Halloween Gift Basketry

Gift Baskets for Halloween

Being a married adult now, I understand that the sending of gifts on occasion is somewhat requisite. It never occurred to me, though, that I could use the internet to gift Halloween baskets both near and far!

Even without the intent to order online, these make some great inspiration for gift baskets you could make up inexpensively yourself:

Halloween Bucket Planters (ProPlants)

Mrs. Fields Pumpkin Tote

Halloween Dipped Strawberries?!
I must make some

Simple, yet effective

Wine Country

The last of all these borrowed pictures is particularly inspiring to me -- you could make a gourmet Halloween treat basket, themed after spooky spirits or vampires or whatever strikes your fancy. If you couldn't find a suitably spooky wine on your own, there are always printable labels:

• My Wedding Labels (re-worked from Martha's)*
• Clean and Proper labels (For the less spooky among you)*
• Love Manor (if you haven't visited this photostream yet, please know you'll love it. That's why I'm not taking you straight to the labels)

Ice Roses

Ooo. This is pretty:

Check it out over at Jonathan Fong Style!!!

I'd recommend taking a gander at some of the 'decor' selections as well.

READY FOR HALLOWEEN DAY 5: I *do* Believe in the Graphics Fairy

Who, you may ask, is the Graphics Fairy?

The graphics fairy is a magical internet being who brings us easy, fast, printable projects that make us go squeee! Because, let's face it, these are at once eerie, fun, and elegant. Always vintage or vintage-inspired, these projects are printable magic.

Above are spooky fabric-printed designs displayed using embroidery hoops. Details on how to accomplish this can be found here.

Then there are the eyes. This project presupposes you already display photos or works of art with people/animals in them. If that is not the case, you could easily spend a few minutes re-fitting your frames with a few old-fashioned pictures you find on the internet -- then stick the eyes to them!

Here's looking at you, kid.

Somber Pumpkin Centerpiece

It's so hard to remember, but I feel like this time last year I was still worrying over centerpieces a bit.

These would have been kind of perfect for my black-and-silvery Hallowedding, so I must share them with my friends (all of you guys out there kindly reading my sporadic nonsense!): Martha's Glittery Gray Pumpkin Table.

She says the dusty miller is optional, but I rather disagree. You can find the plant at pretty much any home and garden store (at least around here), and it's so soft and ghostly.

The whole table on her project page looks divine. Makes me think that a gray table cloth is the way to go, rather than black, for any Halloween party this year. The stretched cheese cloth is just so haunted-house chic!

All-in-all, not a bad balance of spooky and elegant.

Spider Web Skirt

This is so simple it's almost silly; all you need is a solid skirt (preferably black or white) and a contrasting, thick thread.

The long strands are pinned at the top of the skirt, and then each layer of the 'webbing' is pinned to the skirt to let it fall in a scalloped pattern.

Check out MarthaStewart.com for full details!

Decoupaged Photocopies for a Bathroom to Love

Does this really work? I'm dying to try it. The fancy wall elements you see in the picture are actually photocopies decoupaged onto the wall with wallpaper glue. It sounds like they photo copies were made, and the designer then hand-painted any extra depth or color.

More instructions here.

What isn't a photocopy is a stencil, and I'm smitten. ...we are re-modeling bathrooms right now, after all...

Striking Chandelier

When you see this chic black chandelier, do you swoon? Yes? Me too.

I need a black chandelier with lots of dangly bits and bothers. It would be perfect in my... I don't even know what room to put it in. I already picked new light fixtures before seeing this project, and I don't think my Husband is going to let me spray paint any of them a shiny black.

And adding mardi gras beads? Out of the question.

But let's just say I found a crazy old chandelier in a second hand shop of some kind, or that someone was throwing out when remodeling... well, we could probably find a place for it. right?

Chandelier + Mardi Gras Beads + Hot Glue and Shiny Black spray paint = Magic

Inspired Outdoor Wedding

I'm sorry, friends. I don't care for Twilight. At all.

Still, this is an amazing wedding (found at the Hostess Blog - don't miss Part 1 , nor Part 2). It so green and earthy; the combination of rustic and elegant is overwhelmingly romantic.

An outdoor wedding using greenery and a few exquisite candelabras would make me swoon.

Or maybe just a nice dinner party with this setup? Perfect for an intimate evening.

