a blonde and a brunette: a ghoulish gathering

I'm part of a Girls' Dinner Club ("Ghouls Dinner Club", cleverly renamed for October by Kimmie!) that meets once a month to do the two things we girls are all really good at: eat and talk. :o)

I chose to host at my house for the month of October because I love Halloween and this gave me the great opportunity to get my decorations out early and enjoy them all month!

So, welcome to my haunted house...

"cobweb" is about the cheapest thing you can buy and makes a huge impact...

(I hope to add some fall flowers and real pumpkins soon..) :o)

A white feather wreath has turned out to be a really smart purchase for me personally, because I use this at Halloween with a crow and spiders or bats, but can easily modify it for Christmas & Easter too!

I decided this year I would add to my existing decor as much as possible instead of completely changing everything. A couple glitter skulls added to a candlescape...

Vinyl stick-ons are also very inexpensive and reusable...

Last year I splurged (by splurge I mean $30 ;o) ) and had a local reprographics company print this wicked witch that makes a big impact. The sign is from TJ Maxx but could be painted on a board pretty easily!

My fireplace has a lot goin' on - I replaced a vase on one end with a candelabra with drippy candles, a couple bone shaped candles, a skull and some Dollar Store black crows add some creepiness. :o)

The banner on the mantle I made by cutting out black squares, tearing newspaper for the "mats" and my sister cut out the letters on her ellison cutter, but could be done by hand too.

The tombstones are styrofoam from - once again - the Dollar Store!

Another inexpensive trick is to replace pictures in your frames with printouts of witches...

graveyards...

or creepy houses...

I also try to consider where my light is coming from. I have spotlights above my bookcase, which worked great for spotlighting these skull candleholders...I didn't even have to light them!

Love these guys!

Another way to play with light is find ways to create shadowplay. There is nothing "halloween" on this table, but the shadows are a little spooky. Paper cutouts in a lamp shade or a lace covering over a lamp (be careful of the heat/flammability) could create a similar effect with the shadows...

Pumpkins are really inexpensive and look cute piled into a glass vase, bowl, flowerpot, or just lined up in a row...

Another centerpiece idea is to put some fresh flowers into a witch's shoe - great idea mom!

Witches always mark their territory... :o)

This Happy Halloween pillow was made by sewing black fabric on the back of a $2 placemat and stuffing it with cotton. I have several of these floating around the house... :o)

Nobody does Halloween like Martha Stewart - so just a magazine sitting out will brighten up a table!

I always love Martha's crafts, but sometimes get a few ideas on my own...

This is one of them! I bought a silly spider stamp roller last year and rolled the spiders across a piece of orange paper, double-stick taped the quote, and strung some spiderweb and stuck a spider in the frame - done!