Spookytown, USA

I recently received a set of Cabana Row Mini Houses from Alpha Stamps, and I knew right away that a Halloween village was in order. Hello, Spookytown! Kids are frolicking, cats are guarding pumpkins, and someone has used a skull as a seasonal decoration.

Here are some closeups:

I started out by covering each chipboard house with scrapbook paper; one type for the house itself, and a contrasting paper for the roof. Each got a Halloween motif on the front, and all but one got Halloween "windows" on the sides.

Spookytown needed a home base, so I made one out of foam core. It's covered with black tissue paper; I just wrapped it like a present and glued it down. Orange ric rac helps finish off the edge.  

 After the foam core was covered and the ric rac was applied, I wanted to add some texture on the ground. This would have been best to do before the ric rac was glued on, but sometimes I do like a challenge. The only way I could think of to apply the "grass" was to use spray mount, but I definitely didn't want to get that grass all over the sides and into the ric rac, so I made a cardboard template to protect those areas. I measured the base, and cut the template 1/8" less on all sides, so there's a little black edge around the border.

I drew crop marks so I could position the base in the center of the template. Once the template is ready, tape the base on face down, so you can spray the top and apply the ground cover. Make sure you do this part outside! I used washi tape because it's easy to remove.

The great thing about using foam core is that it's easy to construct a scene. To attach the tree silhouette and the fence posts, I glued thin wire to the back of each element. Once the glue is dry, I used a straight pin to make a little hole in the foam core and then inserted each piece.

It's so easy to build a fence this way. I also used wire to allow some Halloween figures (a black cat, a couple of pumpkin heads, and a boy with a jack o'lantern) to stand. Wire allows the bats to fly, and holds up the skull bead so it doesn't topple down. I chose not to attach the houses or the pumpkins or fall leaves. Maybe I'll want to rearrange things some time.

I hope you enjoyed Spookytown! For a complete list of supplies, click here.