Halloween – Dust Bunnies and Dog Toys

DIY Witch’s Broom

Published on October 27, 2017October 27, 2017 by JennaLeave a comment

With Halloween just around the corner I wanted to share a quick DIY witch’s broom project that was a happy accident. It started with the purchase of these flower stems at Joann Fabrics. I was working on creating a headpiece for a Halloween themed photo shoot and loved the look and texture of these flowers.

Upon closer inspection I realized that the flowers stems were just wrapped around branches and could be easily removed. So I untwisted them, one-by-one while enjoying a little TV time.

I was left with two piles of pretty flowers destined for photo shoots and these two bare branch things. I considered putting them upright in a vase or bucket with lights for a spooky arrangement, but when I saw the two together I suddenly saw a broom.

I grabbed some scrap black ribbon and wrapped the two stems together. Normally I would have secured the ribbon with hot glue but I’m not sure I’ll use these the same way next year and I was at my office rather than at home so a few pieces of clear tape did the trick.

It looks pretty good in our office with the other Halloween decorations – follow me on Instagram and Facebook for peeks – but I wanted to get a nice shot of it so I took it back home and propped it up on the wood pile.

Not bad for a free project made from leftovers from another project! I still think it needs something to finish it off. Maybe a bow at the base of the stem or a hanging loop, but I can figure that out next year if I use it again. If you have ideas in the meantime I’d love to hear them! And in case you’re wondering how the flower headpiece turned out here’s a peek from the session!

Isn’t she gorgeous?! She’s a hair and makeup artist and did the makeup herself based on a couple of inspiration shots I sent her. I’ll be sharing more of these awesome shots soon and give a quick recap of the location we used, which is a local historical park. And I’ll be working with this lovely lady again in the future for some other fun ideas. 🙂

Going Gothic for All Hallows Eve

Published on October 30, 2014October 30, 2014 by Jenna3 Comments

This is our first Halloween in the new house and I knew I wanted to switch up my decorating style to be more Pottery Barn ‘gothic’ than the typical ‘cutesy’ or all out ‘gore’ you often see this time of year. I purged my decorations and sold quite a few items on the buy/sell pages to fund the purchase of new items. But I ended up only spending about $18 for this new look!

I started by pulling out anything in my décor stash that was black or white and tackled the mantel first. A couple of candle sticks topped with flameless candles, a doily wrapped pumpkin, some spooky artwork, a skull and my pretty raven make up a simple, but spooky arrangement.

The artwork was a free printable quote from Michal Jackson’s “Thriller” that I found here and an oversized numeric cut out I made with my Silhouette. Both frames were items I already had on hand, so I just repurposed them. The skull lights up and was one of only two items I purchased this year. Originally priced $12.99 I got him on sale for 20% off, saving me a few dollars and the time I was planning to spend to create one that looked similar!

I wanted the entry way to feel like a witch’s potion brewing station, so on one side I filled a pedestal that I DIYed forever ago with several different size and style bottles holding various items you might expect to be in a spell recipe. I planned on creating vintage-looking labels for each, but ran out of time. So here’s what they are labeled in my head:

Full moon dust (sugar)
Goblin teeth (candy corns)
Eye of newt (white pebbles)
Black magic beans (navy beans)
Spider venom (purple glitter)
Toad tongues (split pea)

I added a little flameless votive in a small jar and a chalkboard sign to round out the vignette. On the other side I used another free printable, found here, paired with a fun little jack-o-lantern votive and a cast iron frog under a cloche. The jack-o-lantern is part of a set with metal hook posts that are meant to be put along a walkway, but I always worry that they will get blown off by the wind and break so this is a much safer option.

I finished off the area with a pretty orange and black bunting from my photo props and my ‘welcome’ ghost sign on the opposite wall.

Out on the porch, I added a new welcome mat with an adorable ghost and some spooky pumpkins. Pay no mind to that empty pot on a pedestal in the corner by the door. I had plans to add some painted branches to it with lights and spider webs, but I never got that far and at this point it just ain’t worth the effort for one day! Those spider webs are the other item I bought and since I didn’t use them they will be in my tub and ready for use next year!

In the dining room I used two more jack-o-lantern votives from the same set I mentioned earlier and paired them with my cherished “Boo” Ghost lantern.

So that’s my Gothic Spooky Halloween décor. It’s not much this year, but it’s a good starting point for next year. So what do you think? Is the old fashioned gothic look better than the cutesy scary stuff or do you prefer a more “goriesh” style for Halloween decorations?

Why I’m Skipping Halloween

Published on October 30, 2013October 30, 2013 by JennaLeave a comment

Anyone who knows me personally knows I ALWAYS decorate for EVERY holiday. I planned to break out my spooky gear and do it up like usual until I realized that I don’t have a yard to decorate this year. Our rental is a duplex style town house and our front yard is all driveway with stairs to a tiny landing by our front door. My alternative was to decorate the now winterized balcony, but when the neighbor told me not to expect more than a dozen trick-or-treaters I just couldn’t justify finding the time in my super busy schedule to haul out the tubs of décor for less than a week’s display.

The hubs is starting a new welding course this week that is almost every evening and Saturdays, so he won’t even be home for Halloween. No hubby, minimal trick-or-treaters and crappy weather have led me to bah-humbug the whole shebang. No candy, no décor, no costumes. Nada.

It makes sense in my head, but my heart still misses it. And to add injury to insult I’ve realized that we won’t get ANY trick-or-treaters at the new house because we’ll be so far in the boonies. Granted, I’m not willing to trade the privacy the rest of the year for that, but it’s still a little sad to think we’ve seen our last cute costume on our doorstep. 😦

Perhaps we’ll host a big Halloween party next year since it will be on a Friday and anyone who needs to ‘sleep off’ their monster brew will have the room to do so. And we could go all out, even set up a scary maze in the woods on our property. And I think I’m going to upgrade my decor a bit. A little more Pottery Barn gothic and less cutesy. I’ve certainly got enough ideas on Pinterest to make it happen DIY style!

For now, I’ll live vicariously through everyone else’ blog posts and pins. With the pending completion of the house and possible move near the end of November or early December, I have a sneaking suspicion that the same will happen for Thanksgiving. But I guess that means I get to go whole hog for the holidays next year!!! I can hear the hubs planning some trip far, far away just prior to that! LOL