My Halloween Party 2017

     This past Saturday Brian and I hosted our annual Halloween party.  We spent a good portion of the day on Friday and Saturday morning cleaning, putting up decorations, and making the food.  We were still finishing the snacks when the first of our guests arrived.  In spite of the business, I had a great time.  Here's a recap of our party.

Snacks

     Brian and I made our cemetery cupcakes (recipe in this post, although you'll have to scroll a little to find it).  I had picked up a skeleton mold on clearance at the end of last Halloween season, so this year I added bones to the cupcakes.  They didn't have any mint chocolate baking chips at Joann, so I opted to make the tombstones strawberry flavored instead.
     Brian made his classic eyeball deviled eggs (recipe in this post, although you'll have to scroll here too) and I made some cheese and pretzel "witch's broomsticks" (see this post).  I had stumbled across this caramel apple cream cheese spread online and decided to give it a try.  It was delicious and the easiest of the snacks we made.  The caramel sauce I used spilled off the cream cheese pretty quickly, so I'd recommend waiting to add it until you're about ready to serve it and keep extra caramel sauce on hand so people can add extra if they want.
     I poured the rest of the pretzel sticks into our new candy bowl.  The new bowl has a motion sensor that, when motion is detected, causes the eye to open up and causes the bowl to say something spooky.  Any time people got close enough to the table, the candy bowl would come to life.  We also had three types of pizza on hand, so everyone was well fed.

     For drinks, I had seen this vampire drink idea online and decided to give it a try.  I used Sprite Zero and liquid cherry Kool Aid.  You'll want to use clear plastic cups so that your guests can see the effect.  All you have to do squirt a little of the Kool Aid into the soda and the Kool Aid looks like blood as it disperses.

The Tablescapes

     We had our usual two tables, the snack table, pictured in the snacks section of this post, and the main table.  Some of the items on the tables are hand crafted, so I've included the relevant links in this paragraph in case you want to try making one of your own.  On the snack table, the deviled egg eyes are on top of the Halloween platter I made a couple of years back.  The cupcakes are balanced on my spider web cupcake stand.  The tablecloth I made as well.
     For the big table, I used many of the same adornments I've used in the past.  The only crafted item is the spooky faced candle, which Brian and I made last year for Halloween.  The tablecloth I picked up on clearance from Joann ages ago and the bat salt and pepper shakers came from the Target dollar aisle, also years ago.  I think the tealights might also have been from Target.

Outdoor Decor

     Here's what the whole outdoor setup looked like this year.  The eyeball path markers came from Kmart years ago.  The gnomes were a Christmas gift from Brian's mom a few years ago.  She got them from Oriental Trading.  The rest of the stuff you'll see in greater detail below, so I'll put in links there.

     Here's the door.  I didn't have a good way to display the Wayton manor sign, so I used a twist tie to fasten it to the old mailbox.  My eyeball wreath made an appearance again this year.  I also put up my spooky doorbell from Target and the jack o'lantern lights Brian got me from Rite Aid a few years back.

     Next up is my favorite part of my Halloween decor, my Halloween cemetery.  The cemetery has been gradually expanding and this year I decide it was finally time to make a second row of stones.  Since I'd been leaning my handmade stones against the house previously, I didn't have a way to get them to stand.  I used toothpicks and that held them up for a while, although they were no match for the strong gusts of wind we had that day.  By the end of the party, most if not all of them had toppled.
     If you're looking to make some foam tombstones, check out these posts.  It's kind of hard to see, but my eerie graveyard bouquet is in front of Ada Lillian's stone.  My cemetery angel ended up all the way at the back, next to the small gravestones which are hidden from view by the taller tombstones.  Two of the other stones, the fencing, and some of the bones came in this Halloween cemetery kit from Target.  The other two visible stones I picked up at Dollar Tree a while back.  The "haunted: keep out" tape I picked up at A.C. Moore on clearance a couple of years back, but I also got some from Kmart last year (when we still had a Kmart in this area).  If you look closely, you can see my haunted hedge eyes (from Target) peeking out from behind the tombstone with a bat at the top.  The bat gate posts at the ends of the fence came from Dollar Tree.  They had some purple and red paint on them which I thought was kind of awkward looking, so I painted them black.

     Here's my "beware of werewolf" display.  As far as Halloween displays go, this one was relatively easy to make and people tend to like it.

