good place to get your feet wet.  And after that I guarantee you’re going to be going back for more.

Looking for more crafting goodness? Check out Pack Rat Magazine, Issue #1!

All of you who work in publishing crafts (you know, books, ‘zines, etc.) get ready to get excited. I found some wicked awesome free fonts at TypeNow. They are based on movie logos and I LOOOOOVE them. My favorites are Apocalypse Now, Bewitched, Dark Crystal (natch), Mars Attacks, Ren & Stimpy, The Simpsons (obviously), Star Wars (of course), Spongebob Square Pants, and 28 Days Later. Plus they have fonts from band logos and video game logos, and really all the awesome, pop culture fonts you could ever possibly want. Be sure to bookmark this site.

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