Halloween Will Soon Be Here ...

... ghosts and goblins will appear.

I learned to play that song on the piano - it may have been the start of my love of Halloween. Halloween is an excuse to dress up in a crazy outfit, eat lots of candy, 

and really play into your spooky side!!

For now I'll be keeping my costume a secret :) But it'll be pretty grand when it all comes together.

I made a quick stop at Target tonight to pick up some essentials and I'll hopefully run into the dollar store tomorrow for everything else I need to make this a Spook-tacular holiday! However, I'm really going to try and spend less than $20 on these decorations because I'm trying to budget (insert hysterical laughter here).

Here are my decorating plans

Front Door Area

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These bats are grand! Now, I could have found a stencil online, traced them all, cut all of those little critters out and then glued them up. I would have bought black paper so it still wouldn't have been free. Instead I bought a package of 35 foam bats (probably for craft projects) at Target for.

               $5.00

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This source said they used vinyl for windows for our little spooky friend - but someone on Pinterest said you could use Glad Press and Seal to create the same look. I didn't have any (for most projects, Saran Wrap works just as well), so I had to buy some. 

$3.00

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This is spooky and would hold up to some winds (which we get here in Montrose) as well as weather. Plus, you are using a trash bag! Mine were all white, but I was able to borrow one from my parents :) Excited to see how this turns out!

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Spooky! I have lots of paper bags and those battery operated candles, so I can see this happening!        FREE         

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To me, birds are about the freakiest animal out there! I love that branch with the birds and want to copy it. However, I don't have the $$ for "faux" birds ... so I'm thinking cardboard spray painted black will have to do ... now I'll just have to see what I can use for a planter. I could probably even do this inside.

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Outdoor Decorations

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Spooky eyes for the bushes? I think so!! Since I now live right in town I'm expecting some trick or treaters ... I won't be home Halloween night because I'll be at Fall Festival (a Halloween Carnival at my church), but there still needs to be something fabulous for the kiddos to enjoy! 

 I'm going to do 4 of these in different colors.

                                                              $2.00

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I'll be asking to borrow a wheel barrel and some digging tools (not to mention dirt, good thing my parents live on a big pile of it, lol), which leaves me to purchase either a skeleton or a bag of bones. I'm hoping to pick this up at the dollar store.

$1.00?

In The House

I'm looking forward to decorating my mantel for the holiday. Speaking of Mantels, have you been over to 52mantels? They are AWESOME!

I love this banner and I know I have everything to make it here at home. I'm also thinking that those running mice would look cute on the baseboards in my hallway :)

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So this post will grow as I find more ideas I just can't live without doing ... for now my shopping list reads: Skelleton or Bag of Bones and Fake Blood (I always make at least one window look like a murder scene with some caution tape, bloody handprints, and a bloody cleaver).

The Details - Not to Miss

Lighting is terribly important. Since I won't be home, I can't leave the porch light on - so I'll use LOTS of flickering battery operated candles to light up the porch. 

Sounds. A haunted house sounds haunted! Luckily I have LOTS of halloween music and sounds that I'm going to load onto an old iPod and play by the front window for everyone to hear!

Touch. Lots of ickys are needed. Thinned out spider webs that you walk through without realizing, sticky fake blood on pathway, branches that are hanging into where you walk.

Taste isn't exactly something you can do anything with ... I'm not sure about Smell either, maybe cold (like dry ice) or that dusty/musty smell? How would I capture that?