Boy Howdy!  I have been running my little tail off these past few days (weeks, months...).  But the house is really coming together.  I promised some more pics (Click HERE for part 1!) and, amazingly, I'm actually posting them pre-Halloween! (okay, BARELY, but still...).  You may notice a difference in the light quality - that's because some of these were taken last night to show off the string lights and candles a little better. 

Our guests will actually be dining in the living room next to the fireplace and under the "chandelier."  A large beaded spiderweb spans the corner, while ravens and crows look on from their various perches around the room.

I can't have an event without fresh flowers.  The orange poms and scraggly greenery give these white roses an eerie Halloween-y slant.

As the dining room is not being used for, well, dining, it will serve as a cocktail and hors d'ouevres station.  A moss runner was added to the table, along with the greenery and cloche.  The table was slid to one corner of the room to make space for another project (that I will most likely NOT be featuring pre-Halloween)

This fab moon is a two foot paper lantern.  The facial features are from BHG and have been Mod Podged on.  The entire piece got a coating of pearl and sliver acrylic paint and it hangs, lit from within.

Along with cocktails, I always make sure to have a fun non-alcoholic beverage available.  I'd like to say it's solely because I'm being responsible, but the truth is that I also just REALLY enjoy showing off my mother's cut glass punch bowl.

Instead of a traditional leaf garland, I created a feather version out of a bunch of feather boas (purchased at Goodwill for very little!).  The feathers give a nod to the raven theme while the metallic gold skull, satin top hat and fabulous cravat show this handsome fella is dressed for dinner.  The wall behind the stairs is lined with three chandelier silhouettes intended for pre-teen rooms and purchased on Clearance for $2.50 each.

Oh, I'd love to say I'm all done, but there is still much to do!  I'm off to add grommets to my dress, buy dry ice, introduce the reaper to our cemetery, hang some lights and mix some drinks.  And then drink some of those drinks.  Hmmm... maybe I should buy more alcohol too.

Have a spectacularly spooky Halloween, my friends, and please send me your pictures and comments!!

Soooo... remember how I said that I wanted to finish the majority of my Halloween projects by the end of this past weekend? I'm awfully hilarious sometimes.

Alas, fate threw in some curve balls, with my husband having to spend the week in New York for work, and my munchkin getting sick for the first time (she's so pitiful, it's breaking my heart!).  In addition to spending the past two weekends out of town, and being under the weather myself it's a bit of an understatement to say that I didn't quite get everything done that I wanted to.  So, while I will be working at finishing everything I can, I'm scaling back some plans and leaning on my fave fast decorating staples for some big Halloween impact.

So, without further ado, my top 5 favorite pieces (for fast and easy decor) from my Halloween Decorating Arsenal.

5. Books 

I know I talk about this all of the time, but I LOVE books for decorating.  And in the flickering light of candles, they take on a positively eerie presence...hosts of stories whispering from the shelves.


How To: 
Remove book jackets from hardcovers and stack them haphazardly to display curiosities; Create your own creepy book jackets;  Photo copy pages, weather them with tea and a lighter and wrap candles; Look up Halloween appropriate terms in the dictionary or encyclopedia, photo copy pages and frame them.


  
4.  White Sheets 

Draped over furniture, white sheets, tablecloths or curtains give your rooms a fabulous abandoned look.  Basic, yes, but that's why I love it.  It's a way of making a big impact and potentially saving your furniture from tipsy or clumsy guests.  Winning.  

Martha Stewart (Source) gives a great tutorial on making these moth-eaten curtains as well!

3.  Black light

Let's face it, black lights are just awesome.  A black lit room will reveal all kinds of fun glowing objects - teeth, white clothing, some liqueurs, eyes... But you can spice things up by adding a theme (think Mad Scientists Lab or Witches Potion Bar) and some fabulously fluorescing household objects.

Get Your Glow On:  Tonic Water (with quinine) fluoresces a pretty color of blue and can be frozen as ice cubes for drinks.  Original Palmolive dish soap (the green stuff your mom used when you were a kid) glows a bright green.  You can even use it to "paint" on fabric and then just wash it out when you're done.  Laundry detergent, honey, vitamins, highlighters... all of them glow and all of them look great in tiny bottles and jars lined up among random "oddities."  (Another favorite trick is to break open a highlighter and drop the inside into your toilet tank.  Every time the toilet fills, it will take some of the ink with it and make the water glow.)



