Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Handcrafted Halloween- How to get spellbinding decor

Designers Challenge 101
Top tips for decorating like a pro!

Don't forget this Friday we go live with all our decorating tips, tricks, and how-to's for decorating on shoestring budget; do it like the pros!


 Below is a list of all the designers participating: 

Traci Zellar of Traci Zeller Designs
Kelly Berg of Arte Styling
Kelly James of Design Ties
Dayka Robinson of Meditations on Life and style 
Kathy Passarette of Creative home expressions 
Amanda Burdge of Abhomeinteriors.com
Susan Snow of  Movingdesinz

Ok great, so what does this mean for you? All seven of us are decorating the same family room with a six thousand dollar budget in mind. The idea is to see how the pros take a few thousand dollars and make a room look fabulous, when done right! We will be showing pictures, products used and much more so tune in and be sure to see all the great ideas!

Now back to our regularly scheduled broadcast....


Is it me or were we just celebrating the New Year? I cannot believe that Halloween is just a few short weeks away. Fall has approached us at warp speed and it is time to get decorating! October is the best time to send shivers of delight throughout the house, and prepare for another holiday filled with ghouls and goblins. Here are some of my favorites!

Get a heads up on this Halloween:


Super easy to make. Hollow out the bottom of an eggshell, or mold from clay. Spray on an antique white paint for a base coat. Then paint with crackle paint (like Delta cream coat.) Buy little hats from a craft store, and glue on an orange nose made of felt, or paint one on. Take a sharpie and paint on a ghoulish grin and you have yourself little monsters. With a hot glue gun you can glue string on them and hang them from chandeliers, over archways, and make fun mobiles with then to hang on the porch.

Stencil your Pumpkins
Have a favorite poochie and want to show him off? Better Homes and gardens has pumpkin-carving stencils for a Happy Howloween! Click here to get yours!



DIY creepy crawlies
Everyone knows that half the excitement of trick or treating is the presentation of the entrance! Add a wicked web of scary delight by using black clothesline. Use one large eye hook to secure bottom of the web and use tacks to build and secure the design. Add a big black spider from a craft store and for extra fun add baby creepy crawlies (every craft store has them) all over your front porch, pillars and plant beds.

No carve Pumpkins for the lazy at heart (me)
Take old paint from around the house, Black sharpies (add a little painters tape to help get a straight edge if you like and I recommend doing this before you dip into the sauce) and you have a plethora of decorated pumpkins. This is great for unused fireplaces, table buffets, porches, and mantel decorating.



Another quick and easy way to decorate pumpkins is with tacks, and ribbon:


Candlescape your way through fall
Grab the kids and the hubs and take a stroll around the neighborhood. Gather up acorns, pinecones, seeds and plop them into a mason jar. (make sure the mason jar doesn't  have vodka in it for those who read my previous vodka post!) Insert votives of spiced orange, chai, cinnamon, and vanilla to create the smells of autumn and a beautiful holiday candlescape.


A pillar of harvest
Take pumpkins and stack them into a topiary. Start large on the bottom and cap off with one thats a little smaller. Remove the tops of the bottom two to secure pumpkins placement. You can also take a steel rod or landscaping stake (both from a hardware store) to hold them more securely. For added fun take the painted pumpkins from above and stack into fun colored arrangements. Put onto an old pot and use for a festive tablescape, fireplace decoration or porch decor.

Spooky candy
This is a great way to use what you have and update for the current holiday. Take existing apothecary jars, or vases, fill with candy and decorate with craft paper a haunted jar of BOOO!



I love the fall season and everything it brings. This fall decorate your home with everything that reminds you of home. Fragrant candles, yummy candy, harvest decorations, good food, and of course booze!


What are some of your favorite holiday memories?

Eat, drink and be scary!

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9 comments:

  1. So much fun! Can wait to try making the heads with hollowed out clay.
    Thanks for sharing!
    Teresa

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  2. Whew...for a second there I thought I had missed the whole month...oooh scary! Thank you for the lovely pics and hints above.

    xoxo

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  3. I'm pretty darn excited about this Friday! :) And love your Halloween-y pix & tips! (My most memorable Halloween memory: I had such a busy workday, I forgot about it! When the kids showed up, all I had was a bag of Lindt chocolate truffles, so they got my chocolate truffles. Sniff. But they had gone so all-out in their costumes, I had to smile at their cuteness. :)

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  4. I love the idea of the little pumpkins wrapped with ribbon and tacked. Super easy and quick and a mass of them in a basket makes a nice display.

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  5. Cute Halloween ideas!! Those baby pumpkins with the ribbon are ah-door-ah-bull!! Too bad it's 90 degrees here...finally getting summer.

    Thanks for building up our big designer challenge. Geez - I'm not sure mine will live up to all the hype! Looking forward to seeing everyone's designs.

    ReplyDelete
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