Halloween Pumpkin Mantel
Generally speaking when it comes to Halloween decorations, I lean more towards the actual scary than the cute. On the other hand, I love pumpkins and I knew for our mantel I wanted a ton of pumpkins.
I bought a handful of fake pumpkins from the craft store (they never go rotten!) and went to town. I thought I’d stick with a black and white theme and at first I was tempted to make them pretty with patterned stencils, but was inspired to paint cute faces on them when we found a light up pumpkin at a Halloween store. We turned that one into a makeshift light putting it on an antique tripod.
Of course with the black and white theme, I was able to incorporate the ghosties I made.
Look at that happy pumpkin face! They were all painted with acrylic paint we had laying around the house. Pretty simple and pretty fast.
This is the just the beginnings of our decor. We have some more creepy awesome stuff that I’ll share over the next weeks. Not to mention that next weekend is our horror movie marathon and all the treats and decorations that go along with it. Can’t wait!
halloween costumes
It’s the last day of September which means I am declaring it officially time to start talking about Halloween. I’ve even changed my header in honor or my favorite holiday.
First order of business is costumes. I always try to plan ahead so I can make my costume but then can’t decide until the last minute where I scramble to make something overly complicated and end up making myself crazy. Yet again, I’m stumped this year.
Looking back at the last few years, I’m really happy with my costumes, in fact, they’ve been some of my favorite.
Last year I was a prairie girl. The coolest thing about this costume was that it was super comfortable and totally re-wearable. I knew I wouldn’t have time to make a costume so I bought a lovely vintage dress on etsy.
In 2009 I had big ambitions that I would make an intricate Marie Antoinette dress, including a corset. I never finished it. It managed to get it to a wearable state but never made the hoop skirt that went along with it. This project nearly broke me. Despite not totally finishing it, I was still really happy to have a fancy and yet really creepy costume.
In 2008 I was a bat. I have wanted to be a bat for many years as I have wings already built in. This costume was a simple, black, shiny dress with an open back. It was easy to make just by draping. I added gloves, thigh highs and mask to finish it off.
Possibly my favorite costume of all time was this dear costume I made in 2007. Knowing in advance that I needed something I could wear on a bike ride, I made a super comfortable cotton jersey dress, spray painted the belly white and added ears and a tail. I also made the cape Shawn wore with his pumpkin head costume. It was one of the best Halloweens ever.
So what’s next? I’d like to go with something traditional and scary. Maybe something with horns? I much prefer things that are creepy than cute or sweet. I also love getting the chance to wear makeup and masks.
What are you going to be for Halloween? Do you make your costume or buy it? Let’s brainstorm ideas together!
craft night
Oh it’s almost October and I can hardly contain myself. Every day when the sun goes down a little earlier and the air is a little crisper, a feeling of elation passes over me. I adore fall time.
I’ve already been plotting decorations, and last week a few lady friends came over for some crafting.
With Halloween on our minds, everything we created had a sort of holiday theme.
A gaggle of ghosts were born. Or unborn? Not sure with those ghosts.
It was nice to spend the evening with some lovely women and talk about anything while we worked on our little projects.
At the end of the night I had a few ghosties of my own, and a dear little spider.
I can’t wait till our next craft night…I foresee pumpkin carving!
Happy Halloween
Happy Halloween!
I’ve been spending my morning hanging out with the kitties and reading about haunted houses.
I was just going to post a quick teaser of our Halloween costumes, but some of the photos are just too much fun, so I had to share more.
This year I was a prairie girl and Shawn was an astronaut. I didn’t have time to make a costume, so I bought this amazing dress from an awesome shop on Etsy. I love the dress so much, I might have to wear it all the time.
It’s true, we love Halloween.
We went to a party with some crazy dancing ghillie suit creatures. Watch out for this guy. His moves will blow away even you’re sweetest dance routine.
Even Cleopatra was there; cutting a rug on the dance floor.
There were cupcakes. They were devoured.
I’m so glad my friends love Halloween as much as I do.
We’re planning some more Halloween adventures for this afternoon. Can’t wait.
What are you doing for Halloween?
Spider web cake
Halloween is nearly upon us and I feel like I haven’t yet gotten my yearly fill of creepy decorations and festivities. Granted, we’ve been to a haunted corn maze, had our 3rd annual Halloween movie marathon, I even baked a pumpkin. Not to mention, we’ve watched over 40 horror movies this month (so far).
It’s still not enough though. So tonight, just to satisfy my Halloween cravings, I made this spiderweb cake. I think it’s creepy but still has a bit of elegance. No one wants to eat a cake that looks gross, even if it’s supposed to evoke grossness.
I had a little extra fondant (and a leftover cupcake) and this little ghost came haunting around.
Before this weekend arrives, I still hope we’ll get to carve pumpkins. I’ve got my costume all together and can’t wait for all Halloween festivities.
Looking for more Halloween inspiration? Here are some more Halloween desserts from years past.
