Blog Parties

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Happy Halloween

Halloween is finally here. So I thought I better show you the rest of my Halloween decor.  So go ahead & look at my photos while I sit here eating Halloween candy.  Mini Snickers to be exact.  I love Snickers. 



I remembered that I had these number plates that I got from Target last year or the year before.  So I decided to use the "3" and the "1" to make "31.   The skeletons and headstone came from Dollar Tree.  The milk glass urns came from the thrift store.  The tin cup and the wire basket came from an antique store.


I found the black & silver bottle brush trees from Hobby Lobby.  They were in the Christmas section.  But I thought they were the perfect color for Halloween.  The spooky gate with crow & skeleton came from Dollar Tree.  I love that it looks like you will be walking into a graveyard.


This shelf is in my kitchen.  The skeleton plates came from Target last year or the year before.  The smaller subway art plate is actually a paper plate that I got at Target a few years ago.

The only thing I purchased new this year are the skull mugs up top.  They came from Tai Pan Trading. 


I made a garland by printing out Halloweeny images that I found on Google images and/or Pinterest.


I really like vintage and/or Victorian Halloween stuff.  Just can't afford to buy the real thing.  So printing out a free image is the next best thing.


This is the cabinet that sits at the end of my kitchen cabinets.  The orange in these photos is quite bright.  Not really that bright in person.

I won the "One Hour Broom Parking" sign from a blog a few years back.  It fits perfectly inside my white frame that lives on this cabinet.  


The skull & crow is a new purchase this year from Tai Pan Trading.  The skull lights up and flashes multi colors.  The orange boa is from the 99 Cent Only store.


I added a Dollar Tree skeleton on my thrift store door knob.  The orange tickets I draped over my apothecary jars that hold my number balls that I still enjoy. The witch pumpkin came from Target a couple of years ago.

I wasn't as excited with this vignette, but it will do.

Next we will move out to my backyard.   I draped cheese cloth over my metal gazebo.   I used this area for our photo booth.

I wanted a Halloween chandelier to hang in the middle.  So I hit up the thrift stores, etc and finally found an old brass chandelier at my local Habitat ReStore.  And luckily it was on sale for $5.00.  


I had hubby paint it black (I was too busy, I mean lazy, to do it myself).  We used el cheapo Walmart brand spray paint in gloss black.  Used one can for 97 cents.  I changed out the regular bulbs for these flickering ones.  I had a sting of flickering lights from years ago.  Just took them out of the string of lights & put them in my Halloween chandelier.
 

I then hang black skeletons from twine to the bottom of each arm.  I found the black skeletons at the 99 Cent Only store.

I had planned on adding some black beads, but never got around to spray painting some Mardi Gras beads that I picked up from Dollar Tree.  Maybe next year.

I have moved the chandelier to my front porch for tonight.  


Do you recognize this feller?

Why it's Cousin It from the Addams Family.

He is made from a grass umbrella.  When we went to put away the umbrella at the end of summer, I thought it looked like Cousin It.  The hat was found at the thrift store and the sun glasses belong to hubby. 



I'm going to move Cousin It to the front porch for tonight as well.

The only other decorating I will do for the front porch is place a lot of candles and lanterns.  That will give it the right amount of spookiness.  I will try & post photos of my front porch once I get it all done.  But it won't get done until about 6pm since I won't be home from work until then.   Nothing like waiting until the last minute.  

What are you plans for Halloween tonight?  Are you staying home and handing out candy like me?  Or are you talking kids out trick or treating?  Or do you stay home & turn off all the lights and ignore Halloween all together?  Or are you back East where you won't be able to do anything for Halloween because of  the destruction of Sandy?  Do tell.

Happy Halloween everyone!

Kim

Thursday, October 18, 2012

Spooky Halloween Hutch

I am on a roll this week. I've posted more times in one week than I think I did all Summer. Probably as I finally have something to blog about.


Today I'm sharing my Halloween hutch.  Seems all I ever blog about is my mantel or my hutch.  But they are my two favorite things to decorate. 
I'm calling this years version: My Spooky Halloween Hutch.

Oooooh, so original. 

I decided to go with a black, white & silver color scheme this year. 


I am again using my "Happy Halloween" sign that I made a couple of years ago. 

I picked up a few magnifying glasses from Dollar Tree and the 99 Cent Only Store to make my Spooky Magnifying glasses.  This one has a "31".  I got the print outs and the idea from Family Circle website. 

