Halloween Product Pick for 2010

Remote Control Pumpkin Lights

Available from Williams-Sonoma (online and in stores). They are now on sale for $4.99 down from original price of $19.99. The remotes and the timers make these worth having for outside decor or hard to reach in-door decorations. With a push of the remote, you do not have to wrestle with candles or lighting a pumpkin each night. They are also safe and pose no fire risk like candles. The LED lights are surprisingly warm and can either flicker like a candle or cast a constant glow. To keep them from getting wet outside while illuminating your pumpkin or inside the head of a scarecrow, simply put them inside a Ziploc bag and you can protect your high tech, low investment effect.

Honorable mention:

Martha Stewart Pets available at PetSmart has a fun line of Halloween toys for your dog. One toy is actually two different toys because each one is reversible. They are no longer available online but sell in stores for around $5.00 each. Choices are: Ghost/Tombstone, Vampire/Bat, Witch/Cat.

Jasper likes the chewing the witches fleece nose and hair.

Halloween Ephemera Vintage and New

A collection of old and new Halloween ephemera

I themed the display around black cats in various shapes and costumes. The cat in the pirate costume is on of my favorites. Better photos may be ahead this year. Sorry for the quality.

Vintage Trick or Treat bags

Halloween Crepe Paper Curtins

Boo Perfect Paper Curtains

Made of black crepe paper (no longer just for prom and local parade floats), the curtains ad a bit of an ominous touch even to a yellow tinted room. I did these a few years back in the old apartment. They work best with windows with no coverings or with blinds hung inside the frame/molding. The stretchy quality of crepe paper is more forgiving than traditional tissue paper. Use double sided tape to attach them to window frame. Transfer tape would also work. This is a very inexpensive way to add more gloom to your Halloween festivities. I used the edges of different sized plates and saucers to create the scallops. To match the ones on the end, I cut out the first one then traced the outline onto the second one. Folding paper in half will also produce mirror images. If you have ebony hued furniture they create a dramatic mood.

Martha Stewart Witch Silhouette for the Yard

New Martha Stewart Holidays Yard Decor.

Grandin Road's new line of Halloween decor and decorations inspired by ideas and products featured on the pages of Martha Stewart Living is now available. I picked up the witch and cat silhouettes for the yard. They are from October 2005 issue of Living. I had thought about making them but never came back to the idea. However, they look creepy perfect with a hint of sophistication. The witch comes in several pieces and the broom and lantern, which she wields, come in a separate shipper. The cats (three, sold as set) each arrive in two pieces with detachable tails.

The construction is mostly superior. A few pre-drilled screw holes were missing on the back of the witch but I easily took care of the problem. There is a hinged slot that connects to a support on the back to keep the tall witch from blowing over. The hing is not the best quality but is doing the job so far. She has four ground stakes the keep her upright. All screws, blots and a tiny Phillips screw driver are included. I will post photos of her in a few days. Sadie barked at the cats the first couple of times she encountered their arched backs and frightened tails.

Product Details:
Constructed from heavy-duty plywood
Painted with a rich, black, water-resistant finish
Sturdy ground stakes keep each piece secure and steady
Easy to assemble with just a screwdriver (included)

Retailers deck the halls while calendar says early fall - The Boston Globe

Retailers deck the halls while calendar says early fall - The Boston Globe

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Article explains the rationale to early holiday merchandise sightings. Someone is actually buying the stuff now. However, I agree - as much as I like the holidays - Christmas tree displays leave me a little empty as I begin to enjoy fall apples and pumpkins. Target has some holiday decorations out adjacent to Halloween candy and skulls. The holly and the ivy don't mix so well and are more off putting than the bare, distressed skulls.

Gearing Up for Halloween / Opperation Create Faux Tombstones

I begin decorating for Halloween this weekend and wish to have some photos to show soon. My biggest goal is to make fake tombstones for the yard based on ones from New England cemeteries. The earliest ones from the 1600s are very Edger Allen Poe-ish with sculls and images of the angel of death. Speaking of Poe, I do have some "Nevermore" ravens to festoon the house with.

Here is the tombstone idea I hope to accomplish this frightful season. I took a quick field trip to a Salem, MA cemetery this past Saturday and took a few quick inspiring refrence photos.

The OH Lantern Family / 80s Halloween Fun

Six of the eight family members make a creepy, fun display on top of the wardrobe.

Image from the original hang tag that identifies each ghoulish family member.

Released in the fall of 1987, the OH Lantern family, created by special effects wizard Todd Masters, quickly flew off the shelves and racked up $6-million in national sales. They were only sold in gift shops and specialty stores for $9.95 each. The original release consisted of eight family members. In 1988, they also released a baby line of pumpkins that were less detailed and not as successful. The patriarch of the family - of course - is Jack OH Lantern. All members have individual names and biographies printed on their hang tags.

The pumpkins are made of a nerf type of foam that was injected into individual molds. The material allows for numerous details and wrinkles. Mold line clean up varies from pumpkin to pumpkin. They must be stored with care to keep them from being crushed by long term storage. I wrap mine in acid free tissue paper and do not crush them to preserve every toothless grin.

Spanish and other types of moss create a nice base for the spooky pumpkin patch display. Build up the area underneath the moss with blocks of floral foam or boxes to create depth and height. The decade old invasion of faux crows, ravens and buzzards onto the Halloween decorating scene provide additional creepy pumpkin patch props. Fake spiderwebs drape easily acroos the crowns of dead cone flowers inserted into the floral foam. They continue to provide seasonal fun 22 years latter.

Draining the color from the photo produces a sinister effect.

Urban Scarecrow Called Jack

I created this gourd-headed scarecrow a few years back in my urban Cambridge postage-stamp sized yard. The Scarecrow is based on a modified version featured a few years ago in MS Living as the Frightfully Fun Scarecrow. They suggested using a Funkin instead of a real pumpkin for the head. They look more realistic that faux pumpkins sold at Michael's craft stores and are easier to carve since they are made of a firm foam. The molds are taken directly from real pumpkins and are not perfectly round. Some years they are more realistically painted than other years. I bought one that was way to neon orange to be perceived as a real pumpkin. A. C. More, Jo-Ann Stores are a couple of chain stores you can find a selection of them available. Funkins are not indestructible but will last year after year when stored with care.

Jack wears a vintage L.L. Bean plaid shirt. Excessive rains caused the shirt to do the opposite of shrink. The weight of the wet hay caused him to "fill out" even more. I also choose a classic expression that would not be perceived as trendy. I wanted Jack to last as many spooky seasons as possible. His head and shirt were reused several times but hay was bought new each year.

Fall & Halloween on the Horizon

Now, that we will soon be entering the month of September thoughts of fall color and foliage start to come to mind. I'm not wishing away summer or longer days. I too dislike the thought of loosing valuable daylight hours at the end of the day. The trade off is that we receive a wonderful new pallet of colors. A few of my past Halloween projects have been picking up in the number of views this past week on Flickr. Take a peak.

Halloween in the dining room circa 2005 was spooky and fun. Since then I have located black tapers that tie in more with the theme. Cupcakes were featured on the center three-tier stand. The stand is basic white that on top of I added a flocked pumpkin floral pick and orange paper fringe around the circumference of each level with double sided tape. Vases filled with candy corn or dried black beans made colorful anchors for tabletop candles.