# Turning random Christmas blowmolds into whimsical Halloween decorations.



## Hilda

I have been asked to post my Halloween blowmold repaints out here ~ I didn't know how well received blowmolds would be. LOL  Even if you don't usually like using blowmolds, perhaps you have some random old candles or some other blowmold laying around your garage, that you might think about repurposing and using.

I've been decorating with blowmolds for around ten years now. Halloween is my favorite holiday to decorate for, and there obviously are far more blowmolds that were made for Christmas than for Halloween. A few years back, I had quite a few old, beat-up, scratched-up Christmas molds and I thought I'd see if I could make something to add to my Halloween display. That started a three year repurposing adventure ~ I'll start at the beginning, and just follow in somewhat a chronological fashion. 

So to begin, I got some advice from other blowmolders who had experience stripping and repainting molds, got together the supplies, and gave it a go. Oh my! It's harder than you think (at first). You need a lot of patience and a gentle touch on that spray can. LOL The first things I tackled were a few candycanes and a couple of lollypops similar to the first picture here (those pictured are not the ones I used ~ the ones I used were in deplorable shape). As you follow this thread, hopefully you will see that my technique got a little better over the course of the three years. LOL


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## Hilda

At first I used anything extra I had around ~ candles, candycanes. Using blue painters tape and Krylon Fusion for Plastic spray paints. I knew an ebay seller who had a lot of unpainted molds (like the tree) which had damage and were not selling on ebay. I got them for a few dollars a piece and I had a vision to fill my front yard with Halloween candy. I used classic Halloween colors and made it up as I went along. I have no idea what I'm doing... LOL Just having a good time. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it failed.


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## Hilda

I was really liking experimenting with the technique. Lots of drips and mess those first repaints. Candycanes are actually kinda tricky to tape off! I thought they were gonna be a breeze. You can see I used any Halloween favorite thing as color inspiration ~ candycorn, witches stockings, the movie Beetlejuice, and even the tree-eating snake from Nightmare Before Christmas.
























Here they are in the display.


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## Hilda

So I was addicted to converting Christmas molds to Halloween use. Only I had used up all the scuzzy candy canes. I started eyeing up some good Christmas molds... but just couldn't do it. LOL I looked around for what there was an abundance of for sale, that were really really cheap, to fill out the front yard display. At the time, sellers were sitting on TONS of these green lollypops. So we found a seller within driving distance who sold us boxes of them dirt cheap, and I amused myself an entire summer painting lollypops. 










These were the first designs ~ swirls, twirls, JOL faces... (boy some of them were bad) LOL It was all just whimsical, and I was having fun.


















Here's another candycorn swirl design. Ohhh... and m&m's ~ I made a lot of m&m lollies that year. 


















Here's all that Christmas candy turned Halloween in our display.


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## Hilda

I don't have a good system ~ It's all trial and error. This is a picture of my fancy paint shop. LOL The second picture is a bunch of the lollies I made that first summer. I painted a lot of them and traded them with other decorators to add new things to my display. I guess I could call it the Lollypop Summer.


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## Hilda

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## Hilda

Then someone dropped off a Candle Santa they had found out by the garbage (similar to the one pictured). The red was so scratched up and it needed to be repainted, but the face was still perfect. Hmmmmmm.... What could it be for Halloween? LOL










A wizard?

















I did quite a few of these wizards, and in different colors.


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## Hilda

Another blowmold that was quite plentiful a few years ago was the Christmas Sitting Bears. At first the sellers I knew, only wanted a couple dollars for a used bear, and as a matter of fact, once I started painting these for Halloween, I was given quite a few of them. Now, as with all the Union molds, they have become a little pricey on ebay.

Here were my first four Trick-or-Treating Bears.










There is HildyBear, DracuBear, MummyBear and FrankieBear.


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## Hilda

Then a seller asked me if I wanted some unpainted gingerbread kids to paint for Christmas. (Unpainted molds don't sell very well.) Sure ~ I'll take them! 
Added some Halloween color to the icing and gave them some treat buckets ~ I'm not sure these are my most convincing conversions... but I think they make a cute addition to the Hansel and Gretel type candyland theme.


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## Hilda

After I did the MummyBear, I wondered how a cartoon-like mummy face would look on a lollypop.










Then I had to paint Oogie Boogie silhouette on one...










I'm a huge fan of Nightmare Before Christmas... so I had to do an interpretation of Jack ~ and then Sally ~ and Barrel too!
























Here they all are in the display.















I think that brings me to the end of the first year of repaints. The lolly stash was gone. As you can see, I was trying to add to my Halloween display and recycle shabby, scratched-up blowmolds and give them a new life. Also if I could find those molds the sellers were eager to get rid of for a steal, I would jump on them. What blowmolds I use, has changed each year, depending on what I can find really cheap.


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## Hilda

So the next Spring I started painting a few things again. I had repurposed some Christmas candy canes the previous year and my initial thought had been that they would look like witch's stockings ~ perhaps place them on the ground by the foundation of my house, like the house had fallen on a witch. LOL Nope, that was (as the kids say) a FAIL! So I stripped just the top off them and added a snake face. Eh... not great, but funny looking enough. (You cannot see at this angle, but they have two big white fangs in the front of the mouth.)


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## Hilda

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## Hilda

Repurposed another pair of Christmas green mint lollypops to Halloween colors.


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## jenscats5

I love it!! Great job!!


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## Hilda

We got so many positive comments from visitors about the four Trick-or-Treat Bears I had painted, that we decided a bunch of them out front of the narrow strip on the other side of the front walk would be a cute little theme. We found as many faded and shabby ole bears as we could, and I began to make a bunch of classic Halloween costumed bears. I would have liked to have more of the white bears, but the brown ones are far more plentiful. 

Here are the CowboyBear, Native AmericanBear, FirefighterBear and HoboBear.




























~ and FarmerBear, ConvictBear and PirateBear.


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## Hilda

Also DevilBear, SkellyBear, GhostBear and PunkyBear...





























and a CaveBear.


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## Hilda

I guess you could definitely call 2010 the Summer of the Bear. I finally ran out of bears, and display room. Although, I still have a ton of ideas for more ~ there are endless possibilities for these little cuties. Here's a picture of my version of the build-a-bear paintshop that summer. LOL

















Here are a few that I made for a trade. An orange version of the Witch Bear with a darling little cape. (Union had made an orange plastic bear, but is hard to find.) A FrankieBear with one of the bears with a molded bow. Two IndianBears and another DracuBear.































~ and here are all those Trick-or-Treat Bears on Treat Street in our Halloween Display. TOTs love to sit down amongst them and have their pictures taken.


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## 22606

Many of those are quite ingenious (not to mention humorous). Nice job on the redos, Hilda.


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## Hilda

At some point, my blowmold collecting friends started to tease me about the bears and was I ever going to paint anything else again. Someone threw down the challenge that I could not change the List Santa which has to be the most common Christmas blowmold to find (the paint on the face was terrible). He told me I would never be able to repurpose it to Halloween, put it into one of my scenes and make it believable. I couldn't use props or add a costume ~ I could only modify it with paint. 










I took the dare and ... please meet the Undertaker of Sleepy Hollow Graveyard! hahahahahahahaha I know ~ not totally believable, but really funny!

















Here is the Undertaker in the scene. I don't use him any more, but it was a funny challenge.










I also used a free Christmas elf that needed to be repainted, and made a little Gravedigger.


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## Hilda

Next I wondered if I could do something Halloween with the Mrs. Claus blowmold. (This is our Christmas mold for example.) For my first repurposed Mrs. C., I went fairly obvious. I converted her to a Witch, using the Witch from the Wizard of Oz as my inspiration. I wish I had gone a tad lighter on the green and heavier on the black. It's all experimentation. 
















I got excited when I saw that she did indeed repurpose very well. No one guessed she was originally a Christmas blowmold. I wish you could see what bad condition these molds were before I repainted them. That is part of the thrill ~ bringing them back to life! The next conversions were another Mrs. Claus and a Christmas Elf. I keep the original faces whenever possible.

