Decor Progress!

The new carpet is in (well, mostly), and we spent Tuesday putting the outside power outlets back on the new siding (with help from my dad) and getting the new entertainment center delivered. So today was the first real day we had to get on with cleaning and actual decorating, and we worked most of the day and a few hours tonight as well. A lot of cleaning, so tomorrow will be the main decor push, but we met the Devil:

Don't worry. If you're coming to the party, you'll meet him soon enough. ;-) 

We also helped a ghost get off the ground: 

Ooo...good pic of the new carpet too! 

And then tonight, I put up one of our Halloween villages in the new entertainment center. This picture doesn't really do it justice, but you get the idea: 

So a busy day all around, and tomorrow will be a lot more decorating as it's our last day to really work on the indoor decor (we still have a graveyard to put out, you know...). 

Two days to party time! :-)

How to Make Your Spiders Happy

Just eleven days to party time this year, and we've barely started decorating! We've had some issues getting new carpet in (it won't be installed until next Monday - eek!), and it's been a bit slow starting because of that. But we're moving now, and tonight it was time to make the spiders a cozy home.

First, of course, they needed a welcoming environment. Enter the webs!

Ignore my socks there. This is a work in progress, after all...my feet were hot! 

Once the webs are in place, it's time to set the spiders. But be sure to put the biggest ones out first. They get jealous otherwise...

Then it's time to put the medium spiders out. They normally like to hang around, so I hook 'em up with curtain rods and whatever shelving I can find. 

I have a little dropping spider - his specialty is "Boo!". He'll need to hang...somewhere spooky for the party, but for now, this hook will do. 

Then it's time for the tiny spiders - they're happy just hanging out on the counter top, which is handy. Now we're almost done...

Still, I feel like I'm forgetting something. But what? 

Oh, right. Food! Don't forget to leave your spiders a nice big snack. Wouldn't want them to get hungry and start munching on party guests now, would we? 

I think we can safely say that the spiders are happy now. :-) 

What's next? I'm not sure. It may or may not involve skeletons...

Party Pics 2010

Alrighty then - we're starting to gear up for Halloween 2011, and I realized I never actually posted party pics from last year! Bad blogger! Of course I was going through the few we have, and honestly, I'm not sure how I managed to get such blurry pics. But you get the general idea, right?

I know, my photography skills are scary, right? Anyone wanna come be the photographer this year? ;-) 

I need to get invitations out by October first...eek! More coming later this month...

T-Minus Two Days & Counting...

We're in all-out party prep mode around here - the house is coming alive with all things creepy, crawly and furry. Tomorrow the graveyard will come together, baking will commence and we'll start on all the final details.

Here are some pics of what things are starting to look like - the last until after the party. Watch for party photos Sunday or Monday...

 Ooo...a dark hall. Wonder what's in there?

 Skulls on top the entertainment center - they are entertaining, actually...

 Our front window - glows in during the day, glows out at night.

 Dr. Jekyll's Lab...spooky, no?

 Wonder what's in the jar? Do you dare get closer?

 More of the lab...and who's that standing by the shelf?

 Skulls under lamplight - much spookier at night.

 Shiny! Sparkly! Time-warpish!

 We may have an infestation on our hands here...wonder what's behind the curtain?

 Party favors for guests....

And our graveyard, currently hanging in the living room. Tomorrow all this will go out to the yard. 

Here's to a great weekend and a spectacular party - more by Monday!

Four Weeks to Party Time...

...and today, we hung a witch in stocks above the dining room table. Hard to get a good picture - I'll try again when we have better lighting in place. We also went on a shopping spree...and got a feather wreath for the living room:

 And adopted two more Zombie Babies from Spirit Halloween to join our nursery. Cute little buggers, aren't they? ;-)

 Brent's pretty well finished with the mausoleum with a final wash of gray/stone paint today. I think it looks rather rugged and worn, don't you?

 And from the front - the moss adds quite a dingy touch, I think.

 

I hung the skull curtain today as well - I think it will fit well with the "ancient" theme we're doing for the living room area...very nice for atmosphere, wouldn't you say? 

Tomorrow is all about the party invitations - must get them finished and sent out this week!

50 Days to Go - New Stuff and Party Prep

Look at that - the countdown clock says 50 more days to Halloween! that means there's only 42 days to the party on Oct. 23rd...and we'd better get moving! I got the official clock out today - it plays scary sounds every hour on the hour during daylight. My favorite clock, bar none. It's especially fitting this year, since our theme is a "time warp" - Halloween through the ages. We'll be focusing on ancient times (celtic/druid), 1600's - 1800's, and a nod to the future for our party deco.

We did some shopping today too - Target finally has their stuff out here, and we had a good time. This year, no paper plates for us - we bought a whole set of 20 melamine plates, and 8 bowls (all dishwasher safe, of course). We need to go to the other Target store and see if we can score some more bowls...

Naturally we got napkins too. Can't have a party without napkins. Just above and to the left are the bags I'll use for trick-or-treater packages this year. We also got a big beverage tub, and a whole kit of lights/sounds found at Lowes - because you can never have too many flashing lights or scary noises.

We also got some craft supplies for other projects - including this year's invitations:

Then we came home and while I was washing up 24 brightly colored coffins...

Brent was in the garage working on a new prop for our cemetery.

He's also been working on a few other things...wonder who will end up in this?

 This week, I'll be working on getting those invitations done, and I think it's time to start putting some interior decorations up!

It's Coming...

Deep in the basement, a sense of anticipation is in the air. The tubs and boxes sit quietly, waiting for their moment under the watchful eye of a lone sentinel.

The clown is still sleeping in his corner...

While the babies whisper excitedly in their crib just a few feet away, "Did you see it? It's so big!"

The snowman cowers in his box, trembling in fear at the newest addition to our collection of creatures.

And upstairs, the cause of all the fuss sits proud and 2ft tall, surveying his new domain.

It's coming...

...are you ready?