Indoor Decor

     We don't have a lot of room in our apartment, so when it comes time to put out Halloween decorations, I throw some fabric over the printers and storage containers and put the decorations on top.  Here you'll see the spellbook I made a couple of years ago with my Silhouette CAMEO (I describe the process a little in this post) and my haunted mirror.  The spooky radio is a new addition.  I had seen it at Target last year, but it sold out in store before I had a chance to get one.  I ordered one online, but it wasn't going to arrive until after Halloween, so it became part of my Christmas present from Brian :).  Turn the knob and you'll hear quirky ads, song snippets, and news bulletins.  It's so fun and it has become one of my favorite Halloween decorations.  The spooky telephone is also from Target and that's another fun prop.  The lenticular portrait came from Rite Aid and its frame from the Orono Thrift Shop (if you scroll to the bottom of this post, I talk about reframing store bought lenticulars).  The little blue bottle is an antique poison bottle my dad gave me.

     Here you'll see my murderous dolls, my creepy rag doll, and my gingerbread zombie.  If you've seen last year's post, you'll notice that only a couple of the lenticulars that I usually have as part of this setup are featured here.  I needed more room for the dolls, so I moved the other lenticulars to the wall.  To cover this storage container, I threw my tie dyed sheet over it and then covered the sheet with some cloth I'd gotten from Dollar Tree.

     Here's my potions shelf.  If you're looking to make some potions, you'll find ideas in these posts.  The eyeball beakers and test tubes came from Target.  I filled each one with water and added a few drops of food coloring.  I also made a couple of last minute potion bottles and added some glass bottles my parents had given me to fill out the shelf.  There's the trophy Brian and I won last year for best couples costume up toward the top.  My pom pom pals are also paling around on the shelves.  The candle came from Kohl's ages ago.  The book of spells and potions I made this year.  I don't think I'll have a chance to write about it this Halloween season, but I hope to get a post out on it for next year.

     These are some figurines my mom got me from A.C. Moore years ago.

     This year I added some decorations to the fridge door.  I actually managed to get the Halloween countdown calendar and its Halloween clothespins set up on October 1st and so far Brian and I have been remembering to turn them over each day.  The radiation hazard sign I made using my CAMEO.  I plan to post the template next year, along with the template for the biohazard sign I put on my bedroom door.

     Felt sleepy bat and my Halloween sign ended up back at the edge of the hallway again this year.

     Here's the biohazard sign I mentioned earlier.

     I ended up decorating the bathroom too this year, using some of the decorations from my The Shining themed birthday party.  The door became room 217 (from Stephen King's book.  If you're a fan of Stanley Kubrick's movie, you'll know this as room 237).

     Inside the bathroom across from the mirror I put up the letters spelling out "redrum" . . .

. . . which you'll see what it means if you look in the mirror.  I put the invite I made on the sink (to see the invite in more detail, check out this post).  It got a drop of water splashed on it, but it should be easy to reprint for next year if I want to go with the same theme.

     I tucked the roque mallet in beside the bathtub.

Costume Contest

     Unfortunately I didn't think to take many pictures during the party, so you'll only see a handful of them here.  In addition to the pictures below, we had Rick from Rick and Morty, a werewolf, and a zebra.

     "Most creative costume" went to Katie for her "it's raining cats and dogs" costume.  In the background, you can see my plushie garland hanging over the entryway.

     Jacob won "best costume" with his Buckethead costume.

     Brian and I won the "best couples/group costume" award for our dark sorcerer and witch get ups.  Like my look?  Check out the following links for how to make the cape and hat, the broom pendant, and the magic wand.  You can't really see my top in this pic, but it's by Dare to Wear fashion and it's pretty awesome.

     Here Katie and Jacob are with their trophies.  Brian and I didn't get a pic with ours, but you can see it in this post.

     Well, that about sums up my Halloween party 2017.  I hope you can find some ideas in here for your Halloween get together.

Haunted House Sign

     Any house can be a haunted manor this Halloween season.  Why "Wayton" Manor?  The "way" is for Hathaway and "ton"is for Toner.  I don't like cutting craft foam (and if you're like me, I definitely would recommend buying foam letters instead of cutting them out by hand), so "Hathaway-Toner Manor" would have been too tedious for me.