I wanted to make a 'good witch' for the Candyland scene. This is our Candycorn Witch and why not? I made her a Candycorn Elf.


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## Hilda

I just had two more classic Halloween female roles I wanted to try out that summer. I had friends who were so curious at what I would do, they were searching yard sales and flea markets for Mrs. Claus for me. Sometimes, the ideas work out better than I expect ~ sometimes not so much. LOL 

Here is my version of a Mummy. It will work much better when we finally build her a sarcophagus!! 
My beloved Bride of Frankenstein got married and started a family. haha


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## Hilda

Just a few more repurposes that summer. I repainted alot of red Christmas candles that can be found at yard sales and even kicked to the curb. I painted them a satin black, and the flames orange. What a wonderful addition to any Halloween display. I also made a few pumpkin posts from candles or posts that had missing or broken flames. Paint the candles black, and screw on pumpkin or skull pails on the top.

My favorite pair I made were from some posts that had no tops that a seller gave me for free. I painted stripes on the post. Then screwed on some 50 cent yard sale find pumpkin candy pails onto them. Covered the hole on the top of the pumpkin bucket with a $2 witches hat stuffed with bubble wrap.


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## Hilda

Last Spring, I did a few more lollypops. I added a Mayor and a Zero to my NBC lollies. I don't trace any of the designs. All but the Zero are just my interpretation of the characters. This Zero, however, is copied freehand from a window decal I have on my Jeep. I wanted Zero to appear to fly over the other NBC character lollies, so we cut off the stick/base and put it up over the others on a black 1x2.
































After seeing how cute Zero was without the stick/base, I made two more spider inspired lollies, and removed the bases. We put them up onto the house decor.
The story of the spider on the web is cute. I made a new, more delicate, web on a lollypop. Our three year old was playing with it and he got his rubber spider and put in on the web. BAM! I snatched up my cordless drill and screwed it in place. He's brilliant ~ looks great! LOL


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## Hilda

Here is where two ideas collide. I made a 'skeleton' face lolly, which was inspired by the face on a plastic Halloween party favor my son brought home from school. However, I just didn't like it. I also had always wanted to make one of those pvc pipe skeletons. You know the ones where they usually use a recycled milk jug or clorox bottle for the head? I combined the Skelly face lollypop with the pvc skeleton frame.

~ Dressed him up a little, and please meet Sir Lollyton Skellypop. Visitors to our display, loved sitting on the bench for a photo op with him. Although ~ I think he needs a bride for next year! 
















EDIT: I did make him a bride, and they lived happily ever after.


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## Hilda

You can create some really unique new pieces for your display from blowmold items that are missing parts. For example, the pumpkin posts I posted earlier in this thread. Another example of recycling blowmolds heading for the trash are the little Eye Posts flanking the bench in the previous post. I had some black and red Empire/GF lamp posts given to me, as the lamp tops had been lost or broken. I found acrylic globes at Home Depot with 4 inch fitters. Painted an eyeball design on them. Now I have some cute little lampposts to put in the display.


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## Hilda

I got this Christmas Elf for $5 and he was a mess! Well then I had to strip him and try to make something for Halloween. I really have no idea what I am doing... making it up as I go along and enjoying myself. I wrote a list of everything I thought a zombie should have and I tried to incorporate it into his paint. Originally he was going to have a big exposed brain... but I found out that painting brains is harder than it sounds! LOL So you can just peek at the brains through the slash marks on the Freddy Krueger inspired hat.


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## Hilda

Here's another bad factory paint story. I bought this Drainage Slimline Santa for $20. I knew he was missing paint from his nose... but I had NO idea what he would look like when I plugged him in! EEK ~ that is scary enough to put in a Halloween display. Once a Christmas mold gets stripped of paint at my house, it is going Halloween! I looked at him for a while, to see what I thought he would become. An undertaker was my first thought, but I already had one. So I thought about some kind of morose 'Lurch' type figure.

















I was born in Long Valley, New Jersey, where the story of the 'Hookerman' that haunts the railroad tracks by our house is famous!! So the Santa with the hideous paint became my homage to a childhood ghost story... Here is our Hookerman ~ complete with his hook and his lantern that he waves while searching the tracks for his severed hand for all of eternity.










Although I did overhear a visitor to the display ask his friend 'What's up with the Amish Pirate?' ROFL!!!!!!


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## Hilda

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## Hilda

Here is an example of double-use. I had one more spare black post with no disc. I looked at my Merry Christmas disc (pictured left), and noticed that the back does not have a light hole. Hmmmmmmmm Turn it around, and using teeny little screws and tape some black plastic bats silhouettes to the disc and put it on the spare black post. A new decoration for the Halloween display.


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## Hilda

Another scratched up elf wound up on my doorstep. I always thought he looked like a wizard ~ so I gave it a go. My three year old helped me design this one. I would have liked more details ~ but the little kids seem to love him nonetheless.


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## Hilda

Again, found more terrible condition candy canes, so made a few more whimsical snakes. I added the Purple People Eating Python and the Candy Corn Diamondback Rattler last year.


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## Hilda

Here is a cluster of the repainted red Christmas candles I talked about earlier in this thread. To vary the height of them, I screwed inexpensive plastic flowerpots to the bottoms of some of them. I used them to create an altar effect for a monster wedding scene (pictures below). The pedestal candles with the bow on them are original Union Halloween candles. The rest are repurposed.


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## Hilda

Another Mrs. Claus conversion I had thought about for a while. I was not sure it was going to work. Sometimes, the repurposed molds look great all on their own. Like the Candycorn Witch. Sometimes, they need to be in the scene and then everything else carries them, and helps to make sense. I believe that on her own, this conversion is a little iffy, and I was thinking of just restripping her. However, once she is out in the middle of the cemetary, at night, with the wind blowing her covering... She totally works. This is Emma Ghost.


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## Hilda

I get so many compliments on the Bride of Frankenstein conversion ~ So I wanted to showcase her and created a wedding theme. Well then she needed a Maid of Honor, so her sister (another Mrs. Claus) was recruited. I created a Vampyra character.










Then we knew we needed a minister. That took some thinking. I was given a really shabby, cracked, headless choir person. Found him a new appropriate head on ebay, and a new paint job, and few special touches... and here is our minister!! 
















Well, that is all I have. I think that minister may have been my Swan Song. He cracks me up! I have this feeling that blowmold repainting is somewhat behind me now due to difficulties of getting cheap molds, also storage factors and time limitations. When I look back at this thread, I can't believe I went from one repainted candy cane to a whole wedding party! LOL I have had so much fun creating them all. I think I'll do one or two special new repaints each year. Also, I have the urge to try my hand at foam tombstone building, and pumpkin carving, and... and... and... Well you Haunters know how it is.

Thank you for your time. I hope you enjoyed seeing my 'babies'. HAPPY HALLOWEEN and always, Happy Decorating!!!!!


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## Guest

I am such a fan of your work. It is just so magical! 

Great pics, too!


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## Hilda

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## Guest

All your work is so wonderful. I have a small collection of molds I plan to do conversions on this year and your work inspires us so much. I really dont know where to start. Your NBC lollies are to die for. The wedding scene leaves me speechless. The candy cane snakes I could only dream to make and all your Santas to diggers and wizards blow my mind. Not to mention the army of bears you have created. You capture Halloweens true spirit with a rattle can and some imagination! I hope to learn from you and add one of a kind pieces like this to my display. Simply amazing!


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## The Halloween Lady

WOW Hilda, I know I told you before but I have to tell again, this is really amazing work! The transformations are incredible. I would have NEVER in a million years thought of re-purposing those! They really do look magical all together and lit up. They sort of have a scary sweet Hansel and Gretel feel. Nice work!!!!


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## Stringy_Jack

I am speechless Helda!! what a wonderful idea and what some fantastic work, I really just don't know what to say...


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## Guest

Hilda I was talking with you about some of the reporposed molds I have been working on. I hope you dont mind but I thought I would share a few that are coming to a close in completion. Mostly I have referbished blow molds to their original state but occasionally I do step out on the limb. I am no where near as good as Hilda or Hermey but I figured I would bite my nails and share a couple. 

