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...

Deadly DIY - Seance Party Table

I was recently informed of an oh so spooktacular site, How to Haunt Your House, whom, among many awesome Halloween goodies, has some really cool tutorials. Have a peek at their Seance Party Table tutorial, made out of a card table, some plywood, and a little ingenuity. It looks like you can get some really great professional effects! They also have a book out, which I'll be sure to add to my Halloween wishlist. I'm thinking I'm just going to start a library of Halloween decor books... anyone care to share their reading list?

Deadly DIY - Tattooed Pumpkins

This is definitely a DIY you need to do now, but if perchance you're enough of a Halloween nut to be growing your own pumpkins, Craftster user Steven James has an awesome idea for you... tattoo your pumpkins! Steven says:

If anyone has been growing their own pumpkins this summer, now is the time to give them a tattoo. As the pumpkin grows the tattoo becomes a raised scar. The end result is really cool and creepy. You can create custom messages or images. You can even write names on Jack Be Lantern pumpkins to use a place cards for a Halloween dinner.

Check out the how-to here!

Lovin' me some Love Manor

Just found this on flickr today...
Check out the amazing Halloween gallery that Love Manor cooked up for last year's Halloween...







Love Manor has a website, which is down right now, but promises more goodies for the 2009 year. To keep you busy until it's up, check out their gallery on goodies, or printable labels. Great stuff!

MAKE DIY Halloween Contest!

It's definitely starting to be that time of year, because MAKE online has just announced one of my favorite DIY contests: DIY Halloween!! Check out their page for details, and when you do, be sure to check out last years awesome winner, the creator of the Magic Mirror. Check out this video of it in action:



Best of all, you can get a full tutorial on how to make your OWN magic mirror, but beware Hallows traveler, this DIY project is not for the feint of heart. Still, it's so damn cool...

Handmade Halloween Mini Book

Spotted this beauty over on Craftster, made by user Melissaurus.
She made a fanastic mini book on her favorite theme, crows! Just goes to show you it doesn't have to be all classic pumpkins and the like to invoke the spooky spirit of Hallow's eve. Of course, black and orange help a bit...





Stunning. I would love to add something like this to my Halloween collection. Check out more details and photos over on her post.

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.

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.

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...

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!

Deadly DIY - Bubbling Cauldron

Pretty spiffy effect. Learn how to make your own boiling cauldron over on Instructables, because nothing says Halloween like boiling your friends alive. Or at least, appearing to.

Nevermore

Learn to decoupage yourself a fabulous Poe pumpkin. Ghastly details over at Mrs. B's.

Deadly DIY - Cat o' Lanterns

Like I said before, sometimes those "homey" magazines really have some cute ideas, like cat o' lanterns. Ok, it's not going to win you any badass points, but they are darn cute, and if you do the eyes just right, just a little bit spooky. Get the lowdown on how to make em over on Sunset.

Kindred Spirit - The Holiday Queen

I found another like minded individual by surfing through twitter today, and came across the wonders of the Holiday Queen, and her magical misfit creations. Yes, it does say "Holiday Queen", but trust me, you're not going to find any chubby angels or jolly Santa's. It's all wonderful, whimsical Halloween goodness. She creates fantastic little goodies you can buy in her Etsy shop, which I'm sure to stock up on as we near all Hallow's eve. Her paper mache creations are to die for (har har) and are really quite reasonably priced. Spook it up!

Deadly DIY - Flamless candle

This blog absolutely has to start off with the wonders of Dave Lowe. Dave Lowe is a comic artist and Halloween aficionado. While is blog is not entirely dedicated to Halloween, it might as well be, because not only is he a fantastic comic artist, he is also a prop master. All year round he seems to be scheming about new Halloween decorations, compiled from heaps of useful junk he has strewn around. Good news is, it's the kinda junk you probably have around too, and he has fabulous tutorials. Check out this one on how to make your own impressive flameless drippy candles.