Halloween Birthday

This has turned out to be one of my most favorite Octobers ever! I turned 26 on the 26th and gave myself a Halloween/Birthday Party. I literally started decorating October 1st for my party because A) I was afraid Jordan would be scared of the decorations if I didn't ease them into the house and B) I am a known procrastinator and I knew I wouldn't be able to pull it off last minute!

Phase 1: The Decorations

I bought spiderwebs, a 12 pack from Amazon for about $10. I didn't even use them all... Jordan didn't like the scary spiders!

This tree was made from packing paper (dug out of the recycling bin at work).I used tape to hold it up. Two days later my tree was nothing but a trunk.
I had to rebuild it using thumb tacks... which I'm sure my wall loved. 

I decided to replace ALL my pretty pictures throughout
the house with Halloween silhouettes (or phrases).

Trick or Treat

I used an old glass vase and coated the inside with orange paint.
Then, after that had dried, I ventured out into my yard and pulled
out some dying branches off my Honeysuckle bush.
Add some spiders and a web, voila! Spooky centerpiece. 

I made these witch shoes using an old pair of
heels. I used foil to shape the curled up toes,
hot gluing the foil to the shoes. Then I wrapped
them up real tight using masking tape, then
painted them black. The socks were some I found
in my sock drawer. Not kidding! I got the idea for
these fun little shoes here.

I found this big piece of cardboard in the recycling bin at work.
I painted that lil witch and cut out a face. The kids loved it! 

The pumpkin came from our son's field trip to the pumpkin patch.
The mummy is actually a popcorn box wrapped in crepe paper and
with some googly eyes glued on. I found the mini jack-o-lanterns at
Walgreens for $3 (6 pack). The creepy cloth came from Dollar Tree for
(you guessed it) $1. 

My daughter helped add to the decor :)

The tree--rebuilt! With cheesecloth ghosts and some
black bats cut from cardstock. 

This blasted ghost was such a pain. I found a tutorial
here. Of course I didn't follow it to a T and my ghosts
head kept caving in.  

How cool is this!? My sister helped out with some
decorations. She made the poison cauldron and made a
"Book of Spells."

My sister also painted this "BOO" sign!
OMG How adorable!

I hung some streamers up in my hallway
because it just looked a little too boring
for my taste.

I used construction paper and some string
to make this super easy banner. 

Our entrance turned out to be SUPER COOL, in my opinion!

The front door: A mummy made from paper
plates and crepe paper. I turned out nothing like
I'd imagined but... ah well. 

Lot's of handmade stuff going on here.

"If you are reading this then you are blissfully unaware of what
is creeping behind you!" Cardboard, scrapbook paper, duct tape (seriously),
glue, and glitter. 

Phase 2: Food and Drinks

Using clear cups and black markers, we drew
on some "scary" faces.
Then we made vanilla pudding and dyed it green,
crushed some Oreos, sprinkled them on top, and added
some gummy worms. YUMMY.

Our bottled water was called "Swamp Water."
I got the printable here. 

I had a vision in my head. I told my sister, Angela, what to do,
and she blew me away by making this creepy carrot and
celery pumpkin!

Another of my sisters, Tonya, made this ADORABLE cake using
a bundt pan and stacking the two cakes. I'm not sure how
she did the icing all melty (warmed it in the microwave?), but
the stem of the pumpkin is an ice cream cone painted green.

Witch's brew :) This is the only one I was able to get my hands on--
and this was the morning after. It was the last one... and it was delicious. 

Tonya made these fun little snacks, too! There is a lot of brilliance in that
head of hers. I ate so many of the "ghosts" that I made myself sick. 

This is the only picture I have of the "SCREAM SODA." Printables for the all of these
found here. 

Phase 3: The Party

I really, really failed on taking pictures during the party. I have a few...

Jordan... dressed as Papa. 

Hippy and Mr. Clean

Gmo the scary witch

Hippies.

Tonya, the Book Fairy.

Tonya, Mom, Me, and Angela.

Hippies and pig farmers aren't usually best friends,
but we're the exception. 

Cowboy, Mr. Clean, Pig Farmer. Or the Three Stooges.

Now that Halloween is over, I should probably take down all my decorations and start planning for CHRISTMAS! Could you imagine not having the house decorated in time for Christmas? Now that's a scary thought!