THIS IS HALLOWEEN

The magic begins when my little girls squeal with delight as decorations are pulled from their resting place. They breathe new life, new energy into our home. Some of my most precious memories are when my house is filled with holiday trinkets, lights and ribbons. JOY!

I have a few theories about holiday decorating.

1. Take what you’ve already got and add seasonal ribbon. I also will use scraps of fabric as ribbon or to put under stuff. Wrap candles, candlesticks, frames, lamps etc… Also the fabric comes in handy for making things taller. For example…I’ll use a can of beans

(if you’re not a bean fan, corn will work just as well ;)

under the fabric to set a vase higher.

2. Make it yourself. So much more fulfilling.

Even the stuff I’ve bought I alter to my liking.

Adding as much personal touch as possible.

3. Rummage through your house to see what you’ve got. Pull things from other rooms, go through old boxes and storage rooms. Some of my favorite decorating inspiration comes this way.

4. Never underestimate the power of images printed out on paper with

a little glitter, embellishments and ribbon added.

5. Purchase goodies that can be used for more than one holiday. Lime green glitter candles for Halloween & Christmas, fake pumpkins with fun Halloween things painted or drawn on one side that you simply turn around for thanksgiving. Red accents from Christmas that can be used for valentines… you get the picture.

6. Speaking of picture… take them. Photo your decorations up. It will help you reset it the following year. And even if you don’t set it up the same way it gives you a great starting point.

Plus it never fails every year when I pull my stuff out that I’ll come across something and think…

"What the….” Then I’ll look through my photo’s and think…"Oh.”

All that being said, I in now way claim to be a pro. I also am not claiming that everything I have is an original Anj idea. I love to do creative things. I love to see what other people create. I think creative people feed off of each other. And this is why I’m posting photos of my home at Halloween. Enjoy.

JACK & SALLY

This years major undertaking. I'm so pleased with the outcome.

Each is 2'x4' Oil on hardboard.
To give credit where it's due:
I didn't create the Sally image.  I found one I fell madly in love with.
The original is actually a marker sketch and only about 5 inches tall.
The artist who created the original gave me permission to display my rendition on this blog.
(Seriously, what a stud.  Most artist aren't that kind).
His name is Charles Holbert Jr.
You can find him on deviantART under the name KidNotorious.  

The Entertainment Center

On the corners are 2 skulls. I made them last year out of paper mache.

Flour, water, a phone book and balloons.

I think the whole thing cost me a buck. I had to buy a pack of balloons from the dollar store. The printed labels on the jars of goodies you can find at houseof3.com.

My neighbor uses the same candy corn every year.

She puts it in a zip lock and freezes it.

Brilliant, I say! I'm going to give it a whirl this year.

The green liquid in the lemonade glass bottle is made from a highlighter. It glows in the dark with a black light.

Super cool. I filled photo frames of Halloween pictures of years past. Added ribbons and fabric to the top.

Little Ditties

These are projects from this year.

Mr. Skeleton Man is a wire form from stampington.

He's only like 12 bucks.

Spray him orange, add some glitter... and ta-da!

Well I had to make the little Seasons Screamings sign.

Then we have my spooky banner.

There is a lady on etsy.

Her site name is sugar sugar, or something like that.

She makes these unreal banners. I basically copied her.

A little paper, ribbon, glitter, streamers,

and embellishments and your good to go.

Fireplace & Mantel

Oh dear, where to begin. How about the top. I made a sign

(out of some strange foam meets wood composite, dirt cheap too)

that hangs from the ceiling that reads "This is...".

Then with smaller pieces of the fake wood stuff I spelled out

H A L L O W E E N. Using a skull to represent the O.

The letters are on both sides, because the letter blocks spin freely.

On the mantel itself I have 2 white fake pumpkins. (This was a project from last year). Using a sharpie I colored Jacks face on one and wrote "Life's no fun without a good scare" on the other.

Hmmmm... what else.

Oh, I'm thinking a few people may have those black boxes.

Mine usually say "this and that" they are pretty popular around town. I replace the small this and that signs according to the season.

Right now they say trick or treat.

(If you don't know what I'm talking about please ignore me).

They are great for stacking things at different heights.

(And cuter than a can of beans).

I use a black light in the lamp. It casts a wonderful purple glow. The lamp shade is one I picked up at the D.I. for a couple bucks. I ripped off the material down to it's skeleton and tied black, white and orange ribbon from one end to the next.

Now the black light really shines through.

(It doesn't translate as well in a photo).

Then I've draped material below, using black roses in the corners,

for added drama.

Aragog his minions and their victim

I'm thinking this is my oldest Halloween decoration.

Not much to say. It is displayed on and above the kitchen table.

I'm actually coveting these...

Martha Stewart Glittered Skull and Bones Set - Grandin Road.

I'd love to replace my walmart guy for one of hers...

or maybe I'll just glitter mine to death.

Lighting

Here is my front entry chandelier and my sconce that hangs on the wall. I had replaced the lamp shades just after we moved in, but thank heavens I didn't toss the old ones. I came across them last year in my basement. I simply tore up old fabric, stained its edges, and then wrapped it around each shade. I mummy-fied them. Then on the chandelier I draped it with ribbons and trinkets. On the sconce I hung a bird cage and then added Martha Stewart paper crows. 4.99 at Michael's... add a coupon and it's cheaper than buying paper & cutting them out yourself. I covered them in black glitter and added a little bling for an eye. Oh, and then I added black feathers,

which I bathed in glitter as well.

Photo Wall

Used the same Martha Stewart crows, also with the added bling eye.

Then added feathers again. Love it.