I have the standard black candles I created by just a simple repaint of Christmas red ones made by Union. I also have these new creations. While they light up on the lantern tops the 2nd tier skull also illuminates "Hermey Inspired Me". These were simple Union Candles and a broken toped Poloron Lantern for Christmas. Now heres where I got a bit goofy. These are fitted in the backing for my smaller fog machines. I used TOT pails for the lantern tops and left them open on top. The fog pushes through the top of them while they are illuminated. When the twins give me a second I will fire them up at night and run lights and fog to get some pics. They work amazing and really get laughs from my neighbors. I have branded them "Spooky Smoke Stacks"

As I said not as amazing as Hilda and Hermeys work but I just have fun with broken molds


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## Spooky_Girl1980

Wow Hilda, those are amazing! Great job, I wish I had a talent for doing something like that. How do you "strip them"?


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## Hilda

Jenscats, Garthgoyle, Hollow, The HalloweenLady, and StringyJack ~ Thank you all for your kind words. I appreciate it more than you know!! 
SpookyGirl ~ Thank you! I use 3m Safest Stripper. It's a gel stripper that is very gentle BUT you need to do at least two, sometimes more, coats. Brush it on. Let it sit an hour or two. Scrub it off with a toothbrush or other stiff brush. Wipe all the goo off with paper towels as you go. Then scrub the heck out of it with a little dishsoap and a scrub brush. Rinse it clean, wipe it dry and repeat until paint is all off. I tend to do one section at a time too so that I don't make too big of a mess at once.


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## Druidess

I am totally impressed. Not only is that a GREAT idea, you have executed it with such character and precision they look like that was their original intended purpose. Perhaps it was. Lovely job! Thank you for sharing your talent with us.


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## tinafromidaho

these are all so cool!!!!!


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## DaveintheGrave

Wow, Hilda! I'm glad you posted all of those pictures of your re-works. I knew you were talented, but I had no idea you are a blow mold ARTIST. All of those look so perfect I would think they were manufactured that way.
I'm amazed! Such excellent work. You should be very proud of all of them.


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## Candee

Amazing work and creativity.


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## Guest

Hilda said:


> After seeing my crazy orange Halloween tree conversions, another blowmolder made her own verison of the orange tree ~ but she made the ornaments look like eyes! I loved that idea. So then I used the eyes idea, and I repurposed another pair of trees to look like some sort of cemetary statues. (Mine are below.) They stand as creepy sentries at the entrance to our graveyard. Then I saw yet another version someone made where the garland had teeny legs like centipedes and that the ornaments were eyes AND spiders! Awesome!


Hilda I loooooove this!


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## Frankie's Girl

Hilda, you're just so creative and talented; a true artist - these are A-MAZ-ING!! 
Honestly, the imagination you've used to repurpose these blowmolds is just wonderfully original.

I love all of the lollipops and of course the wedding scene but all of them are beautiful and I imagine that your display just wows the TOTs every single year. 
Thanks so much for sharing!!


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## kittyvibe

you know Im a super duper fan of your repaints, I love everything so much! I wish I could find an abundance or even 1 of these at local sales to try to work on, but in the South they are really hard to come by. Ill have to take a trip to Mr Gris' neighborhood and stalk the sales


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## KATZILLA

This thread is just too cool, thanks for sharing your pics with us....it put me in the Halloween spirit right away


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## vampyrespro

I really really love this style of decorating -- it's able to capture the true spirit of the holiday, in a way totally different from most other displays. I feel like you've captured the softer, more innocent side of Halloween and all its playfulness perfectly; just goes to show that not all yard haunts have to be the same. I bet the ToTs are in awe  Wonderful work


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## Ween12amEternal

*Hilda* that is some amazing work! Keep us updated on your train - can't wait to see your display this year 

Also, *Mr. Gris* those are adorable! Good use of old TOT pails.


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## stormygirl84

Hilda, I am in awe of all that you've done. Honestly, they look professional - even the ones you say are "bad." You've done such a lovely job!


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## grimreaper1962

Hilda you rock at repaints. I wish my talents were that impressive!


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## Kymmm

These are wonderful!! I've never seen anyone do such an awesome job of re-purposing blow molds!


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## a witch from canada

AWSOME THREAD !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! LOVE IT ! did i tell you i am your numba one fan ? lol  great job wow , now why dont i live closer to you so i can do some paint workshop with you


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## Raven's Hollow Cemetery

Very impressive work Hilda! Love them!


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## Hilda

I originally thought I would answer each post individually ~ but I am just OVERWHELMED with the kind responses and positive energy!!! WOW!! I can't explain how much it means to me!! 

I've lurked on this forum forever. I love the passion, and all the different styles and ways you all celebrate Halloween. The creativity here blows my mind. I did not feel confident enough to post my repurposed molds before as I thought they were just too... face it... silly. I had a few members here encourage me to take the leap and 'come out of the blowmold closet'. I am glad I did.

Thank you all so much!


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## blackfog

Hilda those are mind blowing!!!! Your creative talent and design of transforming Christmas to Halloween is truly unreal. I so enjoyed looing at each one. Love that angel and really don't have one favorite cause they are all that good! Post anything that you remake cause I just love what you do!


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## Chaserbug

I have always loved blowmolds and have a few! Yours are absolutely awesome! How many do you have in total? You are right they are really expensive now. I have found some on sale after Christmas at Home Depot.


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## LadySherry

WOW!!!! Those are great. You have inspired me. I have 2 of the red candles that I hate because they are knicked up but NOW....... They shall be refinished for Halloween. Thanks for the idea.


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## offmymeds

Great work, thanks for sharing!!


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## InIrons

Your work is awesome.....but how are you stripping the old paint off without hurting the plastic of the blowmold? Are you using like paint thinner or an actual chemical paint stripper? And what sort or type of paint are you using?


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## Guest

Hilda so glad you posted this, it is amazing how many pieces you created in such a short time. I can't begin to pick a favorite, just love the wedding! I know you don't like to admit it, but you truly are an artist, with what you do. It is bad tho, because I now look at molds differently, duplicates that I would normally not buy, I look at as to what could they become? Endless possibilities, thanks for showing us!


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## halloween71

Super cool work!!!


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## Hilda

Again... thank you all so much for your compliments! I'm tickled pink!!! 



Chaserbug said:


> I have always loved blowmolds and have a few! Yours are absolutely awesome! How many do you have in total? You are right they are really expensive now. I have found some on sale after Christmas at Home Depot.


Chaserbug, I actually lost count a few years ago. I suspect that between Halloween, Christmas and Easter, I have over 1,000 blowmolds. (Shhhhhhhhh don't say that too loud ~ don't want the husband to hear that and cut me off. LOL) I'm going to go through the pictures and get a proper count!


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## Hilda

InIrons said:


> Your work is awesome.....but how are you stripping the old paint off without hurting the plastic of the blowmold? Are you using like paint thinner or an actual chemical paint stripper? And what sort or type of paint are you using?


I know there are a few different paint strippers that can be used, but my personal preference is the 3M Safest Stripper. It's a semi-paste paint stripper. I purchase it at our local True Value (by the gallon of course). 

I use Krylon Fusion for Plastic spray paints. Once in a while, for an unusual color, I will use regular Krylon spray paints. I have some experience using Rusoleum Universal paints but found they splattered too much. I've used Rustoleum American Accents paints BUT they are hard to control as they spray more forcefully and thicker than Krylon. I've also used Lowe's brand, Valspar spray paints for plastic, but had uneven coating and trouble with them drying. All in all I am a HUGE fan of the Krylon Fusion brand. Once in a while, you will get a can that splatters... or is too 'runny'. I'd say 99.9% of the time, I've had no problems with the Krylon and would highly recommend them.

Thanks for your compliments. Hope I answered your questions.


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## Lord Homicide

that is a really, really neat idea Hilda


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## Buckeyelights

Hilda, you are the Michelango of blow mold repainting, a true artist.


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## Phe_03

Those are wicked!!!!!!


