Tiny Halloween Town

What gorgeous little creations! For anyone who's ever wanted to live in Halloween Town, or some form of it, well if you're an inch tall midget, you're in luck! Craftster user Phizzychick has made a gorgeous set of inch high Halloween houses...




Such beautiful detail, and only and inch high!! You can check out more photos of the whole Halloween town over on her Craftster post.

Spooky Reads - Oyster Boy

Looking for a little summer reading to get in the Hallows eve mood? Check out one of my faves from the master himself, Tim Burton. I present, The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy & Other Stories. With all those cool illustrations, of course, comes some awesome merchandising...



I imagine Tim Burton living in Halloween town year round. I wonder what the inside of his house looks like...

Spooky Sales - Stock up now!

There are a few key times to stock up on Halloween goodies... one is, of course, doing it right after the Holiday, when stores are trying to get rid of their leftover inventory. The other, however, is just before most Halloween merchandise hits the shelves, because stores are trying to clear out for this year's new stuff. So, here are some of the Halloween goodies you can snap up now...


Wrapables is having a sale on some of last season's spooky goods. Check out some of the tricks and treats they have on sale right now!


Target has a few too, but it's somewhat slim pickings, since it gets pretty well cleaned out during the Halloween season...


However, if you're looking for this season's stuff, well there's always a store that starts before everyone else... check out some of the blinged out skulls you can find right now at Michaels! Me, I'm trying to resist at least until September, we'll see how long that lasts...

A Halloween Apothecary

I've noticed a new trend rising up that I quite fancy taking up myself... apothecary jars! I love apothecary jars because they have a great vintage-y, somewhat "mad scientist" feel depending on how you use em. What's great is they can suit any season depending on what goods you fill them with... and what better use than for Halloween! Check out some of my favorite apothecary Halloween finds...





You can find these at The Garden Web, The Steampunk Home blog (awesome blog!!), Vintage Mint, Pottery Barn, and the Hostess Blog.

Allice In Wonderland - Teaser

OK, so it's not entirley Halloween, but its Tim Burton, so it's practically the same thing...

Deadly DIY - Halloween Altered Book

Speaking of scrapbooking and stamping... check out this sweet project from Honey Girl Studio. More pics and a full on awesome tutorial on the blog. I need to start getting in on this "stamping" thing...

A stampin' good Halloween

Paper craft has always been a bit of a mystery to me. "Scrapbooking" always conjured up images of old ladies sticking teddy bear stickers on everything, but as I've discovered, stamping, paper work and scrapbooking have some pretty hip tricks up their sleeve. Check out the new stuff from Stampin Up that showed up on Lisa Somerville's blog... is that skull cool or what?


There are more goodies where that came from. Check out some of her previous Halloween crafts, this one featuring some yummy Halloween treat ideas...

Etsy Finds - Pumpkin Hollow

I found a fantastic new Etsy seller for all-year Halloween goodness, Pumpkin Hollow.

Both spooky and sweet, depending on your tastes. If you're a fan of sweet, there's a whole collection of these adorable baby pumpkins, described, quite accurately as "tall and happy". If you're more for the spooky side, they have wonderfully creepy scarecrow, corpse and zombie goods.

Deadly DIY - Felted Pumpkin People

How cute are these guys? I think they'd make absolutely adorable place settings for a Halloween dinner party or even a wedding, if you were ambitious enough. Get the full tute over at Martha's.

Creepy Cocktail ideas

There's a fantastic roundup of creepy cocktails over on Tastefully Entertaining. Go check it out!

Matthew Mead Halloween

Matthew Mead, fabulous designer who's worked for the likes of Pottery Barn and LL Bean, has a Halloween Book available with all sorts of cute Halloween ideas and inspirations. Here are a few fabulous sample goodies...





Want more? Go get the book!

Department 56 Halloween

I'm usually not one for such strong product placement, but I've always loved Department 56's Halloween stuff. They even have some cute tutorials, all though conveniently some of them require the use of their products. Still, you can learn to make Boo Bubblers, above.

