New Gate Pillars Are Done!

Alright, we finally finished the pillars to the new entrance gate for the graveyard.

Earlier, I showed you how we were building them. Now I'll show you have we finished them...

The columns needed base and cap stones. We simulated that with 2x4's...


Next, we added "Monster Mud" to the exterior to create texture...


Then paint the bricks and add an aging glaze...


Here's a closer look...


Finally, add two coats of polyurethane to waterproof the column and you're finished...


Now I can put the columns in place and I'll be able to finish putting up the fencing. Once that is done it will be time to decorate!

I'll post those pics when I'm done!

New Gate Update!

Hey guys,

Just thought I'd show you what one of those Styrofoam gate columns looks like with a coating of "monster mud" on it...


Man, I really think these are gonna be fantastic when they're done!

Later!

Columns Update!

Hey guys!

The new gate is moving forward.

I just wanted to brag about how awesome my wife is at carving.

Take a look at how one of the columns for the new gate is coming along...



If we can paint these half as good as she is at carving them then by the time these are done you won't be able to tell these are made out of foam!

Another Busy Weekend!

Hey guys,

Well, we didn't get to start putting out the decorations this weekend but we were very busy none the less.

When getting everything out to start setting up we remembered that we "retired" one of the archways used as the exit to the graveyard at the end of last year. It was old and falling apart and I remember thinking that the archway should be pretty easy to replace so we threw it out. Of course, when we went shopping to get a new arch we couldn't find anything we liked. That's when we decided to build our own gate.

So, here are a few pics showing the construction of the new gate...

First, I built the frame out of 1x2.


Then I attached foam insulation with liquid nail.


This is when my truly talented wife came in with a soldering iron and completely made this thing look like old stone!



This is going to look fantastic when it is done. Of course, I will have more pics as the process moves along.

And, as if this isn't enough, the wife is working on two gargoyles to top the newly constructed gate pillars. She even started working on the basic structure...


I dropped the skull head on just to give you an idea of where this is going. She is going to make the skulls look like gargoyles and I will have more pics as this process moves along.

So, we'll continue working on these throughout the week. Right now, the plan is to start setting up the graveyard this coming weekend but that will depend on how far we get on the gates.

Of course, I'll let you know how that goes!

It's That Time Again!!!

Hey guys!

Well, this weekend was the last weekend before October so that meant it was time to start gearing up the re-appearance of Hollinger Hollow 2011!

We're still deciding what to add this year, but one thing we know we want to do is add more "rod iron" fencing to the front of the cemetery.

So, that's what I got started on this weekend and since it marks the beginning of the work on the Hollow I decided to show you what goes into it.

The process is very simple...

First, I start with some 1x2 boards and 1/2" pvc...


Second, drill holes in the 1x2, slide the pvc into place and attache with 1 1/4 inch screws...



Third, paint it black...



Finally, after several hours of work you're ready to go...


All in all, it's very simple and very time consuming, especially if you're doing this by yourself. If spending 30 minutes trying to figure out the exact measurements of everything doesn't drive you completely insane then several hours breathing spray paint (3 cans per fence) will have your family peeling you off the floor with a spatula. Then they can add your gooey form to your Halloween display and scare the crap out of the neighbors.

So, feel free to come by at least once a week.

There is so much more to come!!!

Pics! Finally!!

As promised, I'm finally getting around to adding the pics from Halloween...

As always, click on the pic to see a larger image.


This is what you see when first you enter Hollinger Hollow!


A close-up of the Blood Fountain!


A view out into the cemetery!


Our boarded up windows!


The Mausoleum!


The Old Grave Digger must have decided to take a nap!


Rest In Piece!


The Raven!


Come on man! Get that corpse of the fence!


The Bridge to the other side!


The Hell Hole!


Coffin Guy in action!


We call this guy Doug!


And the Exit!

All in all a very successful Halloween.

But now what is to become of the blog? I've been pondering that since I started it and I've decided to keep it going year round. That said, I wouldn't expect a lot of updates during the first 7 months of the year as we don't really get rolling until August, but the truth is that there is still a lot of work to do.

Like what you ask? Well, like automating the Coffin Guy. This year I had someone hiding in the bushes operating a ball valve that controlled the air flow to the pneumatic cylinder. Next year it would be nice if everything was controlled by a pressure switch.

We are also going to give the Hollow a Louisiana Swamp feel next year so I'll have to figure out new lighting schemes as well as adding a lot more "swamp" to the cemetery.

I will also be thinking about what new attractions to build/add for next year. I never got the Face in the Tombstone working. I will definitely be working on that as well as toying around with some other new ideas that I will talk about when I have them better figured out.

So, come by about once a month or so to see if there have been any new updates. I can't promise there will be a lot of updates for the next 9 months but I'll do my best to keep it interesting.

In the meantime, be sure to check in on my primary year round project at the Xam and Power Blog! You can see what I spend most of my free time working on and hopefully get a chuckle out of that.

See you around!

Hollinger Hollow 2010 Walkthrough!

Well, Here it is! The Hollinger Hollow 2010 Walk Through video!!!



As I watched this video the first thing I realized is my finger shows up in the upper left corner about 1:35 minutes through. I wasn't able to edit this out so I'll just have to live with it.

The other thing I notice is that even though this video is good (it was filmed using an IPhone as my video camera couldn't handle the low lighting) it still doesn't compare to how it looked live. This year was truly fantastic and I wish I had a video that truly shows how special it was to walk through the cemetery.

I'll have some pics to show within the next couple of days.

Hollinger Hollow Is Gone!

Hey guys,

Well, Halloween has come and gone and like the holiday, so has Hollinger Hollow.

This year was our best turnout. Halloween being on a Sunday this year I suspected the trick-or-treaters to be out early so I ensured everything was set up by 6pm.

To my surprise, we only had about 5 people show up the first hour. I was beginning to fear that the holiday being on a Sunday, along with the Cowboys getting their butt's kicked in the most embarrassingly fashion and game 4 of the World series playing during peak trick-or-treat hours, was going to give people little motivation to get up and go house to house asking for candy. As it was, I was begging to worry for nothing.

At 7pm the flood gates of trick-or-treaters opened. We started the night with 400 goody bags of candy. Now, that's not just 400 pieces of candy. There were several pieces of candy in each bag. By 8pm we had gone through all 400 bags. After a quick trip to the store we were back in business.

The wave of people began to die down after 9pm but we left the lights on until 10pm. All in all, we had around 600 people come through the Hollow, a record year! Thank you everyone who helped us pass out candy and thank you everyone for stopping by and making this year the tremendous success it was.

The next day everything was torn down and placed in the back yard. Hollinger Hollow has vanished until next year. We even had several people come by later in the day yesterday to get one last look, but they were too late. All they saw was the empty space where once there was a spooky cemetery.

So, what does all the stuff look like when it's sitting in the back yard? Well, it looks like this...




Of course, we have a lot of pictures and even some video from Halloween night. I hope to have it all posted by the end of the week. For today, I just need a small break and thankfully, the weather has given me a pretty big rain storm to use and an excuse to not work on putting all that stuff in my yard back in my garage. I'll probably get around to that tomorrow. Then I'll start going through all the pics and footage to see what I can post.

Talk to you then.