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## moony_1

These are so well done! Love them all! I'll have to keep my eyes peeled for peppermint pops now! Thanks for the inspiration! I told hubs that next Halloween (2013) I wanted to do a twisted fairy tale theme and the candy would be great Hansel/gretel props!


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## hallorenescene

thanks for letting me know about this post hilda. wow, so many pages, took me some looking and reading to catch up. i love all your work, so many delightful transformations. in the past, i only would buy 1 of each character. once in awhile i would buy one that i already had forgetting i had it. now i look at it and think...how can i repurpose it. i currently have 2 candles that are the same, and one has faded very badly. so i have left it out in the sun and it is now sun stripped. i will keep one in it's original colors of red, and the faded one i will repaint. i was going to go black candle, but now i'm wavering orange candle. as soon as i repaint it, i'll post a picture. wish me luck, it will be my 1st. i am very excited about doing this. 

also, just wanted to mention to all you blow mold lovers, we have a blow mold social group going. so far we have 28 members. if anyone would like to join, feel free to chime in and share your input. you can find the social group by going to my profile page and it's on the left side 1/2 way down. hope to see more there.


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## matrixmom

Wow Hilda thank you so much for all these wonderful photos. What imagination! I love the candy cane turned snake !! And the lollys -so original.!


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## Ween12amEternal

Thanks for mentioning the Blow Molds Social Group - will be fun!

*Hilda* where do you find your blow molds?


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## crazy xmas

Hilda awesome work very nice job!


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## discozombie

Hinda,
These are amazing you are a great artist, much better than I thought was possible.


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## bamaquad

Just one word, AWESOME!!!!


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## Txjoker75

Truly outstanding, never thought blow molds could be so amazing, thanks for opening my eyes to an area that I would never have given a second look, Thanks!


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## hallorenescene

i don't know but she and gris are very lucky in finding them. i very rarely find them, but most the few times i do, they are very rarely repeats, which i was always glad of. now repeats would even be welcome.


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## Hilda

Everyone, thank you again for your lovely compliments!! I'm so thrilled the repurposed blowmolds are getting such a positive response! 




Ween12amEternal said:


> *Hilda* where do you find your blow molds?


In the beginning, before I knew I was hooked, I would just pick up whatever was being sold at the local hardware or lawn/garden centers. Also, Walmart and Kmart carried a few. There are hardly any companies making blowmolds anymore, and there seems to be a limited few styles being sold now, and they sell the same ones every year. Then once I got quite addicted, I turned to ebay. Six years ago or so, the prices really were not that bad. Prices can be crazy on ebay these days, and the shipping costs have skyrocketed. After a few years networking on social media, I started trading my repainted blowmolds with other blowmold collectors to add new ones to my collection. About four years ago, I got an extremely lucky break in that I got hooked up with an ebay seller within driving distance of my house that had a storage unit filled with new old stock Union Blowmolds. He wanted to liquidate them quickly, as they were not selling well on ebay. I think I doubled my collection that summer ~ That was simply fate working in my favor. That is why you will see so many duplicates of certain blowmolds in our display, as we got them incredibly cheap. I consider myself very fortunate to have lucked into that situation. 

Unlike other collectors who get the thrill of finding them at yard sales and flea markets, I have hardly ever lucked into anything good at yard sales. Although, as our display becomes more widely known in our area, people have started just dropping off blowmolds on my front porch and in our driveway. It is not uncommon to come home from the grocery store and find boxes with decorations and an orphaned blowmold or two leaning by the garage doors. Awesome!!


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## Hilda

Here is something some of you might find interesting ~ Not only traditional illuminated blowmolds can be repurposed. I have had a lot of fun thinking of new ways to repurpose and incorporate Little Tikes plastic toys into our holiday displays. It's gotten shameful that I buy my three year old Little Tikes items knowing that I'm going to confiscate them and turn them into Halloween decorations!! LOL

Here's one item I repurposed last year. My husband bought this doll house at a yard sale he was passing by. I knew instantly what it would become!










It provides a unique place to show off my collection of Empire Halloween light toppers.


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## DaveintheGrave

That looks over-the-top fantastic, Hilda!! It's wonderful! The perfect size for the ghosts, too.

Gee, where do you store all of this stuff? LOL


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## Ween12amEternal

Whoa, I think I might still have one of those that the girls have abandoned - thanks for the info & suggestion


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## CobhamManor

That's incredible! You have a wonderful talent. I've never thought of repurposing blow molds like you've done. I always thought blow molds were rather corny and did not belong in a Halloween display. You've changed my mind! Maybe I should try this with my blow mold Santa?! I don't know - he's just sooo special... haha. 
Great work! You could make a living off of these!


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## theedwin

Awesome thread Hilda! 

Great job on all you do! Amazing!


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## crazy xmas

Hilda wow that is totally cool!


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## hallorenescene

theedwin, crazy xmas, oh my, i feel like i'm on the Christmas forum. hey guys


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## cerinad

Wow, those are all really great. What a good idea!


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## crazy xmas

Lol I like to jump back and fourth everyday. If I could ever get my blowmold count up I would really like to use some of Hilda's ideas!


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## Hilda

Thanks again for the comments! It's especially great to read about members who are looking at blowmolds 'in a different way'. 



DaveintheGrave said:


> Gee, where do you store all of this stuff? LOL


I would be lying if I didn't say that there are usually blowmolds in almost every room of the house. LOL Christmas has taken over the attic. The basement is full of ones waiting to be traded, repaired, stripped or repainted. So last year, we finally bit the bullet and rented a storage unit for the Halloween stuff. 
The way we look at it every hobby has costs ~ skiers have a season pass ~ golfers have greens fees ~ boaters have a boat slip... We have a storage unit.


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## DaveintheGrave

Good idea, Hilda. I'm sure it's worth every penny!


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## hallorenescene

look at all those wonderful blow molds. hilda, spectacula!


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## Raven's Hollow Cemetery

Holy... Wow that's a bunch of blow molds!  Mr. Gris. Oh Mr. Gri-is! Can you put some perspective on this for me


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## jasonquick

Hilda...

I registered here a number of years ago, but had never been motivated to post until now. I am absolutely floored by your work. Utterly in awe. Seriously. I have projects like this that I need to do, but I wonder if I'll ever get round to them. You, OTOH, are a _machine!_ : )

All I want to know is - you've said what you use to _strip_, but if you said what you use to repaint, I missed it. What paints are you using? Regular brushes, airbrush or...? Do you just freehand, or use a template? Inquiring minds want to know.

Again, amazing work! Thanks for sharing it!
Jason

P.S. Have I seen your work elsewhere?


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## creeeepycathy

wow! those look great!


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## crazy xmas

WOW that's a ton of blowmolds Hilda!


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## Hilda

Thanks again everyone! ...and Yes. Yes. That is a lot of blowmolds! (My husband reminds me daily.) LOL 




jasonquick said:


> Hilda... I registered here a number of years ago, but had never been motivated to post until now. I am absolutely floored by your work. Utterly in awe. Seriously. I have projects like this that I need to do, but I wonder if I'll ever get round to them. You, OTOH, are a _machine!_ : )
> All I want to know is - you've said what you use to _strip_, but if you said what you use to repaint, I missed it. What paints are you using? Regular brushes, airbrush or...? Do you just freehand, or use a template? Inquiring minds want to know.
> Again, amazing work! Thanks for sharing it! Jason
> P.S. Have I seen your work elsewhere?


Well Jason, Thank you so much for your generous compliments!  Yes. We've definitely met before on another forum, and it is nice to see you again. You'll like it here. The members here are exceptionally nice and creative!

I use Krylon Fusion for Plastic (rattle cans) spray paints. No brushes, no airbrushes. I use about four different methods of taping off areas with blue painters tape and/or Crayola Model Magic white clay. Bascially just working around the blowmold, covering what you don't want painted and exposing what you want painted. I put a plastic garbage bag over the entire mold and cut a hole where I want to paint, and tape it down to make sure there is no overspray to other parts of the blowmolds. Then repeating that process for every different color. Sometimes it's actually pretty tedious. I don't use a template or stencils ~ I just freehand cut designs into the tape with an exacto knife and remove the sections where I want the paint to cover. I feel bad when people ask me to tell them how to paint, because I am pretty much a beginner and just toy around with methods ~ which translates into I have messed up a lot of things! LOL I have difficulty explaining the way I paint these things, and I worry about others following my advice and messing up their own molds. However, the steps are easier to REpaint a mold back to it's original beauty versus making new designs on them because your pattern is already there. What did you have in mind? Did you want to restore faded or scratched up molds? I'll send you a pm. 

