HAUNT YOUR HOUSE

With the Halloween season getting closer, you really need to think of creative ways to haunt your house for the big day! How fun are these wispy ghosts?

All you need is some white mesh fabric, white balloons, black acrylic paint, rubber bands, craft needles, white thread and clear fishing line.

Blow up the balloons and paint spooky faces on them with the acrylic paint, let dry. Then wrap 4 long pieces of the mesh (several different lengths to make wispy effect) around the balloon to form ghosts. Tie rubber bands at the base of the neck, cover and secure with white yarn or thread. (secure it so it doesn't show too much)

Using the fishing line, make a knot and push through the mesh at the top (the "head" of your ghost) and hang from branch. Then on the underside make another knot in another long piece of fish line, and push up to form the "arms" of the ghost. Repeat on the other side. Hang from tree branches. BOO!

FLOWER POWER

Halloween is one of America’s most popular decorating holidays and you can include the garden and find plenty of plants that fit the bill. From Pan-American Seed’s Trick Or Treat Mix black and orange pansies to Purple Majesty ornamental millet, Peek-A-Boo spilanthes and mums, lots of plants complement the pumpkins, scarecrows and other Halloween decorating items sold in garden centers!

I loooooooove these! I want baskets filled to the brim for my front yard!

HALLOWEEN FABRICS

It's definitely that time of year. The Halloween goodies are getting up on the shelves, so now's the time to grab 'em! The craft stores are filled to the rafters with Halloween fabrics, so it might be time to make some new pillows, maybe some new spooky curtains and tablecloths! The possibilities are endless!

CREATIVE CANDY CONTAINERS

Isn't this a cute idea for Halloween candy? I think they would so cute hanging around the front door, ready for trick or treaters!

Or I think an even better idea, would be to make a Halloween tree (place large branches in a container) and hang the jars from the branches. This way, if you have any guests that pop by, they can help themselves to a sweet treat!

ORANGE & BLACK

I've always loved the black and orange color combination, and during the month of October I try and wear it as much as I can. Do you have a hot date for a Halloween party? Or maybe you're not the costume type. Maybe it's "A Girl's Night To Howl" and you and the girls are gonna go out for cocktails, instead of taking the kids trick or treating! Well, add a few of these accessories to your favorite little back dress and you'll keep in the Halloween spirit!

EYE CANDY

I don't know about you, but I get so tired of the same old bat earrings and plastic skulls necklaces for Halloween jewelry. How about something pretty and shiny? These are so pretty, you could wear them all year long. I looooooove these bright colors! Check out all these baubles and beads, all the better, for Halloween!

TOP HATS

If you're going all out this Halloween with your costume, and you're thinking of something Gothic and fabulous, be sure to top it off with an amazing hat!

And believe it or not, hats really aren't that hard to make. But if you don't think you're ready.....start off with something simple and embellish it with feathers, ribbons and pins.

Here's some of my favorite pieces to get you inspired.

NOT SO SWEET TREATS

You know what comes with a week's worth of Halloween parties, right? Candy...... way too darn much candy.

So instead of doing goody bags for the kiddos, how about snagging some of these awesome paper shadow puppets from Orange Moon Toys! This set of five paper Halloween themed puppets comes complete with wooden puppet sticks and how-to instructions for creating your own shadow theater.

If you've got older ghouls, I'm betting they'll love the scary  Monster Mash set!

HALLOWEEN LADYBUGS

We have a super-sweet lady named Tammy who is our receptionist, and the curator of the largest lady bug collection, I've ever seen!

She does so many nice things for us on a daily basis, I wanted to be sure to do something nice for her. She inspired me one day to make a ladybug for Halloween, and this is how it came out. Thanks for the inspiration, Tammy! So remember, if you see a ladybug today, think of my friend Tammy.

VILLAIN COSTUME PARTY

Host a costume party with a twist. Have all your party-goers come costumed as their favorite movie villain! Maybe it's Cruella de Ville, Bonnie and Clyde or Mommie Dearest, everyone has a favorite bad guy! Have a best costume contest, where guests vote for their favorite characters.

Provide ballots with each guest’s name listed and have party goers vote for their favorites. Be sure to award prizes for the a first, second and third place winners.

Once everyone has had a chance to see all the guests, collect the ballots. Figure out the winner and award a prize before everyone leaves!

Once again, everyone will think you're such an amazing party planner!

HAS ELVIS REALLY LEFT THE BUILDING?