Or Frankenstein's Lab filled with yummy goodies


Or some spooky tea stained Gauze!

Sadly, I was informed that Department 56 was bought out last year, and so 2008 was their last Halloween line. :( Saddness. If you have any of the Halloween Krinkles or Dept 56 collectibles, hold on to them tight!

A Very Harlequin Halloween

Harlequin patterning has got to be my favorite Halloween touch, and the age old diamond mark of the trickster is taking over Halloween in a big way. Want to spook up in style? Add a little harlequin to the mix...

From top left - Spooky Chic Chandelier by Moonstruck gift shop, Harlequin Gatto mask by Masquerade Venetian Masks, Harlequin DIY vase by The Pleasures of Homemaking, Witch over Moon envelope by Paper Source, and Krinkles Harlequin rats by Krinkles Online.

Halloween Wedding - Reception Inspiration

I love love love fall weddings, and Halloween weddings even more. Last year a good friend of mine got married on Halloween, and it was such a blast. Thinking about tying the knot in spooktacular style? I'll have some fun inspiration comin' your way for all aspects of Halloween weddings, from cakes, to dresses to receptions and favors...

here's a few ways of making your reception absolutely stunning...

Gothic Halloween Plates

I found this post about Tasteful Halloween Decor and loved the idea of black and white plates to add a little gothic ambiance to a room. Problem is, designer dishes can cost a pretty penny. Well, why not make some of your own?


Well Design Mom has a fabulous post on how to make your own gothic plates, using thrift store plates, stencils, and a little paint! Check it.

Inspiration - Spider house

Neeeeaaaat.

I'd buy a house like that purely as a Halloween decoration. See more decor over on Creative Halloween.

Frightful Food - Apple Cider Martini

I adore apple cider, and hate that I can't get it year round. Last year at the start of fall, I went cider hunting. I wandered around a supermarket until I finally asked a nice gentleman standing next to the apple isle if they had any fresh cider. He shook his head politely and said "Sorry, it's not apple season yet". I stared at him blankly as he stood by the rows and rows of shiny apples. I guess it's made of magic apples or something. Anyway, this year, when I do get my hands on some cider, I have plans...

Mix it up:
4 oz Spicy Cider, 4 oz vodka, 2 oz brandy, 2 oz triple sec, 1 oz fresh lemon juice, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp superfine sugar, 1 tsp brown sugar. Combine all ingredients in blender for 5 seconds. Coat rim in sugar and cinnamon mix. Pour mixture into shaker of crushed ice. Shake and pour into 2 martini glasses. Garnish with a slice of apple and a cinnamon stick.

It seems like I might need a stiff drink after hunting for it anyway....

Deadly DIY - Spooky

How cute! From the "I saw it in a magazine and didn't want to pay an inordinate amount of money for something I could make myself" files. Cheap and classy! Check out the tutorial.

Frightful Food - Luscious Chocolate Cake Pumpkins

How delish' is this? From 31 ways to decorate with pumpkins, this one has got to be the tastiest... from the page:

To get the look of these single-serving pumpkin treats, trim the bottoms of cakes baked in mini Bundt pans (available at nordicware.com) to create a flat surface. Join two cakes so that the fluted tops are at either end, then drizzle with Chocolate or Vanilla Glaze and sprinkle with coarse colored sugar or nonpareils before the glaze sets. Top with a marzipan stem

The recipe is from Delish, but I imagine any of your favorite chocolate cake recipes will do. Yum yum pumpkins!

Vintage Halloween - when scary was in

Halloween in the time of Cholera is a fantastically spooky flickr set that was forwarded to me by a friend. It just goes to show you we've gotten worse at spooking up Halloween, because damn if these photos aren't scary...




No "sexy indian" costumes here, no sirree. Check out the whole set on flickr, shudder, and remember kindly that Halloween is really supposed to be freaking scary!