Thanks again for your interest, and I'm honored to be the subject of your first post!


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## RCIAG

CobhamManor said:


> I've never thought of repurposing blow molds like you've done. I always thought blow molds were rather corny and did not belong in a Halloween display. You've changed my mind! Maybe I should try this with my blow mold Santa?! I don't know - he's just sooo special...


ONE OF US! ONE OF US!!

I love this thread so much I wanna marry it!!

My biggest problem is finding the durn things cheaply or for free. There's not many folks here that are getting rid of them. There's plenty new available & Ebay is full of them but the shipping on them is a killer.


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## Hilda

^ LOLOLOLOLOL  What a great response!


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## Hilda

..........


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## mamadada

Hilda, my fav are the NMBC molds. Ok..How big of a storage unit did you have to get? No way this fit in a 10 x 10 LOL. My favorite people are the ones that live with a passion for something. Go Hilda!


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## Hilda

mamadada said:


> Hilda, my fav are the NMBC molds. Ok..How big of a storage unit did you have to get? No way this fit in a 10 x 10 LOL. My favorite people are the ones that live with a passion for something. Go Hilda!


LOL Thank you!! 

We started with a 5 x 10, then the next year we got a 10 x 10. This past Halloween we moved to another place and got a 10 x 20 that was the same price as the previous 10 x 10. Yay!


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## Hilda

Here's a little quick and pretty much FREE repurpose I did this week. My husband picked up a really dirty and ancient Little Tikes Cozy Coupe from the garbage. I had a ghost with a broken base (which we cut off), and used pieces of a broken totes lid for accessories. I used a blowmold lollypop to make the Taxi light for the top. My little one and I picked through a bag of leftover Halloween toys and he decided on the bat 'rear view mirror' and the spiders. I even had most of the paint. Just had to buy a can of primer and some twine for the spider web.

































...and yes ~ the TAXI light even works!


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## Paint It Black

Oh Hilda, that taxi cab is the cutest thing I have ever seen, besides the little tykes haunted doll house you made, of course!!


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## hallorenescene

although i really like the haunted doll house, i like this one even better. this is so cute. how you thought of this i don't know, but i think it is now my favorite of all the ones you have done. fabulous job


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## DaveintheGrave

Another great work of art, Hilda! The taxi cab is adorable!


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## Deadna

DANG...now I have to be the mean aunt and go take back all the little tykes stuff I just passed out to my brothers kids. I babysat back in the 80's and hung onto all those toys for years and had finally got them out of my yard just last month. ...grrrr!


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## Trinity1

Incredible!! I think I love the Nightmare Before Christmas canes the best! You do amazing work Hilda. Look forward to seeing more!


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## crazy xmas

Hilda that is awesome very nice work! You guys must be very busy right now getting ready for Halloween!


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## Guest

Hilda I love it!!! I am Brainstorming some more repaints myself and this is just pure inspiration! I was just looking at one of those little tyke cars this weekend and I was thinking about making it a Gingerbread Car....now I realize how wonderful these can be for Halloween!!!


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## hallorenescene

oh gris, i want to see a gingerbread car. do post pics


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## Guest

Well it has just been a thought but after seeing Hildas amazing work I now question using the cart for other purposes....mini Addams Family Cars or even like a mini race track of a couple zooming around like a real deal modern Scooby Doo and The Reluctant Werewolf!


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## hallorenescene

ohhh, i'm doing an adams style theme this year. how would that look?


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## Hilda

Thank you for the compliments. I have so much fun painting these things. There are so many possibilities for these toys. With the recent popularity of the Zombie Babies, I was thinking they could be 'creeped up' as well too. I know I'm going to be working on more Little Tikes conversions, so I made another prop thread for them.

I hope it was OK to start it off with reposting the dollhouse and cozy coupe to get the thread started...


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## Joanna1026

*Info*

where can theses halloween plastic bears in the costumes be purchased Thanks Joey


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## Guest

Joanna1026 said:


> where can theses halloween plastic bears in the costumes be purchased Thanks Joey


Hi Joey 
First welcome to the forum!!!! These bears were standard blow mold teddy bears made for Christmas by a company named Union. Our lovely talented member Hilda repaints and recreats these standard bears into Halloween works of art. Here is a link to the bears before Hilda does her magic. 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/UNION-TEDDY...132?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2ec00df27c

I dont think Hilda sells any of her creations but then again I could be wrong she I am sure would let you know.


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## Hilda

Joanna1026 said:


> where can theses halloween plastic bears in the costumes be purchased Thanks Joey


Hi Joey!  Welcome to Halloween Forum! 

Thank you for your question. Mr. Gris is correct ~ The Trick-or-Treat bears are simply Union sitting bears, that you can find on ebay, that I painted costumes on and added accessories to them. These are decorations for my own use, I don't sell them. I'm sorry, but thank you so much for your interest.


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## SonofJoker

This is fantastic! You did a great job on all the repaints!


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## Hilda

SonofJoker said:


> This is fantastic! You did a great job on all the repaints!


Thank you very much!  I'm working on a couple more right now for this Halloween.


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## Hilda

You never know when a repurpose idea is going to hit me in the head.  

One day I was making a quickie lunch for my kids and there on the box ~ inspiration!! So I googled for another picture. Then used a really beat up Christmas elf and now I'm having an alien invasion!!


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## Hilda

Yesterday I was cleaning up the storage area, and this wayward Union duckie came rolling off the Easter pile. He had been given to my son, and I never knew what to do with him. 

Hmmmmm..... I have an idea 

Ta-Dah! Free. Fast. Fun. You can't go wrong with that!! LOL









It even rolls and lights up too!
Edit: Added a more recent photo from our display.


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## hallorenescene

hilda, that alien is one to relish. how cute. and then you match it with that duck. soooo deadly cute. lol.


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## nhh

Holy crap how have I missed this thread. Hilda, everything is fabulous!!!! 

The negative I can say is... Now I want to do this!!!! And I don't have room/time/blah blah blah...  

I will have blow molds this year. I swear!


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## The Halloween Lady

Yep, Hilda you are most definitely "_the blow mold whisperer_"!


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## Arronaf

Until this moment I have thought blow molds were junk, but you have convinced me that they are awesome! I will be looking for used molds to try my hand at re-purposing. What fun! 

Thanks for sharing all your wonderful ideas and creativity.


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## Paint It Black

That duck, OMG, sooooo great! Great vision on your part, Hilda.


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## kittyvibe

Loooooove the ducky Hilda!!


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## Tannasgach

What a great idea for the duck Hilda. He looks superb!! and the cart looks amazing too!


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## Hilda

Thank you all so much for the lovely comments!! I really appreciate it. 

I know blowmolds have a bad rap ~ and I am thrilled when I hear someone is thinking about them differently after seeing some of the possibilities for using them in a nontraditional manner.

Thank you all again!!


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## hallorenescene

halloween lady, i like the blow mold whisperer. very fitting. hilda i think you should go to work for a blow mold company designing. what possibillities we would have then


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## MissMandy

How did I not see this thread sooner?! I am instantly a huge fan yours, Hilda! I'm amazed at how creative and talented you are. I don't have nearly enough of a blow mold collection to try my hand at this, but man I'd LOVE to get into this!


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## Hilda

MissMandy said:


> How did I not see this thread sooner?! I am instantly a huge fan yours, Hilda! I'm amazed at how creative and talented you are. I don't have nearly enough of a blow mold collection to try my hand at this, but man I'd LOVE to get into this!


Thank you so much! Glad you enjoyed the thread!


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## Guest

Hilda I love the alien and I of course love the duck! Fantastic work on both and I cant wait to see this all come together.


