Life and Other Projects: Favorite

That's right. Favorite. Halloween is my favorite time of year. I freaking love decorating our house for Halloween and watching scary movies and going to haunted houses. Love it. And the fact that it happens in fall, when we get to go apple picking and ride on hayrides and see the leaves change colors ... I mean come on. What's not to love?

This year, Chris and I are going big and having a huge Halloween party, so I've been trying to get an early start on decorating. Here's a few in-progress pictures. If you've got any more ideas, feel free to leave a comment. I love suggestions!

In the picture below, I just bought big sheets of black paper and drew the bats by freehand and then cut them out. I just looked at the silhouettes in the picture to get an idea of the shapes. It took a couple hours to do them all and get them taped up there, but seeing as it cost all of $2 for the materials, I'd say I got plenty of bang for my buck. The clown painting is from Salvation Army. I just added fake blood directly onto the glass and painted the frame and mat to give it a creepy look. The big picture in the middle is a new find that Chris and I purchased when we were apple picking at Beak and Skiff.

Most of this little vigil is from last year. I bought a regular mirror with a cool shape from Salvation Army, then spray painted the frame with oil-rubbed bronze spray paint. I didn't tape it off or anything, so it gave the mirror an antique-y look while still being reflective.

The plates, again, Salvation Army. I drew the images on with a Sharpie marker, just looking at other images for a general idea. Then I put them in the oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes to harden the marker so it wouldn't rub off.

The candles, just drip red wax on white candles. Super easy and creepy looking.

This project took a little more creativity. I'm making trophies to give out for our Halloween party costume contest. I bought plastic skeletons at Dollar Tree, and wood plaques at Michaels. Then I broke them apart and hot glued them into positions I liked, starting from the feet up.

Below, we've got the beginnings of the Funniest and Scariest Costume trophies.

And my personal favorite, Best Couples Costume. In the picture below, you can still see the hot glue strings all over the place. So obviously, I've cleared them off. But I still need to spray paint them and add some sort of label and maybe a cute prop or two. So I'll keep you posted.

Another skeleton project - I'm obsessed with these $1 skeleys - was for my front door wreath.

I got the basic wreath for $3 at Target. Then I broke apart my skeleton and hot glued him into position. He's a very welcoming little thing, isn't he? After I got him in place, I took a $1 bouquet of silk flowers from Dollar Tree and cut it up. Then I hot glued the purple flowers, purple spider, and black twigs and leaves (all from a single bouquet) onto the wreath as well.

I mean seriously, that's pretty darn cute for a wreath that cost me $5 total, right? Although I do wish I had a tiny top hat for him...

Next up, I turned my orchid into something a little more frightening. The flowers had fallen off the plant a while ago, so it was just leaves and a long stem. That part is all real and alive.

Then I took the last flower from that same $1 bouquet from Dollar Tree and put a little surprise inside. Just some plastic vampire teeth that I once again hot glued in place. But before I stuck them in there, I dripped a red wax candle along the edges to make it look like gums. Then I glued it all in place.

The only thing I would warn about here is that you have to be careful not to get the hot glue near the wax because, well, wax melts. I actually went back over the teeth with the wax once they were glued in place to touch up a couple spots.

Another skeleton. Did I mention I love these guys? They cost $1 and they glow in the dark. What's not to love? I made him a prisoner inside a birdcage that was used as a centerpiece at our wedding reception. He's hanging out in our kitchen, by the entryway.

I've also been trying to Halloween-up my staircase. Lots of creepy garland and spooky pictures to replace our usual pictures on the frame wall. The mice silhouettes came in a pack of 12 for $1 from Dollar Tree. Unfortunately, Ripley keeps pulling them off and rippling them apart. Guess he's not a fan of mice.

And now, to reassure you all that I'm not totally obsessed with darkness and death or getting too out of hand with this Halloween stuff, I give you ...

Puppies and rainbows!