I created a witch post to stand near Grool in the cauldron. Perched on top, keeping watch, is the witch's familiar, an old crow I've named Nefarious. This was a really quick prop I knocked out in a couple of hours as a last minute idea. It was fun to make and will definitely get re-done for next year with extra TLC when I have more time. The post itself is just a tree branch I held onto from some summer pruning. It was going to be used for the cauldron's fire pit until I changed my mind and made it coal.
Nefarious the crow is a old, beat up store bought one from my stash. I gave him some personality with large eyes and heavy brows. They are glued on painted marbles with Model Magic sculpted around them. I heated and bent his claws so they'd grip the post top a bit more naturally.
The lantern is one from my sister Monica's outdoor wedding reception years ago. I've kept it as a souvenir for a long time hanging in the backyard. I thought fun to use as it's gotten very rusty and fits the prop really well. I'm going to put a real candle in it Halloween night. A few odd foam bones hung together are one totem and an ordinary cheap rubber bat tied up is the other. Spray gluing dirt over it and cutting a few holes in the wings as if tears give it a surprisingly realistic look (at first glance at least).
Since the post stands next to the brewing cauldron, a couple of ingredient bottles hang at the ready. This recipe calls for one cup of Ghoul Gore and Guts cooking oil and a tablespoon of Yeti Mucus. The oozing contents are blobs of white glue that I dribbled some craft paint on while still wet. As gravity took hold and it dried, it created a nice transparent look with crusty opaque bits.
The label art was done quickly in Photoshop and aged with coffee. Nothing fancy but here they are if you want to grab and use on your own prop bottles. Click on the images to enlarge.