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## diagia

Just found this thread.. I love all your reworks on blowmolds..hmmm. there is one of those doll houses upstairs in attic.. also have the matching toddler bed with the headboard made like doll house... Might have to give it a try.. got any ideas for redoing a nativity set.. I have a faded one in my garage..


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## wheussmann

just in awe at your creative style!!!! you rock!!!


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## The7Martins

I love these!!!! You did freaking freaking awesome!!


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## Hilda

Mr. Gris said:


> Hilda I love the alien and I of course love the duck! Fantastic work on both and I cant wait to see this all come together.


A belated thank you!  I hope I can get it all together! LOL




diagia said:


> Just found this thread.. I love all your reworks on blowmolds..hmmm. there is one of those doll houses upstairs in attic.. also have the matching toddler bed with the headboard made like doll house... Might have to give it a try.. got any ideas for redoing a nativity set.. I have a faded one in my garage..


Oh my! I do have some dark ideas for a monster style nativity.  Only I didn't know if that would be too politically incorrect. LOL




wheussmann said:


> just in awe at your creative style!!!! you rock!!!


Well thank you handsome stranger! 




The7Martins said:


> I love these!!!! You did freaking freaking awesome!!


Wow! Thank you Thank you!!


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## hallorenescene

i think the nativity would be politically incorrect. but hilda could tell you how to repaint it back to it's glory. hope my daughter doesn't read this, she gets upset as to my changing pretty much everything xmas into halloween. if she reads this it will put her into holiday shock that there is something i would leave untouched. lol.


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## crazy xmas

Hilda that looks awesome very cool!


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## Hilda

*The Spookyville Railroad*

A new repurposed Christmas conversion for Halloween 2013
When Gemmy came out with the inflatable Halloween train, I wanted one, but had no room in my yard. I drew up a detailed design of what I wanted and paid another blowmolder with a bunch of my original repaints to help me with the grunt work to change a Christmas train. Then I finished it with my own Lighthearted paint and touches. 
The Spookyville Railroad.


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## crazy xmas

Very nice work as always Hilda!


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## hallorenescene

hilda, that is to cute as usual. i want one. dang you do nice work.


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## Danny-Girl

Thank you I just got two blowmolds last month for $2.00 
each can't wait to repaint them


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## hallorenescene

danny, what molds did you get? and how do you plan on repainting them?

nice score by the way


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## Danny-Girl

I got Mary and Joseph not sure how I will paint them ; this is my first time


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## DarkManDustin

That's cool. Has anyone done this with the yard blowmolds?


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## Hilda

DarkManDustin said:


> That's cool. Has anyone done this with the yard blowmolds?


Hi DarkManDustin! What do you mean by yard blowmolds?


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## DarkManDustin

Oh. I thought those were small ones. Sorry.


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## Hilda

DarkManDustin said:


> Oh. I thought those were small ones. Sorry.


Oh no reason to be sorry. This whole thread is full of light-up blowmold yard decorations I have repurposed from Christmas to Halloween use. I have a lot of fun doing so. Thanks for checking out the thread.


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## Deadna

Oh my! That is the cutest thing ever!!!!!! Glad you are finding the time to get back into painting because I really love your work and the 10 year old boy I watch wants me to do what you do but keep it behind my gothic cemetery fence 
I started painting a little tykes toy today and have a million questions but will start with.............what tape do you use to keep clean lines and will it rip off the areas I already painted? I am using Krylon for plastics. Thanks for any help!


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## Hilda

Deadna said:


> Oh my! That is the cutest thing ever!!!!!! Glad you are finding the time to get back into painting because I really love your work and the 10 year old boy I watch wants me to do what you do but keep it behind my gothic cemetery fence
> I started painting a little tykes toy today and have a million questions but will start with.............what tape do you use to keep clean lines and will it rip off the areas I already painted? I am using Krylon for plastics. Thanks for any help!


Hi! Thank you so much!! Yes. I'm finding some time to get a few projects done this summer. 

I use 3m blue painters tape for delicate surfaces. I always let one color cure for a week before I tape over it. Then hold my breath that the paint underneath does not lift back up. It does happen on occasion. I definitely prefer the Krylon for plastic spray paints. On my Little Tikes projects I always use a spray primer first. The colored plastic of Little Tikes items always seems to be visible. I find the primer helps with that. Again, I like the Krylon spray primer for that.


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## hallorenescene

danny girl, are you wanting to keep them original, or painted different? can you post a picture of which mary and joseph you got? we can help you with original. if different, what's your ideas


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## hallowicked

Wow. You have inspired me. Excellent work.


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## Deadna

Hilda said:


> Hi! Thank you so much!! Yes. I'm finding some time to get a few projects done this summer.
> 
> I use 3m blue painters tape for delicate surfaces. I always let one color cure for a week before I tape over it. Then hold my breath that the paint underneath does not lift back up. It does happen on occasion. I definitely prefer the Krylon for plastic spray paints. On my Little Tikes projects I always use a spray primer first. The colored plastic of Little Tikes items always seems to be visible. I find the primer helps with that. Again, I like the Krylon spray primer for that.


I am starting small with this stroller that I hope to turn into something like your vampire baby one. My biggest problem so far is trying to decide what colors go where 
I didn't use primer but I don't see this bleeding thru since it's so faded already. http://www.halloweenforum.com/membe...-thriftstore-finds-picture156615-stroller.jpg
BTW....how did you paint the bats on your train?
Here is what I have so far,I will probably only glue more things to it as I find/unpack them. I want a spiderweb in the back window opening for sure!


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## Hilda

Deadna said:


> I am starting small with this stroller that I hope to turn into something like your vampire baby one. My biggest problem so far is trying to decide what colors go where
> I didn't use primer but I don't see this bleeding thru since it's so faded already. http://www.halloweenforum.com/membe...-thriftstore-finds-picture156615-stroller.jpg
> BTW....how did you paint the bats on your train?


Oh that is going to be adorable! You are right. That color is so light. I am sure it will be great without primer.

For the bats~ I have an old cutting board. It's some kind of white (rubber/plastic type). I only use it for crafts so there is no food/grease residue on it. I take wide pieces of blue tape and smooth them down on the cutting board. Then using an exacto knife I cut out any kind of small designs or letters. It's like making your own little stencils. Lift up the design and smooth the piece of cut-out tape onto the blowmold. Then overspray. Carefully pull off your little stencil. ~ Does that explanation make sense?


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## hallorenescene

deadna, that stroller is adorable. please post a finished picture.

hilda, thanks for the stencil how too. that will work great


----------



## Deadna

Hilda said:


> Oh that is going to be adorable! You are right. That color is so light. I am sure it will be great without primer.
> 
> For the bats~ I have an old cutting board. It's some kind of white (rubber/plastic type). I only use it for crafts so there is no food/grease residue on it. I take wide pieces of blue tape and smooth them down on the cutting board. Then using an exacto knife I cut out any kind of small designs or letters. It's like making your own little stencils. Lift up the design and smooth the piece of cut-out tape onto the blowmold. Then overspray. Carefully pull off your little stencil. ~ Does that explanation make sense?


Makes perfect sense...... they looked so great I thought they may have been stickers 
I cut stencils all the time only I do it on a piece of glass. It keeps the tape sticky and the exacto cuts like butter on the hard slick surface. Thanks for all your help!


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## digbugsgirl

Hilda! How could I not have seen this thread before??? You are freaking awesome! I never really cared for blow molds before, but now you've made me change my mind. You have so much talent. Thank you for posting your pics and keep them coming!


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## Hilda

digbugsgirl said:


> I never really cared for blow molds before, but now you've made me change my mind.


My mission is complete. LOL  (wink)


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## Hilda

Over the July 4th weekend, I gave a Mrs. Claus blowmold a Lighthearted makeover.
Here is La Catrina ~ a new addition for a DOTD section in our display.


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## Paint It Black

Oh, Hilda, she is muy bonita!!!


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## digbugsgirl

How cool is that!?!?


