Mod Mantel Halloween Decor (from an iPhone) #winning

Yup, Halloween is long gone... and I'm just sharing my decor now.

(shrug)

That's how a bloggin' Mamma with a full-time job and a busy calling at church rolls, okay?

:)

Something thats awesome about having decor on hand from past years for the holidays, is that you can whip up something really quick, no matter where it is.

See...!

So you'll never be on time for the school Halloween parade... It's cool!

Let me just go ahead and break down this Halloween for ya real quick...

Halloween 2007

We didn't carve pumpkins this year. We actually didn't even BUY pumpkins this year. My kids pointed that out on the way home from school yesterday, but didn't really seem genuinely upset about it.
...Halloween fumble.

Halloween 2008

This year we let our girls pick out whatever costumes they wanted, and didn't sway them one bit. The twins wanted to be something scary, so we went shopping and they decided on vampires. But then they got upset when they saw blood and freaky makeup... so they chose to be "pretty vampires" instead. ha!
Aubrielle chose to be a princess, of course.
Happy kids with costumes.
... Halloween win.

Halloween 2009

Halloween 2010

This morning I woke up at 6am, after 4 hours of sleep, so I would have plenty of time to get me (showered & ready for the day) and 3 girls all dolled up, in full-on costumes for school parades that started at 8:45 and 9:15am.
We left the house this morning at 9:05.
...Halloween fumble.

Halloween 2011

Our twins go to one school, and our youngest to another. We weren't quite sure how we were going to make both of these parades (if at all), because the times were just so close together.
In the calmest fashion possible, we sped to the first school, gently tossed our kids into the already moving parade line once we arrived, ran quickly up ahead to wave at them, snapped some pictures, gave them kisses, words of encouragement, and dashed off to our next school.

Halloween 2012

The same operation went down with our younger one.
Act calm, toss into parade line, run like the wind, look like you've been there for hours waiting, wave, snap pictures, kiss-kiss, and tell them they are wonderful.

Cason and I actually high fived on the way out to the car. Our neighbor saw, laughed at us and shook her head.
...(for us) Halloween win.

Halloween 2013

Things I've learned about Halloween:

1. Only the IDEA of carving pumpkins for my kids is fun.

There's something about it that grosses them out, it's been like this since they were little. (see photo examples below, as they watched pumpkin carving from afar)

Phrases such as, "Ew, I think I'm gonna be sick." or "Oh no Mommy fix it, it's head came off!" are usually part of our pumpkin carving script. This means that we "ALL" start the pumpkin carving festivities, but then Mom and Dad end up actually gutting, carving and finishing them up. Oh... and cleaning the sticky mess at the end as well. Maybe we need to start a PAINTING pumpkin tradition instead (?)

2. Girls + Halloween Prep = FUN, but Major Time Suck

Getting everyone ready, especially three girls, takes 10 times longer than you think it will. You can never wake up early enough and there are ALWAYS going to be tears.

3. So you'll never be on time for the Halloween Parade... (shrug) - it's cool.

When you get there you get there. But if you freak out about it, your kids will too. Stay calm, cool and collected. Don't let them see you stress. Cason taught me this one :)

Here's hoping that your day is running as smoothly as ours so far, and that tonight is just as chaotic, memorable and awesome ;-p

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

DIY Crow Mobile - Pottery Barn KnockOff

Two years ago we dressed up our porch for Halloween for the first time, and I loved it! Our little covered entryway to our front door is quite small, so there's not a lot of room to work with, but even a little decor can go a long way.

Full Halloween Porch Post

This year, since we had some "flying crows" going on inside the house, I thought it would be cool to have a slew of them circling around the outside as well.

I originally got the inspiration when I visited my friend Jamie, who had a Pottery Barn version of this crow mobile hanging over her kitchen sink, that she had purchased a couple of years back. It's no longer available for sale, but I found a source online that listed the PB mobile at around $40. 

I really wanted one of my own, so I attempted a knockoff version, and in only about 20 minutes and for $14 bucks, I think it turned out pretty dang close!

Here's how we did it:

First, you'll need some simple supplies to complete the project; those are listed and shown below.

NOTE: The wire is usually found in the floral department, the clear string typically near the jewelry and crows can be bought at your local dollar store!

Black, Gold & White Art Deco Inspired Halloween Shelf Decor

I hope you guys aren't sick of all of our Halloween decorating and ideas yet, because I've still got a few things that I'm excited to share this month... hence the reason I started so early :)

If you missed our last Halloween decor post, we showed off our spooktacular entryway, decked out with a plate wall, flying crows and even a box full of DIY potion bottles.

And of COURSE, around here, no holiday would be complete without a little kitchen shelf decorating as well, right!? So just a few steps further into our home you'll find yourself familiar with a couple more Halloween touches.

Like I mentioned before, I was shooting for a sort of "glamorous, art deco, Great Gatsby" type look this year. The details (gold, geometric, contrasting colors and jewels) are subtle, but combined together, I think I achieved the look I was going for!

Halloween Entryway Decor

Sorry for the delay in posting, I know I promised some more Halloween decor reveals yesterday, but well, things just got busy...

Have I ever mentioned how Fall and Spring are my all-time favorite seasons of the year? Yeah... sitting in front of a computer sometimes gets in the way of me enjoying that with my crew.

Speaking of "my people", I got busted recording this little bird yesterday, singing her heart out. Just in case you didn't catch it on our Instagram feed... see below

Man I love that girl. She's been so patient with me and Cason as we've moved from one area of the house to another, finishing up projects and trying to get everything ready for the holidays. She even helped me shoot a few of these pictures, to show all of you our Halloween entryway decorations! I use a tripod and clicker, so it wasn't too technical, but she still loved pushing the button :)

DIY Labeled Potion Collection with Display Box

Time for another DIY Halloween decor idea!
If you missed the last one, we shared how to make a Creepy Toe Pincher Coffin.

 

Today, we're showing off our DIY Labeled Potion Collection with Display Box. From the wooden stained tray to the little labels on each jar, this box of potions is a fun and easy addition to add to your spooky Halloween decor this year.

I was originally inspired by my No.9 Potion bottle from a couple years back, but wanted to take this idea to a totally different level, by concocting a bunch of new "potions" and gathering them together, to give my new entryway table a "mad scientists lab/shop" type look.

Here's how we did it: