Fall Decorating 2016

I love to decorate for the holidays, but decorating can get expensive. I love to get inspired by pins on Pinterest or beautiful photos in magazines and then try to find ways to decorate on a dime. I love to shop at thrift stores, garage sales and dollar stores to hunt for decorating treasures. I don't mind being on a budget because it's so much fun to find items here and there and be able to transform these seemingly unrelated items into something that looks like it was planned out from the beginning.
So much like last year's tablescapes, this year's place settings were purchased at The 99cents Only Store. The total cost of decorating was $22. 

It started with these turquoise soup bowls. The trick to shopping at The 99 is to go there often. They get fun unique items all the time but they sell quickly. By the time I saw these beauties, there were only 6 remaining...so I snatched them up. I wasn't sure what I'd do with them, but I just had to have them. (Cost $6) 

A few months later, they had these gorgeous turquoise plates.(Cost $6) I wasn't even sure the plates would match the soup bowls but when got home and put them together, they were a perfect match! Yay!
I pulled out the dark brown woven chargers, I purchased from The 99 last year and that's when my color scheme took shape.

And then two months ago, I found these super cute resin owls ($6) at The 99 and knew they would be a part of my fall table because they echoed the bronze of the chargers. Super cute!

Add in my existing wine glasses, napkins, silverware, grapevine and ceramic pumpkins, candles, and floral accents...and voila! Fall table on a budget! Only $22.

These two little blue birds ($2) and the oval platter ($2) were also from The 99.  These bronze ceramic pumpkins were from Tuesday Morning from my years of collecting ceramic pumpkins and I purchased the shapely vase 10+ years ago from Southern Living. :)

Below, I added some berries to this rustic blue box for a simple fall floral arrangement. 

Odds and Ends...
I used a bunch of my old silk flowers and pumpkins to make this arrangement for my entryway. And I re-purposed some foam fruit and pumpkins, that used be a part of a cornucopia centerpiece, to make this fall inspired Thanksgiving tree. I think I'll keep it up in my kitchen for Christmas. :)

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

More Decorating Ideas:

Fall Decorating 2013
Fall Decorating 2014
Fall Decorating 2015

 Southern California fall leaves...

Halloween Trunk or Treat Trophies

I volunteered to make the trophies for my son's Trunk or Treat event at his elementary school this year and I can honestly say these were really hard to give away. I think they turned out so adorable and they were so much fun to make, that I really miss them! Luckily, I took these pictures so I can remember them always! ;)
All kidding aside, Pinterest has tons of cute trophy ideas using these mini dollar store skeletons so I wanted to try to make some of my own. The event being a Trunk or Treat, I wanted the skeletons to be in cars of some kind. I went looking for small toys that I could use but all of which were the wrong scale and too expensive. That's when I turned to my crafting stash. I rummaged through and found two wooden coffins from many years ago and that's when it hit me to make little coffin cars. I bought two new coffins that were both different and added wooden wheels, spray painted the whole thing silver and added some rhinestone headlights.  From there, I added accents which created the themes of each coffin car using odds and ends that I had lying around. I broke out my scrapbook paper, stickers, buttons and other supplies to make the rosettes, and added the cute brads to the labels.
The jack-o-lantern is an eraser I bought from a Book Fair last year. The mini skull and crossbones were part of a bracelet that I cut up and spray painted silver...Anyway, take a look around and I hope these inspire you to make your own! Happy Halloween!

SCARIEST TRUNK

ALL-AROUND FAVORITE TRUNK

KID'S CHOICE TRUNK

More Halloween Craft Ideas:

Halloween Angels

Haunted Halloween Village with light-up Pumpkins

 Halloween-inspired Artwork Using Old Dictionary Pages

Boneyard Bonfire Halloween Prop

Here's a really simple Halloween prop that comes together easily with a ton of WOW factor! I made it for my son's trunk or treat event at school but I think it looks so much better in full darkness in the front yard!  I added my pose-able skeleton kicking back around the bonfire roasting a rat skeleton like a marshmallow. The wind blew the plastic flames around so it really looked like a roaring fire! Check out the how to below. Enjoy!

BONEYARD BONFIRE

Materials

Tomato Cage
2-3 strings of Orange lights 
1 small string of white lights
Foam core board
Yellow plastic wrap
lots of skulls and bones 
7-9 small tree branches
glue gun
tape
1 can expanding foam (*optional)

Step 1: Invert and wrap a tomato cage with orange lights.

Step 2: Wrap tomato cage with yellow plastic wrap. Wrap 2-3 times and secure with tape.

Step 3: Place wrapped cage on black foam board. Attach small branches (I used old plastic branches from an old floral arrangement) to foam board with a hot glue gun. (Socks wanted to chew these so badly...)

Step 4: Begin placing your larger bones, skulls, pelvises and rib cages. Hot glue to foam board and to the bones around it.

Step 5: Continue to layer skulls and bones, taking care to leave room between pieces so that the light can show through.

Step 6: Spray expanding foam to bottom of the bonfire to mimic embers and then spray in some of the cracks to help bind the skulls and bones together. Take care not to spray too much or you will not get the glow you want. I over-sprayed and had to remove the excess foam to get better glowing. (*Note: I may not use it all for my next bonfire, it glows best without it.)