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## HallowSusieBoo

Hilda... This 2012 thread is to DIE for! Words cannot express how fantastic your oldy-moldies have been given new life thanks to your creativity and talent! Now I see why I have no luck amassing Molds from yard sales... You and (Gris  have) confiscated all of them!!


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## taco183

Those are awesome! Love the snake


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## hallorenescene

oh my gosh, that had to have taken some time. a lot of time. she is fabulous. such precision


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## talkingcatblues

Another astonishing transformation! I love the mantilla and the rose in her skelly hands. You have such a wonderful imagination, to be able to see the possibilities in these things.


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## Deadna

I forgot to ask you Hilda when I added the new pic to this post.....
Is it important to strip down blowmolds before painting if I am not going to light them up? I don't have enough power to add anymore lights so they will just be lit by the spotlights I already use in the cemetery. Thanks


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## Ween12amEternal

*Hilda*, she looks amazing! Your detail work is fantastic


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## Hilda

Thank you everyone again for your kind words. I love this place!! 

Deadna ~ That is BATastic!!!! How stinking cute is that?!?!?! Fabulous!  

Well, I always strip my blowmolds before painting them, so I don't have a precise answer to your question. I would think that if you were not lighting them, then you could get away with painting over the top BUT if there is even light coming through from nearby spotlights or other decorations, then I might think some of the original paint would still show as a shadow through. I honestly don't know. I am sorry.


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## hallorenescene

deadna, my granddaughter would love you. she loves batman. now she says she just likes him a little bit, but she has gotten old enough where she knows she's supposed to be more girly, so goes with the flow. but you should see her face light up when she sees batman. that car is way to cute. you did a nice job.
i'm thinking along the lines of hilda, and I don't know for sure either. I guess you will be best making your own decision by trial and error. that's how we all learn


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## Deadna

Thank you ladies  Hallo....you could always paint all your grandaughter's toys like this and she can have it both ways,girly and Batman combined. I have been trying to think how to incorporate lace on this buggy. I wanted to lay some on the canopy and spray paint and then remove it to leave a lace pattern but was afraid I would mess things up...lol!


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## bobzilla

Loving the candy cane NBC snake! 
Imagination much?  
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imagination



Hilda said:


> I was really liking experimenting with the technique. Lots of drips and mess those first repaints. Candycanes are actually kinda tricky to tape off! I thought they were gonna be a breeze. You can see I used any Halloween favorite thing as color inspiration ~ candycorn, witches stockings, the movie Beetlejuice, and even the tree-eating snake from Nightmare Before Christmas.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Here they are in the display.


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## Ghost of Spookie

Thanks Bobzilla for bringing this thread up. Amy I had no idea this thread existed. Loved seeing more closeups of your blowmolds. They do make you smile!


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## dempup

Totally awesome. And real good inspiration to my creepy xmas setup this year  Love it


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## Hilda

Talk about a blast from the past. haha Well, thank you Bobzilla for resurrecting my old thread. I had fun looking back through it.
You are too kind.
Thank you also GoS and dempup for your compliments. 

I did notice there were a lot of glitching photos from my old defunct photo bucket account, so I tried to repost photos and update a little bit.
Blowmold repurposing was a phase I went through a few years back. I maybe have done a few more that didn't get tacked onto the thread, I'll come back and add them on the tail of the thread, if I remember what I missed.

Thanks again BobbyBoy, you are all heart.


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## Attic Hatch

Please do not post more!! Whenever I try to check out your threads I feel like I've eaten a bunch of candy!! >80)


----------



## Pumpkin5

Wow, Hilda, these are just fantastic! I've always liked blowmolds, but never had any of my own.But after seeing your display and reading this thread, I feel like I could use a few of them in my Halloween display. (of course with that special "Hilda repainting" for sure) Have you ever thought of posting a "How to repurpose a Blow Mold" thread? I get the stripping part, which I am sure is much more labor intensive that it sounds. But what kind of paints do you use? Is it all plastic adhesive spray paint, or can you use normal acrylics? I would love to see a start to finish example of one of your blow molds refurbish. Your talent is amazing and applaud-able, really amazing stuff, my dear!


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## hallorenescene

I have a few repeats now. I have a mrs santa claus. i'm trying to decide what I want her to look like. bride of Frankenstein, vampiress, black widow spideress, or a witch. i'll probably re look through this thread for inspiration. I also have a few repeat santas. i'm thinking to paint them black. I don't have any black santas. what color of brown would be a good choice? and I have a xmas tree to paint. i'm going to repaint it green, and have the ornaments refreshed as well. I have an extra angel. she has gold wings. i'm going to repaint them silver.


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## Hilda

Thank you Bob, P5 and Hallo!! 

Well, in the past I did try to hobble a painting how-to together, but to be perfectly honest, I was experimenting with the process and I messed blowmolds up as much as I got the end result I wanted. The original designs I made on them do ruin the original blowmold, as I used painter's tape and then cut the design into the tape, right on the blowmold, with an exacto knife that would irreversibly score the plastic. There is a good basic painting tutorial on another forum, and anyone interested, shoot me a pm, and I'll direct you to same. I can say that Kryon Fusion for Plastic spray paint was the best I found to use for blowmolds.
Thank you again for the interest, and kind words.


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## Hilda

Here's one I didn't see in this thread, but I know I had posted it elsewhere.

My version of the Disney Haunted Mansion countdown clock. The face of the clock is made from an old stripped Christmas peppermint lollypop top.


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## bobzilla

Hilda said:


> Here's one I didn't see in this thread, but I know I had posted it elsewhere.
> 
> My version of the Disney Haunted Mansion countdown clock. The face of the clock is made from an old stripped Christmas peppermint lollypop top.
> 
> View attachment 273671
> 
> View attachment 273672


One of my all time favorites from you! 
Now you've got me on a HM making kick


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## hallorenescene

that is really cute hilda


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## nostalgiakid125

That's a creatively wonderful Idea!!! I should do that with some of my decorations!


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## Hilda

Not Christmas to Halloween, but an EASTER to Halloween repurpose. I'll throw it in this thread.  

I have some blowmold easter eggs, and I am no longer decorating for Easter. So... I have several ideas for them.










This is the first experiment. Ala Game of Thrones. 

Put some stretched out cotton balls with modpodge on the rounded end. Let it dry.










Then cut 3 inch pieces of Gorilla tape, fold the ends to a point and start layering them up the egg.
Warning. Yipes. This stuff is sticky!! My fingers were sore. haha
It got a bit uneven when you reached the top. But keep going It will be fine. 










Then go back (while watching a good TV show) and round off all the pointy ends. 










Slather it up with modpodge and cover it with crumpled tissue paper, and using a soft paintbrush to make sure to press against the edge of each scale, and make sure covered with a light glaze of the modpodge.
Let it dry.










Cover all with base coat of flat black.










Then dry brush top with dark green, middle with medium green, and bottom with lighter green craft paint.
Then very VERY lightly dry bush the entire egg with antique gold rub n' buff trying to mostly get on the outer edges of the scales.

There it is. My version of a petrified Targaryen dragon egg.










Now I need a bonfire and a sacrifice to hatch this baby. haha


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## Attic Hatch

That is sooo cool!! 
It already looked killer without the paint, but finished it looks world-class from here!


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## Attic Hatch

Okay - thinking out loud: 
A small vibrating motor mounted near the top inside.
A slightly "tippy" support - - - -


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## bobzilla

Look at you, all crafty and $hit! 
I use one of my go to words when I really like something....DANG! 
You're the quintessential repurpose queen!!!


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## CHEFJULI

Hilda is the queen of repurposing! I love how this turned out!


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## Dinobuzz

I found this thread through Pinterest & I'm glad I did! I got this guy recently & wondered if anyone painted blow molds cause I'm thinking I should add more to the pumpkin (black in the eyes & mouth) and wasn't sure what kind of paint to use. Your work is amazing Hilda!!


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## Jenn&MattFromPA

I just went through & read this whole thread. I actually have always liked blowmolds, but now I like them even more! You are so lucky to have gotten interested in them years ago - I actually had trouble finding an affordable Santa Claus blowmold for our roof about 2 years ago, and although I watch Craigslist for other Christmas & Halloween blowmolds, they are still rather expensive. 