The mercury glass pumpkin was found at the Western Eagle Bargain Store in Temecula.  I think I paid $3.00 for it.  It was the only one they had.  So I had to get it. 



Hubby & I found this antique rusty lantern at Granny's Attic antique store in Old Town Temecula a few years back.  I only use it at Halloween.  I put it out in my graveyard in my front yard on Halloween night with a battery operated candle inside.  

The mercury glass votive holder was another Western Eagle Bargain store find.  It was a buck. 

The jingle bell spiders came from TJ Maxx a couple of years ago. 

The white vegetable/gourd thing was a freebie from a friend of my son.  I have no idea what kind of vegetable/gourd thingy it is.  But I thought it would make a cool Halloween decoration.  If you know what it is called, let me know.  I need to be enlightened. 

I made this "Spooky" garland a few years back.  I pieced together a couple of different free printables I found on the Internet.  I think this is the first time I've displayed it on my hutch. 

The black & cream striped plates came from Target this year.  I thought they were too plain.  So I taped some Halloween coasters that I also found at Target this year. 

If you have followed my blog for very long, you know I love my cloches.  I love to find glass items at the thrift store that can be used as a cloche.  I have a skull sitting under this one.  There is an almost identical one on the right side of this shelf as well.  The skulls are actually salt & pepper shakers that I picked up at Tai Pan Trading last year.  All of my ironstone came from thrift stores. 


The larger black plates with the cream pumpkins came from Target this year.  I love anything that has a vintage look to it.  I was afraid these wouldn't look good up against the black background.  But I think they still stand out.

The cream pumpkins also came from Target this year. 

 

Another spooky magnifying glass.

The owl came from Dollar Tree.  I got 2 different versions (one for the left side, and one for the right)  I wasn't digging the orange, green and purple color they originally came in.  So I spray painted them Heirloom white.  Much better. 


I found these stacking skulls at the 99 Cent Only store. 

Here is the other owl I made over and another spooky magnifying glass.





We have finally reached the bottom.  I used another of those vegetable/gourd thingies.  This time I put it under glass.  I think everyone has made a cloche out of a cheese dome.

The other cloche is made from a light cover.  Another thrift store find. 

The mercury glass owl came from Marshall's last year or the year before.  I still love mercury glass stuff.  How about you?



I used a vintage image I had.  I just printed it out in sepia tone.  I use an old flower frog to hold the print. 


I've had these apothecary jars for years.  Didn't change anything out for Halloween.  I still love the items I have displayed in these jars.  Which translates to, I was too lazy to change them out. 



And the right side.  The cheese dome up top is filled with vintage casters/wheels.  I found all of them either at the thrift store or at the Habitat ReStore. 


I love this little pumpkin.  It came from Target this year.  I wish they would have had more in different shapes and sizes like they did the past few years when they had the orange ones.  There is just something about a cream pumpkin that I can't pass up. 

I found this little glass jar a couple of weeks ago at the thrift store for like 50 cents.  I thought it would make the perfect little cloche.  And I was right. 

The Witch is In sign came from Tai Pan Trading a few years back. 


This grave stone actually has candy inside.  It came in a set of three at Dollar Tree.  It was just the right size to fit under this cloche. 



A complete shot of the bottom. 


And one final shot of the hutch. 

I hope that you enjoyed this years Halloween hutch. 

Before I let you go I have to tell you a little story.

I just love Halloween.  I already have way too much Halloween stuff.  But does that stop me from buying more?  Heck no.  So while I was at Target shopping for new Halloween stuff, I ran into this woman.  No I did not literally run into her.  I do know how to drive a shopping cart.   But she was shopping and I was shopping.  And I just happen to mention that I don't know why I am buying more stuff when I already have too much.  She said she does the same thing.  Imagine that?  Anyhoo, she says about 15 or more years ago she said to her hubby that she would like to open a Halloween store.  And sell nothing but Halloween stuff.  But her husband talked her out of it.  He said, "Who would buy Halloween stuff besides you?"  She thought he was probably right, so she let her dream die.  And now she is kicking herself. 

Do you have a dream that you have let someone talk you out of?  Do you like Halloween as much as me and this woman I met?  And are you a Halloween hoarder like me?  Do tell. 

Linking to:

SNS-Funky Junk Interiors

Weekend Wrap Up Party-Tatertots and Jello

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Last years Halloween party

I'm having a Halloween bash this coming Saturday. So in preparation I decided I would post photos of last years party. It was my first ever Halloween party.   Well, the first one I've hosted.  I have always wanted to throw one, but just never have until last year.


