Carved pumpkin

Here is my take on the famous Halloween pumpkin. With just some glitter, feathers, small fabric flowers and a couple of butterfly parts, I assemble what I like to call the “Lady Moth-pire” (my version of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde but with a vampire twist). You can find all these materials and more at Michaels or your favorite craft store. To see more great ideas on Halloween, take a peek at my Pinterest Halloween board.

Spooky door silhouettes

Oh please, someone make Halloween last at least until November 15!!! Did you know that I definitively love this holiday? Although it might seem like an irony, on this new project I used silhouettes and mice which have always make me shriek. There are some people who believe that in order to overcome your fears, you have to confront them. So here I tried to do so by combining all those things that I might have a little fright to, and convert them into a creative opportunity for my front door.

The first item on my door are my family’s silhouettes. These are made out of each of their profiles, including mine. With my phone, I took several photos of them and then drew their silhouettes on a black cardboard. Another option for this project would be to take a picture of yourself (or someone’s) and print it black and white on regular paper, to the desire size. Cut it and use it as a template to trace. Martha Stewart has a tutorial on this where she used it on a pumpkin. Here you can see how they did it.

The rest of the elements I used were templates from Martha Stewart’s website. You can find the cat template here, and the mice here. Remember to print these to the desire size. Since I did not have the chance to go and print them, I drew them by looking at the computer. Not so bad, ah?!?! (P.S. the creature at the right is a hybrid between a cat and a dog!)

The final items for my Halloween spooky door were some spiders I bought at Target. The bag had like 50, but I did not used them all. In order to place them on the door, I used strips of magnets which I cut in smaller sizes. These come with glue on one side, making this task very easy to do. I also used the magnets on all my silhouettes, since I did not want to ruin the door with double tape.

For the spiderwebs I placed here and there, I used Halloween wall decals (also available at Target). These are peel-and-stick and were very easy to reposition in case I did not like how they looked.
At the end I guess I conquer my fears, and the best part is, I’m very proud of the effort. Let me know what are you using on your door on this Halloween. Remember you can also see more great ideas on my Halloween Pinterest board here. Hope you liked my spooky door idea!

Halloween countdown

I just love every hour after the autumnal (Fall) equinox. The days are cooler, the sunset is prettier. But what I really love the most is Halloween! And not just because of the candies, but during this holiday my creativity ignites like no other day of the year;  hence my new “living dead” creations.

These spooky little cupcakes are made with chocolate but inside awaits a gooey and delicious raspberry filling. The idea is to give them a vampire’s bite and sink your fangs into the sweet blood-like stuff. To top it all, and to add a little shriek, I’ve placed some plastic skeletons (available at Michaels) which I sliced in parts and strategically arrange them over a bed of Nutella frosting. To make them look like they just raised from the ground, I used the parts of the cupcakes I took (to make way for the frosting) and toasted them on a pan. For recipes click each link! Hope you like Halloween (and all its goodies) as much as I do!

Fall inspired door wreath

Maybe a little late, but I really enjoyed doing this fall inspired door wreath. The best part is that everything on it smells like Autumn. Because I didn’t want to use the common browns and oranges, I took advantage of the greens and yellows, to make it a little more brighter. Here is a little how-to for my newest seasonal door decor.

For the materials, you can find them at your favorite craft store; mine is Michaels, so everything I used (except the oranges, cinnamon sticks and the grapevine wreath (this last one item was from Target’s one dollar area!!!)) I bought it there. 

1. Fabric leaves 2. Plastic miniature pears 3. A bag of mixed small pumpkins and squashes 4.Cinnamon sticks 5.Oven dried oranges 6. Raffia (which at the end, I did not used) 7. Fall bush with small pumpkin 8. Eucalyptus branches.

Before I started gluing and attaching, I did my own oven dried oranges. It was so easy to do! Here is how:

After all this was done, I started gluing in patches. This way it was easier to see where a pear might be needed, or a cinnamon stick, to make the wreath acquired a 3D effect. One thing that I did to add life to the composition was to darken the leaves’ veins and borders. To do this I used some Prismacolor markers similar to the colors of the leaves (but you can also use cheap markers, making sure to paint in layers until the desire effect).

  

At the end, and to hang the piece, I used some burlap ribbon (from Michaels) to add a vintage-barn look. With it, I made a medium size ribbon to balance the heaviness of the wreath.

Hope you like the outcome and let me know what things have you done to decorate your door or even your house during these seasons. I’m planning on redoing my door again with a Halloween flair decor. Let’s cross fingers!