WebSpinstress
If you’re looking to add some extra height to your Fall and Halloween arrangements, a pumpkin topiary is fun to create and makes a memorable display for your guests.
Simply drill and shove a dowel through the middle of their innards and then embellish your stacked pumpkin collection.
BHG has a unique Halloween display of pumpkin topiaries using orange pumpkins, large spiders with painted diamonds and stripes. I love how a portion of the dowels are exposed and painted to continue along with the topiary design. It radiates with masquerade appeal…and I can think of a few special ideas to spooky up the design a little more.
I found this display from Imperfectly Beautiful, who created a tall and whimsical pumpkin topiary. It includes hand-painted black and white polka-dots, ravens, and an elegant birdcage design stacked on top of a planter with Spanish moss placed carefully around the edges.
Black and White Pumpkins are elegant and fun. These pumpkin arrangements are made with just stickers, but you can duplicate the same look by using swirly vintage rubber stamp designs or by painting them yourself. Beautiful collection of centerpieces, by the way…don’t forget to check out the complete blog post!
I found this resource earlier this morning as part of my daily, sporadic, random clicking-around-to-see-what-I-eventually-land-on ritual, and I am still in awe at how creative and versatile these FREE Halloween project templates are. All you need are a pair of scissors and a little bit of glue to get your Halloween party games started!
This entire collection of printable games can easily be crafted yourself such as Phantom’s Vortex, The Vault of Mystery, or Undead Checkers, and could easily be the life or the death of your Halloween party. Projects such as the coffin boxes and CD cases would make excellent party favors, and toys such as various masks or creatures such as “The Splatterbot” would make fun projects to print out in multiples for your guests to enjoy. Goodbye toilet paper roll mummy-wrapping games…
Some of these would also make great centerpieces and table decorations when arranged with other props, such as skeletons and spiders.
Oh, you want the link?
RavensBlight Printable Toys
Here’s a free printable word search I’ve created for my kids with spooky words and Halloween creatures.
Click on this small word search image to open the full size version in another window, then click again with the magnifying glass to view actual print size.
To view my entire saved bookmark collection of Halloween printable coloring sheets and activities, view my lens here: Halloween Printables.
Not for the faint of heart, these recipes might have you seeing red if you dare to slaughter an attempt at recreating these creepy treats. Looks like a ton of bloody dripping fun to me…
Surprise your guests with a few gross Halloween treats this year, such as Blood and Guts Potatoes and Blood Drip Martinis.
Cut out and then…um…cut up a few batches of Zombie Cookies. They are just dying to lie in a pool of red icing, and may sever an extra limb or two along the way.
Most importantly, you cannot skip over the cupcakes recipes that I have featured above in the photo! Blood Clot and Brain Cupcakes are definitely winners in the grossness and gore category. Almost enough to freak your guests out enough to lose their appetites. At least they’ll be plenty of ahem…leftovers?
To create your own specimens, you need a good assortment of clear glass containers. Use canning jars, potion bottles, apothecary jars, wine bottles, or rinse out the spaghetti sauce jar from last night’s dinner. The concept is simple – refill the jars with colored water, add a slimy and creepy specimen, and embellish with labels, paint, and twine.
Wilton makes a Halloween drink-coloring dye set with green, orange, red, and black already mixed for you, available at your local craft store. Hard-boiled eggs, cauliflower chunks, mini skeletons, and light-colored creatures work well in dark colored dyes for the added appeal of not being able to distinguish clear details apart from each specimen.
I found a very inspiring display of potion bottle specimen jars arranged on an antiquated bookshelf with a full tutorial included. Create your own Witches’ Kitchen this Halloween for a unique party theme that will have your guests brewing and bubbling over (with anticipation, I mean. I certainly hope you don’t plan to stuff them into the cauldron…).
Use vintage-style potion bottle labels for added authenticity, such as this beautiful set from the talent behind Love Manor: Bottle Labels.
For more apothecary jars, potion bottles, and specimen jars ideas, visit my complete list here: Halloween Apothecary and Specimen Jars
Halloween yard decorations and props are difficult to find in retail stores this year. Luckily for me, I’ve been stockpiling a whole home full of spooky decor for many years or I would be joining every one else in tripping over the excessive amount of Christmas trees and wrapping paper that has already flooded stores for the past 2 weeks in SEPTEMBER. October starts tomorrow!
I have found a few items online worth mentioning though. There’s still time to have these shipped and set up for Halloween…these are spooky props that won’t scare the complete BOO out of you. I’m saving those links for later!
* Skeleton Arm Stakes
* Skeleton Flamingo pair
* Stone Cemetery Wall
* Full 28-piece Bag of Bones Set
* 6ft Inflatable Carriage Hearse
* Grim Reaper Lamp Post Cover
* 5ft+ Standing Metal/Glass Lantern
A Dark and Dreary Halloween Arrangement
Midnight Dreary is the first Gothic Halloween arrangement I have created this year, to begin my soon to be over-crowding series of spooky adornments.
Ravens and silk black roses surround an elegant “Boo” word statue with silver skulls, LED pillar candles, and a tall candelabra. This arrangement is set up alter-style, to be placed on top of a bookcase or on a thin side table.
At night, the LED candles flicker in dark orange hues, dancing around the figures and casting shadows on the wall. For added ambiance, I have an additional set of orange Halloween lights set in front of the arrangement.
Black LED pillars are available HERE for only $5.99 to $9.99 and are definitely my favorite find so far…
The Many Themes of Halloween
Sort your Halloween decorations and props by theme and throw a unique Halloween party this year that no one will forget…
Here’s 9 creative themes to get you started, including:
* Traditional (festive)
* Modern or Contemporary
* Halloween from the Grave (spooky Halloween decor)
* Wicked Witch
* Things that go Bump in the Night (Scary props)
* Masquerade / Carnival
* Creepy Castles
* Fantasy and Mythical Beasts
* Pirates – Creatures of the Sea
Quick Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes:
(Makes 12 cupcakes)
1 box spice cake mix
1 egg
2 Tbsp flour
2 cups pure pumpkin puree
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup oats
Stir together spice cake mix, egg, and pumpkin. You can add nuts, dried fruit, or any other additions to the batter. Pour the batter evenly into cupcake pan. In a separate bowl, combine butter, brown sugar, oats, and flour. Spoon your brown sugar mix over the top of each muffin. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes.
Need a few more festive cupcake ideas?
Try these Creepy Crawly Cupcakes for Halloween!
Spiders to Kill For…
An elegant Halloween treat, and who wouldn’t want to rip into these 8-legged Raspberry and whipped cream filled chocolate spider cakes?
Tutorial: Spider Cakes
Forget the deviled eggs this Halloween, these spider web eggs are much more creepy and fully cracked up to be all they can be…a little bit of food dye goes a long way!
Tutorial: Spider Eggs
Classy, intricately designed little spider web cookies. Brush up on your icing skills, and get ready to decorate…it’s ok, don’t forget you get to eat all the rejects to hide the evidence. lol
Tutorial: Spider Web Cookies