Materials:

*Picture frame
*Foam letters
*Foam Halloween shapes (optional)
*Bronze colored paint
*Paintbrush
*Black cardstock

Directions:

*Remove the glass and cardboard backing from the picture frame.

*Paint the frame and the foam letters, as well as any Halloween shapes you'd like to include on your sign, a bronze color (I mixed black and brown paints with a gold paint to achieve the color I used).  Let dry.

*Place the black cardstock inside the photo frame, in between the frame and the glass.

*Arrange the letters and shapes on your sign as you wish and then adhere them to the cardstock.

DIY Halloween Potions

     These Halloween potions are easy to make and work with any witch or Harry Potter themed Halloween setup.  Need more potion ideas?  Check out these Pet Sematary inspired potions, glittery potion bottles, Halloween potion pendants, "Magic of Christmas" ornament, and this nebula in a bottle.  Between all of these ideas, you may find some inspiration.

Halloween Potion Labels

If you're not familiar with the process of staining paper with coffee to make it look aged, check out my Halloween potion pendants tutorial to find out how to give paper that aged look.

Phantasma

Materials:

*Glass vial
*Stuffing
*Coffee-stained "aged" paper
*Black gel pen
*Hole punch
*Twine

Directions:

*Take a small amount of stuffing and separate it out until it looks wispy.  Place wisps of stuffing into the bottle until it is full and then close off the bottle.

*Cut a tag from the "aged" paper.  Punch a hole in the top.  Label the tag "Phantasma" or "Ghost in a Bottle" or whatever seems fitting.

*Tie the tag around the bottle's neck using twine.

Faerie Skulls

Materials:

*Glass bottle
*Skull beads
*Coffee-stained "aged" paper
*Black gel pen
*Hole punch
*Twine

Directions:

*Pour skull shaped beads into the bottle and then close the bottle.  Try to maneuver the beads such that the hole through the middle is not noticeable.

*Cut a tag from the "aged" paper.  Punch a hole in the top.  Label the tag "Faerie Skulls" or whatever seems fitting.

*Tie the tag around the bottle's neck using twine.

Nightmares

This potion is just a full sized version of the "Nightmares" potion pendant I made a few years back.

Materials:

*Glass vial
*Black glitter
*Coffee-stained "aged" paper
*Black gel pen
*Hole punch
*Twine

Directions:

*Pour glitter into the vial and then cork the vial.

*Cut a tag from the "aged" paper.  Punch a hole in the top.  Label the tag "Nightmares."

*Tie the tag around the bottle's neck using twine.

Love Potion

Materials:

*Glass vial
*White glitter
*Small, heart shaped sequins/spangles
*Coffee-stained "aged" paper
*Black gel pen
*Hole punch
*Twine

Directions:

*Fill the vial about halfway with white glitter.

*Add some heart spangles and shake until the hearts and glitter are well mixed.  Add more glitter and hearts until you have the desired ratio of the two.  Cork the vial.

*Cut a tag from the "aged" paper.  Punch a hole in the top.  Label the tag "Love Potion."

*Tie the tag around the bottle's neck using twine.

Halloween Costume Contest Cat Trophies

     I originally wasn't planning on making trophies anything like these.  I had seen some skulls on pedestals on Dollar Tree's website and planned on buying some and decorating them, but my local Dollar Tree didn't have any in stock.  The semester is really starting to pick up, so I decided that while I had a few minutes to spare this weekend, I needed to finish the trophies.  I started thinking about what supplies I had around the house and I remembered that I had several cat figurines that I could use.  I thought it might be neat to dress black cats up in costumes.
     I asked Brian what he would dress up as if he was a cat and he said a shark (there's a meme we have on our fridge with a cat wearing a knitted shark hat that says, "sometimes you have to tell yourself "I am a shark" and attack the day).  I remembered the shark cat riding Roomba videos and Brian suggested making the cat's base into a Roomba.  That's how the shark cat trophy came to be.  For the others, I got my inspiration from a "costumes for cats" search on Pinterest.
     I love how these came out, especially the shark one.  I'll have a hard time surrendering them at my Halloween party.

Materials:
*Cat figures
*Jar lids
*Black paint
*Red paint
*Paintbrush
*Hot glue
*Felt, cardstock, and other decorative elements
*Paper
*All purpose adhesive

Directions:

*Glue cats to the jar lids.

*Paint the cats and their bases black.  Let dry.  Apply multiple coats if necessary.