Dia De Los Wedding

The title of this post makes no damned sense. :)

Who cares? Look at these invites from Royal Steamline. They are so sleek and stylish and (my favorite part) black and white.

So beautiful!

And if you want some further Day of the Dead Hallowedding inspiration, do check out Marcy and Danny's Big Day. I don't know them, but anyone who gets married on Halloween to a skully theme is someone I want to be on a first name basis with.

Cheers, friends!

Edible Wedding Favor -- Tombstone cups

These little 'dirt' cups are freaking cute, but would be so much cuter if the spoons were printed with some tombstoney messaging (RIP or 'Til Death Do Us Part).

Or served with a tombstone shaped cookie. :)

Recipe over at Martha, but it's essentially little pudding cups with crushed chocolate cookies for a dirt effect.

Gummi worms could always be added for an extra creepy touch, or little edible skull/bone candies.

Valentine's Day: Have a Heart

What better way to celebrate a snowy Valentine's Sunday with your loved one(s) than with oven roasted ribs and a stabby little heart.

Roasted red peppers really make fabulous fake hearts to serve with a plate of ribs. The power of suggestion works wonders and they are delicious to boot!

You don't have to follow those exact recipes; the layout is what is important here. Presentation, presentation!

Finish it off with a lovely, devilish cake that would look as nice at a sweetheart dinner as it does at Halloween:


On a moderately random side note -- would sipping tea then reading the leaves with your Sweet make for a romantic activity on Valentine's Day?

Rad Cocktail -- Perfectly Awesome!

Do you see this? It's called a Jack O' Lantern, and it's made of orange juice and Cognac. You can find it and 9 other great Halloween cocktail recipes here.

I wish I had seen this before my wedding. I might not have mixed this exact drink, but I would SO have walked around sipping something orange-colored with this garnish. Maybe a mimosa? It's an orange slice with just a little bit of greenery in the top. You might also consider a green straw poking through the middle, there.

And what if you used glass paint to make a jack face on the container? Oh my goodness. Splendid. :)

CHEERS!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN! Pretty Centerpieces

The Wicked Bride is a fascinating creature that I in no way understand - she's getting married on Halloween, but not having a Hallowedding. Huh.

I mean, I feared that would happen to me - but in the end, we're 'balancing' things.

Anyway, I first saw the picture, left, at her blog. Can I just say how cute this would be with a few black spiders and some webbing hanging off the sides? It would be terrific.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN! Unhappily Ever After Party

This idea is ripped straight from the ever-amazing Ghoul Friday and her friends at Halloween Forum. I'm not seeking to claim this idea as my own, just pulling together some recipes and resources to make this idea easyish to execute.

For example, you might want a printable invite (I would recommend using dark red paint and short-bristled toothbrush to do a little bloodsplatter on this after you fill it out, and consider handing these out as scroll invites to play up the 'fairy tale'/fantasy undertones of this theme):


http://fav.me/d276dxe

As the host, consider going as Mother Goose (or make it 'Scary Mother Goose') or the Brothers Grimm (if you have a partner in crime to dress with). Ask your guests to come as their favorite fairy tale characters or scary versions of said characters.

Food
note: food that relies on the cleverness of the title to be 'scary' require that you put cards out to label your foodstuff.

• Three Little Pigs in Blankets (recipe)
• Snow White's Poisoned Apple Slices (apple slices with caramel dip)
• Wicked Witch Fingers (Martha's Ladies Finger Cookies)
• Couldn't Put Humpty Together Again (Deviled Eggs)
• Ginger Bread Houses or Gingerdead Men
• Frog Prince Legs (frog legs or chicken wings)
• Little Red Riding Hood's Picnic basket (get a very traditional looking picnic basket - fill with bread, surround with sandwich making's... just be sure to blood splatter the basket or some such thing to make it creepier)
• The Princess's Peas (I can't think of a single way to make peas scary, other than Martha's Rest in Peas - which doesn't really fit here, I guess)
• This is mixed with Ghoul Friday's decor idea... set the blind mice around a plate of cheese
• Brownies or Cupcakes that say EAT ME (hehehehehehehehehehehehe...hehehe)
• Bottles re-labeled to read DRINK ME
• A big bowl of ominous looking punch, preferably in a cauldron
• (FeeFiFoFum) Blood of an Englishman (blood red punch)
• Bones - for grinding into bread (sweet bones)
  