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Candles flickered in the balmy night as thousands of Elvis Presley fans filed silently by his grave during a vigil at Graceland, marking 33 years since the American icon died.

Elvis admirers from around the world descended on Elvis' former home Sunday night to attend an annual candlelight vigil and procession that ran into Monday morning. Presley died at age 42 at his Graceland mansion on Aug. 16, 1977.

He would have been 75 this year. If he's still alive, not guaranteeing he actually is.... he is 75.

Maybe we should have a seance party to mark the occasion?

COME AND SIT A SPELL

When it comes to Halloween  interior design, it doesn't have to all be cobwebs and white sheets over the furniture. If you want something a little more classy, and money isn't really an object (how lucky for you!) check out this sleek coffin couch.

Coffin Couches are pretty popular with some celebrities like Jesse James of “West Coast Choppers”, Kat Von D of “LA Ink” and even the Los Angeles County Coroners Office has one in their lobby!

For some creepy inspiration, click here to check out their website!

HAPPY TRISKAIDEKAPHOBIA DAY!

Triskaidekaphobia  is the fear of Friday the 13th, and today some people will be so paralyzed with fear they simply won't get out of bed. Others will steadfastly refuse to fly on an airplane, buy a house, or act on a hot stock tip. It's Friday the 13th, and they're freaked out.

"It's been estimated that $800 or $900 million is lost in business on this day because people will not fly or do business they would normally do," said Donald Dossey, founder of the Stress Management Center and Phobia Institute in Asheville, North Carolina.

Among other services, Dossey's organization counsels clients on how to overcome fear of Friday the 13th, a phobia that he estimates afflicts 17 to 21 million people in the United States.

Symptoms range from mild anxiety to full-blown panic attacks. The latter may cause people to reshuffle schedules or miss an entire day's work.

When it comes to bad luck of any kind, Richard Wiseman—a psychologist at the University of Hertfordshire in Hatfield, England—found that people who consider themselves unlucky are more likely to believe in superstitions associated with bad luck.

"Their beliefs and behavior are likely to be part of a much bigger worldview," he said. "They will believe that luck is a magical force and that it can ruin their lives."

Wiseman found that one quarter of the 2,068 people questioned in a 2003 survey associate the number 13 with bad luck. People with such feelings, he found, are more likely to be anxious on days like Friday the 13th and thus more prone to have accidents. In other words, being afraid of Friday the 13th could be their undoing.

Ominous Number
So how did Friday the 13th become such an unlucky day?

Dossey, also a folklore historian and author of Holiday Folklore, Phobias and Fun, said fear of Friday the 13th is rooted in ancient, separate bad-luck associations with the number 13 and the day Friday. The two unlucky entities ultimately combined to make one super unlucky day.

Dossey traces the fear of 13 to a Norse myth about 12 gods having a dinner party at Valhalla, their heaven. In walked the uninvited 13th guest, the mischievous Loki. Once there, Loki arranged for Hoder, the blind god of darkness, to shoot Balder the Beautiful, the god of joy and gladness, with a mistletoe-tipped arrow.

"Balder died and the whole Earth got dark. The whole Earth mourned. It was a bad, unlucky day," said Dossey. From that moment on, the number 13 has been considered ominous and foreboding.

So to celebrate, let's all stop by and rent "Friday the 13th" and make a date with Jason Voorhees at Camp Crystal Lake tonight! Happy Triskaidekaphobia!

PRETTY GLITZY

We've featured lots of creative things to use to decorate pumpkins, and this one is pretty snazzy. Remember all the fun you used to have with glitter when you were a kid? Guess what? It's still fun!

These are fancy, look great, and are done with decorative beads. But you can get the same effect with real or artificial pumpkins. Brush your pumpkin with gold acrylic paint. Let dry. The brush with plain, white glue and sprinkle with black or orange glitter and beads.

This would be a fun project to get the kids to help with.

MEET DOCTOR SHOCK

Remember watching those old horror movies at home on Saturday nite when you were a kid? Who doesn't love watching the old classics like "The Thing From Another World", "The Mummy". "The Curse of Frankenstein", and "The House of Wax"?

If you're a native of Pennsylvania, like me, and you were a teenager in the 70's...like me....you know who Doctor Shock is. If not, sit back and enjoy.

It was 1969 and Channel 17 had just picked up a package of horror films cheap. Doctor Shock was the television horror host for Philadelphia from 1970 until 1979.