I love everything! Not that people of all ages wouldn't love your haunt (I sure do!), but I'd love to try to drive my kids one day to see it while they are still younger - their eyes will probably pop out of their heads! 

Wonderful creativity, Hilda! It's hard to decide what I like best!


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## Hilda

Dinobuzz said:


> I found this thread through Pinterest & I'm glad I did! I got this guy recently & wondered if anyone painted blow molds cause I'm thinking I should add more to the pumpkin (black in the eyes & mouth) and wasn't sure what kind of paint to use. Your work is amazing Hilda!!
> 
> View attachment 281657


Awww That's a classic! Thank you for the kind words.
I would overspray the black in the eyes and mouth with Krylon Fusion for Plastic spray paint. I prefer to use the blue painters tape for delicate surfaces, to cover the rest of the pumpkin. Some kind of plastic or cling wrap to make sure the rest of the blowmold is covered so everything is air tight except for the eyes, nose and mouth. 

Kind of the reverse of this overspray I was working on.









Thanks again.


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## Hilda

Jenn&MattFromPA said:


> I just went through & read this whole thread. I actually have always liked blowmolds, but now I like them even more! You are so lucky to have gotten interested in them years ago - I actually had trouble finding an affordable Santa Claus blowmold for our roof about 2 years ago, and although I watch Craigslist for other Christmas & Halloween blowmolds, they are still rather expensive.
> 
> I love everything! Not that people of all ages wouldn't love your haunt (I sure do!), but I'd love to try to drive my kids one day to see it while they are still younger - their eyes will probably pop out of their heads!
> 
> Wonderful creativity, Hilda! It's hard to decide what I like best!


Oh thank you so much!! Oh yes!! Let's make a visit here happen!!


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## Dinobuzz

Hilda said:


> Awww That's a classic! Thank you for the kind words.
> I would overspray the black in the eyes and mouth with Krylon Fusion for Plastic spray paint. I prefer to use the blue painters tape for delicate surfaces, to cover the rest of the pumpkin. Some kind of plastic or cling wrap to make sure the rest of the blowmold is covered so everything is air tight except for the eyes, nose and mouth.
> 
> Kind of the reverse of this overspray I was working on.
> 
> View attachment 281805
> 
> 
> Thanks again.


Thanks for your reply Hilda! Curious now, what are you doing to this pumpkin paint wise?


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## Hilda

Dinobuzz said:


> Thanks for your reply Hilda! Curious now, what are you doing to this pumpkin paint wise?


Every year, I pull a dozen or so of the most faded pumpkins and give them an overspray of fresh orange paint. 
Simple enough task. But tedious. My most dreaded annual display maintenance chore.
I tape off the stems and black parts (If they are still dark enough). Then overspray with orange Krylon Fusion for Plastic.
In alternate years I refresh the stems or the black features as needed.

Keeping my pumpkin patch looking bright. LOL
This is last year's batch of refreshed pumpkins.


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## Dinobuzz

Hilda said:


> Every year, I pull a dozen or so of the most faded pumpkins and give them an overspray of fresh orange paint.
> Simple enough task. But tedious. My most dreaded annual display maintenance chore.
> I tape off the stems and black parts (If they are still dark enough). Then overspray with orange Krylon Fusion for Plastic.
> In alternate years I refresh the stems or the black features as needed.
> 
> Keeping my pumpkin patch looking bright. LOL
> This is last year's batch of refreshed pumpkins.


Gotcha! I'll be sure to remember this once I get some pumpkin blow molds! They are harder to find these days.... Love your middle pumpkin guy...he's so happy!


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## BR1MSTON3

I am so glad this post made it back to the top, It was great rereading it all. Love all of your work.


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## halloween71

hilda said:


> i don't have a good system ~ it's all trial and error. This is a picture of my fancy paint shop. Lol the second picture is a bunch of the lollies i made that first summer. I painted a lot of them and traded them with other decorators to add new things to my display. I guess i could call it the lollypop summer.



awesome!!!!


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## halloween71

You should work at designing blow molds your creativity is mind blowing.


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## CornStalkers

These are AHMAZING! I love blowmolds, so envious of your painting skills!


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## Dinobuzz

Hilda, do you stand up your pumpkin when spraying the eye, nose, & mouth?


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## Hilda

Dinobuzz said:


> Hilda, do you stand up your pumpkin when spraying the eye, nose, & mouth?


Yes I do. I usually put them up on sawhorses when I am doing any spray painting.


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## AstorReinhardt

Read the whole thread through after your name came up in a blowmold collecting thread...glad I read it all. Really creative ideas. I love the re-purposed Mrs.C ones.


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## purpleferrets3

So talented!


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## shammus

Hilda, the work you've done on these is amazing and so creative! Definitely hoping I can use some of the techniques you've shown here to restore a few blow molds of my own. Is it just a single coat you do with the Orange Krylon Fusion for Plastic? Any topcoat or clearcoat needed. Any sanding, priming or any other prep-work needed aside from taping off the stem and facial features?


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## broevil

I'm so glad I found this thread! Thank you for posting your creative journey, it's very inspiring!


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## AstorReinhardt

Hate to bump this from the dead but I found a snowman blow mold for a buck (my first light up blow mold!) today and I was debating about keeping him like he is or trying to redo him for Halloween...I honestly can't think of a good way to convert him and was wondering if you had any experience with snowmen...

I should say he's a 1999 grand venture (the version with snow on his hat).

Any ideas?


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## RCIAG

You certainly found the right thread to ask your question! Do you have a pic of him?


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## WerewolfBarMitzvah

Hilda said:


> I have been asked to post my Halloween blowmold repaints out here ~ I didn't know how well received blowmolds would be. LOL  Even if you don't usually like using blowmolds, perhaps you have some random old candles or some other blowmold laying around your garage, that you might think about repurposing and using.
> 
> I've been decorating with blowmolds for around ten years now. Halloween is my favorite holiday to decorate for, and there obviously are far more blowmolds that were made for Christmas than for Halloween. A few years back, I had quite a few old, beat-up, scratched-up Christmas molds and I thought I'd see if I could make something to add to my Halloween display. That started a three year repurposing adventure ~ I'll start at the beginning, and just follow in somewhat a chronological fashion.
> 
> So to begin, I got some advice from other blowmolders who had experience stripping and repainting molds, got together the supplies, and gave it a go. Oh my! It's harder than you think (at first). You need a lot of patience and a gentle touch on that spray can. LOL The first things I tackled were a few candycanes and a couple of lollypops similar to the first picture here (those pictured are not the ones I used ~ the ones I used were in deplorable shape). As you follow this thread, hopefully you will see that my technique got a little better over the course of the three years. LOL





Hilda said:


> I have been asked to post my Halloween blowmold repaints out here ~ I didn't know how well received blowmolds would be. LOL  Even if you don't usually like using blowmolds, perhaps you have some random old candles or some other blowmold laying around your garage, that you might think about repurposing and using.
> 
> I've been decorating with blowmolds for around ten years now. Halloween is my favorite holiday to decorate for, and there obviously are far more blowmolds that were made for Christmas than for Halloween. A few years back, I had quite a few old, beat-up, scratched-up Christmas molds and I thought I'd see if I could make something to add to my Halloween display. That started a three year repurposing adventure ~ I'll start at the beginning, and just follow in somewhat a chronological fashion.
> 
> So to begin, I got some advice from other blowmolders who had experience stripping and repainting molds, got together the supplies, and gave it a go. Oh my! It's harder than you think (at first). You need a lot of patience and a gentle touch on that spray can. LOL The first things I tackled were a few candycanes and a couple of lollypops similar to the first picture here (those pictured are not the ones I used ~ the ones I used were in deplorable shape). As you follow this thread, hopefully you will see that my technique got a little better over the course of the three years. LOL


 This is awesome! What product do you use when stripping the old paint from the candy canes?


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## RCIAG

Personally I just paint over the old paint but I'd imagine some acetone would take the old paint off. Test a small, unseen area first though.


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