• Four and Twenty blackbirds baked in a pie (black berry pie, with a raven prop placed next to it)

Decor

• Check out the list over at Ghoul Friday's. I'm not copying anything unless I have notes to add, and you'll find some fantastic ideas there.
• Three blind mice - set these out next to cheese on your food table
• Rapunzel's hair - you can get long, blond wigs at party stores all over around Halloween. Walmart typically has them cheap. I'd probably braid it and use it as a garland
• Witches legs sticking out of the oven - first of all, don't be planning to use your oven. Second, the principles of making witches lets would be the same as here (around step 5) - use striped fabric for the legs, and sew off the tops of the legs - don't attach them to a doll. Increase the size of the template and cloth as needed to make the legs seem "life sized." - a battery-powered candle inside your over could be neat to make it look like the embers are still burning, as long as it doesn't light things up too much
  
• Fake fur throw - if you have such a thing, you could mark it as 'the Beast' from Beauty and the Beast somehow
• Bluebeard's keys (with a spot of blood on them - extra cool if you have a creepy, scary looking door to leave them in)
• the tin soldier (partly melted) and the paper ballerina (partly burnt up)

• the woodsman's axe (blood + a little bit of 'wolf's hair' would be adorable, yes?)
• Artsy Mama shows this adorable witchy hand holding an apple - wouldn't it make an phenomenal accent at this party? If only I had the first clue how to make it...
  

I'm sure you'll all come up with many more creative options. This is a playful idea, so I would recommend a playful Halloween soundtrack. A Disney princess song every so often would be funny to me. :)

Read this for more ideas, or just for entertainment: The Gruesome Story behind Fairy Tales (not totally accurate near as I can tell, but interesting).

Amazing Dolls

Fine art dolls from Shain Erin; remarkable.

First Needle Tatting Project: Done

Sure, I've done shuttle tatting for a brief while - but needle tatting was new to me. Turns out, it's easier and faster. Shuttle tatting is fun - I won't be giving it up - but I expect you'll find me with a needle and thread in my hands more frequently from here on in. :)

Lazy? Maybe.

Anyway, I was inspired to pick up the needle by TotusMel's glorious masks, and I have finished one!

I completely attached the center part wrong, so I have go make a simple adjustment to the pattern to rectify my mistake, but how cool, huh? I'm very excited. If you are into tatting, you can find the instructable here:

Tatted Mask - More DIY How To Projects

If you've never tatted before, she was kind enough to share this; the project below would be a bit easier for you as well:


Needle Tatting A Necklace - More DIY How To Projects

Welcome (to my wedding)

The picture on the right (from Better Homes and Gardens Hallowedding project idea) has inspired thievery on my part; I'm totally taking their framed welcome and possibly that pen holder idea for my guestbook table.

I bought a much less intricate (but still scrollwork-filled) picture frame late last year on sale at Michaels. It was white, I spray-painted it flat black.

I bought textured cardstock/scrapbook paper today and broke out my white paint pen. After several blah attempts to replicate the script on the sign (wow I haven't done calligraphy of any type in over a decade!), I finally submitted to failure and just scribbled something fanciful but legible:

Whoo-hoo! Another project to mark off my list.

Speaking of list... I think the fiance threw it away. *searches semi-frantically for a scrap of yellow paper that was on the desk last night*

Dammit. Gone; now I have to remember my "to-do" list all over again.

Twisted Princess

Twisted Princess: Ariel by
~jeftoon01 on deviantART

I'm really digging the "Twisted Princess" series. It marries my love of Disney with my adoration of the macabre.

...I'm sorry, did you say something? About how I should be working on wedding projects? I can't hear you.

mask inspiration

I haven't worked a mask in some months; simply haven't been inspired.

I couldn't begin to make something as lovely as the masks found here, but they are proving to be invaluable in terms of inspiration to get moving on wedding crafts.

Amazing, aren't they?

http://www.furiae.com/

Beautiful Work

One of the things I wish I'd done most in my brief stint as a movie-set grunt was join the art department on a horror film.

That never happened, and now I'm a corporate drone (is there a better term? some feminine version of a drone?). Perhaps there is hope for me in the distant future, but while I'm clocking the cubicle hours I day-dream and smile when I find things like Andrew Leman's site.

If I'm right, he's also the genius who volunteers amazing prop documents for free (and also can be paid to complete custom work) via CthuluLives.org.