He appeared on several shows over the years: Scream In,  Horror Theater, and Mad Theater. All of these shows aired on WPHL-TV, Channel 17. He was known as the mad magician of fright, and would frequently perform magic tricks during his show. His favorite trick was fire eating. Doctor Shock was played by Joe Zawislak, a magician from the Manyunk region of Philadelphia.

By the mid-1970s Channel 17 had been sold several times and new blood was looking for ways to generate more revenue. They started with Doctor Shock. Channel 17 ended Scream In and broke Doctor Shock’s normal double feature into two separate programs: Horror Theater and Mad Theater.

Doctor Shock was also taken out of the Saturday night time slot and moved to Saturday afternoons where one or both of his programs regularly got pre-empted for sporting events much to the dismay of his many fans.

In the meantime Doctor Shock was very busy. He produced a music single. It sold out. The next logical step was a full length music album. It was a smash in a tri-state area. Joe Zawislak had been elected president of the local magician’s union. He was involved in charity events and got to perform with Jerry Lewis on one of his muscular dystrophy telethons. He golfed with Bob Hope. He visited the Playboy mansion.

Just when Doctor Shock was at his peak, tragedy struck when he passed away in 1979. His legacy, however, lives on with his children and the memories of the millions of fans who watched and loved him.

Click here to watch some classic clips of Doctor Shock!

WHO YA GONNA CALL?

I know that I usually don't have time for blogging over the weekend, but I thought this was pretty cool, and I wanted to share it.

Last night, I was invited to go on my first official cemetery tour with my friends from CC SPOOK CENTRAL, and it was really fun! Now I have to say, I had no idea what I was doing, but it was fun just walking around and taking pictures.

Here are a few "interesting" pictures that I took last night, I thought you might like to see.

THAT'S ITALIAN!

Some times  you just need to be adorable for Halloween! And is this the cutest kiddie costume you've ever seen or what? I'm still looking for the instructions for this project, but I'm thinking that by looking at the picture, you can pretty much figure it out.

Brown pom-poms for meatballs, beige yarn, a cloth place mat, plastic bowl, a beige colored baby "sleeper" and hat. Also, I think it would be pretty adaptable for a young child as well, maybe with some sweatpants and matching top.....

And if you figure it out before I do, let me know!

To be continued.......

HOST A SPOOKTACULAR DINNER PARTY

I want to get an invite to this dinner party. I'm half expecting to be dining with Barnabas Collins at Collinwood.

Who needs to wait for Halloween to host a spooky dinner party? It could be a "Twilight" theme dinner, or a "Clue" dinner party.

I don't think this would be too hard to pull off.....the details are really all in the planning. Think dark, gloomy, and Gothic with some blood red accents. Don't forget the candles and spider webs to complete the look. I especially love the nooses hanging over the chairs. Very classy.

And for all of you who don't know who Barnabas Collins is, click here.

APPLE VOTIVES

Tired of the traditional carving of the pumpkins? Really? Well not me!

But if you are, here's a great idea for some simple votive candles you can make for your Halloween dinner party. I think Granny Smith green and bright red would look the best for this project.

First, slice off the top of the apple to make a lid. Then hollow out  the apples with your handy, dandy pumpkin carving knife.

Make sure that you can fit a small, tea light candle inside of the apple. Carve out the face. Put the candle back inside the apple. Put the lid on, and you've got an instant votive.

And your guests will think you're so clever.

THE LITTLE BLACK DRESS GETS A MAKEOVER

Every ghoul needs to have a little black dress in their closet for special occasions, how's this? I love the design and I think you could copy this look, pretty easily.

This process for this particular dress was done with a "bleach out" process. If you're not to sure about your crafty skills in the bleaching department..... why not use fabric paints?

Photo-copy a skeleton template, then blow it up to fit on the dress. Cut it out, pin it to the garment, then trace it with white chalk. Remove the template and fill in the design with white or orange fabric paint.

Let dry and wash according to package instructions.

I have a feeling you're going to be the hit of the party.....

REST IN PEACE

I've always wanted to have a big, fancy wrought iron bed, just like Herman and Lily Munster, but I never did. I saw this bed in a catalog the other day, and I thought it would look so great for our guest room in the Manor! How fun for overnight guests.

Don't forget a copy of  "The Shining", some candles, an extra blanket...... and remember to leave a mint on the pillow. Sweet dreams.