Happy Howl-o-ween
From my Correctional Facility to yours, hope your weekend is Spooktacular!
{I love doing a Halloween card with the pupalups every year. This year, their costumes perfectly fit their personalities!}
Halloween Details
I must admit, I’m a bit of a Fraidy Cat. I can’t watch horror movies {accidentally saw 5 minutes of Children of the Corn when I was a kid and it haunted me for years}, and I’ve never been to a haunted house {no thank you, very much}… but I do love decorating for Halloween {even if it is pretty PG13}!
I thought it might share few details of my “frightfully delightful” Halloween decor to proof it doesn’t ALL have to be blood and gore and scary to be fun!
My mantle display is similar to last year, but I decided to ditch the colorful banner and add a few more crows and cobwebs.
I also recreated the “mercury glass” mirror this year. The first time I did this project, I used single pane glass, which apparently wasn’t sturdy enough for the layers of paint I put on it (so it cracked – as you can see in the earlier photos). This time I opted for double pane glass, which was perfectly sturdy for the DIY Mercury Project.
By the front door, I have my “bucket-o-brooms” displayed (in a wire milk carton).
In the entryway, I decorate a glittery black tree with Halloween ornaments. {Don’t you love the vintage Jack-O-Lantern candy bucket?}
I also framed a spooky “changing portrait” that I got from Haunted Memories { WARNING: Some of their portraits are super freaky, so proceed with caution. I tried to pick the most “tame” option I could find… because I’m a scaredy cat!}
I also love this little surface with a variety of Halloween {and everyday} items.
On the guest room door, I’ve hung a wreath that I made from old book pages and a styrofoam wreath form. This is a delicate decoration that requires extra TLC to maintain every year, but I still love it.
An extra section of garden fence, adorned with black feather boas and a few witch’s hats, serves as my “Hat Check”.
Here’s a closer look at the “Hat Check” tags – I saw these featured in a magazine several years ago, so I duplicated the idea {I’d be happy to give them credit for the idea, but I just can’t remember which magazine it was}.
Do you decorate for Halloween? Do you prefer bloody and horrific over PG/PG13? Let me know, I’m curious!
5 Minutes or Less Hostess Gift
Do you need a cute, quick Halloween hostess gift (or something for a friend or neighbor)? This is the EASIEST idea (seriously, it takes less than 5 minutes). Just keep in mind to pick up a pair of striped children’s tights when you head to the costume store this month!
You will need:
– a bottle of wine (you can use any you have on hand, but if you want to do a Halloween themed variety like Vampire or Nevermore, that’s even more fun)
– a pair of child’s striped tights (any costume store should have them, I got this pair at Joann’s) *TIP: I like to buy these when I see them on sale and save them for the next year*
– a piece of ribbon, approximately 8 or 9 inches long
– scissors
– a gift tag (I used one we sell in the store, but you could also trim down a plain index card or cut a shaped tag out of cardstock)
First, open the tights and use the scissors to cut off each leg.
Then place the wine bottle inside the leg of the tights.
Tie ribbon around the neck of the bottle and affix the gift tag. Trim the tights approximately 1-2″ above the top of the bottle, and turn the ends under towards the inside (to make the edge look more finished).
Simply sign the tag and leave this on the porch of a friend or neighbor for a spooktacular surprise, or take this to a Halloween party as a hostess gift. It’s seriously cute and takes less than 5 minutes. Seriously. That’s my kind of project!
Biscuit Bar Brunch
When it comes to brunch, you can almost always bet I’m going to go for something savory (and probably with eggs), but I know not everyone feels the same way. This weekend, my family was in town, so I thought it might be fun to whip up a last minute brunch. I wanted a savory and sweet option, so when the idea of a Biscuit Bar hit me, I knew it was perfect!
Really, you can top biscuits with just about anything – Bacon + Egg, Sausage + Gravy, Honeycomb + Butter + Jam… it’s a really fun opportunity to get creative! You could add avocado, tomato, and a variety of meats and cheeses if your guests want to make little biscuit sandwiches, or you could feature ice cream, berries, chocolate and whipped cream if you want a dessert biscuit bar. There are so many possibilities that are great for an easy get-together.
I went with items I had or could quickly acquire:
– biscuits (I use Alton Brown’s recipe)
– eggs (I did scrambled – with a splash of milk and chopped chives- but poached would be good too)
– bacon
– turkey bacon (for a healthy option)
– sausage patties
– sausage gravy (why not, you’re already making sausage!)
– berries (strawberries, blueberries, blackberries)
– honey (I used Tupelo, which we sell in the store)
– honeycomb (also sold in the store)
– gourmet jams (I get mine locally from Kelle B and they are delicious!)
– butter (regular is a must of course, but flavored butter would be fantastic too)
You’ll want to assemble your bar fixings in order – first plates, then biscuits, then toppings.
Side note: the flowers came from my mom, who always brings me a bouquet from her garden when she comes to visit. Since she just gave them to me, I thought they would be a fun addition to the barscape.
(By the way, I’m in love with my new honey dipper. It’s made from olive wood and we just started carrying them at Barque)
After the biscuits and fixings, you’ll also want beverage options. I did orange juice, milk and water ,with different size glasses, so each guest can have as much or as little as they want.
I’ll never forget when I realized that I could have milk AND orange juice with breakfast. It’s such a sweet memory of my great grandmother, offering me both at the table in her tiny kitchen. She totally rocked my world – I had never occurred to me that BOTH was an option!
Although this was the first time I’ve ever done a Biscuit Bar Brunch, it definitely won’t be the last. (And while the classic biscuit with gravy was still my favorite, I enjoyed the one with butter, honeycomb and strawberry lemon jam too)
Happy Brunching!
Football Mantle
As soon as September arrived, I felt an itch to put up festive mantle decorations, but I wasn’t quite ready to deck it out for Halloween… so I went with a football theme!
For this project, I started with the framed artwork on the mantle- normally, it’s a painting of bicycles – but since I enlarge a photo at Christmas to change it up, it made sense to try the same trick here too. Mom scanned in my dad’s sophmore football photo and I had it printed at FedEx Office, then mounted it on foam core. (cost approximately $15)
I try to utilize items that I already have, but it’s fun to toss in a few new pieces too. Since I couldn’t find a loving cup, I improvised with my champagne bucket and a vintage football that I found at the antique store last weekend. The clipboard came from at an estate sale awhile back, and I just printed out the Texas Tech football schedule to put on it. (The books I already had, of course, because I have book addiction – more evidence of that here and here.)
For the other side, I found a few treasures on ebay: a youth football helmet ($11), a personal chalk board ($4) and a Texas Tech pennant (from concessions stand sales in the 70’s, brand new condition, $12).
UPDATE: I had to correct the chalkboard play, as my football coach father was embarrassed that it wasn’t even “a real one”. For the record, I asked him to send me a play to use, and he DID… they just weren’t very pretty. My brother drew out a new play, and I think we’ve got a good compromise now:
A fresh coat of red paint on an old megaphone (who knows how long I’ve had that thing, maybe junior high?) add a nice pop of color to the left side of the fireplace.
For the right side, a folding stadium chair (from an estate sale for $5) and my bucket of fireplace tools (yes, it’s almost time for fires in the fireplace!) make themselves at home quite nicely.
So here I am, all ready for fall, and especially ready for football season!
How do you deck out your mantle for fall? I’d love to hear!
