Inspiration - Halloween 2014

It's time to start decorating for our annual Halloween party. It's become an exciting tradition for our friends and I look forward to it every year. I love the decorations we have but like to change things up and give guests some surprises. This year we are also celebrating the birthday of one of our guests, which means that we have to pull out all the stops, of course. As you can see, I go for spooky over cute. What's Halloween without creepiness? Here are a few new sources of inspiration.

The designers and creators at Martha Stewart are genius. The ideas they come up with are incredible and memorable.

 

My friend the DC Goodwill Fashionista is featuring last year's party and decorations, many purchased from Goodwill, on her blog today. Head on over and show her some love!


photo credits: marthastewart.com, abcdesign.com, houzz.com, epicurious.com, cocktails at marthastewart.com

Halloween Decor and Costumes

Halloween was a blast this year. It's one of my favorite holidays. We had so much fun decorating for and throwing our Halloween party and I thought I'd share some highlights with you.

I wanted a dramatic entry for our guests. The curtains will be used in my office when I redecorate.  The little gnome stays on the porch year round. We decorate him at Christmas and I thought I'd decorate him for Halloween as well.

 

I purchased candlesticks from Goodwill and painted them black. {msL}found dripping blood candles and I was thrilled until they dripped everywhere including all over the table cloth and the rug. I will stick with regular candles from now on. I snagged tons of skulls and crows. I painted the plastic skulls black and silver and also used a few from last year that I'd sprayed with glittter spray paint. I replaced all of the bulbs in the lamps and light fixtures with red bulbs, adding to the spooky feel.  I already owned the bulbs. I'd used them for my fire and ice themed 40th birthday party a few years ago. The food and the skulls were displayed on cake stands that I found at Goodwill and we also used for our wedding. We also decided to serve Halloween inspired cocktails. Of course we hit up Goodwill for some vintage looking cocktail glasses.

Outside we had a fire pit and on the table I used a tray I found at Goodwill. It was an engraved tray (an award) but since I was going to put candles, mini gourds and skulls on it, the engraving wouldn't show. I wanted to carry the spooky ambience outside.

Now for the costumes!

{msL} and I dressed as Edgar Allan Poe and his Raven. I already owned the wings, leather peplum top and the satin ball skirt. I purchased the mask and the talons that I wore. I made the feather necklace and bracelets. I created smokey eye makeup and a beak using heavy black liner. I outlined my lips in black and used a dark red lipstick.

 

 

 

 

 

I didn't manage to get a photo of my friends Carl, David or Willis. Carl was dressed as a Caps Fan. He actually plays a Caps fan in real life.  David was dressed as Peter Pan and Willis was dressed as a Pirate. Thank you to all of our guests and to everyone who sent photos.

 

 

Happy (belated) Halloween!

 



My Holiday Must Haves - Every Year

The Holidays for me are about memories and spending time with those I love.  I'm not usually super sentimental and mushy but the Holidays bring back some of that out in me.  We have some family traditions that have existed since I was a child. Some of those have changed because of our lives as adults but {msL} and I have created some of our own traditions.  There are a few things that are must haves for me during this time of year.

I love Holiday decorations but I hate spending tons of time to put them up, just to have to take them down a couple of weeks later.  Because of this, my decorations have become more simple over the years.  I create easy to put up and take down displays that are festive but no stress.  I use lots of glittery ornaments and candles and lights.

A few nights before Christmas every year, {msL} and I hop in the car and drive around drinking coffee or hot cocoa.  We listen to Holiday music and look for the most tacky and over the top Holiday lights we can find.  It's so much fun and really puts me in the Holiday mood. Tacky Light Tour can help you locate displays in your neighborhood. If you live in the DC area check out Holly's Tacky Christmas Lights and don't miss Christmas on 34th St. in Baltimore.  Make a fun evening out of your drive to Baltimore. It's fantastic.

Christmas and Holiday movies are a must have for me.  The nostalgic childhood cartoons like Rudolph and Frosty are fun.  Classics like Holiday Inn and It's a Wonderful Life always top the list.  Over the years I've added some favorites.  The Holidays aren't complete without watching A Christmas Story, Elf or Christmas Vacation.  I also have to throw in a dysfunctional family movie like Home for the Holidays or The Family Stone.  These movies are fun and always make me smile.

The Holidays aren't complete without music. There are so many great ways to get free Holiday music, no matter what type you love.  You can create your own channel on Pandora. Amazon is giving away free Holiday music downloads for 25 days in December.  Just check here every 5 days for the new downloads. Check out a list of ways to get free Holiday music, here.

How do you celebrate the Holidays?