A little more magic...

There are a whole host of ghoulish goodies and wicked ideas over at Woman's Day. Here are a few images of my favorite Halloween inspiration-









Check out the website for details and how-to's!

The products of a Halloween mind

My very first year of art college, I met a very special guy. He looked like Johnny Depp and drew like Tim Burton, and wore a long, flowly victorian style coat and had crazy black hair. His apartment was filled with old dusty trunks and old Boris Karloff movies and things wrapped in twine, and always smelled like spices and Halloween.

His name was Jesse.

If Halloween were a person, I'd say it was Jesse, and so when my inbox informed me I had received an e-mail from Jesse with one of his latest Halloween creations, I just knew I had to share his awesome Halloween spirit here. This is what arrived in my inbox-


It's one of his yearly Halloween scarecrows, and I can't wait to see more. I kinda wish I had the time to create such a creation in my front lawn, and alas Jesse lives too far from me for me to bribe him with Halloween cookies. Not only does this guy make awesome Halloween scarecrows, but also makes some wonderfully wicked art.


He has his own blog, so if you wish to fill your mind with more dark drawings, have a gander at Haunted Nonsense, and lets hope he posts more awesome scarecrows.

Deadly DIY - Spooky Wreath

A really cool spooky wreath is the one major thing I have not yet aquired for my Halloween decor. Ok, there's a lot I have left to do on my decor, but I feel a wreath is tantamount. I just keep waiting for the perfect spooky wreath to come along...
Well, now I'm thinking, I should just MAKE my own spooky wreath...


Want to make one too? Check out this sweet spooky wreath tutorial from A Forest Frolic.

Coolest Costume Ever...and a contest!

What would you say if I told you that this was a costume?
No? Not convinced? Well, how about this?
This is so totally a costume.

No? Still nothin? Well howabouuut... this
I'm still sensing some disbelief. Well, maybe these videos will clear it up...



Believe me now?

By the way, if you see cool halloween stuff like this, AND are awesome enough to have an iphone (I'm awesome enough to have a dead cell phone with a sim card) you should totally check out the Snaggle Find Halloween Hunt! Collect the coolest photo collection on your iphone "hunt" and you could win monies! That's right, real monies!

So you can buy me an iphone.

Right?

Handmade Halloween

It's only the beginning of October and I feel like I've already blown through my Halloween budget for the year, especially since we're already kinda on a tight budget. So, I think it's time for me to get a little resourceful, and start making a lot more of my spooky effects. Here are some cute DIY ideas from Country Living you can do with stuff you have or on the cheap.








Get all the tutes over on Country Living...

The season so far...

It really started with an apple orchard (cider, yum!) and a country pumpkin vendor...


Aren't these just glorious looking pumpkins? That's my baby there, center left.


We grabbed a trusty old rusty wagon to haul our pumpkin finds in. They had perfectly shaped little orange ones, and beautiful snow white ones...


Can you believe that's even a real pumpkin? It just looks too perfect on my stoop. That thing is going to make a wicked jack come Halloween.


The buffet table in progress so far. Note the apothecary jars. I need way more on this table. I'm thinking about making a creepy halloween tree for the middle out of old branches from the backyard...


Again, can you believe that white pumpkin is real? Mr. Crow can't. Look at his eye goin' all buggy.

My entryway table. Perhaps not surprisingly, it looks not far from this most days, minus the skull, cobwebs and lights. We just collect or create odd knick-knacks. I made the big metal book senior year in college. It's one of my favorite props.

So, a long way to go, but hey, it's not even October yet. I'll keep you updated as progress marches on...

PumpkinRot - Yard Spooktacular

Awhile back I covered the wonderful etsy store of Pumpkin Hollow, and I mentioned that among spooky sweet pumpkins they also had some fantastic zombies and ghouls. Well, I should have imaged that the person who makes those fearsome creatures would have a truly awe inspiring, terror-inducing lawn display.

PumpkinRot is the fantastic website of the creator of those ghouls, and he has oodles and oodles of photos from his Halloween displays over the years. I'm usually more of an elegant-scary kinda girl for halloween, (vs. say lots of rubber rats and plastic severed arms kinda halloween) but these fiber-wrapped, sculped zombies are just too amazingly wonderful. If I want to be scared out of my wits on Halloween, I want it to be THIS kinda scary...












I just adore the color work, and that decadent sense of decay all his characters have. Go visit Pumpkin Rot for more photos than you could ever hope for of awesome, creepy lawn displays my neighbors will never be cool enough to have.

Damn...

Dusty Walls and Ghostly Writings

There's something kinda spooky about chalk. Wipe clean your image and left behind is a ghostly image of drawings past. There's something wonderfully wicked about old dusty chalkboards. Dusty old anything reminds me of tattered sheets in the wind and creaky doors. Perfect for a little Halloween fun! Check out some of these wicked Halloween inspirations using chalkboard paint and some good old dusty chalk.


Poetic Home has some fantastic chalkboard ideas...


Old books and planters make great Halloween accessories! Not to mention that vintage typewriter... where can I get me one of those?


Apartment Therapy knows how to spook up some glam with chalkboard paint borders.


Make online has these fantastic chalkboard paint bottles. Write dusty messages or contents of potion bottles on them!


LittleBigHead made this super cute chalkboard pumpkin. Dress him up differently every day! I personally dig the mustachio look.


What about this charming chalkboard witch from Colonial Candle? I bet you could make your own with some chipboard and vintage photos.

Chalkboard paint is a great way to not only add a little darkness, but an ever changing surface! Paint a frame, paint and old statue... it all looks cool with chalkboard paint and a little imagination.

Soup in a ... Pumpkin?

There are a few things in fall I cherish above all others. Halloween, leaves, Halloween, cold air, pumpkins, halloween, apple cider, decorating for Halloween, and hot soup in a bread bowl. And Halloween. I might have mentioned that already. Hot soup in a bread bowl is just about as "fall-y" as you can get, but it wasn't quite as Halloweeny as you can get- until now. Check out this awesome recipe:


Yum yum! Soup in a pumpkin shaped bread bowl! Perfect for Halloween parties or just fall goodness. Don't worry, it's not weird pumpkin flavored bread or anything, which people always seem to think is a good idea until they have to taste it with split pea soup. Eww...

Get the how to over at The Idea Room.

Ghoulish Gothic Halloween

I just had to share this Halloween party mash up from Better Homes and Gardens. I love how it mixes up the usual black and orange, into a strangely eerie black and sickly neon greens. It's halloween all right, but a nice change if you're looking for something a little different or a little less pumpkin-y for your ghoulish feast.












Get more over on Better Homes and Gardens.