Halloween is almost here and we're about to enter the enchanting world of custom ponies with a spooky twist 👻
Our featured pony artist, Jenn Schaeffer, has conjured the seasons ghastly ghouls and menacing monsters to create the most hauntingly adorable Boo Crew!
We'll explore the origin of her artistic journey, her inspirations, the intricate techniques that breathe life into her creations, and even delve into the imaginative personalities of her Halloween-themed ponies.
Pumpka-Boo was made from a very discolored baby Halfnote. I removed her eyes and filled with milli-putt and gave her jewel eyes. Dyed her orange with Rit Dyemore
Rehaired with the colors of Envy and Poison Ivy
Her pumpkin stem horn is made from milli-putt. Symbol and stem horn was painted with acrylic paint markers.
I have always loved arts and crafts. I remember I was in my teens when My Little Pony Tales came out. I loved that show. I never knew any of those ponies were actually produced of the characters. I decided to customize my own of the 7 main girls and the 3 boys. Although I had no idea how to rehair, I used the bait ponies that already had the right color hair, then painted their bodies with a paint brush.
Years later I found a whole pony community on the My Little Pony trading post (MLPTP) where I could share my customs and talk ponies. From there I just kept creating customs, taking commissions and selling others on Ebay.
Since she was originally a baby Heartthrob, I wanted to at least give her a prettier name. Zella is a Hebrew name that means wolf.
I removed her eyes and filled with milli-putt and gave her jewel eyes.
Dyed with Rit Dyemore in brown. Rehaired with felting wool that I basically styled and glued to her head. Her fangs were made from milli-putt. Symbols were painted with acrylic paint markers.
Made from a baby Halfnote
I removed her eyes and filled with milli-putt and gave her jewel eyes.
Dyed with Rit Dyemore in gray. Rehaired with the colors Virgin Snow and White Chocolate
Symbols were painted with acrylic paint markers. Her wrappings are a ribbon.
I had too many bait beddy bye eyed (BBE) baby ponies. These are mostly unwanted by lots of collectors because their eyes rust and are in general, not that cute. I decided to make the Boo Crew out of all the BBE's I had. I wanted a cast of different common Halloween characters. I had to match up each character to the base color of the pony. I had to dye most of them different colors. That takes a little planning. When using dye, you need to choose the bait base color wisely. For instance, you can't dye a blue pony orange.
The accessories were not the easiest to find. I was always on the lookout for anything I could use while at any store. The little pitchfork was actually a pair of earrings. The names probably took the most time to get just right. I knew I wanted 'boo' at the end of each name but still wanted them to be cute and a pony like name.
Made from a baby Ribbon
I removed her eyes and filled with milli-putt and gave her jewel eyes.
Dyed with Rit Dyemore in black. Rehaired with the color Moonlight
Symbols were painted with acrylic paint markers and uv fluorescent glow paint.
Made from a baby Lofty
I removed her eyes and filled with milli-putt and gave her jewel eyes.
Rehaired with the color Black Magick and Cherry pie. Her teeth were made with milli-putt.
Tried to make a cape out of black fabric. I’m not much of a seamstress. Lol
Symbols were painted with acrylic paint markers and details highlighted uv fluorescent glow paint.
When I initially started my IG account, it was to show off my childhood ponies that I had restored. Then I slowly started to get back into customizing again. I really enjoy customizing baby ponies of the Hasbro made Momma ponies. Who doesn't love seeing a smaller version of their favorite ponies. My part time job is at a sip and paint art studio. My original idea for my IG was to incorporate ponies and paintings. All the backgrounds I use for my photographs are paintings that I have done specifically for that photo idea.
Made from a baby Tiddlywinks
I removed her eyes and filled with milli-putt and gave her jewel eyes.
Dyed her with Rit Dyemore in the color red. Rehaired with the colors Firebird, Candy Apple, and Cherry Pie. Her horns and point on tail were made with milli-putt and then glittered. The pitchfork was part of a pair of earrings.
Made from a baby Frosting. I removed her eyes and filled with milli-putt and gave her jewel eyes. Rehaired with the colors Sugar plum and Sour grapes.
I made the witch hat out of felt. Which covers up the tip of her horn that was missing. Pony shoes and Twinkles the cat were dyed with Rit Dyemore in black.
Being in the pony community is my happy place. It's an escape from the stresses of life. You form a connection with others that share the same pony love. It always brightens my day and makes me smile when I see people's new customs, creations, and ideas. I also love sharing mine, which was why I started my IG.
Made from a baby Cuddles
I removed her eyes and filled with milli-putt and gave her jewel eyes.
Rehaired with the colors Black Magick and Moonlight. Bolts in her neck were made with Milli-putt.
It's tough to pick a favorite. I go back and forth with each one being my favorite at different times. I would say Pumpka-Boo is my favorite. I love how the stem horn and the pumpkin face symbol turned out. Believe it or not, I'm not the biggest Halloween fan. But I really loved creating every part of these customs and display. I have a feeling I will keep adding new characters as I end up with more BBE baits.
