Hooked on Halloween

I can't seem to stop making Halloween stuff. It's so much fun! I think I'm pretty much done, but you never know when you're going to come across something else. For instance, last night was 2nd Fridays in downtown Mesa. They had street performers, craft and snack vendors along the sidewalks, and a lot of the businesses stayed open late. We decided to check it out, and we were glad we did because it was pretty fun! Lots of people were in costume and they had a steampunk theme going on. There were also a lot of zombies. They seem to be quite in vogue this year.

There's a little scrapbook store down there called Mystic Paper. Since we were there already I decided to pop in and grab some ribbon. As I was checking out, I noticed this box of small plastic skeletons on the counter for two dollars. I grabbed one, brought it home, and made this:

Super cool, huh? I can't take credit for the idea. I came across it when I was looking for vintage labels as inspiration for my skull jar. It's from a blog called I Make Projects, and you just have to check out the other jars they did.

Here's a closeup of the label, which I copied borrowed word for word from I Make Projects. The jar is from an old jar of Fancy Pants paper flowers that I've had forever. I emptied it out, peeled off the label, and then shoved my little friend here inside. I mixed water with a little cornstarch to make it cloudy then tinted it with yellow and green food coloring. The label was just typed up in MS Word (font is Trixie Plain again), printed, cut out, then aged with four different colors of Distress ink and a stipple brush. I crumpled it up and roughed up the edges before running it through the Xyron sticker maker and sticking it on the jar.

I never posted a photo of the area on top of the toy storage dressers in the living room. What would you call this? A sideboard? Either way, it's another place that makes me happy. There's the Halloween banner over the mirror (I still have one left if you want to buy it, email me) that has a giant vinyl spider in the corner. Susan cut that one for me too, and let me tell you, for the first few days it was there it would freak me out when I'd glimpse it from the corner of my eye!

From the left, there are two apothecary jars, one with a handmade tassel on it and one filled with candy corn, which I find incredibly foul. It does come in handy for little boy bribes however! There is a glitter skull from the Dollar Tree in front of them. I think I'll call him Horatio, because he looks like a Horatio. In the tray I have two cut glass liquor decanters, both empty and both thrifted. There is a thrifted white plate with our monogram in vinyl that I need to hang on the wall. Next to them is my cheese dome cloche with another handmade tassel on top. In the back to the right is a ceramic floor tile with a vinyl design from Uppercase Living on it. I perched the second Dollar Tree crow on top. Next to the tray is my trifle dish, which I also got at a Goodwill. It's really just there because I can't figure out where else to put it. Then there is another thrifted apothecary jar filled with Pumpkin Spice Hershey kisses. I was so disappointed in these, because they're SO NASTY!!! I'm sending them to work with my husband as soon as I find something else to put in that jar. Finally, I have a plant, a rock that my son brought in from outside, and a metal star that I found in the Target Dollar spot to finish out the display.

Out on the front patio I have the wreath I made the year before last, and my Elsie inspired wooden skeleton. I made another mini bunting with the pinker because I thought that area still looked a little bit naked.

I moved one of the faux wicker chairs outside so that I could have somewhere to sit while I blew bubbles with the boy. I decided it looked sad so I made it a little pillow using leftover canvas from my baby buckle toy and some denim from an old pair of jeans that my chub rub killed. The back side is a solid piece of the striped canvas, so I can flip it over for a different look when I get bored. I think it came out really cute! I shoved a $3 travel pillow that I bought at the Walmarts for the baby in there. The mama giveth, and the mama taketh away! HA!

The pillow is brand new so it's a bit poofy still. That's why it's pulling at the opening by the buttons. As it gets used, it will lose some of it's fluff and that will flatten out. In other words, my seams are straight, I swear!

Here's a photo of the wall across from the front door. The bunting was up there from before, and there is the painted fabric pumpkin I made with the boy.

I really am happy with how everything in my home is arranged right now, with the exception of our bedroom, which I always hate. Everything has a place and there isn't really room for anything else. You know what that means - it's time to move! After just about five and a half years of living in this apartment, it's time to move on to bigger spaces. That means I need to start collecting boxes and packing up all my crap, which I am not looking forward to doing. Oh, and then there is that nagging detail of actually finding somewhere to live... I guess that's important too. Wish us luck!

I linked this post to Made By You Mondays at Skip to My Lou!