The CoLP Decorating Committee: Scavenger Hunt {Halloween}

[Aerlinn]

frame vector created by freepik

Pumpkins and ghosts and ghouls, oh my! October is upon us and the Cottage of Lost Play is in need of Halloween, harvest, and autumn themed decorations. Are you--brave photographer--ready to scour the realm for appropriate items?

　　　　　 　　　　　

Welcome to the first CoLP Photo Scavenger Hunt of the New Plaza! We hope to make this a seasonal/holiday tradition, but let's tackle Halloween first. This will be a challenge of both quantity and quality.

Quantity
The first photo submitted for each item on the list below is worth 2 points.
Each photo submitted after that is worth 1 point.
Completion of the scavenger hunt will earn a 10 point bonus.
You are more than welcome to post twenty jack-o-lantern photos but will only receive points for the first one.
Please keep a tally of your points at the bottom of each post.
You may not use the same photo for multiple items.

Quality
Voting for Members' Choice Awards for best photo(s) will be held in early November, in various categories to be announced. Your humble thread runners (@Aerlinn and @Zôrzimril) may also be inclined to recognize exceptional work at will.

Without further ado...

　　　　　 　　　　　

Halloween Photo Scavenger Hunt
[Checkmarks indicate that at least one photo has been taken for an item and you can no longer get 2 points for it. You can still submit a photo of it for 1 point.]

.........................Halloween
......................... 1. ☐ a ghost
......................... 2. an animal in a costume @Fuin Elda
......................... 3. a werewolf @CHAOS (Fuin)
......................... 4. ☐ the full moon
......................... 5. a spider or spiderweb @Tyrion Lannister (drifa)
......................... 6. a mummy @Tyrion Lannister (drifa)
......................... 7. ☐ a vampire
......................... 8. a jack-o-lantern @Fuin Elda
......................... 9. a witch (@Tyrion Lannister) (drifa)
.........................10. your favorite candy @Drifa
.........................11. a haunted house @Fuin Elda
.........................12. a black cat @Dimcairien Luiniel
.........................13. something orange @Tyrion Lannister (drifa)
.........................14. something black @CHAOS (Fuin)
.........................15. ☐ a zombie
.........................16. a skeleton @Tyrion Lannister (drifa), @CHAOS (Fuin)
.........................17. a gravestone or graveyard @Taethowen

.........................Autumn
.........................18. a harvest @Resistance is Futile (Taeth, is that you?)
.........................19. a pie @CHAOS (Fuin)
.........................20. autumn leaves @Almarëa Mordollwen
.........................21. something cozy @Drifa
.........................22. your favorite hot drink @CHAOS (Fuin)
.........................23. a rainy day @Tyrion Lannister (drifa)
.........................24. ☐ a scarecrow

.........................Kingdom Themes
.........................25. ☐ a lightsaber
.........................26. a rodent of unusual size @CHAOS (Fuin)
.........................27. a superhero @Fuin Elda
.........................28. a spaceship @CHAOS (Fuin)
.........................29. ☐ a villain’s lair
.........................30. an out of place Christmas decoration @CHAOS (Fuin)
.........................31. ☐ a throne

　　　　　 　　　　　

Leaderboard:
Alma - 2 points
Fuin - 21 points
Dim - 2 points
Drifa - 18 points
Taethowen - 4 points

　　　　　 　　　　　

Other Guidelines
In the spirit of the Cottage, artistic interpretation is of course allowed! We do not expect you to go out and find an actual werewolf. Though if you do...
Play nice--no archive digging and no going to the seasonal decorations section of the nearest store to take a bunch of photos. I will curse you with thirteen years of bad luck!
Phone photos are perfectly acceptable.
You may post photos for up to 3 items everyday, or after at least two other people have posted.
Have fun and good hunting!

[Aerlinn]

SAMPLE POST
Please include check list number and item, and your current score. Captions are not required but very welcome.

2. an animal in a costume

"Glub glub glub."

Point tally: 2

[Almarëa Mordollwen]

I will kick this off and hope I'm doing this right ... not much of a photographer, but there are lots of colourful leaves around right now!

20. Autumn leaves



Point tally: 2 (I think?)

[Fuin Elda]

3. Werewolf

Carved these myself!

2 Points

Figured it would be the hardest one for me to get a photo of

[Dimcairien Luiniel]

This looks like a fun game! Looking forward to what everybody posts.

12. a black cat


2 points

[Drífa]

6. A mummy

I made this mummy in my husbands work shop. I used toilette paper, an old black t-shirt, dirt and red paint. There is a surprise element to him which I will reveal in my next post.

My apologies for the editing again. I posted the wrong photo, gah!

2 points

[Zôrzimril]

Yay - look at all these fabulous fall decorations! The OP has been updated with the current leaderboard!

