Manning Makes Stuff - Halloween decorations, paper mache masks, costumes, party ideas, and more

Lifesize paper maché Nosferatu statue!

Check this thing out! For Halloween 2022 our party’s theme was the 100th anniversary of the film Nosferatu (well, the U.S. release) and I wanted to try making a lifesize paper maché statue of good ol’ Count Orlok, aka the guy that jabronis like you call Nosferatu.

Read more…

Halloween 2022 theme: Nosferatu, a Century of Horror

For many years I’d been waiting for 2022 to roll around so I could do this Halloween party theme; it’s the 100th anniversary of the film Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror!

Read more…

Failed vampire hunter Halloween costume

This costume was really simple but it makes me laugh so I’m posting it!

The way I described my costume depended on who I was talking to. For nerds, I’d say I was “Manning Belmont, least talented of the Belmonts” (get the Castlevania reference?). To non-nerds I’d just say I was a failed vampire hunter.
Read more…

Tips for applying Halloween makeup, hair color, fake blood, contact lenses, etc!

My makeup method is pretty simply and I use different variations of it almost every year.

For my face, the main type of makeup I use is Ben Nye Creme Colors (paid link) — they come in a little flat jar and you can find them at a lot of Halloween stores, often behind the counter because they’re a little pricier.

For zombie makeup or general scary ghoulish makeup, I usually just use black and white Ben Nye Creme Colors, and I just use my fingers to apply it. I start off with a base of white, all over my face. Then I use black makeup on my finger tips to apply heavy black areas around my eyes, under my cheekbones, etc, and blend them out toward the white. I use my finger tips to add shadows down the creases on the side of my mouth, and on the sides of my nose, at my temples, above my brow ridge, etc.
Read more…

Taking a moment to plug my websites about Paris and Dracula

If you’re digging Manning Makes Stuff, please check out these other websites by me as well!

Cool Stuff in Paris is my collection of weird Parisian attractions, creepy museums, awesome restaurants and bars, bizarre public art, and more. Don’t miss my article about the Cabaret de L’Enfer, a 19th-century Hell-themed Parisian café (and my theme for my Halloween party in 2012).

Read more…

Vampire costume in coffin with stake through heart!

Oh how I wish I had better pics of this costume! It’s my favorite Halloween costume I ever made, probably around 2002 or so.
Read more…