*Paint red eyes on the cats.

*Add costumes.  For the bat/gargoyle creatures, I cut some wing shapes from black felt and glued them to the cat figurines.

*For the Beanie Baby, I punched a red heart from cardstock, wrote "ty" in white gel pen, poked a threaded needle through the cardstock, and tied the tag around the cat's neck.

*Shark cat riding a Roomba I just kind of winged, so I can't explain it quite as well as I'd like.  I cut out two shapes like a quarter of an ellipse from blue felt and sewed them together along the curved edge.  I then cut out a row of teeth from cream colored felt and stitched them to the shark costume's mouth.  I cut a blue rectangle from felt and sewed the shark head hood onto it and then trimmed it down to fit around the cat.  I glued the costume to the cat (just the "belted" part that goes around the cat's belly) and then cut out a fin from blue felt and glued it to the costume.  For the Roomba base, I painted the outer edge black and then painted the inside silver.

*Print out labels for the various awards and glue them to the bases.

Shark cat for "Most Creative" costume award.

Bat cats (or gargoyle cats) for "Best Couple/Group Costume."

Beanie Baby cat for "Best Costume."

Halloween Mummy Veggie "Meatballs"

     This Halloween snack is almost too cute to eat.  The recipe is from Pillsbury, but made it vegetarian and modified it a little.

Ingredients:

*Veggie "meatballs" (I used Nate's Zesty Italian Meatless Meatballs)
*Crescent roll dough
*Marinara sauce

Tools:

*Knife
*Toothpick

Directions:

*Roll out the crescent roll dough.

*Cut the dough into thin strips.

*Wrap the strips of dough around the "meatballs" to form "bandages."  Make sure to leave a gap between the bandages for the "face."

*Bake in the oven for about 15 minutes, or until the dough is golden brown and the "meatballs" are cooked all the way through.

*Use a toothpick to make marinara sauce "eyes."

*For a dinner, serve with spaghetti and crescent rolls.

Beware of Werewolf Halloween Display

     Sometimes the scariest things are not what you see, but rather what you don't see.  This Halloween display is disconcerting without any blood or gore.  It's also relatively compact, making it an ideal decoration if you don't have a lot of room to store Halloween props.  I crafted the femur for this display from Model Magic, but you could use plastic skeletal remains as well.

Werewolf Collar

Materials:
*Craft foam
*Empty duct tape roll
*Brown paint
*Paintbrush
*All purpose adhesive
*Scissors
*Aluminum foil
*Iron
*Chain
*Metal links
*Knife

Directions:

*Take a sheet of aluminum foil and crumple it up, then carefully unfold it.

*Place the aluminum foil over the craft foam.

*With the iron on low heat, run the iron over the aluminum foil.  It should melt creases and wrinkles into the craft foam.

*Take the duct tape roll and cut straight across it so that it opens up.

*Cut the foam to fit around the duct tape roll and glue it on.

*Cut holes into the "collar" where you want your chain and metal links to go.  I used a kitchen knife to do this, but there are probably better ways to do this.

*Paint the collar brown and then set aside to dry.

*Once dry, add the metal links and chain to the collar.

"Beware of Werewolf" Sign

Materials:
*Cardstock and printer
*Laminator (optional)
*Long wooden stake
*All purpose adhesive

Directions:

*Print out the sign below on cardstock.

*Laminate the sign (optional, but will make it weatherproof).

*Glue the sign to the wooden stake.

Witch's Broom Pendant Necklace

Materials:
*Thin wire
*Thicker wire
*Wire cutters
*Ribbon
*All purpose adhesive

Directions:

*To create the broom handle, cut off a length of the thicker wire twice as long as you'd like the handle to be.  Fold the wire in half and twist, leaving a loop at the top wide enough for the ribbon to fit through.

*To create the main part of the broom, cut off a number of segments of the thinner wire, all equal in length.  Fold in half.  Cluster the segments together to form a broom shape.

*Insert the handle into the center of the cluster.

*Wind a thicker piece of wire around the cluster to bind the broom pieces together.  If the handle is not secure after binding, if it feels loose or slips out, glue it in place.  Let dry.

*Determine how long you'd like your necklace to be and cut off the appropriate length of ribbon.  Slide the ribbon through the loop in the broom handle and then knot together the ends of the ribbon.

The necklace adds a nice touch to any witch costume.