Step 7: Add the small string of white lights to the top of the bonfire and add more yellow plastic wrap to create more flames. Filling the top, like you would a gift bag with tissue paper and secure it with tape. Randomly cut plastic into large strips so that you can have free movement of the plastic when in the wind. If using this prop indoors, place a fan behind it to blow the plastic flames around.
The best part is when the bonfire is outdoors, the wind blows the plastic wrap so the illusion is complete as the flames bounce on the wind. The wrinkling sound of the moving plastic mimics a cracking fire. It's just awesome!

Happy Haunting!

Halloween Decorating 2016

I know I say this every year but... I LOVE HALLOWEEN!  I plan all year for Halloween and spend countless hours creating delicious Halloween food and festive decorating ideas. My Halloween recipes don't just look creepy for the sake of creepiness, they have to pass the taste test! Every recipe has to be food that I'd eat even without all the ghoulish stage presence. Taste reigns supreme for any meal, but fun Halloween food also has to have a proper stage when you entertain. So let's set the stage shall we...and start in the heart of my home, the dining room.

I went with a laboratory theme this year with lots of glassware, bottles, flasks, test tubes, books and skulls. Many of these items are meaningful to me because they remind me of my dad. My dad was a voracious reader. He literally had thousands of books...and I'm not exaggerating! In fact, I still have a few boxes of his books left in my garage and I pulled out some to use for my decorating this year. :) I used all black and white books for the sideboard but used red books on the dining room table as contrast and to tie in my red salad plates. I love the way it turned out, don't you? With a table this pretty, we need a menu! 

 'BONE' APPETIT MENU

Appetizer

Ghoulish Goat Cheese Torte

Roasted Roaches

Fangtini

Salad

'Beet'ing Hearts Salad with Blood Red Dressing

 

Main Course

Nightcrawlers con Funghi

Dessert

 Black Magic Spellcakes

In this picture above, the very thick 1942 Websters Dictionary underneath the large red book is mine from when I was a young girl of about 8. I bought that dictionary for 25 cents at a used book sale with my dad. My dad loved to spend weekends going to used book stores and library sales and often dragged us kids along. Most times, I was bored to death, but this trip, I found something I wanted. I remember his face so clearly. He was grinning ear to ear watching me lug that hulking book up to him. The thing weighs probably 15 pounds. I said, "Look at this huge dictionary for only 25 cents! Can I get it Daddy?" 
...Nearly 40 years later and I still have it.

Sideboard

The sideboard was really fun to decorate. From my dad's old chemical bottles and glass lantern, to my test tubes, graduated cylinder and Erlenmeyer flasks; All my dad's beautiful old books and my candles and silver trays, together looks amazing! It took me two days of moving, rearranging, and swapping items until I got the layout just right. 

Cocktail Area

I re-purposed my old skull topiary from two years ago to set the stage for the small cocktail area. I pulled out my old silver, aluminum and stainless trays and layered them in my plate rack to create a cool backdrop for the bar area that adds to the antiquated feel of the room. I added decanters and flasks that will later be filled with potions and elixirs on Halloween night. Cheers!

Lighting

I purchased these plastic skulls from Michael's and cut holes in the top and bottom of them and slipped them over my dining room chandelier for a way cool look. (Don't worry, they are made with a pretty hard plastic so they don't melt when near the hot bulbs...I was worried too!) I ended up using the natural skulls in my dining room because I thought they went better with the overall look of the table and sideboards. But my original plan was to use the gray skulls with draping, gauzy, creepy cloth hanging down from the light fixture like this.

I love how these came out, however, they just didn't go as well as the natural skulls with my table and sideboard. The natural skulls glow and add a eerie light to the room. 
But not to fear, I already have a great idea on my theme for next year and I'll definitely use the gray skulls next year. :)

Crafting Ideas

Raven Wreath

I like to make a new wreath each year and I was inspired by these black and white leaves from Michael's. They went perfect with my black and white theme. The wreath itself is very camouflaged and you may not be able to see very well, but if you look closely, you will spot 5 ravens and many spiders hidden within the black foliage. See if you can spot them.

Halloween Angel Topiaries

I started these beauties last year when I borrowed the idea from AntiCraft on Pinterest. Luckily, I never got around to finishing them last year, because they completely work with my theme of black and white and skulls of this year. These little angels of death are made from old Christmas angels that were spray painted black and turned into skeletons. I painted their faces and the bones of their hands and necks and gave them spots of color and silver wash to give them texture. 
Rather than leaving them free standing, I decided to give them their own little vignettes by making them into topiaries. I designed each based on the angels themselves and then made up little stories about each. I think they turned out great and I may even host a give-away when I open my Etsy Shop for some of my Halloween creations. I'll keep you all posted when that happens.  :)

Mother Nature stands the tallest and is the most powerful as she presides over life and death. In this case, death with a bonfire of skulls at her feet. I included battery operated orange lights to really light the bonfire.


Battle Rose stands among swirling rose bushes that echoes the movement of her gown and her hair;All while the casualties of love lie at her feet. 


Pushing Daisy stands alone in a cemetery over the body of her beloved, who even in death, cultivates love in the flowers that grow around his grave. 


Freyja stands alone among skeletal trees and thorny bushes, as she looks with no luck, for her one true love.  

And that is all for this year. I hope it was inspiring!  
HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYONE!

Check out more Halloween decorating ideas here:
Halloween Decorating and Entertaining Ideas 2013
Halloween Decorating 2014
Halloween Decorating 2015

And more Halloween Food ideas here.