Who needs chocolate when there are so many fun things to do to decorate the house for Halloween?
Okay, that's a stupid question.
I, for one, cannot survive without chocolate. Especially at Halloween time.
But a close second is all this fun stuff you see adorning my house in October. Yes, I decorate for the benefit of my kids, but I have to admit that it's just as much for me as it is for anyone else.
I just can't seem to help myself. I NEED eye candy. The cat agrees.
I suppose it's a bit of an obsession, and it's surely not the most "important" thing on my gigantic, HUGE list of things to do, but it's a top priority for me nonetheless.
After all, I can't let Mr. Spooky Ghost salt shaker stay boxed up forever, can I? That would be cruel, too cruel.
And what's a stack of dishes without a purple tarantula?
Oh - do you notice anything different about my dining room? Besides my "new" china cabinet, that is.
Why yes indeed, I painted the walls a fantastic grey/blue color (which my sister has in her house and I loved it so much I copied her). AND I finally installed some crown molding, which I'd been wanting to do for 2 years now. It's actually 2 different parts: some baseboard trim that I turned upside down and nailed onto the wall so that the bottom edge is 5" down from the ceiling, and then I installed the actual crown on top of it. So you get the general look of big, expensive crown at a fraction of the cost.
The only trouble is that the baseboard looks wimpy and off scale now. I'm planning to do wainscotting (sp? I've never figured out how to pronounce that word either) all along the bottom 1/3 of the wall eventually, so when it's all done it will look proportional. But that's way down on my priority list, so for now I'll be happy about the crown molding.
I know that pillows aren't typically a design element in the corner of a dining room, but I had to put them SOMEWHERE, and all my new pillows I made this year are covering my sofa now.
They're quite satisfied with their new home.
I discovered that spiders have an affinity for lamp shades when there are tiny loops of blue painter's tape stuck to their bellies.
This spider was a bit too big to fit on the chandelier.
Of all my decorations, that huge spider was the one thing that made Hazel squeal with delight and a touch of panicky abhorence. I wish I had captured her reaction on video.
All of you loyal blog followers will surely recognize these characters from years past - those 2 pumpkinheads are among my favorite Halloween things....so ugly they're positively cute!
And of course you've seen the Girlie Ghosts from my tutorial.
How 'bout my Halloween quilt, eh? I love how it turned out, sorry I don't have a pattern for it yet. Just not enough hours in the day.
I didn't have a blank wall to display my quilt on, except my Wall O' Plates wall....should we pause for a moment of silence to pay our respects for the absent Plate Wall? First time in 2.5 years that I haven't plastered that wall with my dishes according to which holiday it was. But hey - now I have a fancy china cabinet, so they just got moved over a little bit. And I love looking at that quilt - I worked hard on that thing!
You'll recognize this wreath I made last year too.
It's one of my favorite handmade things.
Well, I guess it's not 100% handmade - I bought the bead garland on clearance after Halloween 2 years ago, and wrapped the garland around a metal wreath base. I made loops of ribbon, grouped the loops, wrapped them with wire, and hot-glued them onto the frame amidst the berry garland. Then I made the giant flower bows (see my tutorial in the left sidebar) and hot-glued those onto the wreath = Voila! Super fun, spunky wreath just perfect for Halloween.
Okay, now it's your turn to go brighten up your place with eye candy...and don't forget the chocolate.
You are amazing!
Posted by: Jeff Mendenhall | October 07, 2011 at 10:58 PM
The paint is wonderful and the decorations have to make everyone smile. What color is the paint? I've been trying to find the right blue/grey for my living room.
Posted by: Michelle | October 09, 2011 at 03:32 PM
Very awesome dectoration ideas! I love the homemade stuff. I would love to see what you do with an outdoor space.
Posted by: Clint Rowley | October 19, 2011 at 02:27 PM