halloween home tour

We finally have our house pretty much ready for Halloween!  October is proving to be a very busy month for us, we both are traveling for work and we have a little vacation planned in between.  So, we started a little early this year with our Halloween decorations, but of course we don't mind that at all :)

We decorate throughout the main living areas of our house, and the outside as well.  We have orange lights we put on the roof along with a myriad of other decorations.  It makes me laugh sometimes, the way we decorate for Halloween... it is similar to the costume choices my husband and I make.  I like decorations that are fun and cute and festive.  My husband likes decorations that are gross and bloody and half dead.  So, we have a weird little mix of both.  I left some of "his" decorations out of the photo tour... just know that they are there.  (Our newest addition to decorations this year: a fake dead deer tied up like a dog on our roof... "boys will be boys")

Many of the decorations we have we inherited from my in-laws.  When Brandon lived at home, he was the one who got excited about decorating for Halloween.  When he moved out, his parents figured the decorations would get more use at our house than theirs.  Each year we usually purchase a few new things here and there.  Of course, a few of the items I have crafted myself.  When you put it all together, I think it is a nice mix.

Follow my tutorial to make your own "eek" Halloween frame

I made this monogram pumpkin with puff paint, very easy way to add a little personalization to your decor

You can purchase this set of wood block pumpkins over at my Etsy shop

This would be one of my husband's ideas...  first thing you see when you walk in the door!  The cats love to play with the foot too...

Check out my tutorial for this mesh wreath here

Well, there you have it!  We still have a few things left to do... put up the cornstalks onto the porch columns, carve pumpkins, etc.  I also have a few pieces I put out only for our Halloween party like a "trick-or-treat" banner and a cauldron that fills will fog.

Decorations came from various places, but just to name a few:  Michael's, Hobby Lobby, Gordman's, Pier 1, Spirit Halloween stores, Target

What kind of decorations do you like to put up for Halloween, scary or festive?

diy: halloween "eek" frame

I just can't wait any longer.

I have to post about Halloween.

My excitement is too great to contain!

I am sharing a little decor item that is pretty simple to make at home, however, I feel it is my civic duty to warn you, it is quite... time consuming.  Frankly, I had a friend of mine over to make this and other crafty items; we were happily sipping sangria and chatting while crafting.  About half-way through the google eyes I gave up, and she had to finish the frame for me.  There are so many google eyes.  Also, this could be a great project to start and stop, as it is easy to see where you left off (see what I did there?! corny, I know!)

First, I must tell you that this was not an original idea of mine.  I found this image on Pinterest:

I loved it, so I decided to make something similar. (I tried to follow the pin back to the original source to credit them, but it led me to a blog with a gazillion posts about fashion... perhaps it is buried in that blog somewhere...)

Now, onto the good stuff.

Here are the basic supplies you will need:

Links to similar supplies:

1. photo frame

2. paint and paint

3. wooden letters

4. google/wiggle eyes

5. ribbon

Let me mention, you don't have to choose the word (sound?) "eek" for this frame.  I would recommend a short (three to four-letter) word - "boo" would be an obvious second choice.

When shopping for the wooden frame, make sure you choose one that has a lot of surface area (like the one I have shown) so that you have a place to attach your letters without completely covering the photo.

First, paint your frame.  You can choose whatever color you like.  I really loved the bright pop the green would add against all of the other orange/black/gray that is my Halloween decor.  You will probably need at least two coats of paint to completely cover the unfinished frame.  The great thing about acrylic paint is it is inexpensive and it dries quickly - a great go-to for craft projects!  If you want to, you can do an additional coat with the glitter paint.

Next, paint your letters.  This is a good step to alternate with painting the frame so you can keep busy during drying time.  Put several layers of the glitter paint after the regular color has dried, this is where the glitter will be most visible.

After all of your paint is completely dry, you are ready to start gluing the google eyes onto the frame.  I would start in a corner and just work your way around.  I liked having a couple of different sizes to make it look interesting, but which size(s) you use is completely up to you.  You can use regular white glue, wood glue, or even hot glue for this step.

Once you have the entire frame covered in eyes, you are ready to attach the ribbon and letters (you are almost done!).  I used hot glue for this step.  To attach the ribbon, glue down one end onto the back of the frame.  Flip the frame over, put a dot of glue in the middle of the backside of the ribbon and attach it to the middle of the frame (making sure the ribbon is going the direction you want it to).  Then, secure the other end of the ribbon on the backside of the frame.  You want to glue the middle of the ribbon onto the front of the frame so that the ribbon doesn't droop or sag.

After your ribbon is secure, you can attach the letters.  I would glue them to both the ribbon and the frame/eyes.  Make sure each letter is secure in more than one place.  We store our decorations in the attic, and I did have a letter fall of during the storage process.  I don't know if it was the heat or that it wasn't secured in enough places.  If you do have a letter pop off, it is easy enough to just glue it right back on.

I added a little bow with some leftover ribbon I had.  You could also embellish the frame with fake spiders, spider webs, black roses, etc.  Get creative!

Good luck! If you have any questions or other tips, feel free to post in the comments below!