One of my favorite holidays is Halloween. It brings back such happy memories of dressing up as a child, and the excitement has continued as an adult. Apparently many people agree, because Halloween has become the second biggest holiday of the year. Decorating your home is a fun activity for the whole family. Here are a few ideas for inspiration:
Halloween Wreath
Greet your guests at the front door with a boldly decorated Halloween wreath. The humorous witch’s legs were the inspiration for the purple and black color scheme with accents of orange and white. The wire wreath frame was wrapped first with tissue paper to add bulk, and then fabric for color and texture. The witch’s legs came mounted on a dowel, which was secured to the frame. A metallic garland conceals the dowel and an owl was tied in the center using matching ribbon. The witch’s hat, ghosts, pumpkins, and spiders complete the design.
Spider Web Placemat
Pumpkin Placemat
Setting a Spooky Table – Whether you are having a Halloween party, or want to spice up your breakfast table, an inexpensive solution is layering placemats. Laser cutting technology has produced beautifully detailed, lace-like products with both style and durability. A Spider Web placemat (from Wegmans) was layered with a Metallic Finish Pumpkin placemat (from AC Moore) to create this lively place setting. The blue tablecloth peeks out from underneath like a midnight sky and creates great contrast to the orange and black. As alternatives, you could use a yellow tablecloth (think full moon) or green tablecloth (think forest).
Arachnophobia? No Problem with this tablecloth.
Halloween themed tablecloths can be difficult to find and pricey, especially for large dining room tables. There’s an easy alternative. Measure your table, and go to a fabric store, such as Jo Ann Crafts. It’s amazing to see some of the scary patterns that have been developed over the last several years. The semi-sheer fabric in the photo above is layered over a gold tablecloth I already had. If you prefer an opaque table cover, there are ghosts, skeletons and witches. Oh My! Some fabrics have entire haunted scenes emblazoned across the surface suitable for covering tables, or as wall hangings. There’s no need to hem the edges. It’s Halloween – a few ragged edges only adds to the haunted house vibe.
Inside Out Pumpkin
Glowing Illusion Pumpkin – We are all accustomed to seeing the typical orange pumpkin with an interior that is either candlelit or dark & shadowy. That color scheme has been turned inside out by painting the outside black and the inside fluorescent orange. When placed near any light source (lamp, ceiling light, or sunlight), the result is a scary glowing pumpkin without the need for electricity or batteries. I can’t tell you how many times well-meaning co-workers have warned me about the company’s strict no candle burning policy, until they see for themselves that it’s completely empty. It’s easy to fool the eye with this illusion.
Pumpkins for All Seasons
Craft Pumpkins – If you have ever decorated your yard with live pumpkins, you probably lost a few, if not all, to squirrels, slugs or other hungry critters. Craft pumpkins look like the real thing, but are made of foam or resin, which is not on the menu for wildlife. These pumpkins are ready to display as is, or they can be carved or painted with exterior paint. Craft pumpkins are for indoor and outdoor use, inexpensive, will last years, and are nice for Thanksgiving too.
To the Bat Cave! (which in this case is a Chandelier)
Bats – A cluster of bats hanging over your table will surprise and delight party guests. The faux fur bodies are a simple tube shape with a slightly larger, rounded end and ears for the head. The owl in the center is from Pier 1, and the pumpkin garland is from AC Moore.
Bat Making Instructions:
Supplies:
Brown or black faux fur (from Jo Ann Crafts)
Shiny black fabric (for wings)
Fishing tackle
Sewing needle and black thread
Foam filler or batting
Cardboard (for pattern making)
Bat Wing & Body Patterns
Make patterns for the body and wings as follows:
Draw a thick capital letter “T” on cardboard – vertically 6” x 2”; top of “T” is 4”x 1” thick.
Carefully cut it out. This will be the pattern for the bat’s body.
Draw a bat wing on cardboard, approximately 9”x4. Cut out wing. Now flip it over, trace onto cardboard, and cut it out for the other wing.
Finished Bat
Using the body pattern, cut out two pieces of faux fur for the front and back of each bat.
Sew the fur by hand, leaving the bottom open for filling later.
Trace each bat wing pattern onto shiny black fabric and cut out both wings.
Hand-sew the wings on either side of the body; fill it with foam or batting and stitch closed.
Remember bats hang upside down, so add fishing tackle on the bottom of each bat for hanging from a chandelier or wall sconce.
Please click here to see part 2 of this Halloween decorating article.
Happy Halloween & Happy Crafting!
It’s the night before Christmas, and little feet tiptoe toward the tree for a sneak peek at the presents. We may not have done this, but we thought about it a lot. It’s human nature to wonder -What’s inside the box?
If your name is Mrs. Claus, you probably don’t need help wrapping gifts.
In fact, Mrs. Claus probably has a gift-giving closet that looks like this one. For the rest of us, there’s still a lot of shopping to be done and presents to be wrapped. Department stores typically offer gift wrap, but it can be pricey. Many retailers have eliminated this service and the gift boxes as well. Shopping malls offer gift wrapping, but the lines can be very long. Fortunately there are lots of solutions to make your gifts look beautiful.
Gift bags are probably one of the best inventions of all time. They’re sold just about everywhere, including the food stores, so when you’re running around last minute a gift bag is easily on hand.
These burlap bags are dressed up with the addition of berries and glitzy red ornaments.
This red and white gift bag has a built-in drawstring.
Amazon provided these festive gift bags, which my family passes back and forth for various occasions all year long. Unfortunately there’s no way of knowing which color you might receive, and some items are wrapped in paper instead of a bag.
A metal box is an intriguing way to package a gift.
Porcelain boxes come in a variety of shapes and colors for every occasion. These are perfect for jewelry or other small items, and can also be used to conceal a cash gift.
For the baker in the family, this fluted glass jar and lid will hold your gift now, and will be perfect for holding baking ingredients in the future. It could also be used as cookie jar.
Gift baskets filled with the recipient’s favorites is always a welcome surprise. You can purchase a roll of colored cellophane wrap or use regular plastic wrap to cover the entire basket, and tie a bow on top.
Some stores provide colorfully printed boxes, which are suitable for gifts any time of year, and can be stacked and tied with a pretty ribbon.
When using standard wrapping paper, you can always wrap the lid separately. By doing so, the box can be reused for years to come.
A floral pine cone stem and some ribbon were all that was needed to complete this package.
Don’t forget to add a gift tag. Some people save the pictures, from last year’s holiday cards, and use them as gift tags on this year’s presents.
For an all-natural look, recycled paper can be used, with twine instead of ribbon, some evergreen and a pine cone from your backyard.
A silver bow makes a statement on this aqua and silver wrapped gift.
A glittering gold bow makes the perfect topper for this dancing reindeer package.
A 3-dimensional snowflake has sprung to life from this pretty wrapping paper.
For a glamorous look, combine sparkling red paper, gold studded ribbon, and a shiny gold bow.
This perfectly coordinated metallic ribbon and paper is suitable for gifts any time of year.
Sometimes a really great topper steals the show. A bow like this one will be appreciated for sure, with its petal-like layers in full bloom and wisps of green ribbon leaves peeking out beneath. There’s a very interesting pattern of wildlife, holly sprigs, and guitars intertwined among the curvilinear vines.