@Almarëa Mordollwen - That is a beautiful view with some gorgeous colors!
@CHAOS - Those jack o' lanterns are awesome and look like they take a ton of time and effort!
@Dimcairien Luiniel - Cute figurine! Is it one of many halloween decorations around your place?
@Tyrion Lannister that is a fabulous photo but I'm afraid you have been cursed with 13 years of bad luck! Please share new photos as outlined in the OP

[Aerlinn]

Thanks for getting us started everyone! Beautiful and cute photos all around--and holy wow jack-o-lanterns @CHAOS!

I'll try and keep the OP checklist updated so it's easy to see what's already been claimed for two points. Keep 'em coming!

[Fuin Elda]

Thanks Zor and Aerlinn! Honestly they took a long time, the werewolf one longer than the spider and I kept having to look to see what it looked like back lit as it was carving shading into it lol

AHEM This was originally going to go into my Return of Eyeball thread but you know what... It can exist here first and foremost. This is the weirdest decoration I've done on a pie but I don't think ANYBODY would argue that this pie was not made by me (it was cherry and yes it was absolutely amazingly yummy)

19 Pie


THE EYEBALL WREATHED IN (Cherry) FLAME!!!! @Sil (and also tasty buns I made)

(Points for this 2
Points total 4)

[Silky Gooseness]

I have never looked so tasty!!!

[Drífa]

Hm, sorry. I misunderstood. I thought you meant the Plaza archives. I have never considered my bin of old photos, an archive.

Here is a funky piece of wood that I found and shellacked. It reminds me of a witch's profile.

9. A witch

Points 2

[Drífa]

Awesome pie, by the way, Fuin!

[Zôrzimril]

@CHAOS , that pie is amazing! Totally not what I was expecting for the pie category

@Tyrion Lannister - not to worry! You have undone the 13 years of bad luck by sharing another lovely photo. It took a minute of staring for me to see the witch’s profile, but I TOTALLY see it now! Excellent find!

The checklist and leaderboard have been updated!

[Drífa]

Thanks,@Zôrzimril ! I edited in a new photo in my mummy's post above, as per the guidelines in the opening post. Thanks!

[Zôrzimril]

OMG @Tyrion Lannister, so you did! I completely missed that, I'm sorry! I shall update the top post accordingly

PS - You made that?! How long did it take? I love it!

[Aerlinn]

I don't know why I'm surprised that CoLP people aren't just taking photos but crafting things...but that is some impressive pie and mummy-ing!

Also, 1000 bonus points are available to anyone who mails me a pie.

[Drífa]

Thanks Zôrzimril and Yávië! It didn't take me long to make it at all. I just threw some toilette paper, dirt and paint on this guy. Easy-peasy!

16. a skeleton

2 points

It looks like the dwarf is in the lead, hee hee...

[Fuin Elda]

Not for long @Tyrion Lannister lol there is an element of.... CHAOS about lol

16. Skeleton


This skull is in my parents carport. Yes it humors me that they keep this as they are very much against dead things. yes it's a birds nest between the antlers

1 point

14. Something Black

This is one of my figurines that sits on my self of DOooom lol

2 points

26 Rodent of Unusual Size....


This is Bethe one of my rescue rats that I adopted about a year ago... her sister is Liz (so Liz n bethe) I had a peanut in my hand thus the eyeballing of the phone lol

2 points

5 new points

Total :9

[Aerlinn]

@Tyrion Lannister That skeleton has such a wide grin it could be an emoji.

@CHAOS Rescue rat! *scritches ears* She's such a cutie! The bird's nest in the antlers is cool too. It's probably a nice sheltered spot for the little 'uns.

OP has been updated.

[Drífa]

OOC I have just realized that I did not wait for two posts before I posting again. October has been a strange month for me so far. I might find myself howling at the moon some night, and not know why. *grin* I am not one to not follow the rules. Yet, I have been doing exactly that, not following.
I wonder, because of the amount of members on the Nuplaza, should rules such as 'wait for two post before posting again", be in place? I also have a game that has this rule. Thanks and my apologies for spamming up your game thread.*

[Aerlinn]

You're good @Tyrion Lannister! I meant after two people had posted OR once a day, and you posted Monday and Wednesday. But you can post up to three pictures at a time either way. Sorry, it's a little confusing... *g*

Like you say, it might not even be necessary on the Plaza right now. I just wanted avoid anyone going to a haunted house and getting the entire checklist in one go . Though I don't really expect such a thing.

[Drífa]

Thanks @Yávië! It is not confusing. I am just not paying attention, it would seem. I do not think that they would post the entire checklist if the rule states three photos. But the way the month has been going, I might!! Just kidding!

[Drífa]

Hi ho! Everyone has a phone, right? Come join the game!! We mustn't let the elf win!

23. a rainy day (I tried to capture a raindrop from the trees above hitting the puddle but kept missing the shot)

13. something orange(a hat I knitted a few weeks ago and yes the nose is terrifyingly big fitting in nicely with the Halloween scary theme )

5. a spider (not the best photo but as I was coming in from taking the puddle shot, I looked down and lo and behold, a spider on the rug and it was alive)


6 points
Total points 12

[Aerlinn]

Excuse me, what was that about elves??

