13 more days until Halloween. Thirteen..bwahahahaha. I apologize for my lame attempt at a scary Halloween laugh, but that's all I got. I channeled Count from Sesame Street with that one.
I stopped on my way to work this morning to pick up a few more decorations so that we can do it up over the weekend. We had a few decorations from before, but not many. Now that we are in the house, I realized the few things I had didn't cover it. Shopping for spiders and webs and ravens got me really excited about decorating. I'm ready to turn this mutha out! C'mon sing it with me...turn this mutha out. Now shake your booty while you sing it. It feels good, right? Turn this mutha out.
I stopped on my way to work this morning to pick up a few more decorations so that we can do it up over the weekend. We had a few decorations from before, but not many. Now that we are in the house, I realized the few things I had didn't cover it. Shopping for spiders and webs and ravens got me really excited about decorating. I'm ready to turn this mutha out! C'mon sing it with me...turn this mutha out. Now shake your booty while you sing it. It feels good, right? Turn this mutha out.
I've never went full on Halloween crazy or anything, but I feel like turning the dial up on this thing by just a few notches this year. Now don't get me wrong, it won't be a ghoulish, Nightmare on Elm Street I'm-so-scared-I'm-going-to-poop-my-pants job. After all, I have two children under 4. Maybe more like The Munsters or The Addams Family. You know, they're crazy and kooky and spooky and they have kids and it's tame enough for network TV.
There are some really cool ideas floating around out there to make your house completely awesome for not much money. Google it (or Bing it, Yahoo it, Pinterest it...whatever). It's almost overwhelming, but mostly it's inspiring. You can do this!
Here are a few of my own recommendations.
Tips for invoking the spirit of Halloween on the cheap:
1. Hit up your dollar store. You'll be surprised at what you can score for a buck.
2. Don't be afraid of a little paint. You can use some cheap finds--or even some things you may have around already--and give it a little touch of black (or white) spray paint.
3. Don't underestimate the power of googly eyes. They're cheap and come in large quantities.
4. Use the fake spider web stuff. You can pick this up for a dollar, and a little goes a long...long...geez, how much of this stuff is in this little bag--long way.
5. Tea lights set the mood. These come in a jumbo bag for next to nothing. Use them in your jack-o-lanterns, backlight a spooky decoration or frame, or for accent in a tinted glass.
6. Get creative. Your kids will love helping you come up with some special spooktacular décor. Have them help you make a pennant or banner for your accent table out of craft paper (or even paper lunch sacks) with the words boo or eek. Or have them help draw eyes on some ghosts you help them cut out. Whatever the quickie craft, they'll love being your assistant.
7. Pumpkins and pumpkins and more pumpkins. Get a variety of sizes and colors to create an easy display. Don't be duped into spending big bucks at an overpriced patch. Chances are your local farmers market has some winners for much cheaper. And even if you never go to the farmers market, this is the one time a year you should make it a point to swing by. No kidding, I bought a HUGE pumpkin for $5, and I know from experience that a pumpkin that size at the patch would've cost me $20.
8. Crepe paper can be creepy. Use torn crepe paper in different lengths to hang from a doorway or ceiling. Use black, white or gray for a frightful forest effect. (Maybe black with the occasional red for an ode to gore.) The best part? You can usually pick it up for under $1. Check your craft or dollar store.
9. Perfectly petrifying plates. Grab your dry erase marker, write a scary message on a plate and stand it up using a plate stand. The dry erase marker isn't permanent, so you can wipe the plate clean to use again later. If you don't have a plate stand, another option is to use a couple of dabs of hot glue and smidge of ribbon or twine to create a loop for the back of the plate. Once it dries you can hang it!
10. Book it. Use books in your displays for an extra touch. Stack a few up and place a decoration on top to create layers of varying heights in your display. Create book covers out of craft paper or paper bags and write fun new titles on the binding that go along with your theme, like Book of Spells or How to Raise the Dead.
Now get out there and turn it out! Have a great weekend, everyone!
There are some really cool ideas floating around out there to make your house completely awesome for not much money. Google it (or Bing it, Yahoo it, Pinterest it...whatever). It's almost overwhelming, but mostly it's inspiring. You can do this!
Here are a few of my own recommendations.
Tips for invoking the spirit of Halloween on the cheap:
1. Hit up your dollar store. You'll be surprised at what you can score for a buck.
2. Don't be afraid of a little paint. You can use some cheap finds--or even some things you may have around already--and give it a little touch of black (or white) spray paint.
3. Don't underestimate the power of googly eyes. They're cheap and come in large quantities.
4. Use the fake spider web stuff. You can pick this up for a dollar, and a little goes a long...long...geez, how much of this stuff is in this little bag--long way.
5. Tea lights set the mood. These come in a jumbo bag for next to nothing. Use them in your jack-o-lanterns, backlight a spooky decoration or frame, or for accent in a tinted glass.
6. Get creative. Your kids will love helping you come up with some special spooktacular décor. Have them help you make a pennant or banner for your accent table out of craft paper (or even paper lunch sacks) with the words boo or eek. Or have them help draw eyes on some ghosts you help them cut out. Whatever the quickie craft, they'll love being your assistant.
7. Pumpkins and pumpkins and more pumpkins. Get a variety of sizes and colors to create an easy display. Don't be duped into spending big bucks at an overpriced patch. Chances are your local farmers market has some winners for much cheaper. And even if you never go to the farmers market, this is the one time a year you should make it a point to swing by. No kidding, I bought a HUGE pumpkin for $5, and I know from experience that a pumpkin that size at the patch would've cost me $20.
8. Crepe paper can be creepy. Use torn crepe paper in different lengths to hang from a doorway or ceiling. Use black, white or gray for a frightful forest effect. (Maybe black with the occasional red for an ode to gore.) The best part? You can usually pick it up for under $1. Check your craft or dollar store.
9. Perfectly petrifying plates. Grab your dry erase marker, write a scary message on a plate and stand it up using a plate stand. The dry erase marker isn't permanent, so you can wipe the plate clean to use again later. If you don't have a plate stand, another option is to use a couple of dabs of hot glue and smidge of ribbon or twine to create a loop for the back of the plate. Once it dries you can hang it!
10. Book it. Use books in your displays for an extra touch. Stack a few up and place a decoration on top to create layers of varying heights in your display. Create book covers out of craft paper or paper bags and write fun new titles on the binding that go along with your theme, like Book of Spells or How to Raise the Dead.
Now get out there and turn it out! Have a great weekend, everyone!
Do you have a fun and inexpensive Halloween decoration idea?