Now don't get too excited.  I'm not one of these super organized, plan everything months in advance and everything has to be perfect kind of gal.  I'm a last minute, do it easy, do it cheap kind of gal.  So my party was pretty basic. 

For my punch I just used Shasta Tiki punch, straight from the bottle.  I like to live dangerous like that.  I did add this skull shaped ice.  I purchased the skull mold from Walmart.  Everyone loved it.  The ladle came from Party City.  The glass punch bowl was a thrift store find from about 6 years ago. 

 

This is my attempt at a cool seven layer Mexican dip.  Click on this link to see the inspiration photo.    You basically just layer beans, sour cream, guacamole, tomatoes, cheese, lettuce & olives.  I just left off the olives as I think they are yucky. So mine is actually a six layer dip.

I then cut out a tree, some tombstones and some fence posts from flour tortillas. I did use a cookie cutter for the tombstones, but the tree, I just winged it.   I then baked the tortillas in the oven until they got crisp.  Turned out pretty good for my first try.  It would have been better if I would have used a darker brown tortilla for the tree like in the inspiration pic, but I am too cheap to buy a different kind of tortilla just for one stinkin' tree. 

I did buy Halloween shaped tortilla chips and had nacho cheese as well.  Just not showing you a photo. 



This was a pot luck party.  I just told everyone to bring something Halloweeny. 

My neighbor brought the chicken from KFC.  I was calling them bat wings. 

The same neighbor made these spiders on a log.  Aren't they cute?  It's peanut butter piped onto celery.  Not sure what she made the spiders with. 

I made the bone breadsticks.  They were pretty easy.  Just buy ready made breadstick dough, cut the ends & turn them under and bake.  Easy, peasy.  The wrapped hotdogs were suppose to be mummy dogs.  But I had too many things going on so they got wrapped like normal, not like a mummy.  My niece made the funeral potatoes (at my request).  I just love funeral potatoes.   

My husband cooked pork riblets.  It was fun to serve them from this cast iron witches cauldron. 

We also had some desserts that I forgot to take photos of.  The most favorite dessert was my fossil cookies.  I got the recipe from Martha Stewart.  Click on the link to see what fossil cookies look like.  They were a hit.  I actually used some pre packaged sugar cookie dough mix from Costco.   I got my plastic insects from Dollar Tree.  You really have to press the insect into the dough pretty deep.  When they cook, the imprint lightens up. 

We ate, sat around the fire pit, relaxed in the jacuzzi and watched a Halloween movie by the pool.

We also had a photo booth set up.  I had asked everyone to come in costumes.  Not everyone did.  But that was OK, I had props to use for those who did not dress up. 



My hubby dressed as a cowboy.  He is holding our friends little boy who was also dressed like a cowboy. 


Some of my neighbors.  They even brought a mystery guest. 



This is my brother and my niece.  My brother stole part of the costume from his son.  My niece Danica dressed up as Danica Patrick, the race car driver. 

My other niece (on the right) and her good friend.  They did not dress up so they used some props I picked up from Dollar Tree.   Who doesn't love a good fake mustache, nose and glasses?

My niece again, this time with her hubby.  My niece was pregnant last year, so her hubby tried to make it look like he was preggo as well.
Some friends.  We had to drag their oldest son out of the pool for this photo.  This photo had a combination of costumes and props.  I got all of my props from Dollar Tree.



My nephews.

Hubby and me.  I ran out of time so I did not get my costume done.  So I just put on some props. 

Some more friends.  They are actually friends of my niece and her hubby.  But they are more than welcome at my house anytime. 



My neighbor.  Everyone thought he looked so scary.  Took him most of the night to get ready.  Better late than never. 



My neighbor's son as Freddy.  Another scary costume.


Afterwards we just hung out in my family room talking.  I did buy glow necklaces for all the kids at Dollar Tree. 

Now I am finally getting excited for my second annual Halloween party this Saturday.  I think this year I am going to do Halloween theme pizzas.  And who knows what everyone else will bring. 

We will again sit around the fire pit, relax in the jacuzzi and watch a Halloween movie at the pool.  And of course we will have the photo booth again.  That to me, is the funnest part. 

I'll be sure to post photos next week. 

Are you planning a Halloween party this year? What will you be eating or doing at yours?  Do you go all out, or do you keep it pretty basic like me?  Do tell.