OP updated and @Tyrion Lannister is in the lead! Love the hat (and the nose! ). Nice reflection in your little puddle, even without the raindrop.

[Fuin Elda]

WELP time for another bunch of photos!

#30 An out of place Christmas Decoration

So this tea towel that was pulled out because all of my other tea towels were dirty and I needed something to protect my desk while I ate from a very hot dish.

#28 A spaceship

This is my original Colonial Viper Model I was given. It is based off the original series rather than the new one. I very much want to get the other three original model types (I have the full set of the new series models but they also aren't built so this is a bit more interesting I thought)

#22 Your favourite hot drink

CUPPA! (Yes this is properly made British Tea way over in Canada Was taught in England, and that we reinforce by my ex who was an Aussie who takes it the exact same way.) This is Yorkshire Orange Pekoe, simply because you can't get Yourkshire English Breakfast here which is a tiny bit better. And yes I finally got to use me new teapot, teacup and saucer

[Taethowen]

A harvest. That I literally just picked out of my garden. Including the first bell peppers my plants finally produced. It's been a weird garden year, what can I say.

[Aerlinn]

Ooooh, great teapot @CHAOS. Cute mugs/cups/hot drink related things are a great weakness of mine.

@Resistance is Futile Is that you, Taeth? *g* That all looks DELICIOUS, I'm quite jealous. I wish I had the ability to...remember to water plants.

OP and leaderboard updated--thanks for hunting!

[Taethowen]

@Yávië Yes, this is Taeth, LOL. I don't so much 'remember to water plants' as I mulch them heavily and hope for the best, and water them when they look sad.

And for my next submission... a graveyard. Of sorts.

This, folks, is the 'character graveyard' that has been a stable of my NaNoWriMo region since I became an ML (municipal liaison - aka volunteer regional chapter head) in 2010. It was a silly thing that my co-ML and I thought of, and the region loved it. I'm getting ready to pass it off to the new ML (my co-ML and I resigned after 2019 NaNo) this weekend and thought I'd snag a picture and share it real quick.

The theory behind the Character Graveyard was that you had to kill a named character in your story 'on the page' during the course of National Novel Writing Month. The exception was that if you killed an entire town/race/planet, etc, you could include them in the graveyard on a single headstone. These are all last year's gravestones, except the dark gray ones in the back. Those are me (Rebekah), and my co-ML and our 'minion' since we basically ceased to exist except for NaNoWriMo every November for a decade.

[Aerlinn]

Ahaha, I love your graveyard @Taethowen! That's a great idea for NaNo. Perhaps we could have a virtual one for our little Plaza NaNo municipality?

[Drífa]

27. a super hero - this was my son's first ever toy action figure. It is 30 years old and I can not part with it (or my children's books they had when they were young)


21. something cozy - my new soft, warm, cozy socks that I will be wearing shortly. We have snow today!


10. your favorite candy - I do not eat candy, but I do enjoy a few piece of chocolate once and awhile. Chocolate is still considered candy, right?

[Taethowen]

@Yávië perhaps? I'll see about figuring out some logistics for it, and I'll drop the idea in the NaNo thread too!

[Fuin Elda]

LAST THREE for me

2. Animal in costume: Malcolm the Barking and Scratching Uruk-hai



8. Jackolantern

I know I had way fancier ones but I used em already. Also they couldn't be used for making pie filling as they are SLATHERED in vasoline so they are pretty freaking gross) and I wanted to make pie filling so bought another pumpkin expressly for making pie and decided to put a face on it first.


11. A Haunted House


SOOoooo this is my house. (i've cut off the numbers mostly) It doesn't look terribly haunted but it has a grey man, and a black dog (not the Barking Uruk-hai from earlier) The grey man is pretty chill he occassionally opens cupboards looking for something (I know it's him because it's almost always the one over the fridge and I can't reach it without a chair too short)... The black dog is more worrisome as it tends to manifest more when I have friends over that aren't doing well mentally. They tend to shed their negativity in my house which is great for them terrifying for me when I wake up to Malcolm GROWLING at another dog at the foot of my bed. That is how I know the house is haunted. Malcolm reacts to BOTH the grey man and the dog normally before I do.

Total of uhhhh 6 more points I believe.

[Aerlinn]

PuppyyyyyyyyyyyyyY! Just the bestest, fuzziest Uruk-hai I've ever seen! Congrats on the shiny icon @Fuin Elda and thanks much for your participation here!

@Drifa Awww, part with books? Never! I recognize many titles.

THREAD UPDATE
The scavenger hunt will close on NOVEMBER 7, so get any remaining photos in by the end of the week.

(And we'll try to have polls and voting figured out by then.)
@Almarëa Mordollwen @Taethowen @Dimcairien Luiniel