2. Glow Sticks

Cheap, versatile and fun, glow sticks have a lot of haunt power.  Glowing ghosts are my favorite quick and easy glow stick project, but you can also try submerging glow sticks in water with creepy objects, adding colored light to jack o lanterns or creating eyes in the bushes with some toilet tissue rolls.

Glowing Ghost How To:  Insert a lit glow stick into a white balloon and inflate.  Tie it off, add eyes with sharpie and cover with layers of shredded cheesecloth.  Suspend with clear fishing line.



1.  Cheesecloth

My number one go to is cheap, ordinary cheesecloth.  I freaking LOVE this stuff.  It's inexpnsive, it's versatile and it gets pretty high marks for creating ambiance.


How To: Shred it and hang it for curtains; wrap it tightly around your cushions or furniture and secure with safety pins for a mummified look (I once mummified my entire sofa); use it as a tablecloth or as a drop cloth for covering anything too "pretty" (like pictures on the wall); stretch the fibers as far as you can, drape from the ceiling and walls and attach fake spiders; create floaty ghosts by covering balloons; create super cool self-supported ghosts by using liquid starch and cheesecloth and drying it over a ghostly form... Seriously people, this has got to be the best Halloween decor item EVER.

HGTV (Source) shows off how easy it is to make creepy billowing curtains for your outdoor space

Alright, I'm off to put some of these items to good use!! I hope to have a few more pics of my Halloween progress up by tonight.  Got any of your own go-to props, projects or decor? I'd love to hear about them!  Leave me a message here or on facebook! Happy haunting friends!

Urgh! I swear the weeks are going at double speed.  Now that we're in the build up to Christmas, my guess is they'll only go faster from here on out!

In preparation for this year's Halloween party, I have about 8 projects in progress.  My living and dining rooms kinda make me look like I'm about a half a step away from going full Grey Gardens.  I'm hoping to have things almost completely pulled together by the beginning of this next week, but for now, I wanted to give you a sneak peak of how it's starting to shape up.



My fabulous Interactive Halloween Invites (which I'm pleased to say received rave reviews) set the scene for a spooky raven filled cemetery theme.  As this may be one of the last opportunities for a grown up celebration, I'm taking full advantage by prepping for a glam All Hallows Eve seated dinner. 


The mantel is almost always where I start. I tend to feature some of my favorite pieces, identify a theme and build out from there.

I've had a lot of Halloween projects that I've loved in the past - The Midnight Visitor, the floating table, creepy Halloween Books - but this year's party invitations could easily rank in the top 3.

Because of the baby, we're keeping our Halloween party much smaller this year (just family, really). 
The scaled back proportions gave me a little more wiggle room to do something unexpectedly fabulous in the invite department.  Initially, I considered just buying something really cool, but after spending way too many late nights trolling the internet, I fell in love with a brilliant idea on Etsy: Halloween invites that can only be retrieved by cracking an egg.

What?!  Love the interactive design!!  However the price tag came in a little higher than what I wanted to pay (It would have been about $85 for 10, and that wouldn't include the cost of sending them to guests... yikes!)  Besides, the artist in me needed to figure out how to make them myself.

After a bunch of trial and error, I finally had the invite that was exactly what I was looking for - mysterious, fun, exciting... Making them was almost as much fun as receiving them (and I've had rave reviews from recipients!)



Supplies: 
 
10 3"x3" boxes
10 4"x4" boxes
10 chicken eggs (you may need more if any crack)
Corsage Pin
Wooden skewers
Printed invites/"Crack Me" signs/Raven graphics

Mod Podge
Tissue Paper
Spray Paint
Spanish Moss
Embellishments
Twine
Feathers
Washi Tape
Crinkle Cut Filler


 Blowing Out the Egg

- Using a long corsage pin (cleaned with alcohol), I punctured a tiny hole in the very top of the egg (the skinny part).  This is the hardest part of the shell and takes steady pressure.
- I then used the pin to puncture a hole in the very bottom of the egg.


- Once the pin was fully inserted, I swirled it around to break up as much of the yolk as possible.  (This makes draining it out a lot easier.  Found that out the hard way...)
- I used a wooden skewer to carefully punch out small sections of the hole on the bottom, widening it slightly.  I tried several different methods of increasing the size (including using a small drill bit) but this was just as effective as any of them.


- Holding the egg over a clean bowl, I blew into the hole on the very top of the egg, forcing all of the yolk and white out the underside.  I personally saved the eggs and used them for eating and baking, but you could certainly discard them.
- I rinsed the inside with water and then left them on a windowsill to dry out.


