~ Happy Halloween ~ The Decorated House

By now you know that I love Halloween. A few years ago we sat in our home as a quick moving little cat 1 hurricane went over our city. Thankfully it was moving fast enough that it "only" caused tons of major damage and not quite the devastation we are seeing in the northeast of our beautiful country right now. It's tough to celebrate much of anything when you see others hurting. So I'll just post a quick little note to say Happy Halloween to you all.

A little close up of the white pumpkin which has been painted with Annie Sloan chalk paints, Old White and Pure White over that. The stem was made using paper clay. 

Because Beau Bunny and I both have a sweet spot for Snickers {No endorsement here, and we do consume in moderation only this time of year :) } This was totally a photo op. All candy had to be removed immediately so Bunny didn't eat it all. 

If you find it in your heart and and are able to help, please consider donating money or blood to the Red Cross, or to the Salvation Army or a Charity responding to  the needs of those affected by hurricane, superstorm Sandy.

See Y'All Soon~

Donna
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~ Halloween Decorating. Black & White, A Little More

 The only room that really gets any Halloween decorating is the living room area. A while back I thought I would stop decorating inside or outside, except maybe a Jack O Lantern. Our own daughter is grown, and there seems to be fewer kids coming out for trick or treat now. Then a couple years ago, when I opened the door for a few kids trick or treating, a little girl about 3 just came running right in the door. She stopped and looked around and smiled. Her mom was trying to catch her, but this little one was quick. It wasn't that I had done anything especially great. She just appreciated even the little things.  She reminded me of that special wonder that children have and that we often lose along the way. Doing even a small amount of decorating for Halloween keeps us in the spirit of Fall and the upcoming holidays.

The pillows with the black and white stripe trim were a part of the decor around here for several years. They have changed slightly as my color choices have changed.  Even though this is a very common toile, I happen to love toiles and this one is just fine with me. When I first made these I was mimicking some quite expensive pillows I had seen and the outside toile area was golden yellow. I  used fabric medium and paint on my fabric to get the same look that I had seen, and the gold was part of my colors. Since then that area has been painted a greige color. For  a while they have been in the closet because I was not using any black. This year I remembered I still had them and they were just what I needed to dress the sofa a bit differently and complement the Halloween decor which is black, white & silver.

I also kept the black and white transferware pieces from years ago and used one of the covered vases on the side table. These pieces look great with the seasonal decor as well. Funny how if you have things put away for awhile, sometimes they look fresh and new again. But not always... I know. There are many more things that went out the door in the last few years that are not missed at all.

Lots of us love white pumpkins. Here is another one I painted sitting on a harlequin plate along with some very old books from the mid 1800's, a quartz crystal sphere, a skeleton key and a spider just for the fun of it. The book was destined to be a book of spells, and still might get some more work next year. Since I love old and rustic books, it is perfect for the holiday.

See Y'All Soon~

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~ Halloween Mantel 2012 - Decorating in Black & White 2

There were questions around here as to why Beau Bunny was being blamed for the missing Snickers. He is pleading the 5th, and hasn't confessed to eating them. Well the truth is he has been jumping from spot to spot, quite full of excess sugar energy, there are empty wrappers left exactly in places where he was seen. On top of that Beau Bunny always has a spare bandito mask, and one was left hanging on the mantel after he was seen there. I know, all circumstantial. We might need to set up