Invites and Sealing the Egg

- While the eggs were drying, I created invites, printed them on antique white parchment paper, and cut them into 1"x5" strips.

 - Once the eggs were completely dry, I curled the invites around another wooden skewer (I'm telling you, those things are so useful!), and, ever-so-carefully, inserted them into the tiny hole in the bottom of the egg.


- To seal the eggs, I used a small piece of white tissue paper and a super thin coat of Mod Podge.  I tried a bunch of different things to seal the egg but this method was far and away the best. It was easy, thin, and blended quite well particularly after it was painted (which brings me to...)


- The final step with the egg was to paint it using silver spray paint and then layering an uneven dusting of matte black over top.  After it was painted and dried the holes were only noticeable if you knew to look for them.


The Presentation & Packaging

- After allowing the egg to dry completely, I tucked it into a nest of Spanish moss in a 3"x3" box I had purchased from Michaels for around 80 cents.  Each of the 3"x3" boxes received a round "Crack Me" cut out on the inside of their lid, visible just above the egg when the box is opened.


- The 3"x3" boxes were closed up and tied with black and white twine, and a sparkly embellishment was added to the top.  For extra flair, and a nod to the contents, I tucked a black feather under the twine.


- Finally, I placed the whole thing into a 4"x4" box (also around 80 cents) with crinkle cut paper shreds tucked all around for stability and protection.  I added a cool raven graphic to the inside lid, closed it up and sealed it with a piece of black and white washi tape. Done!   Who wouldn't want to receive one of these enigmatic packages?


Other Stuff

Money: 
- In total, each invite cost about $2.  The only thing I had to purchase were the boxes - everything else I acquired by raiding my craft supplies.  Shipping cost an additional $2.40 per package, but I still think it was worth it.
- If you live close enough, you could save some money by dropping them off personally. It would be just as cool to find one of these on your doorstep!!
- And, if you love the look and aren't all about the crafting part, by all means, buy them from this seller on Etsy.  It's such a fantastic idea and can work for so many parties. 

This Year...
I'm considering adding either a Poe theme or a Dinner in The Graveyard theme to our upcoming party but a lot depends on weather and time.  I'm way behind schedule this year and it's throwing me off my game a bit (I feel like I'm going to be saying that until a certain adorable freeloader is 18 and out of the house...).  Ah well.  The guests are family - they have to love me.  Besides, even if everyone shows up and all I have is a takeout menu, one shoe on and a paper bag over my head by way of costume (I'll be dressing as a mentally affected mom in this scenario), at least I'll have sent some pretty bad ass invitations.  That's gotta count for something!

Happy October, everybody!! This is my absolute favorite month of the year!  My husband and I got married this month, the weather is fabulous (and wonderfully unpredictable), leaves are falling, and Halloween decorations are popping up all over the place.  Good stuff!!

This week's project was actually one that my mom recommended - and I LOVE how it turned out!!

The inspiration came from Pottery Barn, which is one of my absolute favorite retailers.  They always have such cute stuff!! In this case, it's an over-sized grapevine witches hat.  Love!  But then, there's the price... $299.  Oh, Pottery Barn.  Why do you hurt me so? 

Source

As my mom pointed out, however, an upcycled grapevine Christmas tree and a few bare wreaths could garner me some similar results... and at much less stroke-inducing price!

Luckily my mother just so happened to have a tree and I had a grapevine wreath, lights and some fun embellishments.  I decided a second wreath would add some needed weight to the brim of the hat, so I picked one up at Michaels for $2.50. 

The first step was a little prep work.  I removed the string of Christmas lights from the tree, and pulled a few pieces of grapevine out around one of the wreaths to give it a wider circumference and a bit of a wispy look.


 Using florist wire, I secured the two grapevine wreaths together (placing the widest on the bottom, of course, and then attached the tree to the center.  Because the materials are light, I didn't need a lot of wire, and will be able to disassemble it to use the items for their original purpose if I want to.  Bonus!

I used two 100 light strands of orange lights to wrap the entire thing, which added a bit more strength to the fixture as well as unifying the pieces in appearance.

 
The final step was the most fun.  I raided my ribbon and floral supplies as well as some of my Halloween decorations.  After tying a bit of 6" mesh ribbon around the base of the cone, I added glittery black ferns and berries, sparkly white curlicues, feathers and a big fat crow right in the center.  Pottery Barn, eat your heart out. 



I LOVE how it turned out.  I initially put it on the porch, but, as we're expecting a hurricane this weekend, I decided inside might be a better place for it for now.  Happily, after sticking it on my giant pumpkin (which was just waiting in the corner until I figured out where I wanted to put it) I discovered that I quite like the two together and may wind up keeping them like that. 


Ultimately I spent about $5 on materials - $2.50 each for an extra wreath and some mesh (which I now have a TON extra).  Granted that's because I already had a lot of the supplies, but even had I bought each of the parts the cost would have come in WAY under $300.  Even better, I feel like my embellishments are far more fabulous than the drab burlap ribbon and buckle on the PB version.  Woot!




I'm so excited for this weekend when I will pull out the tubs, put on some spooky movies and go full Halloweenophile on the house.  I'd love to hear about your Fright Night prep plans - drop me a note in the comments!

XO
Emily-Grace

I LOVE HALLOWEEN!!!! 

I'm sorry, was I yelling?  It's just that I get a LITTLE excited come this time of year.  I mean, pumpkins, candles, costumes, leaf piles, scarecrows, candy ("Candy, Candy, CANDY..." for all you Garfield fans)... What's not to love?!?! 

Added to the excitement is the fact that now I have my own pretty little pumpkin to dress up!!! And, considering there may only be a few Halloween's where she allows me to pick her outfit, she may wind up in 15 different costumes this year.  Don't judge me.  This may be the main reason I had a kid.  Well, that and to steal her candy when she's old enough to trick or treat.

Silly as it sounds, I wanted the very first thing she put on to be something that I created for her.  So this week I put together the girliest, sparkliest, froofiest Halloween tutu any little munchkin could ask for.  You know, if she could talk.

Though you can absolutely make this sans ribbon by sewing a piece of elastic in a loop, I actually love the big giant bow at the back that the ribbon provides.  In addition, this no sew version is super quick and easy for even the most inexperienced crafters. 

What You Need:  

Spools of 6" Tulle Ribbon I used Orange, Black, Purple and Silver Spiderweb.  The number of actual spools you'll need will depend on the length of the skirt, circumference of the waist and froofiness desired.  I had four spools for a 4 month old but probably only needed 2-3
Grosgrain or Satin Ribbon The length you will need will be the Circumference of Waist + 50 extra inches for a bow with long tails (25 extra per side)
1-2 Spools Coordinating 1/4 inch ribbon
Scissors

Let's Do This: 
 
1.  Measure 25 inches in on each side of the ribbon, and mark with a knot (This should create a section in the center that's the size of your baby's waist).  I needed 16.5 inches for my critter, so my ribbon was 66.5".  The knots take up a tiny bit of the ribbon, but not enough to make much difference.


2.  Decide what length you'd like your skirt, double it and add 1".  This will determine the length of tulle strips you'll need.  For example, I wanted something with a 9-10" drop, so my strips all needed to be around 20".  The great thing about this project is that it's REALLY forgiving.  By the end, I couldn't be bothered to measure too carefully and was just eyeballing the length as I cut.

3. Cut your strips of tulle.  Again, the number you'll need will vary with how large, long and poofed up you want your skirt.  I wanted something highly poofy, so I used around 90 strips (This, btw, is a great project while you're sitting watching tv at the end of the night!)

4.  Place two to three pieces of tulle on top of each other and then fold your tulle in half.  Starting at the first knot, slide approximately one inch of the loop under the ribbon.  Fold the tails of the tulle over the ribbon and through the loop (A Lark's Head knot...like you're tying a scarf.).  Pull the tails, tightening the loop and securing the tulle around the ribbon.  Every few bunches of tulle, attach 1/4" ribbon in the same manner.


5.  Slide your tulle tight against the ribbon knot and continue the process until your center section is filled.  Fluff the tulle, tie a beautiful bow, and you're done!!

Add caption

We dressed our little one up and took her to a local farm for some fall festivities (because nothing says "farm appropriate" like a highly colored tutu).  It made for great pictures and we had so many people stop to Ooo and Ahh over the Cute Factor. 

My favorite pumpkin!

 This technique was so ridiculously easy, I'm sure I'll be employing it for costumes and dress up in the future.  (Pink ballerina? Check.  Little black cat with a tail attached? Check.  Sparkle rainbow tutu for random tuesdays? Checkity check check.)

I'd love to see your super easy costume ideas (for little or big people!), so post them in my comments or on my facebook page.  Happy Autumn!!